The tournament was as action packed as usual, and an hour in as we took the first 5 minute break, there were just 287 players left! Over half the field was out already, I told you it's a fast, action-packed tournament. An hour later and we were real close to the money with 113 people left, just five players short of the bubble. Sadly for VitKoz of Russia it wasn't to be, as he finished 109th.

Once in the money it wasn't long before short stacks were eliminated or double, tripled and quadrupled up. Play shifted its focus then towards making that final table, gunning for the big money and gaining all the extra leaderboard points available there. We had only 36 players left of the third break, and just two tables left with 18 players battling it out to survive to the final 9 shortly after that. League regular Danilo1012 of Germany bust in 19th place, but another solid run on his part. In due time the final table was formed, and here is how it looked.

Ico 88813 lead the way as play started and it wasn't long before we had our first elimination. Gnilton's [Ah][Qh] came up short vs. the [Kd][Js] of norbertox, handing him the chip lead after the board was dealt: [7h][Kc][2s] [4c] [5c]. Gnilton finished in 9th place for $9.36 and 10 leaderboard points. Norbertox got a little lucky again, picking off short stacked shove from FluDhs under the gun, calling with [Jd][9s] he was able to win vs. [Ad][Qd] once the cards were revealed [Jc][3d][8c] [Kh] [6c]. FluDhs finished in ei8th place for $16.17 and 11 leaderboard points. Seventh place this week, went to Shark-Ledi of Belarus. Who had to throw in the towel with [Jc][4s] after being crippled in an earlier hand, he was unable to beat either [8c][8s] or [Ks][Js] and went home with $23.05 and 12 leaderboard points.

Six handed play was brought to an end when chip leader norbertox won a flip with [As][9d] vs. Hermes1987's [2h][2c], an ace on the flop [8h][Ac][Th] was the main blow and though the [Kh] on the turn did bring Hermes1987 some more outs for a flush it wasn't to be. The river was the [Qs] and it was all over for him, taking 6th place, 13 leaderboard points and $30.37. 5th place finisher VVHoudiniVV was unable to win his coin-flip vs. repartir11's [Ts][Th] with his [Qc][Jc] and was forced all-in and out the following hand. VVHoudiniVV received 14 leaderboard points and $37.69.

Take note of these final four player's names: "repartir11", "EL Ogroyahoo", "ico 88813" and "norbertox" as each of them will have a 300FPP bounty up for grabs on their heads next week. All you have to do is eliminate them to claim it, be sure to tweet that you have done so if and when you do with the #tpoker hash-tag. That way everyone knows how awesome you are and that they are now out. Four-handed play didn't last long for repartir11 who ran his [Ad][5c] into the [Ah][Jc] of ico 88813 and wasn't able to hit a five on a board of: [9d][4d][6s] [Th] [8s]. He left in 4th place for 15 leaderboard points and $53.43.

Three-handed play lasted quite some time before norbertox showed us all that it was his lucky day, he got his [Ad][5d] all-in way behind the [As][Ac] of ico 88813 the flop [8h][Qh][5s] brought a five, and the turn [5c] brought another! The river wasn't the [Ah] and thus ico 88813 was knocked out in 3th place for 16 leaderboard points and $71.37. Heads up play was over very quickly by comparison and ended with El Ogroyahoo shipping his last few chips in with [Jh][8s] only to run into [Ac][Kc] and couldn't get there. The last board of the night read: [Qd][6s][5s] [6d] [Ah] but for norbertox it spelled victory. The pair of them received 18 and 20 leaderboard points plus $95.16 and $133.08 respectively. Not at all bad for a few hours 'work'.

Every two months weeks over $2,100 worth of STEP tickets to the top 100 players, you gain 1 point just for taking part, 5 points for cashing and anything up 20 points for winning. So what are you waiting for? There's never been a better time to join the league, with no runaway leader it's anyone's game. Registration is already open for the next game - ID: 447068636

Two of last week's top four finishers "monokrex" and "Fish_Marius" returned to take on the bounty challenge. Where 300FPP would be awarded to whomever knocked them out! After running his [Ac][Qh] into "waitat"'s [Ah][As] "Fish_Marius" was only left with T$396 5 hands later the two players battled it out again, this time [As][Jh] in a flip vs. [2h][2d], the pocket pair held up and "Fish_Marius" was eliminated (below) - and "waitat" claimed the 300FPP bounty.

The second of our bounty players "monokrex" fared a little better, and even made the money this week. However once in the money very little fight was put up as he was slowly blinded out eventually being stacked by the [4c][4d] of "cdazul" as seen below. Sometimes when you're just trying to get a few more points the right thing to do is fold into the money, but by doing so you throw away the chance to make the final table again.

Typically on the second break of the Twitter Poker League (2 hours in) we are very close to the money, often on the bubble. This week's game was a little different, as play went hand for hand at the same time as the break was announced, during that time "CRAZY MAX85" of Russia was eliminated in 118 place. Just one spot shy of the money, meaning that when players returned from the break each of them would have cashed and therefore gained a minimum of 5 points on the Season 8 Leaderboard.

It's always entertaining to see how tight play is around the bubble, compared to moments afterward, within the next hour we were down to just three tables with less than 27 players competing for their chance at the final table! Things tightened up again with 12 players remaining, but eventually the final 9 were assembled (below).

"bra boy84", "boyz568", "JimKnopf42" and "Nurrus" were essentially all even in chips at 165k-170k as play started on the final table so it was going to be a pretty even fight. It wasn't long before we lost our first player, when the [Ah][Kc] of "bra boy84" beat the [As][Qs] of "al-thebal1". Just one hand after that "Dimetrik1" was knocked out in ei8th place when the [Kc][Td] of "Nurrus" got the better of his top pair by the time the turn was reached, he held [Kh][Qc] on the eventual board of [7h][Qd][Jc] [Ad] [2h]. "Nurrus took down the T$300k pot with the nut straight and we now had 7 players remaining.

Next to go was "Nurrus" despite that huge pot, he was involved in one of those hands that you just can't get away from. He held [Ad][Qh] vs. "bra boy84" and re-raised him pre-flop, "bra boy84" called with [Th][Td] and when the flop came [4d][Tc][As] both players were delighted to get the money in. Sadly for "Nurrus" he was drawing incredibly thin, and the turn [3s] had him drawing dead. This was easily the most pivitol pot of the night giving "bra boy84" over T$600k - more than the rest of the players combined!

Six handed play didn't last at all long, "bra boy84" ramped up the aggression and began to run over the table. Swiftly eliminating the shorter stacks, "Phefz" and "viko73" in 6th and 5th place respectively. Be sure to take note of the final four players "janeebla666", "Jimknopf42", "boyz568" and "bra boy84" as next week each of them will have a 300FPP bounty on their heads. Knock them out of the tournament to claim the prize.

From four-handed play down to the final hand it only took 30 hands for "bra boy84" to claim the victory this week, making this by far the fastest final table in Twitter Poker League history. "Jimknopf42" was unable to bring himself to fold [Kd][Kc] on the [9c][6c][Ah] flop and finished in 4th place to the [As][Js] of "bra boy84" who was still the overwhelming chip leader. Ace-Jack was also the hand that saw the end of "boyz568" in a blind vs. blind raising war. "boyz568" held [Ks][9d] and even picked up a flush draw by the turn, but on a board of [5s][2d][3d] [6d] [Qh] it was all over.

Heads up play took place between "janeebla666" who held around 200,000 in chips at the time, but with over 950,000 chips "bra boy84" had a significant advantage and won the duel in just six hands! The key one being when the two of them got it in as a flip with [As][9c] vs. the [8d][8c] of "bra boy84". The chip leader flopped a full house, and turned four of a kind - what an incredible way to end the tournament!

Registration is already open for Week 4 and can be found easily with the tournament ID: 432212739 with 5 weeks left this season - it's still anyone's game. Come join in with the action and be sure to follow the twitter conversation with the #tpoker hash-tag.

The Twitter Poker League is a fast paced tournament, with action left right and centre. By the time we reached the first hourly break, than half (239) of the field were left. Two hours in, on the second break just 94 players remained, of which 90 would make the money. You get 1 point on the leaderboard for playing each week, 5 points for cashing and between 10-20 points from 9th to first place on the final table. Once we're in the money the focus of the game shifts promptly to making the final table. Before long there were only a few tables left and not long after the third break the last 9 players assembled around the final table.

Multison378 was the chip leader with over T$300k going into the final table, and Gerasim36 was not far behind with T$240k. Notables at the table included: grannyfish97 (@jaydee97), zobole (@poker4women) and mar4a111 (@themar4a) who are all league regulars and join in with the #tpoker conversation on twitter each week.

Our first casualty was LukeWinston who's [Ac][Kd] lost vs. [Qh][Qd] of Alexvul and [Ah][Jd] of mar4a111 in a three way all-in after a board of [4c][9h][7d] [Tc] [Jc]. Crippled but not out after that last hand mar4a111 was the next to go, basically forced all-in in the big blind with [8h][5h] vs. the [Ad][Js] of cross_graven. He finished in ei8hth place for $13.38 once the cards were dealt [Td][4h][3d] [Ks] [Tc].

Grannyfish97 called quickly with [Ad][Jd] vs. zedyx85's late position shove, and made the flip vs. [6s][6h] look easy by flopping the nut flush [Td][3d][Qd]. After the turn [Jh] and river [2d] were of no help and zedyx85 left in 7th. Next to go was league regular grannyfish97 (@jaydee97) when she shoved [8h][8s] into the [Ad][Qd] of the chipleader Multison378. A board of [Kd][Qs][Kc] [Ac ][As] spelled goodbye and she left in 6th place for .

Five handed play was brought to an end when zobole shoved [Ks][Kh] from the button and Alexvul called with [Ah][6s] short stacked in the big blind. No Ace came on the flop [2h][Td][9h] and on the turn [Kc] he was drawing dead. Take note of the final four players "Multison378", "zobole", "cross_graven" and "Gerasim36", as they will each have 300FPP bounties on their heads next week.

Four handed play kicked off with zobole (@Poker4Women) making a short stacked shove with [Th][Td] only to run into the [Ks][Kd] of cross_graven. She tweeted: "Out in 4th place which is not too shabby at all!! :o) #tpoker" - which pretty much sums it up. Third place this week went to Gerasim36 after they made top pair only to be crushed by the flopped nuts, in the hand below.

Cross_graven probably rejoiced in his seat at being handed 2nd place given that he was the shortest of the three players at the start of that hand. Heads up play was now on the agenda, though it was all over in just a few hands. Despite doubling up a missed timed bluff shove on the river with [Td][7h] on the board of [Jd][4d][5h] [4s] [3c] was caught out by [Jh][Tc]. Don't feel too bad to him $80.32 for a $1.10 investment is still great. Congratulations to our winner Multison378, who will now be leading the Season 9 leaderboard with 20 points.

Registration is already open for Week 2 and can be found easily with the tournamentID: 432212737 with 7 weeks left this season - it's still anyones game. Come join the action and be sure to follow the twitter conversation with the #tpoker hashtag.

By the time we reached the first break 55 minutes in, only 298 players remained. Over half the initial field was gone, including Team Online member and self-proclaimed world's best poker blogger "Dalerroxxu" (@daleroxxu), who finished in 338th place. An hour later when the second break rolled around there were just 121 players left, and with 117 players being paid we were just 4 people away from the money.

Earning the title of bubble boy this week was League regular "A-FISTFULL" of the United Kingdom. Once we were in the money, there was a momentary relief for some but then play shifted its focus strongly to making the final table. Around the 3rd break, there were just tables left, and among them was "Lindowsweet1" who at the time was 4th on the Season 8 leaderboard. He ended up finishing 21st for $3.58 and picked up 5 more points for his efforts.

Two tables remained on the 4th break and shortly after that we had our final table, "Mr Mattee" easily led the table from the start, and that didn't change much throughout. "sharky757" was the shortest going into the final nine, and when his [7h][7c] ran into the [Js][Jd] he was knocked out in 9th place. Ei8hth place this week went to "el buen jueg" after his [Ac][9s] was outkicked on a flop of [Ah][Qh][4c], all the money went in there and "VaVio1" showed [As][Td]. With no help on the turn [3s] or river [Kd] it was game over for "el buen jueg"

Seventh place finisher this week was the short-stacked "LULA2006", who caught a piece of the [9c][8s][5h] flop from the big blind in a rare limped pot. Sadly for them "Snake577" had limped with [8c][5c] for a flopped two pair. "LULA2006" was not saved by the [2h] turn or [Ad] river, and left the table which would now play six-handed. Sixth place this week was also as a result of a limped pot, "ahaluch" limped with [Kd][Qc] and "Mr Mattee" completed from the small blind. A flop of [Jd][Qs][4d] brought a piece for the both of them, a check, a bet and a call to the turn [3d] giving "Mr Mattee" a flush, "ahaluch" couldn't get away from his strong top pair, despite the board and got all his money in - drawing dead. Fifth place finisher "Plovez" was eliminated shortly in a similar fashion, when he got it all in short with [Ac][Qs] vs. the [8h][6h] again of "Mr Mattee". A flush by the river on a board of [Kh][5d][Ah] [9c] [3h] for the now dominant chip leader and play continued four-handed.

Be sure to make a note of these players "Mr Mattee", "VaVio1", "Snake577" and "gyorfigabika", as they will each be our bounty players for next week! You can gain a 300FPP prize simply by eliminating any of them, and somehow knock out all four and you'll net yourself a tidy 1200FPP. A joint elimination was had next with a three way all-in from "Mr Mattee", "VaVio1", "Snake577" each held [Ad][6c], [Kc][Tc] and [Jd][Jc] respectively. A horrible flop [Ah][9d][Ac] for anyone other than "Mr Mattee" who then had everyone drawing dead on the turn [6h], "Snake577" was pointlessly dealt the [Jh] on the river for the worse full house. As the shorter of the two "VaVio" finished in 4th and play moved to the final stage, heads-up.

Heads up play was a gruelling process, with two strong players battling it out for over 155hands! While "gyorfigabika" put up a really solid fight considering he started the match 8:3 down in chips, the game eventually came down to the hand below.

"gyorfigabika" limped his button, allowing "Mr Mattee" to hit trips for free, while picking up top pair for himself. Unable to let his king go on the river despite multiple raises all the money went in for a 540k pot and we had our winner. Congratulations to "Mr Mattee" on the victory; taking home over $140 for his hard work.

With over $2,100 in bi-monthly prizes and just a $1.10 buyin, what are you waiting for? Head on over to http://twitter.pokerstars.com to find out everything you need to know, and be sure to follow @tpokerstars on twitter for all the latest coverage for the events. Next week's game is already open for registration!

Last week's 3rd place finisher "LindowSweet1" returned this week, to take on the challenge of playing with a 300FPP bounty on his head. It's not as easy as you might think, even for a former winner. Not long into the second hour of the tournament, he was counterfeited on the river in a flip vs. [Qh][9h]. His [7h][7d] was now only 7-high and "cheater010" scooped the pot and the 300FPP bounty prize.

99 players were paid this week, and on top of the $1.53 min-cash each of them would be guaranteed at least 5 more points on the Season 8 leaderboard. Sadly for "Mr.Nitters" who finished in 100th place this would not be the case, not really living up to his name busting one place from the money. Once the money bubble had burst the race was now on for most people to build their chipstacks and head for the final table. It doesn't matter if you come 99th or 10th you still get 5 leaderboard points, whereas the final tables means anywhere from 10 to 20 points.

A little under 4 hours into the tournament we had the final 9 players set around the last table. "bartosh ap" of Russia and "Thorsen9" of Denmark were neck and neck for the chip lead to begin with, both with around 180,000 in chips. That was quickly changed when "ranger40290" found [Ks][Kc] in early position and was glad to call the shove from "cheater010" who held [Kh][Jh]. A handful of outs were possible by the turn [Ts][5h][8s] [Ac] but the river was not a Queen rather a [3d] and he finished in 9th place. The 300FPP from earlier should ease the blow of busting so early on the final table. Ei8hth place this week went to "speña9" of Spain, when he rather desperately shoved his last few chips in with [Jc][Th] under the gun and was unable to beat the [Ad][8d] of "DEVILSWEET09". The board ran out [As][4s][9s] [7s] [Kc] and he was awarded $14.69.

Seventh place finisher "Shark-Ledi" failed to survive the flip between his [Ah][Qc] and "DEVILSWEET09"'s pocket sixes of the same suits. He got $21.37 for his efforts, once the cards had been dealt [9s][8d][4s] [Kc] [8c]. Six-handed play saw "ranger40290" of Portugal leading the pack with over 250,000 and "MeiaNova" of Brazil peddling the short stack. Unsurprisingly, they were the next to be eliminated when he shoved with [5d][5h] and ran straight into the [Tc][Th] of "tobias3319". By the turn [Jh][Ts][6s] [6h] he was drawing dead and the river [Qh] was of no importance.

After that, "Thorsen9" bust in fifth place, when he committed half his stack with [Ac][Js] preflop, and was out-flopped by the [Qh][Jh]of "DEVILSWEET09". He called the shove on the flop [3h][Qc][8c] despite only having Ace-high and was drawing very thin, the turn brought the [Jc] bringing a flush draw, but the [Qd] made "DEVILSWEET09" a full house and brought an end to his fun. Make a note of these final four players, as they will be the bounties next week. You'll need to keep a close eye on them and try to be the one to knock them out, in order to claim the 300FPP reward.

Four-handed play saw "ranger40290" leading with a colossal 500,000 in chips almost more than the rest of the players combined. He was certainly aiming to bully the table, and made light work of eliminating the short stacked "bartosh ap" in 4th place. However a number of orbits later he decided to donate it all to "DEVILSWEET09" when he just wouldn't fold top pair on this final board [5h][7d][9h] [4h] [8d]. "DEVILSWEET09" held [6h][3h] for a flush and [Ts][9c] was no good at all.

Heads up play was thought to be a walk in the park for "DEVILSWEET09" based on the fact that he had 850,000 chips compared to "tobias3319" who had just 140,000! That said the underdog fought hard and after a huge double up when he held [8s][8d] to dominate the [7s][7d] of "DEVILSWEET09" that chip difference had totally flipped around. It was all over when the pair of them raced [Kc][8d] against [Qd][Tc] and "tobias3319" came out on top hitting a Queen on the flop. He took home $122.94 and 20 leaderboard points for the win.

$meinpot24$ of Germany is our run away Leaderboard leader right now, but it's still possible to catch him over the next 3 games. With over $2,100 in bi-monthly prizes and just a $1.10 buyin, what are you waiting for? Head on over to http://twitter.pokerstars.com to find out everything you need to know, and be sure to follow @tpokerstars on twitter for all the latest coverage for the events.

Three of last week's top four finishers returned this week to take on the bounty challenge. "Harmonica007", "$Meinpot24$" and "" each now had a 300FPP bounty on their heads for anyone who managed to knock them out.

"Harmonica007" was knocked out in 163rd place this week, when he lost the above hand. His pocket sevens were a big favourite preflop, but by the time the river hit "andexx78"had made trips. He picked up the pot and the 300FPP bounty for knocking him out. Current leaderboard leader "$Meinpot24$" got it all-in short along with "albertocamba" and "v_myaso". With "$meinpot24$" holding an Ace, the Queens were way ahead preflop. By the time we reached the turn, "albertocamba" had top set and the only flush draw. Only to fall at the final card, when the [Jd] came on the river giving the nut straight, and the 300FPP bounty to "v_myaso".

Last week's winner "snaggerjo" lost the flip below to finish in 438th and hand his bounty over to "Diffirinzial". Be sure to make a note of this week's top four finishers, as they'll be the ones to knock out next week, in order to claim the FPP bounty prizes.

Not long after the last bounty player had been knocked out we took our second break, 108 players would be paid this week and we were very close to the money. Unfortunately for "dmXwaar" who finished in 109th place, he narrowly missed out on making the money and picking up at least 5 leaderboard points. Once the bubble had burst the race for the final table was on and among the chip leaders were "3Karen3" (@facetiouskaren) and "Epitomised" (@epitomised).

"Epitomised" (@epitomised) fell after we reached the final four tables, finishing in 31st place with the help of an 'anti-rail' from @Daleroxxu in the chatbox. He was constantly urging players to call the crazy bluffer, and almost certainly destroyed what little fold equity he had. It was great fun to see this additional commentary and I'm sure that James will return the favour if Dale ever cashes. It wasn't long after that, that we had our final table; which looked a little something like this:

There was little waiting around and we had our first elimination within the orbit, when "GREGORI1955" shoved with [Ac][Ks] only to be called by the shorter stack in the big blind who held [Qc][Qh]. Luckily for him though when the cards were dealt [6c][8c][3d] [Jc] [5c] he made the better of the two flushes, knocking "epelekas" out in 9th place. "GREGORI1995" didn't last long despite that, as he was knocked out next in ei8th place. Oddly "trobenta845" decided to min-raise [7h][3h] under the gun and was called by the short stacked "GREGORI1995" along with two other players. "GREGORI1995" held [As][Qd] and when the flop came [3c][3s][Ah] he was all too happy to shove his last few chips in, only to be snap called by the deceptive trips. No hope for "GREGORI1995" on the turn [8d] or river [2h] and he was out.

Seventh place this week went to "Gozlinski" of Poland, who picked up $22.99 for his efforts after he lost his flip with [7c][7d] vs. [Kd][Qd]. Six-handed play begun with "ZloyK@kPes" leading the way by far, and "trobenta845" was comfortably in second. "trobenta845" showed us some more of his abnormal strategy when he min-raised from the cut-off with [8c][6h] and called the shove of "MIGUELENO100" resulting in an obscure flip vs. [Ah][4h]. The flop [5c][7h][Qc] was scary for "MIGUELENO100" as it gave his opponent an open ended straight draw, the turn brought [Ad] but the river brought a cold [9s] making "trobenta845" a straight and left just five players at the table.

"Fish_Marius" bust in 5th after he flopped a worse top pair with [Kh][9d] vs. the [Ah][Kc] of "ZloyK@kPes" on the [Qh][3h][Kd] flop. All the money went in, and with no upsets on the turn [5c] and river [Td] play was now four-handed. A strange dynamic occurred with four players left, as the shortest two stacks included previous winner "Lindowsweet1" who was definitely focused on gaining as many extra leaderboard points as possible. So much so that because he was 3rd/4 in chips he folded down to <3 big blinds, allowing "$r.Noguera" to bust before him. Of course as soon as that had happened, "Lindowsweet1" threw in the towel and came 4rd the very next hand, when he was virtually forced all-in in the big blind.

Heads up play then begun between "ZloyK@kPes" and "trobenta845", they were fairly even in chips, with around T$100k between them. It all boiled down to the final hand, where on a flop of [2h][7d][4s] "ZloyK@kPes" didn't believe "trobenta845" when he 3 bet shoved. He did in-fact have [9s][7s] for top pair, and [Ah][8h] was way behind. The last two cards of the night, [5s] and [Td] changed very little and "trobenta845" took home the win. He received $132.58 and 20 leaderboard points for the victory.

We're only half way through this season, so it's still anyone's game. With over $2,100 in bi-monthly prizes and just a $1.10 buyin, what are you waiting for? Head on over to http://twitter.pokerstars.com to find out everything you need to know, and be sure to follow @tpokerstars on twitter for all the latest coverage for the events.

As usual last week's top four finishers had a 300FPP bounty place on their heads, which would be awarded to whoever knocked them out this week. "superpesho", "TCleiton", "hsv franky" and last week's winner "[OhotniK]ent" were each offered the opportunity to return to the Twitter Poker League felt with 300FPP bounties on their heads. "" was the only one of them to return to take on that challenge, and was eventually knocked out in the hand below.

Congratulations to "gordoases07" who won the 300FPP bounty by winning the side pot, by having "hsv franky" covered. "rimtis99" picked up a nice triple up there too, propelling him back up to average chips.

Not long after that we reached the second break, and with around 120 players remaining we were closing in on the money bubble. Sadly for "tolomalo" it wasn't to be, as they finished in 109th place and was the Twitter Poker League bubble boy. Everyone else left in picked up a guaranteed $1.51 and a minimum of 5 more points on the leaderboard. No matter whether you finish 10th or 108th you get 5 points, which creates quite an action packed latter half of the game each week. Unless you're fussed by the small pay jumps along the way, a 'make or break' strategy is often employed. A little over an hour later and we had out final table, which looked a little something like this:

As play started at the final table, "snaggerjo" held a slight lead over "Harmonica007" & "$meinpot24$" but it was "p1kes" who was the clear table captain with 215k. Big congratulations for "$meinpot24$" for making his second final table in as many weeks, he came 2nd in Week 1 this Season. Regardless of where he finished, he'd easily take the top spot on the leaderboard.

The first casualty was "curioso13" who shoved T$50,000 with [9d][9c] over "qkj_" who had opened for T$10,000. "qkj_" quickly called with [Th][Td]. The board ran out [3h][5d][4d] [Js] [Ts] bringing a swift end to "curioso13"'s run. He finished in 9th place for $9.24 and collected 10 points for the leaderboard. Ei8hth place this week went to "gobelondo" of Spain, when his shove UTG with [As][Jc] couldn't win in a flip vs. [6d][6h]. He left with $15.95 and 11 points. "peredas711" bust in 7th place this week, after an unfortunate bout of bad luck. He got it all in preflop as a big favourite with [Ac][Ts] vs. the [Ah][5h] of "$meinpot24$" - the board was dealt [Ad][3d][9h] [Qh] [Th] bringing a grizzly runner runner flush for the Week 1 runner up. "peredas711" received 12 points and $22.74 for his efforts.

Six-handed play was brought to an end when former chip leader "p1kes" who picked up $29.96 and 13 leaderboard points when he bust in 6th. He got it all-in with [As][Ks] in a big flip vs. the [Js][Jh] of "Harmonica007", the flop [5s][6d][2s] bought the nut flush draw, but the turn [Tc] and river [Qc] were of no help. A very quiet "te la picas" finally made a move when he shoved UTG with [9c][9h] only to run into the big blind's pocket Queens. No nine fell and on a board of [Td][2d][3s] [As] [5s] he left in 5th place for $37.18 and 14 leaderboard points.

This left the final four players, "Harmonica007", "qkj_", "$meinpot24$" and "snaggerjo" and they will therefore be next week's bounty players, so make a note of their names. "$meinpot24$" was unable to best his Week 1 result, as he finished in 4th place this week, for $ and 15 leaderboard points. He shoved first to act with [As][3d] and ran into the [Ad][Td] of "snaggerjo" who made a flush by the river on a board of [Qd][9d][9h] [2c] [5d]. Don't feel too bad for him though he's now well and truly at the top of the Season 8 leaderboard with 34 points, 2nd place "snaggerjo" only has 25 points!

One hand later two aces were found blind vs. blind all the money went in preflop and "snaggerjo" was way ahead with [Ah][Kd] vs. the short stacked "qkj_" who held [As][2c]. Unsurprisingly the bigger ace came out on top, after the cards were dealt; [Jh][5d][9s] [9d] [Kh] and "qkj_" finished in 3rd place for 16 leaderboard points and $70.39. Heads up play lasted just three hands, and came to an abrupt end when the monster chip leader snap called with [Qd][Qh] vs. the shove from "Harmonica007" who held [Qc][Js]. The last board of the night was dealt [2d][Kc][8h] [4d] [5s] and changed nothing. 18 points and $93.86 were awarded to "Harmonica007" and 20 points and $131.17 were given to "snaggerjo" for the victory.

We're not even half way through this Season of the Twitter Poker League, so it's certainly not too late to take part. Head on over to http://twitter.pokerstars.com for all the information, and be sure to follow @tpokerstars on twitter for all the latest information and coverage of the tournaments.

"Zubroff" finished 4th last week and as a result he was given a 300FPP bounty on his head this week, anyone who managed to eliminate him would receive the frequent player points. FPPs can be used for almost anything, from satellites and tournaments to tee-shirts and cars! As he was the only one of the top four finishers from week 5 to return I decided to up the bounty to 500FPP. It wasn't long before someone had the opportunity to claim the prize, when "Zubroff" shoved [Ac][6c]from the button for his last 11 big blinds and was called by [Qs][Js]. You can see how the hand played out below, the flop brought no immediate threat to the bounty player. When "bus599" hit his straight on the turn, only a club would save him.

The club never did come on the river, and "Zubroff" was out in 298th place. "bus599" picked up the 500FPP prize but didn't do much afterwards, busting in 227th place. The Twitter Poker League games are fast and action packed, everyone knows that but usually when we reach the second break we are often a few players away from the money bubble. This week however when the second break rolled around we were already in the money! 70mins after that and the final table was formed.

"jancsi69" of Hungary lead the final table to begin with, followed closely by "mavi737" and the shortest stack was "---A1PS" with just T$40,000. As the shortest stack he pushed his last chips in with [Kc][8s] from the button, only for the big blind to wake up with [Ah][Kh]. After the board was dealt; [Js][Th][8d] [7s] [As] "---A1PS" finished in 9th place for $8.65. Collecting 11 leaderboard points this week for their ei8hth place finish was "valanad" of the Netherlands. After being crippled in an earlier hand he found himself facing a raise by "SV GUSEV" that would put him all in. He called all in for his remaining few chips and found that his Ace [As][5c] was dominated by his opponent's [Ad][9d]. The flop [4d][6c][5d] gave him hope and the turn was a safe card [Jc], however the river brought the [6d] making "SV GUSEV" a flush and eliminating "valanad".

Seventh place this week was awarded to "mavi737" when he made a short stacked push with [3d][3h] only to be called and crushed by "cross_she" who held [6h][6c]. A six-handed orbits later and "pop billy" of Germany found himself in a flip with his [Jd][Jh] vs. the [Ks][Qs] of "cross_she". A queen on the flop [6d][7s][Qd] had him drawing thin, with no jack on the turn [9h] or river [9d] he was out in 6th for $27.97.

"Ekksel" of Russia was next to go when caught out by a brutal river, he 3bet "cross_she"'s open with [Qs][Qh]. "cross_she" only held [Jd][8h] but he called anyway, and flopped top pair [Jc][3h][6d], they got all the money in and "Ekksel" was way ahead with his over-pair, the turn [4c] changed nothing but the river was cold cruel [8c]. "Ekksel" finished in 5th place for $34.63. We were down to the final four players now, all of whom you should take note of their names - as each one of them will have a 300FPP bounty prize on their heads next week!

"cross_she" was the chip leader when four-handed play kicked off, "jancsi69" in second and the other two players about even in chips. "jancsi69" made light work of knocking "19luc68" out in 4th place when his [Ac][Js] had the [9c][8c] of "19luc68" drawing dead on the flop [3s][Ah][As]. Three handed play didn't lasted a very long time, and "Jancsi69" fought hard before being eliminated in 3rd place this week. He shoved with [Qs][Jh] over "cross_she" who limp from the small blind with [Ks][5s]. Despite his passivity preflop "cross_she" called; the flop [6h][2h][5h] brought a lot of outs for the shorter of the two, but the turn [4s] and river [6c] never completed the flush.

Heads-up play was now starting, and then a peculiar thing happened - the players decided to chop. Now you may have seen people chop up the later stages of a tournament in big games like the Sunday Million or the recent SCOOP events, but this is certainly the first time a chop has ever happened in the Twitter Poker League! The players were near enough dead even in chips when heads up play was due to start, and the split was agreed at 50:50. With $209.79 left in the prizepool at that stage it wouldn't divide evenly between two players so the eventual winner "cross_she" took the extra $0.01. So while "SV GUSEV" did finish in second place he got $104.89 where he should have received $87.24 so a good deal on his part.

Come join us for next week's Twitter Poker League game, same place (PokerStars) same time (20:00CET) and same buy-in of just $1.10. You can find all the information and more HERE.

First of the bounty players to go was last week's winner "lkkr hoor", it's hard to get your KQs in 4 ways and find it to be the worst hand - but at least he was drawing live. The board didn't change anything for any of the players involved, and "almeex" scooped a huge pot early in the game with his pocket nines. Plus of course he received 300FPP on top of that pot, making it all the sweeter.

"abarcot" was the second bounty player to be eliminated. He left in 351st place when his open ended straight draw missed vs. the top pair of "yusbar". The [Qc] on the turn meant that even if the straight had come it would have been a split pot, so "abarcot" was drawing to just the two last Queens in the deck on the river for his chance to win the pot and stave off an early exit.

Our third bounty player "tatasegio" was knocked out by "scorpion$35" when his [Ac][Jd] was unable to best [As][Kc]. Another 300FPP was awarded to the victor of the hand and our bounty player left in 173rd place. Finally there was just one bounty player left in the tournament, everyone had their eyes on the prize that was on "orenhol"'s head. He was crippled in the hand below vs. "PeacMaker1" where he lost the flip with pocket fives vs. the [Jd][Td]. A few hands later the two players clashed again and "PeacMaker1" finished the job, proving that he's not quite as peaceful as his name suggests.

"orenhol" finished in 137th place and it wasn't long after that, that we were on the second break with just 105 players left and 90 going to be paid. Long-time league regular and past winner "Danilo1012" (@RealDanilo1012) was the bubble boy this week finishing in 91st. Everyone else was now guaranteed at least $1.60 and 5 more points on the Twitter Poker League leaderboard.

Once in the money the focus of the game very swiftly becomes the final table. It makes sense, that's where all the big money is and there are no more than 5 leaderboard points, until you reach 9th place or better. Just under two hours later we had the final nine. "KING VIETE" had a crushing lead as play started at the final table with over 300k in chips. "janodeo" was the first to leave the final table, he open shoved all-in preflop with [Js][Jd] only to run into "Chapex" who held Aces. Though he didn't need to "Chapex" hit Four-of-a-kind Aces, to drive the hand home on a board of [8s][As][9c] [Ac] [3h] - nice hand sir.
"Pusch71" Pusch-ed his last few chips in with [Kd][Qs] from the cut-off and was called by "almeex" who held [Ad][Ks]. No hope for the shorter stack on a board of [2d][Tc][8d] [8s] [6c] and he finished in ei8th place. "davieboi85" (@davieboi85) got a little lucky to eliminate "star729" in seventh place, when he isolated "star729"'s shove with [Kc][Qd]. It was an interesting hand, the [Ad][3c] took the lead on the flop [Ah][6c][Td] and only improved on the turn [Th], but the [Js] on the river changed everything, giving "davieboi85" the nut straight.

Six-handed play saw "almeex" and "Chapex" neck and neck for the chip lead, before a cooler was had between "davieboi85" and eventual winner "sirotkin". After a raise under the gun and a call on the button, the two of them were heads up on a flop [Tc][9c][As] that had hit both of them very well. "davieboi85" had hit top pair and the nut flush draw with [Ac][5c] and "sirotkin" had flopped Aces-up with [Ah][9d]. Obviously the money went in, after a number of raises, but with no club on the turn [3h] or river [Jh] "davieboi85" finished in a respectable 6th place for $26.26. Initial final table chip leader "KING VIETE" was this week's 5th place finisher, when his [Ad][Js] couldn't hold vs. the [Ac][9c] of "sirotkin" after the cards were dealt: [Qh][Ts][9h] [As] [4d].

Four players were left now, and be sure to take note of their names; as they will be Week 6's bounty players. "sirotkin", "almeex", "Chapex" and "Zubroff" - who started four handed play in that order of chip-counts. "Zubroff" didn't wait around, as the shortest of the four, getting it all in blind vs. blind with [Ks][7s] only to be behind to the [As][Jh] of "almeex". He finished this week's Twitter Poker League run in 4th place after the board ran out [6h][Qh][8s] [4d] [Ad]. 3rd place this week went to "Chapex", the Peruvian's run was brought to a close when he ran into "sirotkin"'s [As][Ah].

Heads up play was now starting, and "sirotkin" had an reasonable lead with 530k vs. the 390k of "almeex". Despite that fact the match lasted a solid 32 hands and culminated in the following hand. "sirotkin" raised [6c][2c] on the button and was flat called, he bet the [3h][7s][4c] flop with just a gutshot and was again called. The turn brought the action card [3c] making "almeex" a set, but giving "sirotkin" a flush draw to go along with his gutshot straight draw. Electing to slow play his set "almeex" just called on the turn when "sirotkin" bet, the river brought the [Tc] completing the flush for the chip leader and "almeex" just couldn't bring himself to fold when facing the 4bet shove on the river.

Congratulations to "sirotkin" and all the players who made the final table, and a round of applause to "almeex" as the runner up - I'm sure you regret that last hand but the 300FPP bounty prize from the start of the game should soften that blow. Be sure to join us for Week 5 of Season 7 next week (tourneyID: 398625627)- registration is already open! Follow @tpokerstars on twitter and keep your eyes on twitter.pokerstars.com for all the latest info!

Every week the top four finishers are made a bounty prize player for the following week, usually 300FPP but as "BrunoCST" was the only one of the four to return this week, I upped the bounty reward to 500FPP. "Mr.JimBim" came so close to eliminating him, when he got his [Kc][Kh] in vs. the bounty's [Js][Jh] (below) - but unfortunately for him he didn't quite have him covered, by a mere 73 chips.

He was taken out the following hand (above) when he was virtually forced all in with [Th][2s] a.k.a. the Brunson. He was drawing dead on the turn and "naampje" somewhat effortlessly picked up the 500FPP prize. Shortly after that we took the first break, just under an hour into the game, 268 players remained and were all aiming to make at least the top 90 players, and the money.

By the time the second break rolled around there were just 103 players left, and it wasn't long before we were in the money. Each of the 90 players were guaranteed at least $1.54 and had picked up a minimum of 5 points for the leaderboard. Once in the money most, if not all players will have been focused on building a chipstack and heading for that elusive final table.

When we eventually got there, "bouliebeer" had a slight lead over "abarcot", with 190k and 175k respectively. We kicked off with a big hand, a cooler and a double elimination. "lkkr hoor" raised, "PVG501" flatted with [Kh][Kc] in the cut-off, "Mgielka5" called from the small bling with [Ac][Td] and chip leader "bouliebeer" had a great price to close the preflop action with [6c][5d]. The flop brought everyone a piece [Th][5c][5s], "Mgielka5" jammed with top pair top kicker, "bouliebeer" flatted with his set and then "PVG501" moved in with Kings up. "Bouliebeer" held and took down a monster pot, when the turn [7h] and river [Jc] came. Play was now seven handed and players took another short break.

"GryffinCA" was this week's 7th place finisher, later revealed to be @EdensaysHi on twitter, they took part in a three way all-in between the button, small blind and the big blind. The button held [Tc][Th], "GryffinCA" held [Ad][8h] in the small blind and the big blind held [Kh][Qs]. When the board ran out [3h][3s][7c] [Qd] [6c] "abarcot" scooped the majority of the pot, and "Calin0410" who was on the button with Tens was crippled. He bust a few hands later when he ran [As][Ts] into the [Tc][Td] of "lkkr hoor". While he picked up more outs by the turn [Qh][8h][4s] [8s] the river didn't bring the Ace nor the flush, and he left in 6th place for $25.28.

Five-handed play was brought to an end by a very unlucky or lucky hand - depending on who you were in the hand. Action was folded around to the blinds, and after a small raising war, "sanzhuk" got his [8d][8c] in pre-flop vs. "bouliebeer" who held [5h][5d]. The flop [Js][Ah][5c] brought a set for the chip leader , and with no ei8ht on the turn [Qc] and river [4h] "sanzhuk" left in 5th place. Four-handed play lasted a fair while before "abarcot" and "tatasegio" got it all-in blind on blind with [Ac][3c] and [Ks][2s] respectively. The better hand won, and "tatasegio" who was the shorter of the two left in 4th place - Taking $44.62 with him for his efforts.

Play continued for a short while three-handed, then "lkkr hoor" got involved in a pot with [Jd][8c] vs, "bouliebeer" who held a slightly better Jack [Jh][Tc]. The flop [Js][3h][2s] brought both players top pair, and naturally all the money went in, the turn [2c] and river [Th] brought no hope for "lkkr hoor" and he finished in third place. Heads up play was a lengthy ordeal, with both players taking a rare 5th break, but it was all over when "bouliebeer"'s [Tc][Ts] held vs. "abercot"'s [As][Jd] all in pre-flop.

Congratulations to all players who cashed, made the final table and of course to "bouliebeer" who took the win. While they may have missed out a little, and come 3rd overall "lkkr hoor" was lucky enough to make a straight flush on the final table! More than that, he was paid off when he made it, a rare occurrence and always fun to watch.

Picking up a cash this week, last week's winner "lindowsweet1" is the current leader this season with 25 points from two games. He was also one of the three bounty players this week, as a result of his finish in Week 2. The other bounty players this week were, "Chypik19" and "turboatom" who were also worth 300FPP if you managed to eliminate them. "Chypik19" was the first of the three to fall, he picked up [Ad][Kd] when he was pretty short, but was unlucky enough to run into Jacks and Aces. The turn brought him a potential flush but the [9h] on the river sealed his fate. "diplc" and "Arielooo_pl" will split the 300FPP prize, congratulations to both of them.

Next out was "turboatom" who narrowly missed out on cashing this week, finishing in 103rd place when his [Jh][Jc] couldn't hold vs. the [Ac][6c] of "orenhol". The big stack flopped a flush draw, turned an open ended straight draw and then rivered an Ace to send our bounty player to the rail, and earn himself 300FPP.

Proving his ability once again "Lindowsweet1" was the last remaining bounty after the money bubble burst and it wasn't until he was down to less than three big blinds that he moved all in to try to double up. Sadly (for him) though his [Kc][Jc] was dominated by "bowie62" who held [Kd][Qs].

Everyone who makes the money in the Twitter Poker League gets five points on the leaderboard, and everyone who plays gets one point just for turning up. However, if you are on the hunt for more than that you have to make it to the final nine. From 10 points for 9th place to a whopping 20 points for 1st are given out at the final table, this usually leads to a pretty fast paced hour and a half before we finally get down to the last table.

"ogiss67" lead the table when play started (413k) with a huge lead over second in chips "naitsirc1989" who had 130k. "orenhol" was taking on the role of the shortest stack with just 30k in chips which was around 9 big blinds! Our first victim was "fercaso" when he got it all-in with [Ac][Kd] only to find out he was dominated by his opponent who held [Kc][Ks]. Even if the players had seen the flop before shoving they likely still would have got all the money in with a King-high rainbow flop [3d][Kh][Qc]. The turn didn't brought the [5h] and "fercaso" was drawing dead.

Out in ei8hth place this week was "freiherr1113" he also found himself way behind his opponent when the money went in pre-flop. He held [Qc][Tc] but his opponent "daimikira" held [Kd][Td], the flop [6c][8c][8s] brought "freiherr1113" a bunch of outs to a flush, but the turn [2s] and river [Ad] were of no help and he was out. Next to go was "zolotarev843" who shoved blind on blind with [Ac][2h] and was called by the big blind who held pocket fives. On a board of [Qc][8s][Js] [9d] [Jc] Ace-High was no good and the [5c][5s] of "BrunoCST" held.

Six-handed play began, and "ogiss67" was still the clear chip leader with 230k - and everyone else was pretty much equal with 120k-130k on average. A short-stacked "daimikira" found pocket fives [5s][5d] under the gun and shoved, but unluckily for him "El_Bartimus" found the bigger pocket pair [Ac][Ad] in the cut-off. The flop [Tc][2c][2d] helped neither of them, but the turn brought the [As] and "daimikira" was drawing dead, and after the river he was out in 6th place. "El_Bartimus" didn't last long after that though, when he ran into Aces himself! He shoved [Ks][Th] five hands later only for "ogiss67" to wake up with [Ah][Ad] in the big blind. While he did hit King on the flop [Kc][7h][3d] it was not much help by the time the turn fell [Ac] giving "ogiss67" top set and leaving "El_Bartimus" with no outs and no chips on the river.

Four-handed play saw a similar chip dynamic, "ogiss67" still the clear leader with 310k and everyone else having around 200k. Having the chip lead short-handed is a very powerful tool, and often allows for a fairly easy way to bully the table and build chips. "ogiss67" must know that as he began to employ the bluff and get lucky technique, a favourite of mine. In the hand above he re-raised preflop with [5s][3d] and was called by his opponent. They both hit a piece of the flop [Qd][3s][Jc] and "ogiss67" lead out and was called, a huge turn for him came - the [3h] bringing him a set and he lead out again and was called. Both players only had around a pot sized bet behind when the river [5h] came and "ogiss67" over-bet jammed the pot and "naitsirc1989" called comfortably with Queens and threes with and Ace kicker, only to see that he was well and truly beat by a full house.

A blind on blind raising war saw the end of "BrunoCST" who finished in 3rd place, he ended up getting it in with [Qc][Jc] vs. "ogiss67" who held [Ac][Kd]. He couldn't make a better hand as a 60-40 underdog when the board fell [7h][5s][7s] [4c] [6s] and left the table. Heads up play saw "ogiss67" with a frankly unfair chip lead 720k vs. 200k - not that he hadn't earned it. This lead to a fast match lasting just four hands and culminating with a big flip between "orenhol"'s [Ad][3s] and the [Jh][Tc] of this week's winner. The final board of the night came [Qd][Td][8c] [8h] [Th] bringing yet another full-house for "ogiss67". Now, he may have won the tournament, but in my humble opinion the real hero this week was 2nd place finisher "orenhol" who had started the final table with just 9BB and had managed to work his way up to finish as the runner up, not to mention he also picked up a 300FPP bounty prize!

Each of the top four finishers from this week will return as bounty players next week, all of whom have 300FPP prices on their heads should you manage to knock them out. Be sure to join us this coming Sunday for Week 4 and registration is already open for - tourneyID: 391040872.

"stefani696" was the first of the two to fall, when her Queens ran into "sajkoo99"'s Aces. As the last bounty player standing "effieeve" made the shove (below) with a very short stack, the turn brought him a bunch of outs, but there was no luck on the river - and "jose gulag" scooped the pot and the 300FPP bounty.

Around the second break, the bubble drew close and the pressure was on to be one of the 90 players who would make the money. League regular "Marjamma" and past winner "abra1304" narrowly missed out finishing in 106th and 96th place respectively. With the money mark reached play shifted focus to the final table, all the shortest stacks were eliminated or managed to chip up, and we soon had our final nine players.

"sanches730" was the clear chip leader when the final table started (above) and "Fabiodepo" was the shortest - but not by much. Play kicked off swiftly with "EFIMTA" raising [Ad][Jc] and calling the shove from the chip leader who held [Qd][Qh] . After the flop turn and river were dealt, [8h][4s][3h] [Kd] [7c] "EFIMTA" left in 9th place. 8th place this week was awarded to """morar56" along with $13.29 prize-money, after they ran [Kd][Jd] into the [Jc][Js] of "turboatom". There was no King on the flop [8s][Tc][5c] turn [3d] or river [Td], and his Twitter Poker League run had come to an end for this week.

Previous chip leader "sanches730" was the next to go, when he played (and lost) an interesting pot with eventual winner "Lindowsweet1". He raised under the gun with [Ah][Qc] and was called by "Lindowsweet1" who was in the big blind, the flop came [4c][Qs][Jh] and "sanches730" bet out 32,000 which was more than the pot! He got a call from "Lindowsweet1" who held [Kd][Th], for an open ended straight draw. The turn brought the [Kh] and "Lindowsweet1" shoved his near pot sized stack in, and was called, but with no 10 or Queen, "sanches730" was out and finished in 7th place. Shortly after, "jrsolcia" who had recently become pretty short stacked, moved in with [Ah][7s] only to find he was way behind the pocket nines of "fabiodepo" he caught a seven on the flop but couldn't find another, or the Ace that he needed to survive - and left in 6th.

Five-handed play saw a very short stacked "Hasenmann173" desperately trying to double up through any of the other four players. Sadly when he finally got some action he was dominated, he held [Ad][3d] but "fabiodepo" held [8d][8s] and was able to pick him off after the board ran out [5h][3c][7c] [2d] [Kd], though the all-in wasn't without it scares, especially by the turn when "Hasenmann" had 9 outs! We were down to the final four, which means that "Lindowsweet1", "turboatom", "Chypik19" and "fabiodepo" will each have 300FPP rewards on their heads, if they choose to play again next week, as our bounty players. Be sure to look out for them next week.

Fourth place this week went to "fabiodepo" who lost his flip with [As][9h] vs the [7c][7d] of "turboatom". He raised to 80,000 even though he only had 81,000 and shoved the [4s][5d][4c] flop, the [6c] turn didn't help and the river [8c] only made "turboatom" a straight. Good game Fabio, and I'm sure we will see you again next week, and congratulations on the $44.32. Sadly proving that sometimes you can be way ahead preflop and still lose, "Chypik19" was eliminiated in 3rd place this week when he got it all-in with [As][Jh] vs. "Lindowsweet1" who held [Qs][Jd]. The flop was dealt, [4d][6h][Qd] and that changed everything, unable to find and Ace on the turn [5h] or river [2c] he was out.

Thanks to that lucky little hand "Lindowsweet1" went into the heads-up portion of the match with a small chip lead, 460k vs. the 400k of "turboatom". I should be impartial, but I really wanted "turboatom" to win, I had so many space puns lined up - then again maybe it's a good thing he was the runner-up this week. The match really boiled down to the final hand, where both players were getting short as the blind kept rising relentlessly. "turboatom" moved all-in on his button with [Jd][9c] only to be snapp-called by Queens. The board fell [5d][7s][7c] [3h] [Kc] and he was dead on the turn to "Lindowsweet1"'s [Qs][Qh]. A well fought fight by both of them, and $79.78 is a solid reward for a $1 tournament.

Same place (PokerStars), same time (2000CET) again next week, and registration is already open! (TourneyID: ) Do you think you have what it takes to be the best poker player in the Twitter Poker League? There are still six weeks of this season left so it is very much anyone's game.

Over half of the field was out after the first hour of play, and 227 surviving players took a short break. Blinds went up to 60/120 when play resumed and the race was on to build a stack and get to the money. By the time the second break came around there were just 85 players left, and before long we were on the bubble. "grannyfish97" (@jaydee_97) commented "@tpokerstars have been bubble once in my #tpoker career, certainly don't intend to again". The money bubble burst and she and 80 other players received at least $1.59.

Other Twitter Poker League regulars were spotted in the money "3Karen3" (@facetiouskaren) "crackalocker" "Flush_King73" and a past winner "3xBB". Before long we were down to 5 tables, with "grannyfish97" (@jaydee_97) finishing in 45th for $2.19, stacks were getting shorter and the blinds higher as we closed in on the final table. "peter866" of Poland lead the final three tables as another 5 minute break was taken, when we returned play would carry us to the final table.

"tendencioso" was the chip leader at the start of the final table, but soon shared that role with eventual winner "werdan" when he doubled him up in hand two of the final table. Presumably with the intention of calling one of the short stacks, "werdan" limped with [Qs][7s], short stack "leuschi71" pushed his last few chips in with [Ad][Kd]. Both of them hit a piece of the flop [6s][7c][Kh], but the turn brought a [Qh] making "werdan" two-pair. The river was the [8d] and bid farewell to "leuschi71" who finished in 9th place.

A few hands later "werdan" was dealt [8d][8h] in the big blind and called easily when "pachipele" shoved under the gun with [4c][4h]. The board ran out [2c][6c][Qh] [Jd] [8s] giving "werdan" a set for good measure. "pachipele" finished in 8th place for $12.35. Next to go was former chip leader "tendencioso" in 7th place, when he 3bet shoved [Ac][9c] into "werdan" who had raised with [7h][7d]. The board didn't bring an Ace or a nine to win him the flip, [8h][6h][Ts] [6c] [2d] and "werdan" racked up another elimination!

Cruising with almost 400,000, "werdan" began to dominate the table. Though not strategically sound "werdan" used a tactic we had seen at this final table before, he limped with [Qc][7c] and called the short stack shove from "mrvcooia" who held [As][Kc]. The flop seemed pretty safe [Td][Ts][4d] and so did the turn [2d], but the river [7h] brought an end to "mrvcooia"'s run. He left in 6th place for a solid $23.33. Five-handed play started and stopped in two hands, the latter of which saw the end of "DyxSpirit". He moved his last few chips in with [Kh][Ks] and vs. the [As][Tc] he stood a good chance of a double up. [Ad][5c][Ts] was the flop and suddenly he was drawing very thin, the turn [9d] and river [Th] only made things worse, bringing a full house for the increasingly lucky "werdan".

We were now down to the final four player, and each of them will become bounty players next week as a result of their success. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for "effieeve", "msqra", "stefanie696" and "werdan" next week as eliminating them is worth 300FPP each! By the time the blinds reached 4k/8k "msqra" was left with just over 6 big blinds under the gun and shoved with [Ks][Jc] but could get past "werdan"'s [7d][5d] when the board fell [9d][4h][5c] [3c] [9c]. Three players remained, in the second to last hand of the tournament, a recently crippled "stefanie696" shoved with [Kd][Tc] only to lose a flip vs. "effieeve" on a board of [8h][4s][7h] [Jh] [3s].
Heads-up play was now on the agenda, "werdan" lead with 600k and "effieeve" had just over 200k. It was all over in one hand, and a rather entertaining one at that - as seen below.

No matter how that hand was played all the money would have gone in, so it may have well been preflop as it was. "effieeve" shoveing his button and well you can see the result for yourself, a flopped set for both players - nobody would be folding even if they had the chance.

A thrilling start to the new season of the Twitter Poker League, "werdan" definitely the star of the show single-handily knocking out over half of the final table. As usual it is an ei8ht week season and week two of seven is already open for registration, check out tourneyID: 391040870 for more info.

Things were getting tense around the bubble, week 7 leader "Rivermenow" (@rivermenow) was watching closely to see if any of the players in contention would cash and overtake him. 99 players were paid this week, and when they were "Rivermenow" was unfortunately overtaken by both "Towei" and "RomkaNN" when they both cashed. Neither of those two made the final table this week though, which meant the overall winner was decided - as nobody who did make the final table had more than 10 points already.

The final table of the season was assembled, "HenkMeer" lead with 265k followed at a distance by "Obiwaannn" with 160k. "seyfe63" was the shortest stack going into the final table, with a mere 25k to his name. He shoved the very first hand of the final table, five big blinds with [5h][5d] which held well against [Ks][Qs] giving him a much needed early double up and was surely essential to his eventual win. Two hands later and the same good fortune wasn't had by "NagNog" who shoved [Ah][Js] under the gun only to run into "Csimpi65" who held [Kh][Kd] - the board ran out [7d][5c][5d] [3h] [6d] and he finished in 9th place taking $8.43 for his efforts.

Next to be eliminated was "chaosboom" in an all too familiar situation, he pushed all-in with [As][Jc] only to be caught out by "Csimpi65" who held [Kh][Ks] again! This time the board was, [9d][4s][3h] [Qs] [7h] and without an ace it was farewell to "chaosboom" who came 8th for $14.27. Seventh place this week went to "jose 8104", who boldly shoved [8c][6c] blind vs. blind only to be snap called by "avella92" who held [Ah][Ks]. With an ace on the flop [8h][As][Td] things didn't look good despite pairing his eight. The turn [2d] and river [4d] didn't help and he left with a little over $20.

"Obiwaannn" has been disconnected since the start of the final table and now that play was six-handed, it really started to affect the game. Nobody who had slightly more chips than him wanted to play as they could simply out-fold him, the biggest stacks took advantage of that as you might well imagine but so too did "seyfe63". He was still one of the shorter stacks at the table but that didn't stop him aggressively abusing the situation. Timid or not there are some hands you just never fold, "avella92" called easily with [Kd][Ks]when "ElieltonPKR" pushed from under the gun with [Ad] [Qc]. Unluckily for him though the flop [7d][Ac][8d] brought the only over-card he was facing, no king fell on the turn [9d] or the river [5h] and he finished the tournament in 6th place.

"Obiwaannn" was blinded out in 5th place and picked up $33.74, and play began to return to normal when we continued four-handed. Instantly after "Obiwaannn" had left, shortest stack "Csimpi65" moved his remaining few chips in with [Kd][8c], he was called by ""[Ad][5d] and was in a horrible spot when the flop came [As][6h][6d], he would need running Kings eights or sixes to survive and with the turn the [5c] he was drawing dead. The hand right after that "ElieltonPKR" shoved over "HenkMeer"'s min raise blind on blind and the two players found themselves in a flip. [3c][3h] vs. [As] [8h], and eight on the flop [7c][Jd][8s] put the pressure on and with the final two cards not a three ([Js][9d]) he left in 3rd place for $64.25.

Play was now heads-up between "seyfe63" and "HenkMeer" who held 280k and 570k respectively. "seye63" proved after a small number of hands that he was clearly the better heads-up player today, he was getting paid when he had the better hands and not losing much when he didn't. After a while the two players managed to get all-in preflop, "seyfe63" with [As][kd] which dominated the [Ks][Jc] of "HenkMeer".

"seyfe63" took the win and the $119.45 that came with it, he also collected 20 leaderboard points meaning he finished the league in tied 8th place with a total of 30 points. "ElGocho1" finished 5th with 32 points, "Rivermenow" (@rivermenow) and RomkaNN tied for 4th place with 33 points across 6 games each. "Towei" proved that by playing all 8 games in a season you really stand a good chance, placing 2nd with 34 points from 8 games. The overall winner for Season 6 of the Twitter Poker League is; "wampir69". Congratulations! Your $700 STEP 5 ticket will be with you shortly.

Next week will see the start of a new season of the Twitter Poker League, a fresh start with a blank leaderboard. Don't miss out on getting an early start.

The Twitter Poker League is a fast-paced game, as you'll know if you take part. On the first break we had lost well over half the field with just 420 players left. An hour later just 158 players remained, five people short of being paid and by the time we reached the third break we only had 48 players left. Not long after the fourth break we had the last nine players sat around the final table. "Vipera40" lead the way with over 500k in chips, and catdog7700 was the shortest stack, with just 45k.

They say to start as you mean to go on, and that's exactly what "Vipera40" did. His first elimination set the tone for the majority of the final table. Just a few hands into the start of the final table "adnikadnik" called "vipera40"'s open with [Ac][Jd] and hit the [Jh][5c][9d] flop wonderfully, "vipera40" who held [Kd][Qc] decided to move all in with his gutshot straight draw and overcards. "adnikadnik" snap called with top-top and hi heart must have sunk as the [Th] came on the turn giving "vipera40" a straight. After the river [Ks] "adnikadnik" was the first to leave, coming in 9th place this week for $11.82. Next to bust was the shortest stack "catdog7700" he got involved in a huge 3 way pot with his [Ah][Jh] vs the [6h][6c] of chip leader "vipera40" and the [Ad][Ac] of "Rim0777". The board ran out [Qc][Kd][8h] [8d] [3d] and "Rim0777" scored a double up and change, "vipera40" lost the chip lead and a sizeable chunk of his stack.

Some hands in the Twitter Poker League baffle me, even at the final table. "GORRSS" picked up [Qs][Ts] and decided to limp with it, "vipera40" then shoved and "GORRSS" decided to call off his entire stack. In a strange kind of way he was right as "vipera40" only held [Jd][Td] and was dominated preflop, however two diamonds on the [Qd][8d][6s] flop and the turn [7d]brought the flush for "vipera40" and it was game over for "GORRSS" who finished 7th for $31.71.

Six-handed play was becoming a lengthy ordeal, before the above huge hand took place. "majocar1" would have won the hand even without the set of tens on the turn, but I doubt he minded. "slims181" left in 6th place for $42.46 and former chip leader "vipera40" was crippled. "majorcar1" was now the overwhelming whip leader with over 600k and that hand was surely the defining moment of the final table. A bluff gone wrong was the downfall of "vipera40" a few hands later, when he kept firing with [Kh][8s] on each street of the [5d][6h][9d] [3c] [3h] board, only to be wisely called down by "smit8006" who held [Ac][6c] for second pair. "vipera40"'s run was over and he claimed $53.21 for his 5th place finish this week.

Four-handed play didn't last long at all, as "smit8006" and "majocar1" got it all in blind vs. blind with [7c][7s] and [Jc][Js] respectively. The Jacks held easily by making a set on the flop and "smit8806" finished in 4th place taking $74.82 with him. Previously silent player "Improbus29" was the next to leave in third place, when his ambitious shove with [Qc][3c] on the [Kd][4s][Qs] flop was crushed by "Rim0777" who held top pair with [Kh][Td]. The turn [Ac] was of no help and the river [Ts] only bettered "Rim0777"'s hand, making him two pair, so "Improbus29" left in a respectable third place taking over $100 with him.

Heads up play ensued, lasting a fairly average 17 hands, "majocar1" had a 2:1 chip lead to begin the match allowing him to really put the pressure on "Rim0777". Slowly but surely "majocar1" was racking up chips, by the time that "Rim0777" took a stand with his turned two pair with [Kd][7c] on the [7s][2s][As] [Kc] board it was basically too late. "majocar1" already held a flush with [Qs][6s] when the money went in on the turn, and the river [Js] didn't bring a lucky King or Seven for "Rim0777". "majocar1" took the win, the $186.20 prize money and 20 leaderboard points.

There are just two weeks left of this Season and competition is high. Nobody has more than 40 points yet, so back to back wins over the next two weeks and the league and the $700 Step 5 Ticket top prize is yours - simple. Next week's game is already open for registration and you can find it under the tourney ID: 380817746.