The Eureka tour announced this morning that it will kick off Eureka Bulgaria in less than a month at the sunny Golden Sands Resort, near the town of Varna, Bulgaria. The festival runs June 4-10, with the main event slated to begin on June 7.

PokerStars will be running qualifiers for both the main event and High Roller. If you make it there, you will be playing alongside Team PokerStars Pro Toni Judet.

Eureka will be giving away three full packages to Eureka Bulgaria. You can either win one of the new daily freerolls and get a ticket to weekly full package finals, or you can take part in a Facebook contest on the Eureka page and win a seat to weekly final directly. Only one catch: the Eureka Bulgaria promo is available only for players from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. That said, three of the winners will get upgrades to junior suites at the Melia Grand Hermitage hotel!

For more information on the tour, visit the Eureka home page.

Four days of hard-fought poker, seeing bad beats, bustouts, big pots, epic clashes and thousands of hands have finally been brought to a close with just one standing at the end.

Here is the man who came to the Golden Sun Casino and conquered all his competitors along with our recap of how the final played out.

9.45pm: Alija Filipovic is crowned Eureka Croatia Champion!

178 players in total appeared at the doors of the Golden Sun Casino at Hotel Antunovic to have their shot at the title, but by the time we'd played through three attritional, highly competitive days of poker, just 8 remained standing.

Those 8 returned today to play to a winner and it was a fiercely contested final.
Dragan Galic was the man tipped for glory by many pundits, the Croatian player having amassed $1.2 million in live tournament winnings as well as a huge databank of big tournament experience. Galic came into the final as a dominant chip leader, with almost double the next player and the early levels only served to reinforce the notion that he was a nailed-on, odds-on favourite for the title.

Galic was gaining chips, but the shorter stacks were finding life tougher, Slovenian Karolj Kis succumbing first in 8th place for €5,910 before a mis-timed bluff saw Dutchman Ruud Van de Goor also hit the rail - his 7th spot worth €7,300.

Alija Filipovic was the man who sealed Van de Goor's fate and the Croatian was a quiet but effective force throughout the final, steadily accumulating chips.

Another homegrown hero, Verdan Premuzic is a dentist by trade and much of the final was like pulling teeth for him - never able to get traction and ultimately extracted from proceedings in 6th, collecting €9,050.

Ivan Brkicic had worked his shortstack like a champion but eventually one of his multitudinous shoves was called by Filipovic, who outdrew him with an inferior ace to send him to the growing throngs on the rail in 5th spot, €11,200 his chunky consolation prize.

It was at this point that Mate Mecs started to grow in stature, having endured a frustrating final thusfar, he secured a big double up from Dragan Galic after flopping trip queens, the Croatian's aggression working against him for once.

Galic was in trouble but it was Nikolay Bibov who would suffer the next elimination, the sun-glassed Bulgarian losing a flip to Galic to end up in 4th place with €13,450 in his back pocket to take home.

Galic was never going to go quietly into the night, and three-handed he pushed for a double through, but was picked off by the efficient Filipovic who busted Galic in 3rd for €16,400 much to the chagrin of the crowd of Galic supporters on the rail.

With Galic out of it, it was between Mecs and Filipovic to contend the title - the two players cutting a deal that would ultimately flatten the prize structure. Mecs had almost a 3-1 chip disadvantage when play started but early aggression saw him even out the stacks and it looked like the momentum was swinging toward him.

However Filipovic was just warming up and a series of big pots stormed him back into the lead before he applied the finishing touch to Mecs, busting the Hungarian A-K to K-J in 2nd place for €32,000.

That left Alija Filipovic free to lift the trophy, crowned champion of Eureka Croatia, he collected €42,700 as well as plaudits and respect from all those who saw him conquer this tough, competitive field.

"It feels amazing," he told us.

Our heartfelt congratulations to Filipovic, who may have been the oldest man at the final, but used every ounce of experience he has gleaned in those years to turn in what proved to be a winning performance.

Thanks for following the updates, we hope you've had as much fun as us and you will join us for the next leg of the Eureka Poker Tour, to be staged in Bulgaria.

Here is a shot of our winner Alija Filipovic, enjoying the moment he became a champion.

8.55pm: It's all over - Filipovic wins the heads-up!

As expected it didn't take long to play down to a champion.

The final hand of the tournament saw Alija Filipovic raise from the button and Mate Mecs push all-in with [Kh][Jd] in a bid to double through.

Unfortunately for him, Filipovic held [As][Kd] and was going nowhere, making the call and finding himself in a dominant position to take down the tournament.

The tournament director announced the hands and the rail squeezed in tight, all eager to scan every detail of this dramatic confrontation.

A board of [Kc][8c][5d] gave both players top pair, but Filipovic's kicker still made him the strong favourite.

A [5c] on the turn brought in a few more split outs for Mecs, but when the river bricked in the form of the [Qc], it was Filipovic who was the last man standing as the audience broke out in rapturous applause for the local favourite!

So, Mate Mecs collects €28,900 for his second place finish and it is Alija Filipovic who takes down the first prize of €45,800. (In fact we think there was a deal done that saw the cash prizes flattened out somewhat.)

Filipovic also wins the Eureka trophy, a bundle of leaderboard points that will put him at the top of the standings for now and the respect and plaudits from all who saw him best this competitive field.

Well played to both players, as well as everyone who made the final table and contributed to what has been an exciting, action-packed tournament..

We'll be posting up a recap of the final shortly along with winner photos but for now thanks for following our coverage. It's been a blast!

8.40pm: LEVEL 24 IN EFFECT - BLINDS 15k/30k/3k

We're back for level 24, with Mecs needing to stage another comeback if he is to wrest the title from the grasp of Alija Filipovic, who withstood Mecs earlier assault before counter-attacking himself.

The players are not so deep now that they can avoid going broke with a good hand so if both of them get dealt something pretty pre-flop, we may see our first all-in and call of the day.

Let's find out how this dramatic finale plays out...

8.25pm END OF LEVEL 23: PLAYERS TAKING A 15 MINUTE BREAK

8.05pm: Filipovic fights back

All that hard work Mecs used to pull himself level with Filipovic has been undone - the pendulum swinging back in favour of the Croatian.

It looked like he might be on an ever-increasing downward spiral but a few big hands have seen him re-establish the lead he held at the start of heads-up play.

First off he raised from the button pre-flop, called by Mecs.

The pair saw a [Kd][9d][8s] board - and Filipovic led out 60k, called by Mecs.

The turn was a bricky-looking [4s] and a 120k bet was again called by Mecs.

The river fell the [2h] and this time both players checked, leaving Filipovic to showdown a powerful A-K for top, top....good for a 400k+ pot.

Next up Mecs led a [Jd][Js][Qh] board for 60k, called by Filipovic.

The pair checked the [Qc] on the turn, but when Filipovic checked the [3s] on the river, Mecs bet out 95k, only for Filipovic to call with [Jc][7d] for a full house - which was good.

So that leaves Mecs descending after a great start - currently with around 700k to his name and Filipovic has around 1.8 million.

7.46pm: It's Mecs-y time!

Mecs has definitely been the more aggressive heads-up player and right now, Filipovic looks a tad frustrated as he has been unable to find a strategy to counter the barrage of bets and raises he has faced.

Most recently he limped in on the button, only for Mecs to raise it up 55k...Filipovic called.

A bet of 65k on the [Kd][3d][7c] board was called by Filipovic before both players shut down on the potentially flushing [2d] on the turn.

The [2c] river was similarly checked, leaving Mecs to turn over [Kc][Js] and Filipovic to muck his [7d][4s].

We think Mecs has just edged into the lead now with around 1.3 million to Filipovic's 1.2 million.

He looks fresher than his Croatian opponent right now...

7.40pm: LEVEL UP - BLINDS 12k, 24k,3k

7.25pm: Buddy love!

The atmosphere has become a little muted since the well-supported home favourite Dragan Galic busted in 3rd, so what better to pep up the players than the arrival of a couple of buddies.

Mecs waved hello to a friend he noticed arriving on the rail, breaking out in a smile for one of the first times on the final table, whilst Filipovic had a good ol' bro hug with one of his best buds who came to wish him good luck.

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

7.13pm: Mec warrior winning war
Alija Filipovic still holds the lead but he's been ground down by a relentless barrage of three bets and raises by Mate Mecs.

The Hungarian has been very aggressive heads-up, raising most buttons and putting in a c-bet almost 100% of the time.

The biggest pot saw him make his standard raise to 40k from the button and Filipovic call - the pair seeing a [8c][7d][5d] board. Mecs bet out 65k and Filipovic called.

Come the [3c] on the turn, Mecs bet 95k and suddenly Filipovic pulled out a stack of 10k chips and raised to 200k.

Mecs didn't think for too long before announcing all-in, putting Filipovic to a big decision. It was 480k more to him and ultimately he folded what he said was 5-6 for the pair and straight draw. Mecs showed down pocket tens and collected another juicy pot...

So Mate Mecs up to 1.1 million, Alija Filipovic losing ground with 1.3 million...

6.55pm: Swapped pots - no change so far

The two players have so far been trading pots with no one getting the upper hand just yet.

Mecs has been the marginally more aggressive, raising nearly every button and 3-betting one Filipovic button raise to no resistance meaning he has chipped up to 850k, Filipovic down to 1.6 millon or so...

6.40pm: Heads-up for glory!

The heads-up sees Alija Filipovic begin with 1.85 million to Mate Mecs 750k.

Will Filipovic bring the title home for Croatia or can Mecs turn round his chip disadvantage and secure a triumph for Hungary?

6.30pm: Dragan's fire extinguished - out in 3rd place

For a while it looked like Dragan was destined to win this tournament, but he was pegged back and ultimately overcome by a combination of Mate Mecs and Aliya Filipovic.

It was the latter who did the damage at the last.

Galic had found himself somewhat short following failed attempts to win the last few pots and so when he found [Kh][Tc] on the button, he moved all-in swiftly.

The huge stack of Alija Filipovic was never going to find [Ah][Th] a tough call and when he did so, Dragan let out a groan as he realised he was dominated and in bad shape.

A board of [8d][4c][2h][7c][Qh] failed to turn the tables and this means we are heads-up for the title - Alija Filipovic taking on Mate Mecs for the crown.

It also means Dragan Galic finishes in 3rd place, collecting €16,400 for his finish.

6.15pm: Bibov busts out in 4th place - 3 handed now...

Bulgarian Nikolay Bibov has been on death row for some time with his small stack, and eventually he moved his sub-100k stack into the middle from the small blind, Dragan Galic making a quick call from the big blind.

[Qd][Tc] for Bibov and [7s][7h] for Galic - and suddenly Bibov was flipping for his tournament life.

A flop of [Ah][Js][3s] gave Bibov some hope but the [Jc] and [4s] on the river were not what the doctor ordered and Galic drags in the pot, up to 470k.

Meanwhile Nikolay Bibov is our 4th place finisher, collecting €13,450 as his reward.

6.08pm: Mec-hanical failure - Filipovic out in front

A pre-flop war between Mate Mecs and Alija Filipovic saw Mecs raise to 40k, Filipovic make it 80k and Mecs 4-bet to 130k. Filipovic made the call and the flop fell [Js][Th][5c].

Filipovic checked and Mecs now cut out a bet of 130k, however when Filpovic counted out two stacks of 10k chips and a further 60k for a check min-raise to 260k, Mecs instantly folded, leaving Filipovic to show a set of tens and sweep up the pot that leaves him well out in front with 1.45 million chips whilst Mecs is back to 700k...

6.05pm: END OF BREAK - LEVEL UP BLINDS 10k/20k/2k

5.50pm: END OF LEVEL 21, 15 MINUTE BREAK

5.27pm: Filipovic and Mecs rising, Dragan sliding

We've been waxing lyrical about Galic's chances of winning this tournament, but someone forgot to hand Alija Filipovic and Mecs the script as they have now overtaken him.

Filipovic had already bolstered his ever-growing stack by knocking out Ivan Brkicic and he picked up several pots after this to rise over the million chip mark, Dragan the main one to suffer, his stack knocked down to 720k.

However it was Mecs who inflicted the real damage, raising pre-flop to 48k, Galic made the call.

The board fell [Qd][Qh][4d] and Galic checked - as he is prone to do - before Mecs fired out a bet of 63k.

Allin from Galic with a definitive wave of his arms but a snap-call from the unemotional Mecs, who has remained as placid as a summer lake all final table.

[Qc][8s] for Mecs and [6h][4h] for Galic, leaving him clutching at a backdoor flush draw to get him out of it.

The turn was the [Tc] leaving him drawing dead and once the irrelevant river had been dealt, he was already cutting out 301k further from his stack to hand over to Mecs. It's Gallic's first real setback but its a major one that has seen his stack halved.

So Mecs up to 700k, Galic down to 320k with Nikolay Bibov still the shortstack with 220k. Filipovic is now the runaway chip leader with 1,125,000...

5.08pm: Brkicic bricks it - Out in 5th place

Ivan Brkicic has been quiet on the final, but made sufficient moves to keep himself in contention.

His latest move saw him ship his stack of 160k over the top of an Alija Filipovic raise to 33k, Filipovic making a quick call with [As][7s]

It proved a hasty decision as Brkicic flipped the dominating [Ah][9s] and looked set to book a quick double up.

Not so fast though - a flop of [7h][5c][4h] was bad news for him and great news for Filipovic, who crashed into the lead - his newly-won equity advantage holding through the [8s] turn and [7d] river.

Unfortunate to depart, Ivan Brkicic finishes up as our 5th place finisher, collecting €11,200 for his efforts.

4.59pm: The tale of the tape:

Only 5 men remain contending this tournament now, and these are they, Dragan Galic still the massive obstacle they need to overcome if they are to have any hopes of winning.

Dragan Galic - 845k
Alija Filipovic - 580k
Mate Mecs - 500k
Nikolay Bibov - 380k
Ivan Brkicic - 215k

4.52pm: The Muzic finally ends

Verdan Premuzic still had work to do, and once again he tangled with Mate Mecs, this time moving his stack over the top of a Mecs open....Mecs making the call of the short-stacked Premuzic.

[9c][9h] for Premuzic, he was nominally ahead of Mecs, although it was basically a coin toss as Mecs held [Ad][Th] for two over cards.

The [2d][4d][4h] was safe for Premuzic but a disastrous [Td] on the turn catapulted Mecs back into the lead and a blank [Kh] river ensured it stayed that way.

Well played Verdan Premuzic, a great performance is rewarded with €9,050 for his 6th place finish.

5 players left now...chip counts to follow...

4.35pm: Premuzic bites the bullets

Crippled down to 75k when he paid off a value bet from Mate Mecs on the river of a [Ah][2s][8s][6s][7s] board, only to be shown the [As] in Mecs hand for the nut flush, Verdan Premuzic folded down to 40k, when he finally took his chance to move allin under the gun for 40k.

Called by Dragan Galic and Nikolay Bibov, the active pair checked down the [Jh][4c][5h][Qd][6s] board, only for Premuzic to confidently flip over aces with a grin!

They were good for a triple-through up to 130k and Premuzic had given himself hope once more...

4.20pm: Filipovic flush with success - Van de Goor out 7th

We joined the hand on the turn of a [Qs][Ts][6s][2c] board with Marius Van de Goor leading out for 56k, called by Alija Filipovic after a dwell.

The river was the [3s] and Van de Goor instantly shoved all-in. Filipovic instantly called, showing [As][Ks] for the nut flush. An unfortunately timed bluff there...

Van de Goor finishes in 7th position, €7,300 his reward for his deep run. Well played sir.

4.04pm: Final table resumes

3.45pm: Players take 20 minute break - Galic in control

The players are just taking a break and will be assessing their strategy in the face of Galic's dominant performance so far.

Dragan has certainly used his chip stack well, raising frequently in a bid to dominate the table. Although this strategy has been paying dividends, he has been helped by some big hands also, seen raising pre-flop twice and once the table had folded showing down A-K and K-K.

The one time he got action in recent times he raised again and was flat-called by Bibov, who check-folded the [Ks][9c][5s] board, only for Galic to turn over top set - pocket kings again!

This combination of dominating aggression and big cards means Dragan has extended his lead and can now exert massive pressure on the others.

It will take a seismic shift in the landscape for us to change our view that Dragan is a big favourite for the title as things stand...

3.35pm The long Kis goodnight

Karolj Kis has been in danger for sometime, folding down to just 60k, so when the aggressive Dragan Galic raised and he found pocket 8s, he went for a double through.

Someone revealed they folded K-J, putting him in good shape for a double-up but no problem for Galic who is running very well (and playing well also.)

The flop came [Ks][Js][7h] to give him top two and when he filled up with the [Jd] on the turn Kis was drawing dead.

Good game Karolj Kis, you finish in 8th spot, collecting €5,910.

Galic meanwhile has a stack worth 850k now and is really the dominant force on this final table.

3.26pm: Fillip for Filipovic

Dragan opened for 27k and was three-bet by Mate Mecs to 55k, leading Alija Filipovic to 4-bet to 147k in the first show of real aggression we'd seen from him,

Fold from Galic and ultimately aso from an unhappy Mecs who showed A-Q, only to see Filipovic had him pipped, showing A-K.

Mecs has run pretty bad so far in this tournament but he still has over 250k to his name... Filipovic up to over 400k though...

3.25pm LEVEL UP - BLINDS 6k,12k,1k

3.01pm: Karolj Kis-sing his chances goodbye?

It's not looking great for Karolj Kis who came into the day as the shortstack and has just lost two pots, leaving him very short.

The first pot saw him raise preflop to 21k, picking up a call from Mate Mecs in the BB.

He c-bet the [As][Qs][6h] board for 25k, but when called shutdown on the [Jd][4s] turn and river.

Mecs showed [Ac][7h] which was good for the pot - Kis' [8d][9d] not good enough.

Next up he raised UTG to 20k, called by Filipovic in the SB and Bibov in the big.

The flop fell [Ah][8h][7h] and all three players checked.

The turn was the [7c] and when Filipovic led out for 31k, Bibov folded, as did Kis, the latter showing pocket kings with a rueful shake of his head.

Kis now in severe danger with just 125k...

2.43pm: Cagey start sees Mecs take a hit

The players are being careful here, understandable really as many of them are 20 big blinds or less deep.

Mate Mecs and Dragan Galic played out the major pot of note, Mecs raising pre to 20k and Galic calling from the big blind.

The flop fell [7d][3c][7s] and when checked to, Mecs lef out 25k....Galic called.

The turn was the [Jh] and both players checked.

Come the [Kd] river, Galic bet out 45k and Mecs quickly called, only to be shown [7h][6h] in Galic's hand for trips.

Mecs shook his head frustratedly - his stack pushed back down to 330k, whilst Dragan is up just over 700k.

Galic lost some of those chips moments ago though, raising the button to 25k only for Ivan Brkicic to shove the small blind. Galic folded and Brkicic rises to 200k...

2.25pm: Eureka Croatia - The FInal Table

Welcome one and all to the Golden Sun Casino here in Zagreb as we reconvene for the final of the Croatian leg of the Eureka Poker Tour.

178 players arrived shiny-eyed and fresh-faced to take their shot at securing the crown, but one by one they were picked off and busted until just eight remained to contend the title.

Here are those eight along with their final chip counts...

Dragan Galic Croatia 699000
Nikolay Bibov Bulgaria 419000
Mate Mecs Hungary 419000
Alija Filipovic Croatia 325000
Marius Van de Goor Netherlands 241000
Verdan Premuzic Croatia 185000
Ivan Brkicic Croatia 174000
Karolj Kis Slovenia 152000

Those eight have taken their place at the final table and are keen to get started, riffling chips and eyeing each other's stacks carefully.

Dragan Galic leads the way, the Croatian player one of the most successful in the country's history and he will be a tough man to topple from the head of the chip rankings.

We're primed and read to start so let's get it on! Good luck all.

Dragan Galic heads field for Eureka Croatia final table showdown

Dragan Galic is the toast of Croatian poker right now as he stormed through day 2, cutting a swathe through the challenging hordes of largely eastern european challengers to march imperiously into the chip lead coming into the home stretch.

The day started with 61 competitors still nursing dreams of glory, but a fast start saw 30 of them gone within the blistering first few hours. The incendiary pace set by these early levels could never last, and indeed the rate of bustouts did slow as the day progressed, though the poker was never less than compelling.

Hungarian Mate Mecs held sway over his table for much of the day, gaining the overall chip lead in the tournament on several occasions, only to make way for Dragan's final charge at the last. He will return to the final well placed however with 419k, tied for 2nd place.

Joining him there on 419k will be Bulgarian Nikolay Bibov, who also won a few big, key pots later on to move himself into position as one of the main challengers.

With lesser stacks but no less ambition they will meet fellow Croatians Alija Filipovic(325k) and Ivan Brkicic(174k), Marius Van de Goor (241k), another homegrown hero Verdan Premuzic (185k) - who worked a shortstack like a magician earlier in the day - and Slovenian Karolj Kis (152k) at the final table.

A fascinating day's play, we can't wait for the resumption as this final 8 playdown to crown the champion of Croatia.

See you there at 2pm sharp. Don't be late!

2.35pm: Gasparovic finishes in 9th...Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our final table

The last 30 minutes has been very cautious, almost every raise uncontested.

But then, suddenly, we had an allin from Marko Gasparovic, quite reasonably for 140k or so with pocket jacks.

Unfortunately for him, lurking with intent behind was Nikolay Bibov, who held pocket kings and made a quick call.

The flop, turn and river brought no succour to Gasparovic and thus he busts out in 9th place, collecting €4,575 for his finish.

So that is our final table. We'll have a final wrap post coming up shortly along with the final standings.

2.12am LEVEL UP, BLINDS 5,000/10,000/1,000

2.00pm: 9 must become 8...

The players are now consolidating down to a final table, with Dragan Galic a considerable chip leader with almost 600k, his nearest competitors Filipovic with 345k and Mate Mecs with 330k

The players took a short break during which Dragan celebrated with his friends with some judicious fist-pumping.

They will play till there is one last elimination and we will have our final table set for tomorrow.

1.45pm: Georgiev busts 11th; Tutev 10th

Georgiev was unable to recover from that earlier tangle with Galic and hits the rail in 11th spot, good for €3,300 whilst Tutev made a move with his 14 big blinds with K-6, only to run into the pocket 8s of Dragan Galic.

No drama and Galic takes down another big pot, whilst Tutev just misses out on the final table, also collecting €3,300.

1.25am: Tournament enters the post-Ante period

Ante Varnica has a great name, but sadly no more chips. He had been squeezing an increasingly short stack for a while devoid of opportunities and finally he shipped his last 65k ish into the middle in an unopened pot with [Jc][8c].

Marko Gasparovic was not to be fooled however, re-shoving with [Ac][Jd] and a flop of [Kd][3h][9c][Kh][Ah] was sufficient to sent Ante Varnica to the rail in 12th spot.

He collects €3,300 for his finish. Play continues 11 handed...

LEVEL UP - BLINDS 4,000/8,000/500

1.03am: The latest news, er there's not so much

The last 20 minutes haven't seen any more bustouts or major hands of note. The players are taking things a little cautiously - all keen to make it through the day and onto that final table.

We have seen Marius Van de Goor 3-betting the fairly active Mate Mecs several times, most recently showing down Q-Q when Mecs threw his hand away.

There was a hand that has really wound up Karolj Kis, leaving him pretty short and ranting to himself and the table.

In a blind on blind confrontation, Kis check-raised a [9c][5c][2c] flop before firing 25k on the [9d] and 30k on the [Kc] river.

The big blind in this scenario, the aforementioned Mate Mecs called him all the way, having finally made a jack-high flush with his [Jc][Qs] on the river.

We don't speak Slovenian, but his gesticulation and various words that seem to bleed through the languages such as "fish" and "river" told the story of what he thought of Mecs there. Kis down to under 100k...

Mecs just collected the pot that boosts him up to 380k, vying for the chip lead again...

12.45am: Georgiev roasted by Dragan

Dragan Galic and Stelyan Georgiev have had a few battles already at the table and there was the sense that this was turning personal.

Moments ago, Georgiev raised while laughing with a fellow player, making it 13k which Galic called on the button.

The flop fell [Ks][6s][3h]

Georgiev checked and Galic did likewise. The turn fell the[3c]

Once again Georgiev checked and this time Galic led out for 10k. Georgiev check-raised to 30k and Galic quickly threw in the call.

The river was the [6c].

Georgiev led out 72k but now Galic quickly announced, "I'm allin" - his stack being around 152k.

Georgiev looked surprised at this outcome and tanked for a while considering his options.

"You've stopped laughing, that's good," said Galic. "Now you can fold."

"I can think about it though so you can shut up while I do," countered Georgiev.

"I'm allowed to talk, so I'm going to talk," Galic fired back.

The exchange petered out, and eventually Georgiev did make the call with A-K, only to be shown Galic had rivered trips with [6h][7h]

That hand left Galic heading the field with around 390k whilst Georgiev's stack sustained heavy damage and he will need to marshall all his mental forces if he is to force his way back into this. He has around 80k left...

12.22am Campan's campaign draws to a halt in 13th place

Christian Marius Campan has gone about his business quietly and efficiently today, but finally he succumbed in 13th spot, moving his 50k stack into the middle with jacks and getting looked up by Alija Filipovic's [Kc][Qs].

A flop of [Qc][Tc][9d] was bad but not disastrous for Campan, outflopped but with a straight draw to get him out of jail but the [7h] on the turn and [5d] on the river proved of little assistance as he became the latest man to taste bitter defeat.

Well played but Campan busts out in 13th, winning €2,750.

12.10am LEVEL 18 - BLINDS 3,000/6,000,500

11.50pm: END OF LEVEL 11: 20 MINUTE BREAK

That's level 11 in the bag.

With 13 players left, when they return the players will be playing down to a final table of 8 tonight, unless there is a paucity of bustouts which seems unlikely with only 5 players to go...

11.44pm: Chip counts Updated

A slowdown in the pace means we have been able to update the chip counts for you so go check out the current standings by clicking the link to your right>>>>

Mate Mecs just holds sway with 360k to his name from Ivan Brkicic who has 355k.

11.35pm: Tsanev and Misterek hit the rail 14th and 16th respectively

More shortstack carnage as Nikolai Tsanev and Michal Misterek both depart having experienced a deep run, although not as deep as they might have hoped.

They collect €2,750 and €2,250 respectively.

11.15pm: Ilya Kolo-meets his doom - 15th

Ilya Kolomeets, known as Moscow to his friends (or at least those friends who booked his nationality as his first name on his registration card) looked down at [Ac][7s] with his shortstack and this easily qualified for a shove for 42,100. He found Marko Gasparovic also moving all-in behind for a similar size stack with ]Ks][Jd] and the action then fell upon Ante Varnica, who decided to take a shot at knocking them both out with pocket tens.

It looked like he might do just that as the flop fell [2s][4s][Qd] but the [Kd] and [2d] turn and river was great news for Gasparovic who blasts his way up the leaderboard with a triple through to 135k.

Ante takes a hit, back to 130k but Ilya Kolomeets was the most critically injured, succumbing in 15th place where he collects a €2,750 for his efforts over the last three days.

10.45pm LEVEL UP; BLINDS 2,500/5,000/500

10.35pm: Goor-y end for Markac - he finishes 18th; Vlad comes 17th

Milijenko Markac was next to bust.

He'd played very tightly on the bubble and had only just survived with a short stack, but went for a double-through, shipping it preflop for his minimal 10k, and picking up two callers, including Marinus Van de Goor (who by the way is a DUTCHMAN, contrary to earlier reports.)

The two active players checked down the board of [Qs][9d][3d][As][6s] until the river where Van de Goor now bet out 15k.

Being a dry pot, he quickly lost the other player, leaving him to showdown a distinctly nutty [Ks][Js] which was more than enough to trounce Markac's one pair hand with [Ac][4d].

Good game Markac, he finishes 18th for €2,250.

Next out was Tat Dacian Vlad whose 17th place finish was also worthy of €2,250.

10.25pm: The pressure valve released - 21st to 19th all bust

All those shortstacks sitting patiently waiting for big hands have celebrated making the money by moving their chips into the middle with gay abandon, five more players busting almost instantly.

Mario Karman, Nagy Barnabas and Boris Kuzmanovic all shipped and de-chipped while we were telling you about the bubble boy.

Below is Mario Karman one of those lucky three.

They finish in 21st,20th and 19th places respectively, winning €1,725 for their efforts.

10.07pm: Adrian Bizineche bubbles!

Ahh the pain. We've all known it, felt it, but just at this moment it's Adrian Bizineche who feels like the loneliest, most unlucky man in poker.

In truth, he had let himself blind down to a tiny stack until he was in the big blind with half his stack committed and simply had to call when his opponent raised.

Holding [8h][6c] versus [Ks][Th] he was drawing live at least. A huge crowd formed from a chimeric mix of enthusiastic railers, interested players and frantically scribbling media (hai dere) gathered round the table to sweat this key hand.

[Qc][7s][2c] fell the flop, of no help to either player. "Club!" yelled the sickos calling for a backdoor flush for the shortstack.

[5d] appeared on the turn and this was an interesting card as it gave Bizineche a straight draw, as well as an 8 or a 6 being live for him.

However, as you may have guessed the river bricked out in the form of the [5c] and several players started high-fiving each other, rather cruelly in the face of Bizineche who seemed like the only man in the casino not celebrating.

He took it in good grace though, joining the rail after wishing everyone good luck.

9.45pm: LEVEL 16 IN EFFECT, BLINDS 2000/4000.400

8.45pm: DINNER TIME: ONE HOUR BREAK

And with just one player more needing to be removed before the payout slots are reached, that is it for now!

We'll be back in an hour once the 22 players left have been fed, watered and given 3 hours of sunlight till they return to the fray blossoming like summer flowers.

In other words they and us will be stuffing our faces with whatever food we can lay our hands on. See you back in 60 people. Peace.

8.24pm: Bubble time!

Yes ladies and gentleman, it's that crucial time of the tournament when the smaller stacks start to sweat

We're on the actual bubble now and the players are treading a tightrope. Many of the shortstacks are simply waiting for huge hands to take as little risk as possible of losing out on a payday. It's tense in there with the rail watching every key moment.

18.10pm: When monsters collide

Sometimes it takes the dealer dealing out two huge hands before we see action so close to the bubble.

What you don't expect though, is two players to be dealt monsters twice against each other in consecutive hands!

That's just what happened though, the first hand seeing Marko Gasparovic go to war with Nikolai Tsanev, his [As][Kh] facing off versus Tsanev's [Ah][Kc].

A split then? Oh no. Lady luck saw fit to create a board of [Qc][6c][6s][Tc][3c] - a dreaded 4 flush plucking Gasparovic's split pot from his finger tips and leaving him in very bad shape with just 30k whilst a fortunate Tsanev was up to 100k.

Next hand, once again the two players got their stacks in pre-flop against each other.

Once again Tsanev had the big slick in the form of [Ac][Kc], however this time Gasparovic had him well beaten with [Ah][Ad].

"It's insane!" Gasparovic exclaimed with a laugh at this unlikely turn of events.

A board of [2d][2s][8h][3h][Qh] didn't even provide a whiff of danger and he was back in with a shot once more, his stack propelled to 65k, whilst Tsanev's was down to a similar amount.

7.54pm: Some of the crucial stacks

As we approach the bubble, here are some of the chip stacks in contention right now...

Mate Mecs - 310k
Vedran Premuzic - 190k
Dragan Galic - 150k
Stelyan Georgiev - 105k

7.45pm> The Bubble...

We're only five places off the bubble right now. A quick reminder that you can see the prize pool and payouts by clicking the link to the right of this post...

7.36pm: Big hands can hurt too

With the blinds so big now, it's nice to get a big hand, but sometimes they can be as painful as a bad beat.

Take Marius Van de Goor finding kings in the cut-off. He must have been licking his lips as he raised it to 7.2k in the 2nd most perfect steal position.

However, no one elected to make a move and he was left with only the blinds and antes to show for his trouble. He's up to 135k now though...

LEVEL UP - BLINDS AT 1,500/3,000/300

7.25pm Galic flair deserts him

Nagy Barnabas has doubled at the hands of Dragan Galic, taking the Croatian on in a preflop tangle holding [As][Td] versus Galic's inventive move with [Qc][7s].

"One time! Well two times," pleaded Nagy to the laughter of his table.

A board of [Ad][6c][9c][Ac] gave Barnabas trips but he still had to swerve a club on the river to survive but survive he did as the [Jh] fell, propelling him to 59k whilst Galic is back to around the 100k mark.

"See, two time one for each ace. That was lucky," commented Barnabas as he stacked up his chips.

7.04pm: Stelyan Georgiev - Bulgarian

We apologise that there have been a few glitches in the matrix when it comes to some of the player's nationalities. Just to clarify one of those, Stelyan Georgiev, well in the hunt for the title in this tournament - is Bulgarian - not Croatian as stated.

Sorry about that Stelyan! We've got out best men on the case right now sorting this out.

6.55pm: Muzic plays on

Vedran Premuzic has battled hard as a shortstack for much of the day, but it looks like he is finally turning things round, having built back up to around 90k now. He's not amongst the chip leaders but he is in with a good shot of at least cashing here now...

6.44pm: Mecs-ing it up

Mate Mecs has acquired an enormous stack and he just padded it yet further in the following hand.

It was raised to 5.3k by Alija Filipovic and called in 2 spots before Mecs raised the price to play to 14.5k.

Filipovic made the call with around 90k behind and the other two players elected to fold.

The board peeled off [7h][6s][6h] and Mecs led out for 19k. Filipovic called...

The turn fell the [3c] and now Mecs carefully picked up a large stack of yellow 5k chips, worth around 80k and sufficient to set Filipovic allin.

Filipovic drew back in his seat, very unhappy at this and huffed and puffed but eventually threw his hand away, leaving Mecs to sweep up yet another huge pot and move to 290k.

As we approach the bubble, the big stacks like Mecs are having a field day bossing the smaller stacks into submission...

6.35pm: LEVEL 14, BLINDS 1,200/2,400/300

The remaining 26 players are back from the break and raring to go. Let's get it on!

6.15pm: END OF LEVEL 13; 20 MINUTE BREAK

That's the end of the first four levels of the day, just 28 players remaining of the 61 who started the day. We'll be back in 20 minutes - see you then.

6.02pm: Georgiev drives away the ladies

Don't interpret that headline as suggesting that Stelyan Georgiev has some sort of hygiene problem. In fact he just ran a very sick 5-bet bluff moments ago.

The hand began with Karolj Kis raising to 4k, only for Georgiev to 3-bet to 12k. Kis now cut out a raise to 27k and after some thought Geogiev hiked this up to 45k.

Kis looked confused and puzzled but didn't take long to muck his hand, firstly raising what looked like pocket queens into the air to show the table.

Georgiev meanwhile gave a reptilian smile as he flashed an enigmatic [3s] before mucking his hand, leaving the table shocked into silence.

His demeanour and reading of his table, not to mention his whopping stack of 144k suggests Georgiev is our current favourite to win this tournament.

Kis meanwhile was left with a still useful 79k to play with,..

5.47pm: Aperelman vanquished

We can't help feeling guilty about this but it seems Rob Aperelman has also become a victim of level 13 as we can't find him in the arena.

Good game Rob, we'll miss your inventive chip structures.

5.35pm: Peric perishes

The last lady standing in the tournament, Zeljka Peric, has exited, making a desperation move with [Ks][9h], she ran into the pocket tens of Boris Kuzmanovic and failed to improve, shaking hands with her table sportingly as she joins the swelling throngs on the rail.

Several of Kuzmanovic's tablemates seemed rather upset at Kuzmanovic for knocking out the popular Peric!

We also learnt that last night's €200 Omaha victor, Hana Soljan busted out with pocket queens versus kings earlier in the day.

5.25pm: The American Carlos Mortensen

Rob Aperelman was one of two Americans to make the journey to Croatia, the other being the more heralded Barry Greenstein, though Aperelman is the one who has negotiated his way to the latter stages of the tournament.

We spoke to Aperelman yesterday as he was chipping up toward the end of the day and he seemed a little upset that he hadn't had much of a mention in the updates. He'd even gone so far as to start building Carlos Mortensen-esque chip structures to attract our attention.

So just to bring you up to speed and make Rob's day, here's a special update, dedicated 100% to the man, the myth, the legend, the one and only Rob Aperelman.

Drumroll please....

.....
.....
.....

.........................................................He has 56k.

Sorry for the anticlimax. We know he's played some hands as his chip stack keeps changing but apart from his double up with aces yesterday we seem to have missed them all.

5.10pm LEVEL UP, BLINDS 1k,2k,200

5.05pm Ante stealing

Ante Varnica has really turned up the aggression today, starting life as a short stack, he has grown and grown during the day.

Moments ago, he was seen three-betting Tonci Restovic's open of 3.5k to 11k. Restovc peeled but then check-folded to Varnica's 12k bullet on a Qs 7h 2s board

That's Ante Varnica up to 60k and laying the smacketh down.

4.44pm Aurimas wins pre-flop tussle

At this stage in proceedings, preflop battles are a crucial battleground. It's difficult for the players to avoid becoming pot committed to pots post-flop so they really battle to get the upper hand as early as possible.

Moments ago, we saw Laivys Aurimas raise it up to 3.5k, only for Viliyan Petleshkov to cut out a three-bet to 8.3k.

There was a momentary pause becuase Nikolai Ivanovic in seat 9 failed to realise the action was on him (pay attention!) but after a few digs in the ribs from his neighbours, the action proceeded, and now Laivys put in a 4-bet to 16.5k.

This took Petleshkov by surprise and he rubbed his sunglasses and twirled chip for some time, checking his cards regularly. Eventually though, he passed, waiting for a better spot - his stack reduced to 52k.

Aurimas meanwhile is up to 65k...

4.30pm: The alpha dogs

These are the elite, the best of the best, the top 5 chip counts in the tournament.

At least that's how it stands for now but we all know how quickly your fortunes can change on the whim of lady luck.

Mate Mecs Croatia 128000
Ivan Brkicic Bosnia and Herzeg. 111000
Yavor Tutev Hungary PS Qualifier 107000
Tonci Restovic Hungary PS Qualifier 102000
Goran Mandic Romania 98000

The full chip counts from the end of level 11 can be found by scooting over to the right and clicking the chp count link. Go have a look!>>>>>>>>

4.20pm: LEVEL UP; BLINDS 800/1600/100)

4.00pm: END OF LEVEL 11; 15 MINUTE BREAK

3.40pm Risers and fallers

Up to 88k is Stelyan Georgiev, who has added a nice padding to the 70k stack he started the day with, whilst falling by a similar amount, although still in the hunt is Zeljka Peric, who holds 31,300 right now.

Michal Misterek, who came into the day near the head of the leaderboard has also slipped back, the Pole now reduced to a still healthy 50,550.

3.22pm Sweet Muzic back in action

Followers of day 1a's updates will remember Verdan Premuzic held the chip lead early on in day 1a.

He's been battling away with a shortstack today, and although he is still relatively short, he has boosted his chances a little.

A recent hand saw him shove for 22k on the flop of a [Jc][9d][5d] board over a bet of 4.7k from Ante Varnica, getting the Croatian to lay his hand down.

"Set" he told him as he mucked his hand, although he didn't provide any evidence to back up this claim. Premuzic up to 20k, Varnica back to 28.7k.

3.14pm Scannell falls from grace

Martin Scannell has had an incredible fall from his position as chip leader come the start of the day - he's still in but only just.

He'd already lost a large chunk of his stack, before we saw him call an allin raise from a shortstack-shoving Ante Varnica with [As][Jc], only for Varnica to showdown a dominating [Ah][Ks].

Both players flopped a pair on the [Kc][Jd][7d] flop, but a blank [4c] and [4h] on the turn and river meant Varnica takes down the pot and moves to 30,500 whilst a floundering Scannell has seen his earlier monster stack reduced to just 24k...

We're not sure exactly how he lost those chips although both Tonci Restovic
and Ivan Brkicic have chipped up to 95k and 90k respectively suggesting they may have been the men to have inflicted the damage.

3.05pm LEVEL UP, BLINDS 600,1200,100

2.55pm: We have a champion!

Calm down people, it's not over yet. But there is one player in the field who has already tasted sweet success at this leg of the Eureka Poker Tour and that is none other than one of the three ladies remaining in the main event field, Hana Soljan.

Hana won the €200 Omaha freezeout tournament yesterday for around €2,000 (there was a deal done headsup) in the early hours of the morning but had to forego excessive celebrations as she was returning for day 2 with a healthy stack, still in contention for the main event.

Here is Hana celebrating her moment of success.

2.38pm: Scannell accelerating through the field

Martin Scannell is chipped up and dangerous. The Irishman was seen being very active at his table, his latest coup seeing him flat an early position raise to 2.2k from Karolj Kis, which was also called behind by Zoltan Kapitany.

Scannell was the only man to show any interest in the board of [Td][5d][4d], his 4k bet uncalled by the two other players, so he scoops another pot to push him yet further into the chip lead with 128k.

2.26pm Gavin has loads of Biggs

Christea Ionut may have been fortunate to outdraw Bogdan Capitan earlier, but his fortune wasn't to last.

We joined the hand with a [Qs][4s][Tc] board showing and both Ionut and the larger stacked Englishman Gavin Biggs had their chips in the middle. - Ionut showing [Qd][9d] and Biggs [Ac][Qh] - both players holding top pair.

Ionut was in dire shape though, looking down the barrell of elimination with his inferior kicker and when the turn and river ran out the [8h] and [7h] respectively, nothing had changed and Ionut was heading out the door.

Biggs up to just over 100k after that hand.

2.14pm Capitan goes down with the ship

Bogdan Capitan was similarly shortstacked come the start of the day, though when he shipped his chips in with pocket kings and was looked up by Christea Ionut's [Kd][Qh], he looked in great shape to double up and stay in contention,

A board of [2s][5d][Th] looked like sealing that double, though an ominous [9h] on the turn opened up a slim shot for a backdoor straight.

The [Jc] that cruelly fell on the river turned the tables, drawing assorted gasps from the table, but Capitan took the beat well, shook hands with the victor and hit the rail.

2.05pm Matic out-kicked and kicked out

As expected its been a fast start with 6 eliminations in the early stages.

One of those to go was local Tomislav Matic. We joined the river of a [Js][7c][7s][Kd][5h] board, Matic with all his chips in the middle showing down J-9, which was inferior to Yavor Tutev's A-J.

Having come into the day shortstacked he was forced into taking his shot, which sadly this time didn't pay off.

2.00pm There can be only one

We return for day 2 here in Croatia with 61 players having survived the carnage of the first two days, Martin Scannell from Ireland emerging from the chaos to top the chip listings with 115,500.

Just behind him though sits the dangerous Croatian Dragan Galic, who also managed to build a six figure stack of 100,100 and he will be a major obstacle to pass for anyone harbouring hopes of winning this tournament.

The players will be returning shortly to start level 10. There will be a host of shorter stacks most likely looking to take a shot at chipping up or busting out so we could be in for a fast start.

If day 2 is cast from the same fire and brimstone that we saw on days 1a and 1b, then we should be in for some exciting poker.

Galic heads chip count at end of Day 1b

Another furious day of poker played out here in Zagreb , the 84 hopefuls who turned up to give it their all reduced to a mere 26 by the close of play.

The chip lead was held by different players at various points of the day, both American players in the field, Team Pokerstars Pro Barry Greenstein and the lesser-known but also talented Rob Aperelman, snatching it at certain points.

Despite his strong start, Greenstein proved unable to survive the day, crashing out in the latter levels, whilst Aperelman survived through to day 2.

For much of the day it was Michal Misterek who held sway, garnering a big stack and then using it like a weapon to ensure he will return for day 2 with 95k.

Dragan Galic however was the man who topped the field come the close of play. With $1.2 million in tournament winnings, Galic is one of Croatia's most experienced and accomplished players and he used every ounce of that experience to carve out the chip lead with 100,100.

He didn't quite manage to match the 115k accumulated by Irishman Martin Scannell from Day 1a, but Galic will return for day 2 well placed for a tilt at the title.

61 players will return to the Golden Sun Casino at 2pm local time tomorrow for the playdown to the final day so join us then as we continue the bid to crown the champion of Eureka Croatia.

The full chip counts from combined day 1 and 2 are now available and you can find them by clicking the link to the right of this page.

12.55pm: END OF LEVEL 9; END OF DAY 1b

And that ladies and gentleman is that! The 81 entrants have been cut to 28 at the close of play. The players are bagging and tagging as we speak, so we should have full and final chip counts and an end of day wrap post shortly.

Thanks for following, we hope you've enjoyed the coverage here at Croatia. We'll be back soon for our final summary of the day.

12.47pm: Down to 28 players

As expected, this level has been attritional, with many players too short to avoid going broke when they are dealt decent hands.

The players have just been told we will only be playing three more hands tonight, so let's see if there's any last minute action.

12.38pm: Rob's a peril, man

Rob Aperelman is one of the few Americans who has made the trip to Croatia to take part, but he is a big part of proceedings now, moments ago witnessing a raise to 1.6k then a shove from a short stack for 16,700 in front of him, only to look down at aces.

He made the call without fuss and spoke to his cards "one time hold up, come on."

The original raiser threw his hand away and Aperelman was left facing off against [As][Kc].

A board of [4d][Js][7d][Qd] gave the all-in player a slim chance at survival, but his gutshot failed to materialise on the [3d] river and Aperelman was left to sweep up the pot, receiving a timely boost to 56,575.

"That was a good pot huh," he joked as he restacked his newly acquired booty.

12.28pm: LEVEL 9 HAS NOW STARTED

The final level should be carnage with a host of stacks needing to make a move now these blinds represent such a large proportion of their stack.

We've already seen the field whittled down to 36 and we can expect lots more activity in the coming hands.

Hold tight!

12.00pm: END OF LEVEL 8; TWENTY MINUTE BREAK

There is a short break as the remaining 36 players go to smoke, eat, chat and swap the stories they've accumulated during today's play. We'll be back shortly to chart the progress of the final level.

11.45pm Greenstein on poker and sport

"You can't call something a sport if you can gain weight playing it. Poker has all the aspects of sport without the athleticism."

Something you may not know about Barry is that he was a keen sportsman in his college days, playing baseball, wrestling, golf and being a highly rated table tennis and pool player too.

"I always competed," he explained.

11.35pm The art of Misterek-tion

Michal Misterek is one of those players who used to get called a variance junky. His stack has seen huge swings, although the general trend has been firmly upwards.

Most recently he contended a flop three-way and saw it fall [Kh][6c][2s].

The betting in front of him went 2.6k which was then raised to 6k. This kind of action might have frightened off a lesser man, but Misterek wasn't to be intimidated and re-raised again, we believe pushing his mighty stack into the middle.

This proved enough to end the action, the Pole adding another 10k+ pot to his stack which has grown to over 75k now, making him the firm chip leader in the tournament.

There's no doubt he's proving a mighty thorn in the side of the other players at his table.

Can this inexorable rise continue unchecked?

11:08pm LEVEL UP, BLINDS 300/600/75

11:05pm Konrad given the bullet

Rafalko Konrad's day is done. His demise opened with a Daniel Bavec raise to 1k from early position before he moved all in for 14k from middle position.

Folded to Barnabas Nagy in the small blind, he tanked for a while (in what proved to be a disingenous act given he had pocket aces) before also moving all-in - his stack at around 24k.

There were some similar amateur dramatics from Bavec - though less convincing than Nagy's given it always looked like he was folding, but only before he accused both players of having ace-king.

Eventually he laid down what later transpired were pocket tens, and was shown the good news as Konrad flipped [Ad][Qd] and Nagy turned over his pocket aces.

A board of [7c][4h][5d][Kd] looked momentarily threatening as Konrad turned the flush draw, but a brick [Qh] was too little too late and he bowed out.

Nagy meanwhile is now up to 38k, close to the lead and more importantly we think he just edged the acting honours from Bavec.

10.25pm: Greenstein recalls the 2004 WPT Main Event

Following Greenstein's bust out, let's relive one of his happiest moments, winning the WPT Tunica $10k Main Event in 2004 for $1,278,370.

"I had just split up with my girlfriend so I was feeling bad, but strangely I was running great in this tournament. I played a hand versus Erik Lindgren where I got it in with a straight draw versus his slowplayed aces, and got there. Then I got it in with 5-2 on a 5-2-x board versus a set of fives and hit a backdoor flush. I couldn't remember being this lucky for some time.

The next day i had five races and I won them all. Every day I had been checking out of my hotel expecting to get knocked out, then checking back in in the evening.

The next day, I knew I had to leave by 3.30 to catch my plane and I got in a big race at 3.30 which again I won. "All you did is cost me another day," I told the guy i beat.

The next day I checked out again, survived and checked back in again. Eventually I came back for the final and was playing tight when I noticed everyone else was doing the same, so I settled in and got raising.

The biggest pot saw me win a huge race with ace-king versus queens. Mike Sexton announced, "He's hit an ace on the river!" which was where I got the idea for the name of my book. (I'd already hit an ace on the flop though.)

I went on to win the tournament and remember it as my favourite tournament moment so far although I would really love to win the Main Event."

10.12pm Tens moment as Greenstein busts

Barry Greenstein returned from the break needing to make a move and he did so with A-T from the button, only for the small blind to wake up with pocket tens and make a standard call.

No bullet spiked to save the Team Pokerstars Pro and he showed he's mortal like the rest of us. Good game Barry!

Don't worry though, as I said we'll have some more interesting quotes from BG during any quiet moments in the update.

9.50pm LEVEL 7: BLINDS 200/400/75

Big blinds and a chunky set of antes mean the players are going to start breaking out the big guns now, restealing, three-betting, squeezing with carefree abandon as they look to garner a stack capable of unlocking the door to tournament glory.

That is what we expect at least.

We have chip counts from the break, although some of the players failed to hang on to their identity cards, with the result that they are unidentified. We'll try to fill in those missing names as we get them. For now, head right and click the chip count link to get the latest info.

We are also on the verge of confirming the exact payouts structure now we know the full player roster so that is in the process of being collated and posted.

Lucky you!

As if that weren't enough, at some point this afternoon, we'll get yet another snippet of Barry Greenstein's wisdom delivered earlier today.

You guys are seriously spoiled. Back to the poker...

8.45pm: END OF LEVEL 6; ONE HOUR DINNER BREAK

8.30pm: Ellrich gets Ellricher

Sven Ellrich was actually pretty short of chips with only around 7k before he tangled with a fellow shortstack at the table, getting his chips in with [Tc][Th], whilst his opponent had [Ah][Kd].

A flop of [Kc][4d][2d] seemed to have sealed Ellrich's fate, and the turned [Jh] wasn't of much assistance, leaving Ellrich to bury his head in his hands, resigned to defeat.

Then like a bolt from the blue, the spikiest of spiky cards - the [Ts] appeared to redeem him on the river, sending his opponent to the rail and leaving Ellrich back up to the more comfortable heights of around 17.5k, although Ellrich didn't take his head out of his hands.

"That's not fair, you'd given up on the hand! You didn't deserve that," joked one of his poker companions.

8.15pm Barry's back in business

You can't keep a good man down and Barry Greenstein is proving that, working his stack back up to 27,100. He did lose some of those chips moments ago though, peeling for 2k, having raised initially to 750 and been flat-called in one spot, then throwing his hand away when his opponent moved all-in for 10k on the [Qs][Td][6h] board.

The flat caller did likewise and following that hand, Greenstein was left with a still healthy 25,100.

8.02pm Misterek-ted Aggression

Following his ascent to the top of the leaderboard standings not long ago, Michal Misterek has been playing plenty of pots in an attempt to boost his standing yet further, but he came unstuck moments ago against a player we have been unable to identify thusfar.

Misterek raised it up preflop to 750 and was flatted in position by the player, everyone else scooting out of the way.

The board fell [Tc][9h][2h] and Misterek check-called a bet of 1,375 from the player.

The turn was the [6d] and again Misterek took a passive line, check calling a beefier 2,525 on the turn after some thought.

The river fell an apparently inconsequential [5s] and when Misterek quickly checked for the third time, he found himself facing a third barrell for 5,025 this time.

He looked in two minds about what to do here, but eventually the Polish player made the call, only to be shown a craftily played pair of kings, finessed to the max by his opponent.

A dent in Misterek's stack then, though he still has a well above average 38k to play with...

7.50pm LEVEL UP, BLINDS 150/300/25

7.41pm Kristian Krush'ed

Kristian Krusharov just found himself playing out a big pot with Tamas Szunyoghy. We missed the pre-flop action but the pair were heads up on a [5s][4s][3c] board with Krusharov leading out 1,600.

Szunyoghy now check-raised to 10k and Krusharov sighed before eventually making the call with pocket jacks.

Krusharov showed down the draw-tastic [As][8s] for a gutshot, overcard and nut flush draw but when the turn bricked in the form of the [Kd] suddenly he was one card away from elimination.

In Szunyoghy's head, the vital [7s] that fell on the river must have been accompanied by a harmonious heavenly chorus, victory snatched from the jaws of defeat and he celebrated by thumping the table with his fist, his body wracked with, and releasing its nervous tension involuntarily.

Krusharov just shook his head dreaming of what might have been, although he had his opponent well covered and still holds 14.5k. Szunyoghy however is up to 23k...

7.21pm Strike' Em Down Michal

Michal Misterek, whose surname is an anagram of Strike'em, hence the contrived title, is our latest chip leader, his stack a fulsome 48,575. He has some way before he can match the 115k benchmark set by day 1a's chip leader Martin Scannell but he's well on the way with his efforts so far today.

7.11pm Unreal counterfeit sends Hauptfeld to the rail

Croatian Daniel Hauptfeld just saw any ambitions he had of winning the title go up in smoke and in ugly circumstances.

His exit hand saw the UTG player raise it up to 650, called in two spots before Hauptfeld also made up the additional 350 from the big blind with A-3.

The board came a friendly-looking A-9-3 and Hauptfeld checked, allowing the UTG player to lead for 1,500 and the button to call. Hauptfeld now sprung into action, check-raising to 4.5k, only for UTG to move all-in.

He called the rest of his stack off once the other players had passed and was in great shape versus the initial raiser's A-Q. As you might have guessed however, disaster was to follow as a further 9 on the turn counterfeited his two pair and left him looking at one three outs for a chop or 2 outs for the win.

No such luck, the river bricked and he found himself harshly deposited on the rail.

"I'm off for a smoke," he told us as he exited sadly.

7.00pm: Level up, blinds: 150,300

So we are 4 levels into the day and we think that it is Boris Scepanovic that heads the field right now with 36,275. There are a group of players who have in the region of 25-30k however who can leapfrog him with a rush of cards.

Barry Greenstein remains in contention with 16k or so.

The blinds are starting to get a little more attractive now, so we may start to see pre-flop battles taking place with increasing frequency...

6.35pm END OF LEVEL 4 - 15 MINUTE BREAK

6.18pm Dmitry Russian to get his chips in

Dmitry Vornovitskiy, a Russian player, just raised it up to 525, only to see Andrija Vujic re-pop him to 2.1k with around 5k back.

Vornovitskiy got a count, then pushed the rest of his stack into the middle with [Ad][Ks] only for Vujic to snap call with aces. Vornovitskiy made the kind of gutteral grunt that can only be spelt with a series of consonants and by the time the river had arrived, he had already counted out the relevant chunk from his stack and handed it over to Vujic.

Vujic up to 15,750, Vornovitskiy down to 16,750...

6.00pm: My Yvo Twin

Perhaps we were a tad hasty in painting Yvo Molin as a Bond-esque figure, his angry, unsettled demeanour moments ago contrasting with his earlier smooth chip accumulation.

He was engaged in a fierce debate with the dealer, who was explaining the requirements of a minimum raise, much to Molin's chagrin.

"A minimum raise must be double the last raise! Call yourself a dealer! Don't tell me the rules!" he bellowed.

The dealer looked shell-shocked. Just to confirm the rule. Let's say it's 100/200 and it's raised to 500. The minimum raise is now to 800 - or a re-raise by the same amount the previous raiser raised i.e. not double, the dealer being correct here.

In certain countries and casinos around the world, the raise must be double the previous bet but here in the Eureka PokerStars and at most casinosand tournaments, the previous rule applies.

Molin's temper may have been further inflamed by the fact that his early progress had been halted and he was now down to a solitary 5k chip.

5.39pm: Greenstein takes a dive

We didn't see how this happened but Barry Greenstein stack has taken a nosedive to 17,750. How he lost almost half his stack we can only speculate at this stage, although we did notice that Bogdan Nenadic was proudly sporting a newly-augmented stack of 36k, suggesting it may well be him who did the damage.

Earlier in the day, Greenstein explained he considers that he still plays well, even when lady luck deserts him and he's stuck. His philosophy might well find itself tested over the coming levels.

5.22pm: Ovcina shakes off Tic

Damir Ovcina limped for 200 and saw Robert Tic bump the price to pay up to 550. He made the call and watched the board come [Ks][Td][6c].

He checked to the raiser and called Tic when he led for 800.

The turn was the [4h] and when Ovcina checked, Tic did likewise after the briefest consideration for some alternative strategy.

River: [Qd]

Ovcina led for 2k and Tic didn't take long to throw his hand away, leaving him with aroun18,500 whilst Ovcina gets a leg-up to 16,500.

5.30pm LEVEL UP, BLINDS 100/200

5.05pm: Leaders of the gang

These guys are bopping away to the Gary Glitter glam-rock anthem right now - our chip leaders as we move through level 3.

Boris Scepanovic 33750
Barry Greenstein United States of America 31750
Daniel Williams 29750
Tomas Bachman Czech Republic 27600
Droyd Ondrej Czech Republic 26450
Nagy Barnabus Hungary 23075
Smorkovic Vinko Croatia 23000

4.50pm Ivan the disbeleiver

Ivan Krivokapic raised it up from the cut-off, only to find an extremely shortstacked player wth just 2.6k moving in behind him.

"Fold your hand, I have aces," revealed the shortstack but Krivokapic made the call with pocket nines, only to be shown a veraciously played pair of aces!

No outdraw and his opponent muttered, "Finally some run-good as he swept up his newly-bolstered but still well-below par 6k chip stack.

Krivokapic down to 13.5k.

4.30pm LEVEL UP, BLINDS 75,150

4.35pm Greenstein on Larry Flint

A quick story from Barry Greenstein's Q&A earlier while we wait for the tournament to restart.

"I remember playing with this guy once and I beat him out of his money. He turned round to me and said, "I was going to take my wife out, but now I can't afford to." I felt bad about this and actually took some time out of poker as I didn't enjoy that feeling.

I always liked playing with Larry Flint though. The guy made all his money from porno so I never felt bad about taking his money. He got pretty good playing with all the good players though.".

4.20pm END OF LEVEL 2 - 20 MINUTE BREAK

That's it for level 2 guys, there's now a 20 minute break before we return for level 3.

See you there.

3.52pm: The name's Molin, Yvo Molin.

Yvo Molin is a hero. I don't say this lightly.

The Thai player was sitting in Thailand playing a qualifier on Sunday evening, went on to pwn the tournament, grab his seat, and promptly jump in a plane to Croatia.

That's basically James Bond right there.

He then parachuted out of the plane in a dinner jacket, landing perfectly in his starting seat before ordering brandy and cigars. *

With the tournament replete with Europeans mainly extracted from the Eastern side, it's frankly incredible to find a Thai player here.

He can't win it can he? That's just too good a story surely?

Well he's chipping up fast already with over 20k here. Whilst we like to maintain a steadfast neutrality when it comes to the players, we might just have to start rooting for Molin.

*Ok, maybe we made the italicized bit up. I said maybe.

3.28pm: Poles' a part

Never heard of Peter Poles? Shame on you. The bubbly Slovenian heartthrob TV presenter is a celebrity in his native country, perhaps best know for presenting "Slovenia's Got Talent."

The Slovenian version of Simon Cowell has livened the show up with such japes as "disappearing from camera", wearing t-shirts proposing marriage to fellow hosts and shining a flashlight in his face to imitate Alenka Gotar(a talented Slovenian soprano who represented Slovenia at Eurovision 2007) - (thanks Wikipedia, you got my back.)

He's also a sponsored Pokerstars pro, and is proving his chops here in the tournament where he's already increased his stack to 16k.

Good luck Peter!

3.15pm: LEVEL UP: BLINDS 50/100

3.06pm: Erlei exit for Udo

We've had our first exit of the day at this early stage and it was the aptly named Erlei Udo succumbing. The Dutchman told us he lost most of his stack with aces versus jacks on a J-J-baby flop. Tough to get out of that one.

The last of his chips were hoovered up on a seven-high flop with A-7, only for his opponent to showdown pocket kings and leave Udo shell-shocked on the rail.

2.54pm: Sizing up the field

At the moment we have 84 confirmed participants with 45 minutes of reigstration left so get your skates on if you are thinking of joining.

Time is ticking on...

2.35pm: Early Greenstein straight into the fray

This blog may appear to be all about the BG right now, but he has already played out a decent hand that has pushed him into an early lead in the tournament.

The hand saw a raise to 150 and a call before Greenstein pumped the button up to 500. The small blind made the call, but both the initial raiser and caller elected to pass.

The flop fell [7c][4s][3h] and the sb check-called a bet of 600 from Barry.

The turn fell the [6h] and Greenstein now bet out 1k, which again was check-called.

Finally the [4h] fell on the river and a 2k bet was check-called, leacing Greenstein to showdown a cheeky [Qc][5d] for a straight whilst his opponent quickly mucked his hand.

That hand left Greenstein up to around 19k...

2.16pm: Barry Greenstein on Tom Dwan

The tournament should be beginning shortly whilst they tie up a few loose ends so in the meanwhile, we'll give you a few words from Barry Greenstein.

Greenstein spoke several times about Tom "durrrr" Dwan, clearly a player he has some respect for. He told us the first time they played together, Dwan said to him, "I didn't even know you played Hold'em," to which Greenstein chuckled, as this had been one of the many games that he had been making a living from for over 20 years.

"Tom's a great player at his speciality which is multi-tabling short-handed games. In those games against Tom I'm pretty much drawing dead."

He also explained that many supposed recent stylistic innovations in poker came about long before recent advances in poker strategy.

"Younger players these days talk about floating, three-betting, all these things as if they invented them. I was doing these things twenty years ago, it's just that I didn't have names for them."

2pm: Welcome back to Zagreb for Day 1b

A warm welcome back to Croatia for the second day of the first leg of the second season of the Eureka Poker Tour here at the Golden Sun Casino at the Hotel Antunovic. That was a mouthful...

Those watching last night will have seen Martin Scannell muscle his way to the chip lead by the close of play with an impressive 115k, leading the chasing pack by some distance.

He's the man to catch, the trend-setter, the head honcho, although with a larger turnout expected to day, that could all be different come the end of the day.

A new batch of potential champions are champing at the bit here today, including Team Pokerstars Pro Barry Greenstein, who has just finished off a Q&A session with the press.

We'll have some interesting revelations from that conference peppering today's updates so stay tuned as we reveal Barry's thoughts on players such as Tom Dwan, Phil Hellmuth, Stu Ungar and lots more.

As well as that, we'll detail all the developments in the tournament as we chart the rise and fall of its various participants, including Greenstein of course.

Keep them locked here. The starting gun's about to fire...

01.05am SCANNELL HEADS FIELD AFTER DAY 1A

So that's it for today, it's been a hard fought game of poker here in Croatia. We've seen some incredible tussles, set over set action, the girls schooling many of the boys and 59 eliminations in total, almost 2/3 of the field whittled away in nine firestorm levels.

The final headcount stands at 35, with Martin Scannell leading the pack with 115k, his closest competitor Yavor Tutev on 91,750 with the rest of the battered combatants way behind mostly with less than half those chips.

The full chip counts will be up shortly and can be accessed just to the right of this post (head that way>>>>>.)

Tomorrow promises more of the same, with the added ingredient of Barry Greenstein, a likely fuller field, but equally compelling poker in prospect. Drag yourself away from those duelling animals on youtube and click through to the updates where we aim to bring all the major twists and turns to your doorstep.

We'll see you there sharp at 2.00pm local time for Day 1b. Don't miss it!

12.51am Karman's six sense

Mario Karman just made an impressive play that left him on around 50k. Raising it up to 1,600 from the cut-off, he saw Zeljka Peric re-pop him to 3.1k from the cut-off.

Strangely the big blind now cold-called this three-bet, sending Karman into the tank.

When he emerged from his submerged position, he now put in a four-bet to 8.8k that left Peric grimacing but laying down her hand and the big blind did likewise.

Karman flashed the [6h], drawing an appreciate, "well played" from one of his fellow players. Peric looked significantly less impressed however!

12.36am: It's a kind of Bagic

Bagic Dubravko found himself short of chips in the final stages but wasn't going down without a fight. In the big blind and seeing the button raise to 2.5k, he moved allin for his 17.1k stack, only for his opponent to lay the hand down.

A small victory but one that padded his stack back to over the 20k mark...

12.25am: More chops than Bruce Lee sitting down at Mr McChops Pork Chop Shop

Well the chips are certainly flying into the middle but at the moment, everyone seems to be chopping those pots. Indicative of this split pot carnage was Vedran Premuzic raising preflop to 1,800 and picking up a call from the big blind for the additional 1k.

Come the [Ac] [8d] [2h] flop, Premuzic led for 2k when it was checked to him, only to watch his opponent check-raise to 5k. He made the call, and the pair saw a [6h] peel on the turn.

The big blind checked and Premuzic now put his 18.5k stack over the line which his opponent somewhat reluctantly called.

The two players showed down their hands - [As][7s] and [A][7h] and divvied up the spoils between themselves.

12:15am: LEVEL UP: BLINDS 400/800/100

This is it, the final run in to see who can make it through to day 2. Typically players take a "chip up or go home" approach to this level, so we could see multiple bustouts. Keep 'em peeled.

We're heading out to guage the carnage so hold those presses. (You know the ones where you click on that youtube link and watch a gorilla fight a tiger.)

11.40pm: END OF LEVEL 8: 20 MINUTE BREAK

The end of level 8 signals a chance for a quick snatch of breath for out players. This gives us the opportunity to remind you that full and final chip counts from the day will be posted sometime in the early hours of the morning for those desperate to find out the latest standings.

Level 9 will resume shortly and this will be the last level of what has been a hard-fought day. We'll be back soon...

11.32pm: Soljan checks out here competition

Hana Soljan continues to climb inexorably up the chip rankings. Her latest hand saw a preflop struggle followed by a remarkably mild check down of a [Js][Jc][3h][Kh][4d].

One of Soljan's opponents showed down pocket nines, hopeful that with such little action post-flop he would be good, however Soljan trumped him as she revealed a sneaky [Ad][Kc] for a superior 2 pair.

"You can bet the river you know!" offered her cheeky opponent.

"Yes but if I bet and you raise, I have to call," she countered as she swept in the pot that lifts her up to 53,475.

11.14pm: Q&A for Barry Greenstein

A quick reminder for anyone turning up tomorrow to play. From 12pm Team Pokerstars Pro Barry Greenstein will be taking questions from the floor here at the Hotel Antunovic so if you turn up earlier than the scheduled 2pm start you can pick the brains of one of poker's best known players.

10.55pm: LEVEL UP, BLINDS 300/600/75

10.50pm: Ante's in the middle

You might think that title is a syntactical error, but no - the aptly named Cetinic Ante moved all-in for his rather small stack of 5,150 moments ago, and was called on the button, only for Bagic Dubravko to move allin for around 19k or so.

The button sighed before folding his hand, leaving Dubravko's dominant [Ac][Kh] leading the way versus the desperate Ante's [Ad][8h].

A board of [As][Ts][6c][Qh][7h] didn't change much, except for the button's demeanour as he bitterly revealed he had folded [Ks][Js] which would have made the nut straight. That's the way the cookie crumbles, what can you do etc.etc

Meanwhile, Ante busts, whilst Dubravko soars up to the almost 30k.

10.35pm: Updated chips

We've run round the arena to bring you some chip stacks so here they are!

10.12pm: I've got my Nikolai on you

Nikolai Tsanev was put to the test moments ago, having bet 1.4k on the flop of a [Js][4s][9c] board, he was called by Herman Vukusic.

The turn was a blank-looking [2d] which elicited a chunkier 2.8k barrell from Tsanev. Vukusic again made the call.

Come the [Kh] on the river, Tsanev chekced, only for Vukusic to instantly throw out a bet of 11,650. Tsanev looked upset at this twist, and tanked so long someone called the clock on him. As his precious seconds drifted away he looked genuinely perturbed and ultimately, the tournament director folded his hand for him.

He was left with a still very healthy 37,275 after the hand whilst Vukusic's stack gets a timely boost, now up to 24,775.

9.55pm: Showing the boys how it's done

Outnumbered they came, but as almost half the field has fallen from battle by level 7, the three ladies in this event have stood firm as granite, refusing to budge.

Indeed Hana Soljan's chip stack has simply grown and grown - a deliciously uniform upward curve seeing her with 48,775 at this point - certainly well amongst the leading pack.

With fewer chips, but equally lofty intentions are Zeljka Peric, who has steadily increased her opening stack to 22,500 and Lidija Nikodinovic who remains in with a shot with a below average 15,575.

9.45pm: DINNER OVER: LEVEL UP, BLINDS 200/400/50

Everyone is refreshed, reinvigorated, raring to go and a bunch of other words beginning with "r" suggesting their readiness for the combat ahead. And with blinds at 200/400, it is certainly going to be competitive.

Don those tin hats people...

8.45pm: END OF LEVEL 6: ONE HOUR DINNER BREAK

That's it for level 6, the players are stocking up on fuel (in a biological, not a zombie apocalyptal sense) and so shall we. See you in one hour for the resumption!

8.36pm: In the ascension

Two players have negotiated levels 5 and 6 in superior fashion to their tablemates and now lead the way - the pairing of late arrival Martin Scannel with 44k and the alliteratively named Zvonimir Zoriz, who holds 47k and is our likely chip leader at this stage.

His initials might spell zz but his aggressive play is not having a soporific effect on the players round him - quite the opposite.

8.28pm: Ladies and gentlemen, Barry Greenstein

He may not be in the tournament till tomorrow but Team Pokerstars Pro Barry Greenstein is a face instantly recognizable to players across the globe.

With a poker background consisting of charitable donations (to actual charities, not the sort of charitable donations some players make by simply registering for tournaments), tournament crushing, and a healthy record in the biggest cash games ever played, it's great to see a player of Greenstein's calibre here in Croatia.

You can follow his progress in the tournament by following tomorrow's live updates.

8.14pm: Give that chip stack a lil squeeze.

The presence of antes in the pot makes players much more keen to get their little late position steals in, and this opens up them up to the dangerous clutches of the squeezer.

This play has really become en vogue this level. Exhibit 1 saw saw Dacek Sapila raise to 600 from the button and get flat-called by Georgiev Stelyan in the small blind.

Cue the big blind squeezing it up to 2,600 and forcing the two players to lay down their hands whilst he collected a juicy pot without showdown.

7.55pm: LEVEL UP, BLINDS 150,300, ANTE 25

7.53pm: The Bust and The Furious

These are the latest players to have hit the rail in the last few minutes. Good game one and all!

Drazen Kapusta
Adrian Luca
Esad Omerbisic
Bela Lakatos
Inigo Rodriguez
Mandic Goran
Svetozar Bozhkov
Klejnovski Przemyslaw
Davor Dugonjic
Marko Milanovic
Marko Davovic

7.25pm: Dejan's dust vacuumed up

With just 1,500 left, Dejan couldn't afford to hang around and shipped it next hand with [9d][8d], only for Jan Trnovsky to isolate with [Kh][Qc].

Dejan couldn't improve and he joins the lengthening roster of also rans to have had their shot and, on this occasion, failed to make an impression.

7.20pm: Lady luck to the rescue

Down to just 4.5k, Keser Alen was in the small blind, only to see Divkov Dejan raise to 750 from the button. He pushed allin with [Qc][Js] in a bid to push Dejan off his hand, but his mission failed - Dejan snap-calling with a pair of jacks.

Alen was out of his seat and half way to the door with his coat in his hand as the board peeled off [9c][9s][4d][9h]...then finally and crucially the [Qd] falling on the river.

He returned to the table looking sheepish and apologetic but doubled through to 1 more respectable 10k, whilst a morose Dejan was left with dust.

6.50pm: Level Up, Blinds 150,300

Level 5 is in effect and the blinds are getting quite beefy now, meaning the shortstacks are under increased pressure and the big stacks are going to be tempted to up the frequency of their steals.

It should get pretty interesting over the next two levels....

6.30pm: END OF LEVEL 4, 20 MINUTE BREAK

6.15pm: The Big Lebowskis

Own up, who is sitting around in dressing gowns sipping white russians? Metaphorically speaking of course. It's nice to be playing well, but even nicer to be running well and a small group has formed a phalanx that is spearheading its way to the head of the leaderboard.

These men, and one lady, are taking control of this tournament. Who's going to stop them?

These are the current chip leaders as we close in on the end of level 4.

Marko Gasparovic 37,850
Boris Kuzmanovic 36,750
Hana Soljan 34,600
Zdravko Duvnak 32,575
Georgiev Stelyan 29,300
Vedran Premuzic 28,000

5.55pm: Whassup? Kingsup!

Things must have been looking bleak for Milan Dabic, who was down to almost nothing before he went to a flop three way.

Holding [kc][jc] he must have been delighted to see the board come down [ks][jh][7s] and he elected to check-raise his final 6k allin when Hrvode Mitorvic moved bet out 2.5k and was called by Andras Tell.

3.5k more to Mitorvic, he tank passed, before Tell felt priced in to call with [Js][2s] for second pair.

No rough outdraw and Dabic is back to around 16.5k whilst Tell takes a dent and is back to 17k.

5.40pm: LEVEL UP: BLINDS 100/200

5.23pm: Sol reads

First we're giving ourselves a much-deserved slap on the wrist for claiming only 2 female participants have appeared for day 1A.

Hana Soljan - whose poker results list is fairly astounding (with 5 notable cashes, 4 of them firsts) arrived late but has now swelled the female ranks by 50% and already she has laid the smackdown in the name of her sisters.

Up to 32k she is contending for the chip lead. Watch your back guys, this lady is not messing around...

5.10pm: Quad-zilla baby!

We all like rampaging Japanese dinosaurs, but is there anything sweeter than hitting quads? Well, how about getting paid off too?

Zdravko Duvnjak just experienced both of these things. We joined the hand on the river of a Q-7-7-4-2 board - Duvnjak showing down pocket sevens - and watched Inigo Rodriguez count down his stack in its entirety before conceding he was coverered.

Adios senor - but quick, quick, before you leave, what did you have...? Too late - he gone.

Duvnjak meanwhile is up to 32k - vying for the chip lead and was laughing and joking with his table after that exciting hand.

4.52pm: Sweet Muzic heads straight for the top

As reported earlier Vedran Premuzic is our current chip leader and we spoke to him during the break to get his thoughts.

"I'm very happy so far," he told us, revealing that his big hand of note, saw him flop a straight with Q-T on a J-K-A board, his unfortunate opponent holding pocket kings for a set.

The board failed to pair and Premuzic now has a big stack to work with.

4.45pm: Danolic blueprint for success

We had a chance to catch up with Marko Danolic during the break.

He has had a strong early start here up to 22k. He slipped into "Swiss Tony" mode at one point however whilst pointing out some of the inherent dangers of poker.

"Poker is much like driving a car. You need some control. You drive too fast and it can be very dangerous," he explained.

Wise words from Swiss Marko there.

4.40pm: Gone but not forgotten

Malbasa Hrvoje, Zoltan Kolar, Tell Andras, Petar Zografov are the players who have succumbed during the first two levels. Disappointed no doubt, but they are free to enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of Croatia which, if the glowing reccomendation my cab driver gave me is to be believed, are many and varied.

My tip, try some of the local barbeque guys!

4.35pm: LEVEL UP: BLINDS 75/150

4.15pm: END OF LEVEL 2, 20 MINUTE BREAK

4.02pm: Supernova Imploder

We all know what happens to stars when they die. They go supernova. But what happens to supernovas when they die?

We may be not far from finding out, as Goran Mandic, one of the brace of supernova players occupying table 10 is starting to struggle.

His latest downswong saw him contest a flop with tablemate Georgiev Stelyan, betting 2.2k of his 8.7k stack on a Kd Tc 4c board, only to see the in-position Stelyan throw in an assortment of red 1k chips and a yellow 5k chip, enough to set Mandic all-in.

He huffed and puffed a while but ultimately decided against drawing his line in the sand just yet, throwing his hand away and leaving him with just 6.5k...

3.45pm: The leading lights

It's time to take stock of who's shaking this tournament up right now and we have three names for you to mull over.

First up there's Vedran Premuzic, the Croatian having amassed a healthy 31k in chips and ominously already he's wielding it like a weapon, last seen c-betting a king-high flop and scraping in yet another pot.

Next up, we have Suad Begovac, who has 25k to his name. Finally there's Georgiev Stelyan, last seen tangling with Supernova Goran Mandic in the hand above.

He has 23k now and is also pulling away from the chasing pack a little.

3.24pm: The Final Countdown

Dah da dah dahhhhh, da-da dah dah dah etc.

It looks as though 94 players have stepped up to the plate on Day 1a. Day 1b traditionally brings more feet to the poker felt so we can expect the total number to be in excess of 200, hopefully pushing toward that 250 benchmark set last year.

And for those of you who loved my impromptu typed rendition of the infamous, classic 80s song, I must insist their doctors double their medication immediately.

3.10pm: This one's for the ladies

We like to see the female contingent of the poker community throwing themselves wholeheartedly into live tournaments, so it's slightly disappointing we only have two of them here today - Zeljka Peric and Lidija Nikodinovic.

However, they have both negotiated the early stages, Peric sitting on just above her 15k starting stack with 15,500 or so, whilst Nikodinovic has taken the game by the scruff of the horns and has moved up to a positive, if not yet tournament-challenging stack of 17,700.

Good luck the girls we say.

3.10 LEVEL UP, BLINDS 50/100

2.55pm: Knezevic drops out after set up

We have had our first elimination of the day, and Marko Knezevic is the man to succumb.

Naturally with the blind stacks so deep, it took a cooler to bring about the bustout - Knezevic being the victim of a frosty set versus set confrontation.

In this instance, he was the man with the underset, and unable to spike the necessary one outer to keep him in touch, he leaves the casino with nothing but brief memories to comfort him on his way.

2.30pm: Champagne Supernovas

As expected, the slow blind structure means we have not seen too many crazy insane allins thusfar, it's been mainly smallish pots swapping hands, so let's bring you up to speed with some of the more interesting characters packed into the casino.

Firstly we have Denis Kelemen playing in the field, the man who captained Croatia to a silver medal in the 2010 World Cup of Poker.

Also burning brightly are a pair of supernovas, Robert Vukovic and Goran Mandic.

Vukovic was the first man to attain Supernova Elite status in Crotian history 2 years ago. As one of his close friends revealed, "it was quite a party after that!"

Perhaps he'll be cracking out the champers if he can forge a victory out of his buy-in here.

2:05pm Welcome To Croatia!

Welcome to the heart of Zagreb as the Eureka Poker Tour marches into Croatia for leg one of its second season.

Hosted at the Golden Sun Casino, a host of fidgety hopefuls have swarmed into the casino with riches on their mind. One of those whose hopes might have a little more foundation that most is Antonio Diequez Rodriguez, whose impressive resume boasts a win at Eureka Slovenia and a runner-up spot at Eureka Prague in season 1.

A warning for his opponents - the Spaniard looks relaxed, composed and very confident as he bids to pick up his second Eureka tour title.

One man who would be unlikely to be intimidated by the accomplished Spaniard is Team Pokerstars Pro Barry Greenstein, who has a daunting list of poker achievements. Greenstein however will be playing Day 1b, making the day 1a roster's job that little bit simpler.

Here's a taster of what these players should be aiming for - last year's winner Richard Bodis enjoying his moment of glory.

We're moments away from the start so shuffle up and deal, good luck one and all!

To get the second season started, Eureka held the PokerStars Easter Charity tournament with Herman Vukusic MD. The 82 players raised €4500 to help seven-year-old Tomislav Kaic in his fight against bone cancer. The top four players in the tournament earned tickets to the Croatia main event.

Those people who make their way to Croatia this weekend will find a poker superstar in their midst. Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein is scheduled to attend the event.

Like any PokerStars-sponsored event, the Eureka tour is ready to party. On Friday the 13th, Eureka will hold an exclusive PokerStars party featuring famed Croatian illusionist Luka Vidovic.

If you're ready to try out the Eureka tour, book your seat in Zagreb today. You can find the full schedule at the Eureka Poker Tour web page.

In just three weeks, the EPT will host its first ever European-based Super High Roller event. The €100,000 buy-in event will be the toughest tournament on European soil and serve as the opening event for this year's Season 8 closing festival at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final.

The prize pool for the event is already at €2 million. Twenty of the biggest players in the world have already put down their cash.

Here's a list of the people who have committed to the event so far:

You might recall, Eugene Katchalov won the $100,000 Super High Roller at the 2011 PCA. Viktor "Isildur1" Blom won it in 2012. Now, the buy-in is bigger, the event is in Monaco, and both of those champions are on the list to play.

This will be the first time the EPT has hosted an event of this size in Europe. With 20 people already signed up, it's looking to be a success before it even gets started.

"We're extremely pleased to have such a fantastic response to the first ever European Super High Roller event and we look forward to welcoming some of the biggest names in international poker," said EPT President Edgar Stuchly.

Also of note: this is a reload event. In the event somebody goes broke, they can buy back in. Don't laugh. It happened twice during the PCA Super High Roller this year.

Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier said, "There are some big names signed up to play, and that always makes for an exciting tournament, not only for the players at the table, but for the spectators too."

The PokerStars Blog will have full coverage of the Super High Roller and the rest of the big EPT Grand Final events beginning three weeks from now.

The only question now is who else will sign up? Any predictions? Leave them in the comments section.

On March 31 at 20:00, you can play in the PokerStars Easter Charity event with Herman Vukusic, MD at the Golden Sun Casino, Zagreb. The buy-in is only 350 + 150 HRK (Double Chance, no rake collected) and all funds will be donated to 7-year old Tomislav Kaic, who is suffering from severe bone cancer.

Eureka is giving away four seats to the Eureka Croatia main event, plus exclusive PokerStars merchandise to all players from the final table. What's more, all participants and a guest will be invited to Eureka Players' Party in Vertigo Bar on April 13.

Don't miss out on this great opportunity to win a €1,100 seat and help an important cause.