This pattern of sensual overload continued this afternoon at the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where the yellows and greens of Brazil glared off against the orange of Holland and the reds, whites and blues of the United States. The Latin Americans sambaed through the bleachers to a song of their own singing, as the Dutch oompah-ed and the Americans bellowed from the side. (It's best not to mention the aromas.)

But when the dust cleared and the bands had packed up their instruments for another day, it was the quiet, mild-mannered figure of Poorya Nazari from Canada who had the most to sing about. Three million dollars, to be precise. And the title as 2009 PCA champion.

"I can't believe it's happening," Nazari said. "My brain has been fried from playing all week. I was fortunate to come out on top. It hasn't sunk in yet."

Nazari had taken an up-and-down ride through this vast tournament field--a huge stack on day one, a short stack on day four--but the fluctuations balanced out to bring him to the final table second in chips and ready to battle for his place in the winner's enclosure.

The denouement was reached at around 9.45pm today at the end of a tense final table that threatened initially to break records for its brevity, before becoming a more contemplative affair of dogged chipping and scrapping. The final hand was dealt early in level 30 of tournament play, representing the full scope of these players' achievements. Each had already played four days; this was the fifth.

To emerge victorious from a field of such number--1,347 players anted up $10,000--and such strength--the field was peppered with World Champions, frontline professionals and online phenoms--took exceptional spirit, graft and skill. Nazari earned every penny of his bumper pay-day, and had done so with a rare focus and determination.

Watch PCA 09: Poorya Nazari wins the PCA Main Event on PokerStars.tv

At the start of the day, all eyes were on Alexandre Gomes, who also happened to have most of the chips. He won a huge pot against Kevin Saul yesterday evening to catapult to the top of the overnight leaderboard and the Team PokerStars Pro was in the boss seat to add the PCA crown to his World Series bracelet from last summer.

But whereas pocket aces gave Gomes that huge, crucial pot yesterday, the same hand sent him to the rail today, and in remarkably similar circumstances. After some pre-flop action against the other sizeable stack at the table, Benny Spindler's, the two players saw J-J-J on the flop. All the money soon went in but Gomes's jacks full of aces was behind to the fourth jack in Spindler's hand. They were two huge hands and the two biggest stacks, and Gomes was magnanimous in defeat.

"It was a cooler of a hand," Gomes said. "Benny played it very well. I put him on nines or tens. He's a very good player."

Watch PCA 09: Gomes Bust Interview with Kara on PokerStars.tv

By that point, we had already lost four others. Saul never recovered from the critical hand against Gomes last night and his K-J never threatened Nazari's pocket queens today.

Then Dan Heimiller's dogged resistance finally crumbled when his pocket fives came third in a three-way all in against Tony Gregg's pocket nines and Nazari's eights.

Dustin Dirksen, who had doubled up twice early on today, couldn't manage it for a third time when his suited A-K couldn't catch up with Spindler's pocket tens.

Then we were forced to say goodbye to the orange bobble-hat brigade that had been following Pieter Tielen. Over and above all the accolades heaped on Tielen for his fifth-place finish in such a prestigious tournament, he deserves special mention for the manner of his qualification. A self-confessed micro-stakes player on PokerStars, he was on the mother of all spin ups in the Bahamas, having won a $3 online satellite to another $30 tournament to earn his passage across the Atlantic.

Tielen ended up taking more than half a million bucks away from his week in the sun, and a story to inspire many others. We'll probably see most of them here next year.

The departure of Gomes in fourth left three millionaires: Gregg, Nazari and Spindler. The German had the huge majority of the chips as a result of those quad jacks, but during the ensuing passage of play, when the breakneck pace slackened, anyone might have busted next, and anyone still might have won.

Gregg doubled up a couple of times to get back into contention, while Nazari also assumed the chip lead from Spindler and the three players' stacks levelled out. It couldn't, however, last forever and once Spindler lost a huge chunk doubling up Gregg - Spindler's A-K outdrawn by Gregg's A-8 - the writing was on the wall for the German.

Nazari applied the finishing touch to Spindler's terrific tournament. Spindler was all in with Q-J against the Canadian's A-J and this time there were no miracles.

Nazari had a two-to-one chip advantage as the two players returned for their heads-up duel. And it wasn't long until the wrecking ball blew through Gregg as well.

A raising war broke out on the third hand of mano-a-mano combat and Gregg's Q-7 couldn't beat A-10, silencing a vocal American contingent as their man came up second, good for $1.7m.

"I'm pretty happy," Gregg said. "It hasn't really set in, but I'm not really disappointed at all. We played three handed forever so I'm kind of happy it's over. I'm ready to have a good night."

So too Nazari, who also qualified in a $33 triple turbo rebuy on PokerStars, investing about $700 in a frantic tournament to earn his seat here. That too is a pretty good investment, you'd have to say.

And with that, the adventure is over for another year. More than a thousand players made their way across the oceans seeking the treasure of the Bahamas. And although three players plundered fortunes of a million dollars or more, the big X marking the $3m spot was planted right at the feet of Poorya Nazari from Canada.

Tonight we raise a glass of rum to him, as he continues to look to a future as a PCA champion and continuing poker player.

"I was planning to play poker," he said. "I guess I'll continue to do that."

Take a look back at the blow-by-blow coverage of today's final table action with any, some or all of the following links:

On the cusp of history
Final table player profiles
Level 25 and 26 updates
Level 27 updates
Level 28 updates
Level 29 updates
Level 30 updates

And fill your foreign-language-loving boots with any of the Brazilian, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish or Swedish versions of our PCA coverage.

A full list of winners from this year's PCA can be found on the prize-winners page.

Video blog coverage from this week at Atlantis, as well as an archive of all previous televised PokerStars tournaments and a host of interviews, advice and feature pieces, can always be found on PokerStars.tv, which is completely free.

Adieu from paradise. See you next year.

All images © Joe Giron/IMPDI and Neil Stoddart

Levels are 75 minutes long and blinds are 150,000-300,000 (30,000).

Last updated: 9:42pm

9:53pm--Nazari relishes his win

The moments following a major win like this come in a flash. Camera flashes are blinding, microphones poke in from everywhere. Everyone has a question. Poorya Nazari was nearly speechless.

"I can't believe it's happening," Nazari said. "My brain has been fried from playing all week. I was fortunate to come out on top. It hasn't sunk in yet."

Later, standing on the outskirts of the cameras and lights, Nazari reflected on on the moment. At just 22 years old and with no set plans for the future, he shrugged his shoulders. "I was planning to play poker," he said. "I guess I'll continue to do that."

With that kind of payday, he's off to a good start.

His opponent Tony Gregg was equally philosphical after a long day at the table.

"I'm pretty happy. It hasn't really set in, but I'm not really disappointed at all" he said, shortly after the final hand. "We played three handed forever so I'm kind of happy it's over. I'm ready to have a good night."

9:42pm--Tony Gregg Eliminated in 2nd Place ($1,700,000); Poorya Nazari Wins 2009 PCA ($3,000,000)

Heads up only took four hands. Poorya Nazari won all four.

Hand #1: Nazari raised to 800,000 from the small blind and Tony Gregg folded.

Hand #2: Gregg raised 850,000 from the small blind. Nazari re-raised to 2 million and Gregg folded.

Hand #3: Nazari limped from the small blind and Gregg checked his big blind. The flop was Kd-8d-7h. Gregg checked. Nazari fired out 800,000 and Gregg folded.

Hand #4: Gregg raised 650,000 from the small blind. Nazari re-raised to 3 million. Gregg did not hesitate and moved all in. Nazari insta-called.

Nazari: Ac-10d
Gregg: Qd-7s

The board ran out 10s-6c-5c-3s-9d. Nazari flopped top pair and faded a gutshot from Gregg to win the pot and the tournament. Tony Gregg was eliminated in second place and won $1,700,000. Nazari collected a cool $3 million for first place including a seat into the EPT Grand Finale in Monte Carlo in April. Congrats to both gentlemen.

9:36pm--Heads-up play about to begin

After some player introductions, heads-up play is about to get underway.

9:21pm--Benny Spindler eliminated in third place

Benny Spindler pushed all-in and got a quick call from Poorya Nazari. Spindler held Qd-Jh. Nazari held As-Jd. The flop ran out Ks-3s-4s-Td-Kd and Spindler left in third place for an official payout of $1,100,000.

"It was getting very tough and I was kind of tired" he said shortly after being eliminated. "Obviously I was a bit unlucky with the ace-king, but... I think Tony is a bit better heads up but Poorya has the chip lead so he'll probably take it."

Heads-up chip counts are as follows:

Nazari: 17,685,000
Gregg: 9,210,000

9:10--Gregg comes from behind

On the first hand back from break, Tony Gregg shoved all-in from the button for 4,210,000 with Ad-8c. Benny Spindler snap-called with Ac-Kh. Gregg's supporters screamed, "Eight ball!" The dealer did them one better, laying out a As-8d-Js flop. Just for good measure, the dealer peeled off another eight on the turn. Chip counts after that hand:

Nazari -- 13,325,000
Gregg-- 8,810,000
Spindler-- 4,835,000

9:00--A special note

As we're going on five hours since the last bust-out (longer than it took to bust eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, and fourth places), we are getting dangerously close to getting "off-menu" in the blind schedule. The tournament structure allows for a Level 31--200,000-400,000 (40,000). If for some reason we get beyond that, we go into a black hole of blind structures. That is to say...there is no Level 32. This could either result in complete annihilation of the Imperial Ballroom the likes of which even top physicists don't understand, or perhaps more likely, the tournament director making it up as he goes. Either way, it could be very exciting. Players return to the table in just a couple of minutes.

Levels are 75 minutes long and blinds are 100,000-200,000 (20,000).

Last updated: 8:45pm

8:53--Walking to break

The last hand of the level was a walk in the big blind (not an uncommon occurrence in this version of three-handed play). It has now been nearly four and half hours since Alex Gomes busted in fourth place.

8:46pm--Nazari Takes One from Spindler

Benny Spindler raised to 600,000 from the small blind. Poorya Nazari called from the big blind. The flop was 9c-3c-3d. Spindler bet 700,000. Nazari raised to 1.625 million. Spindler called. The turn was the 10c. Spindler checked. Nazari bet 2.5 million and Spindler quickly folded. Nazari dragged the pot.

8.42pm--Spindler pushes Gregg back

Benny Spindler raises 400,000 and then calls Tony Gregg's 1.2m reraise. They see a flop of Qd-5s-8c and Gregg bets 875,000. Spindler calls. The turn is the Kd and after Gregg checks, Spindler announces all in, which is too rich by half for Gregg, who folds.

8.32pm: Good enough

In a patch of play light on action the three finalists each add 400,000 to the pot pre-flop to get a hand started. 2h-Ks-3s on the flop and a bet of 825,000 from Nazari. Gregg calls, Spindler passes and the see the 4s on the turn. Both check for a Ts river and both check that as well. Gregg shows a king and that's good enough.

8:26pm--This is it!

A raise from Poorya Nazari, an instant all-in from Tony Gregg, and a snap-call from Nazari. The crowd (including this blogger) jumped from the seats and waited to hear the hands. Announcer Neil Johnson quickly obliged. "Ace-ten for Tony! Ace-ten for Poorya."

The crowd (including this blogger) muttered various expletives and watched the board run out the expected chop.

8.12pm--Spindler spinning up again
The former dominant chip leader Benny Spindler has become the poor relation in this three-way duel. But he just got his last three million in behind a diamond draw - Ad-9d on a flop of 3d-4h-Qd - and he hit it when the Jd rivered. He doubled through Tony Gregg, whose 7s-3s, for a pair of threes, wasn't good enough.

8.11pm: Big pot for the Nazari

With 1.3 million in the pot from each player pre-flop, Nazari and Gregg see a flop of Kd-9c-3s. Both check for a turn 6d. Nazari bets out 1.2million which Gregg calls for a Qh on the river. 2,550,000 from Nazari now, good for the pot.

8:06--Gregg Takes Family Pot

Poorya Nazari raised to 400,000 and both blinds called. The flop was Ad-Qc-4c. All three players checked. The turn was the 5s. Tony Gregg checked. Benny Spindler bet 450,000. Nazari folded. Gregg check-raised to 1.5 million. Spinder called. The river was the 5d. Both players checked. Gregg tabled A-Q for two pair and Nazari tossed his hand in the muck. Gregg won the pot.

8:00pm--Seen in the crowd...

Let's face it. The last couple hours of poker have not been the most exciting in history. We expect that to change at any moment. In the meantime, here is what we just read on a t-shirt belonging to part of Benny Spindler's rail:

"To err is human. To arr is pirate.

7.50pm: Nazari edging ahead

It's 600,000 each from the blinds of Spindler and Nazari and they get a flop of 5c-3h-7c. Spindler starts things off with a bet of 650,000 which Nazari calls. The turn brings an ace. Now the German makes it an even 1 million but still Nazari calls for a 5s on the river. No betting from Spindler now. He checks leaving Nazari to bet 2,500,000 and take the pot.

7:38pm--Play resumes

We're back in action. With blinds at 100,000-200,000 the ante (20,000) is now as big as the PCA main event starting stack.

Levels are 75 minutes long and blinds are 75,000-150,000 (15,000).

7:27pm--Level ends

Players are on a short break to color up the 5,000 chips.

7:20pm--Updated Chip Counts

Poorya Nazari - 10,080,000
Anthony Gregg - 9,660,000
Benny Spindler - 7,150,000

7:05pm--Nazari Straights

Heads up action between Poorya Nazari and Benny Spindler. Both players checked the flop of Jh-9s-9c. The turn was the 10c. Spindler fired out 450,000 and Nazari called. The river was the Ks. Spindler checked. Nazari bet 880,000 and Spindler called. Nazari showed Q-x for a King-high straight. Spindler mucked his hand and Nazari won the pot.

6.55pm: All three to a flop

Pre-flop Nazari made it 400,000 and Gregg and Spindler called from the blinds. All three players checked the flop of 3h-3d-Tc before a Td turn. That prompted Gregg to make it 490,000 to continue. Spindler agreed while Nazari folded before the 9s river. Both checked and it was Gregg, showing Ah-Jh who took the pot with ace high.

6:53pm--This is not the MMA

Rather than grappling each other forcing an opponent into submission, this game is employing a more "sweet science" technique. There is the occasional walk, a couple of raises here and there, and the ever-popular three-bet from the small blind. In the first 45 minutes of this level, showdowns have been rare and the one we have seen in the last ten minutes was checked down on the river.

6:42pm--Gregg Takes Two from Benny

Tony Gregg has been pushing around Benny Spindler during the previous two hands. On the first hand, Spindler opened for a 400,000 raise and Gregg re-raised to 1.2 million from the big blind. Spindler folded. On the next hand, action folded to Gregg in the small blind. He raised to 400,000. Spindler called. The flop was Kd-Ks-2s. Gregg bet 525,000 and Spindler folded.

6.37pm: More for Spindler

Nazari made it 400,000 pre-flop. Gregg and Spindler both call in the blinds for a flop of Js-7d-3s. Gregg and Spindler checked before Nazari made it 750,000. Gregg folded but Spindler called. Spindler then bet first on the 8s turn card, reloading his stack some more after Nazari mucked.

6;34pm--Benny building back

From the button, Benny Spindler raised to 400,000. Poorya Nazari re-raised to 1.2 million from the small blind. Spindler called and they saw a flop of 5h-2c-5c. Nazari bet 1,475,000 and Spindler moved all-in.

Nazari mucked in an instant and Spindler took back some of the chips he lost to Nazari earlier.

6:26pm--Gregg Doubles

Benny Spindler raised to 400,000. Poorya Nazari called from the small blind and Tony Gregg called from the big blind. The flop was Jc-8h-7h. Nazari checked. Gregg bet 725,000. Spindler raised to 2.1 million. Nazari faolded. Gregg moved all in for 3.56 million. Spindler called with Kh-6h for a flush draw. Gregg was ahead with two pair and Js-7s. The turn was the 9s and the river was the 6d. Gregg's hand held up and he doubled up to over 7 million. Spindler slipped to 7 million. Nazari is the chipleader with 12 million.

6:23pm--Gregg not going away

Down to 1,933,000 in chips, Tony Gregg moved all-in from the button with Kd-Js. Pooyra Nazari didn't waste much time before calling with As-5d.

"Easy game!" called Gregg's rail. "Let's see the flop just for fun."

The board came down 9c-5c-Th-Jd-7s and Gregg doubled to nearly four million.

6.20pm: First action after the break

Back from the break a couple of no contest hands are followed by a pot of seven figures between the players in the blinds Benny Spindler and Poorya Nazari. Spindler made it 450,000 from the small with Nazari calling for a flop of 6c-Kh-Js. Spindler added 500,000 to the mix which Nazari called. Both checked the 2s on the turn and Spindler did the same on the 9c river. But Nazari keeps the chip lead, betting out 1,130,000 to take it down.

6:07pm--Players return from snack

After an abbreviated dinner break for the crew, the players are returning to the table to play for the title.

Here's how they stack up:

Poorya Nazari - 13,590,000
Benny Spindler - 10,435,000
Anthony Gregg - 2,865,000

Levels are 75 minutes long and blinds are 60,000-120,000 (15,000).

5.35pm: Chips for dinner.

The remaining players have been granted a 30 minute dinner break. Play will resume then. When they return it will be to stacks looking like this...

Poorya Nazari - 13,590,000
Benny Spindler - 10,435,000
Anthony Gregg - 2,865,000

Meanwhile, take a peek at Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes and some lucky PokerStars qualifiers swimming with sharks dolphins here at Atlantis.

Watch PCA 09: Humberto and Qualifiers swim with the dolphins on PokerStars.tv

5.32pm: And action hand to end the level.

After a spell of nothing to report, and with just six minutes remaining on the level, Benny Spindler won a hand pre-flop with aces after Gregg and Nazari got involved. But it was the next hand that would change Spindler's fortunes the most.

Gregg made it 245,000 from the button. Spindler called in the small blind and Nazari did the same in the big for a flop of Kc-Js-7d. Spindler then made it 250,000 and again Nazari and Gregg called. Things kicked off on the turn. A 3h and a bet of 550,000 from Spindler followed. Nazari raised, 1,450,000 in total, which hadn't been counted before Gregg folded his hand. Spindler called for a river card 8c.

Spindler now checked before Nazari moved all-in. Spindler could only smile to himself as Nazari's chips were counted out - an all-in for 4,590,000. With the clock on empty this would be the last hand of the level. Spindler opted to call - a huge pot. Nazari held Kh-8s, making two pairs on the river ahead of Spindler's Ks-3s and moves into the chip lead.

5:22pm--Passive Play Three-Way

Action has slowed down considerably. The pre-flop aggressor has been taking down the blinds and antes. And if there happens to be a flop, whoever bets first at it has been winning. On the last hand, Poorya Nazari raised 300,000 from the button and Benny Spindler called from the small blind. Tony Gregg folded his big blind. The flop was 10s-9s-5d and both players checked. The turn was the 7h. Nazari fired out 390,000. Spindler folded and Nazari won the pot.

5:14pm--Temporary stalemate

After the huge Spindler-Gomes hand, the remaining three players are eschewing the original insanity and playing a tighter game. Based on previous experience, simply typing the previous sentence means something big is bound to happen soon.

4:50pm: The day of Anthony Gregg?

One of the three remaining players in the PCA main event is Anthony Gregg. Earlier on he spoke with the video blog team about his hopes for today...

Watch PCA 09: Tony Gregg on PokerStars.tv

4:42pm--Cooler of the night sends Gomes to rail

Alex Gomes came in for a raise to 305,000 and Benny Spindler made the call. The flop came down Jd-Jh-Js. "Rigged," somebody joked.

Gomes didn't care. He led for 535,000. Spindler refused to back down. He made it 1,350,000 to play. Gomes called. The turn was the 5s. Gomes checked and Spindler made it two million to play. Gomes struggled. His attitude was reminiscent of the hand he played last night when he held pocket aces against Kevin Saul.

Finally, Gomes announced all-in. Spindler couldn't call fast enough. He turned up Kc-Js. Gomes held Ah-Ac. Both players had deep stacks. Spindler now holds a huge chip lead with nearly 17 million.

Gomes finished in fourth place, earning $750,000. The three remaining players are all guaranteed a million dollar payout.

"You're smiling. That's amazing," said EPT hostess Kara Scott in a interview immediately after the hand.

"That's poker," said Gomes with a big smile. "It was a cooler of a hand. Benny played it very well. I put him on nines or tens. He's a very good player."

Watch the Gomes exit interview in full...

Watch PCA 09: Gomes Bust Interview with Kara on PokerStars.tv

4:35pm: Aren't you the man they call 'Humberto'?

The cameras spin round for a glimpse of Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes arriving at the stage. But we heard him before we saw him.

"Brasil! Brasil!" cried Brenes from the wings, pinning his allegiances to Gomes and getting an "Hum-Berto! Hum-Berto!" in response from the Brazilian rail, that in truth didn't need any help making more noise.

4:30pm--Tielen to tie one on

Pieter Tielen was happy, but had a familiar 1,000-yard stare common among people who have busted from big events. EPT presenter Kara Scott had to chase him across the room. "Drag me back in, sure," Tielen said, donning an orange stocking cap worn by his supporters. "It's a nice color. It's the national Dutch color!"

Tielen made it here by way of a $3 satellite that led to a $33 qualifier to the PCA. His total cost for getting here: $33. "Nice investment, huh?" he remarked. "It still has to sink in."

Now $550,000 richer, Tielen plans to play some more live events in the future. In the meantime, he's going to go out on the town for a few cocktails.

"That's the first thing I'm going to do is take everyone out," he said. "I was cutting back on the drinks, but now I'm not going to do that."

If you're thirsty and in Nassau tonight, look for a bunch of guys in orange hats. You can probably get a few Bahama Mamas on the cheap.

4:20pm--Pieter Tielen Eliminated in 5th Place ($550,000)

Benny Spindler raised 300,000 from UTG. Action folded around to Pieter Tielen in the big blind. Tielen announced that he was all in. Spindler had him covered and called with 8c-8h. Tielen was behind with Ac-Qh. The flop was 10h-7c-6d. The turn was the 5s and the river was the Kd. Spindler won the hand when his pocket eights held up and the young German knocked out another player.

Pieter Tielen from Holland went out in 5th place and collected $550,000.

4:17pm: Cameras, action!

Get too close to the final table here at the PCA and you'll likely be wrestled away by a floor manager, if you haven't already tripped over the camera wires, before you can ask who the chip leader is. That is unless your name is Greg Raymer.

The Team PokerStars Pro dropped in to ask who the chip leader was, shortly before his shift in the EPTLive commentary booth, getting the attention of the cameras, dressed in a standard Bahamian tourist uniform of pastel coloured shirt and shorts.

It's the same for everyone on the rail with a few exceptions looking to get some similar attention.

If you're Brazilian you're wearing your national colours of yellow and if Dutch, railing Peter Tielen, you're sweating under the TV lights in orange woollen hats. Then there's the other exception of Marianella, the Costa Rican PokerStars presenter, dressed in elegant black evening wear. In hindsight, Greg never stood a chance.

4:11pm--Dirksen to celebrate quietly and with a smile

Upon his exit from the stage, the man known online as JohnSmiley1 was appropriately all smiles. He praised his fellow final table players, declaring them all good in their own way. Upon stepping out of the television lights, Dirsksen's smile didn't disappear, but he did remark, "Well, that sucked." He declared the day "my ten seconds of fame." When told he would be back for another final table, he was confident. "For sure," he said.

His friends asked if he was going to out and party tonight. "I only like it when it's my party," he joked.

4:01pm--Dustin Dirksen Eliminated in 6th Place ($400,000)

Benny Spindler opened for a 300,000 raise. Dustin Dirksen popped it up to 825,000. Spindler moved all in (for around 4 million total) and had Dirksen covered. Dirksen called all in for approximately 3 million or so. Spindler tabled 10s-10c and was ahead of Dirksen's Ad-Kd. The flop was Qh-Jh-Js. The turn was the 6d and the river was the 3h. Spindler's tens held up and Dirksen headed to the rail in 6th place.

The American collected $400,000 for his work this week in the Bahamas. Down to five players. Spindler increased his stack to over 7 million and has taken over the chiplead.

3:58pm--My kingdom for a flop

It took more than ten minutes into this level to see our first flop. It came in a battle of the blinds on a 9d-4h-Ah flop. Poorya Nazari bet 165,000 and Tony Gregg called. ON a 6c turn Poorya checked and Gregg bet 295,000. Nazari called. The Js river drew a 510,000 bet from Nazari. Gregg folded. While that is not exceptionally interesting...the very next hand--going on at this second--is a lot more exciting. Standby for a Dustin Dirksen elimination.

3:41pm--Chips!

Players are just returning from the break and they will find these chip stacks in front of them:

Poorya Nazari - 6,985,000
Alexandre Gomes - 6,540,000
Benny Spindler - 4,105,000
Anthony Gregg - 3,750,000
Dustin Dirksen - 3,280,000
Pieter Tielen - 2,130,000

3:35pm--Players on break

We're heading into Level 27 with six players remaining. Players will be back in their seats in a few minutes.

Levels are 75 minutes long and blinds are 50,000-100,000 (10,000).

3.28pm: Daniel Heimiller, USA, eliminated in seventh place, earning $300,000

With the action folded to Daniel Heimiller he moves all-in. That's just the start of it. Dustin Dirksen asks for a rough count but keeps out of it. Poorya Nazari doesn't, and neither does Anthony Gregg, both of whom move all-in for a three way scrap. Gregg has nines, Nazari has eights and Heimiller fives.

All the players stand. Nazari has the others covered but will need an eight. The flop comes Jc-Kh-Js changing nothing. The six on the turn does the same. The final seven on the river card ends the tournament for Heimiller.

After his bust-out, Heimiller said, "It was a very difficult table with very aggressive players. I didn't get many hands. I couldn't give up the fives. I was too short. I had about a million left. You just gotta take your chances."'

3.23pm--Double Dutch doubles through Dustin Dirksen

Pieter Tieman just doubled up through Dustin Dirksen. The Dutchman made a standard pre-flop raise, something like 250,000, and dutifully counted out 1.4m when Dirksen asked how much he was playing. Dirksen re-popped to 600,000 and Tieman moved in. Call. Tieman had 7-7 and Dirksen Ac-Jc, but there was no jack, ace or club on the board and Tieman doubles.

The dream remains alive for the $33 satellite man.

3.20pm: Battle of the blinds

After four pots going uncontested to pre-flop raises the next is folded to the blinds. Daniel Heimiller completes in the small and they see a flop of Ac-Qc-5d. Both check for a turn card Ad. Again no one is willing to bet yet and they see the river card 3c. Heimiller makes a speculative bet on the end of 125,000. Benny called and shows K-5, the 5 being enough to take the pot against Heimiller's J-9.

3:17pm--The chip leader speaks

What's it like to be chip leader at the final table of an event where you can win $3 million. Just ask Team PokerStars Pro Alex Gomes.

Watch PCA 09: Alex Gomes Pre Final Table on PokerStars.tv

3:13pm--Taking a breath

After an hour and half of all-ins and action, the past few minutes have seen the players taking a breath. That doesn't mean much, though. When you take a breath, you have to exhale eventually, and the longer you wait, the bigger the exhalation will be. It's science.

3.07pm--Heimiller looking for queen high

The short-stacked Danny Heimiller has declared to the table that he's looking to shove, or even call Alexandre Gomes' all in pre-flop raises, with anything better than queen high. A couple of hands after announcing this, he open shoves from late position and Dustin Dirksen, in the small blind, asks for a count. He's told that Heimiller is playing 845,000 but eventually folds, as does Poorya Nazari in the big blind, who dismissively mucks 10-2. Heilmiller shows one card and it's a queen. "I folded ace-seven," says Dirksen. "I should have called."

3.01pm--The tower of Gomes

Benny Spindler bets 250,000 from utg plus one, getting a caller in Poorya Nazari. Anthony Gregg folds in the small blind but Gomes in the big stirs into life, sliding in a tall tower of white chips for a cool one million. It's a 750,000 raise that no one really wants to contest. Gomes takes down another pot.

2:58pm--Sounds

The Imperial Ballroom was bustling earlier in the week with cash games in full swing and a slew of side events. At this point, there's a cacophony of ambient sounds. In one corner, the crew broke down the Battleship area. In another corner, the tournament staff unbagged chips for Day 2 of a side event. In the distance, the constant clattering of chips echoed from the cash game section. And over at the feature table, one hungry spectator brought his lunch with him. He chomped down on a bag of potato chips, a mere appetizer before he unwrapped a hefty deli sandwich and devoured that as he kept a keen eye on the action.

2.52pm--Flops!

Dan Heimiller and Dustin Dirksen see a flop - 6c-5c-Kd - and they both check. The turn is the 7s and a bet of 325,000 wins it for Dirksen.

Next hand, Dirksen is one of three players who see a flop, this time completing from the small blind after Benny Spindler calls from the button and Poorya Nazari checks his option. The flop is Ah-3h-6d and Dirksen bets 180,000. Nazari folds but Spindler calls. The turn is the 10s and Dirksen check-calls Spindler's 250,000 bet. The river is Jc and Dirksen's check encourages Spindler to bet 700,000, which is good.

2.45pm: Good use of the all-in button

After Kevin Saul's elimination there's no rush for anything flash, although the potential remains. In a battle of the blinds, Gomes called from the small and Tielen checked his option for a flop of Js-6h-Kh. Gomes kicked out 160,000 before Tielen raised all-in. Gomes soon passed.

After drinks were delivered, opened and poured, Gomes tried the same technique himself, moving all-in from the button, and got the same deal. No takers.

2:43pm--Hello, Iceland!

Always interesting to see who is following the coverage here. Here's a look at some recent readers.

2:40pm--Saul's walk out

Kevin Saul walked quietly off the stage with a disappointed look on his face. He did his obligatory interview with EPT presenter Kara Scott then accepted a few congratulatory handshakes. Finally, hooked up and asked, "Do you know where I get paid?"

He was shown the way to the payout table where he will add another quarter million bucks to his lifetime tournament earnings.

2.30pm--Kevin Saul, USA, eliminated in eighth place, earning $234,000

We've lost our first player. Kevin Saul shoved his last 1,200,000 in from mid position and Poorya Nazari called from the button. Both blinds got out the way and Nazari showed two red queens to Saul's Ks-Js. The flop included a jack but it wasn't enough and Saul departs with $234,000, and a whole bunch of new admirers.

By general consensus, Saul played one of the best days of poker ever seen at any tournament yesterday, dominating with his monstrous chip stack and making some truly heroic plays, including a river call with pocket sevens against Benny Spindler's huge bluff that ranks among the best calls seen on the EPT. The wheels came off the wagon, however, when he ran into Alex Gomes's aces late on and today was always going to be a struggle. Safe to say, the remaining seven players are breathing a huge sigh of relief at Saul's departure, which is a mark of the respect they held for his game.

2:27pm--Calm Before the Storm and the Orange Dutch

A couple of Pieter Tielen's friends are sitting in the audience and sporting orange wool ski caps in honor of the Dutch colors. "Where there's orange, there's the Dutch," said our very own Howard Swains.

The Brazilian contingency has been relatively quiet. On Day 4, they were ecstatic and boisterous as Alex Gomes made a run at the final table. Their hero has slowly bled away chips in the early going which is the core reason for their unusually quiet selves. It also appears that they are slowly waiting and waiting for Gomes to win a big hand before they unleash a wave of zesty exuberance. Gomes good friend and fellow Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari is among the many Gomes railbirds.

2.22pm--Heimiller moves in for a Gomes call

Alex Gomes, true to form, makes it 225,000 from utg plus one. Next to him Tielen folds but next it's Dan Heimiller who moves all-in for 590,000 more. Dustin Dirksen asks how much Heimiller has but folds regardless and the action is back on Gomes who doesn't take long to call, flipping over Ts-8s to Heimiller's Ad-Jh. "One time" calls Gomes, perhaps not for the first time, while Heimiller asks for no surprises.

As the Brazilians begin finger clicking, one of the creepiest sounds for any non-Brazilian opponent, the flop hits with Hollywood subtlety, Qc-9h-Td, matching the ten of Gomes but giving Heimiller an open ended straight draw. The turn is a 7c helping no one but the 8c river gives Heimiller the straight, keeping him alive.

2.15pm--Folding is an option

Dustin Dirksen raised from under the gun and got the respect he was looking for until it reached Benny Spindler in the small blind. The German announced that he was all in for something like three million and, after Kevin Saul folded in the big blind, Dirksen open passed pocket sixes. That he can allow a small pocket pair to go pre-flop now is indicative of his progress so far today.

2.10pm-- Gomes all the way

A ten minute spell of pure Gomes pressure. The Brazilian Team PokerStars Pro is raising every hand, a steady 240,000 each time, which is enough to dissuade the others from getting involved unnecessarily. The only variation is when Peter Tielen tries a raise from the button. Gomes in the small blind re-raises all-in, quickly ending the encounter.

2:09pm--Sunglasses count

Two of the final table players are wearing sunglasses. Who? Poorya Nazari and Alex Gomes.

2:02pm--Dangerous Dirksen

It's been a dream start for Dustin Dirksen today. As the short stack coming into the final table, he will have been desperate for an early double up. And then another one, if possible. And that's exactly what he's just done, this time taking his Js-Jc up against Benny Spindler's Ah-8c, all in pre-flop. There was no drama through flop, turn and river and Dirksen doubles his 1,750,000 into more than 3,500,000. Not bad for a player who came into today with only 760,000.

2:00pm--Other notables in crowd

Among the other notables watching the final table today: Steve Paul-Ambrose, Terrence Chan, Maria "maridu" Mayrinck, Evelyn Ng, Greg Raymer, Gavin Griffin, Stevie Chidwick, and Jon "Apestyles" Van Fleet.

1:59pm--Level 26 begins

We're now at Level 26 with 50,000-100,000 (10,000) blinds.

1:55pm--Famous Railbirds & Hoodless

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem is among the celebrities in the audience checking out the final table. He is currently seated next to Thor Hansen, who is highly regarded as the Godfather of Scandinavian poker.

Kevin Saul had been wearing a turquoise colored hoodie during the previous two days. The majority of the time, he was in stealth mode with the hoodie up and covering his head. At today's final table, the hoodie is noticeably absent. On the other side of the table, Alex Gomes has a gold and green Brasila soccer warm up jacket slung over the back of his chair.

1.51pm--No show for Gomes

Poorya Nazari put in a 205,000 bet to start the hand and is called by Alex Gomes for a flop of 6d-2d-Ts. Gomes checks before Nazari makes it 260,000, which Gomes calls. The turn card is an Ad which both players check before a river card Jc. Now Gomes makes it 630,000. Nazari calls but his hand doesn't need to be shown as Gomes mucks his cards immediately.

1.47pm--Dustin Dirksen double up

After a degree of administration concerning the television production play gets underway. Alexandre Gomes raises to 210,000 from early position and it's folded round to Dustin Dirksen in the small blind. He announces "Re-raise 760 all in," and moves his chips forward. "OK," says Gomes and calls. Dirksen is ahead with As-Kh against Gomes' Qs-Jh and the board runs out completely dry to give Dirksen the early double up he was looking for.

1:42pm--Shuffle up and deal

And we're off. Cards are in the air.

1:40pm--Player introductions

The players are being introduced. Play will begin shortly. Here's a look at the final table players and all that is the PCA.

Watch PCA 09: Final Table Intro on PokerStars.tv

1:20pm--Final table set to begin

The final table players unbagging their chips and settling in for a long day on the road to the $3 million first prize. Fifteen minutes remain in Level 25 before moving up to Level 26 at 50,000-100,000 (10,000) blinds.

The poker veterans and newcomers are all fighting for one of the biggest prizes in poker. The top three players in this event will walk away with more than one million bucks. The winner will pull in $3 million.

Here's a look at each of the final table players.

Seat 1: Tony Gregg (Maryland, USA)
Age: 22
Entry: PokerStars FPP Direct-Buy-In
Chips: 2,245,000

Tony has been playing poker full-time since he was 18. He mainly plays online cash games and is a very well-respected mid-stakes cash game player who goes by the screen name "wwwBTHEREcom". Tony bought in to the PCA using FPPs - 800,000 of them to be exact. His best live result to date came last summer in the $5k NLHE Championship Event in Borgata where he finished 33rd for $8,625; online he came 3rd in the Sunday Million in August 2007 for $70k. Tony's father emailed EPTLive yesterday to check the start time of tomorrow's final table tomorrow as he plans to fly down to support his son. Tony is also being cheered on by his girlfriend Jasmine.

Seat 2: Alexandre Gomes (Curitiba, Brazil)
Age: 26
Entry: Team PokerStars Pro
Chips: 8,080,000

Only two years ago, Alex was fully set on a career as a lawyer. He played poker at home with friends but was committed to his career and already a partner in a corporate law firm. However once he started playing online poker, he was soon winning big money, including first place in the Wednesday Hundred Fifty Grand for $65,333. Eventually Alex had to make a choice and turned pro - a decision which brought rapid rewards. First he took down the $2k NLHE event at the 2008 WSOP for $770,540; then he joined Team PokerStars Pro and only weeks later came 4th at LAPT Season 1 tournament in Punta del Este in Uruguay for $68,100. Alexandre is a keen sportsman and plays soccer regularly as well as supporting his local team, Curitiba FC. He plays online as 'Allingomes'.

Seat 3: Pieter Tielen (Boxtel, Holland)
Age: 36
Entry: PokerStars qualifier
Chips: 2,010,000

A 36-year-old purchasing consultant from Boxtel, near Amsterdam in Holland, Pieter Tielen is treading the well-worn path from tiny PokerStars online satellite to major live tournament success. Tielen is a Bronze Star player on PokerStars who won a $3 satellite to the $30 rebuy PCA qualifier. Although he took the add-on in that tournament, his total outlay in getting to the PCA is $33. He now stands to win at least $234,000 in what is his first major live tournament. "It was a good investment, wasn't it," he understated after booking his seat around the final table. Tielen took up the game about four years ago during a six-month stay in Boston where he watched poker on the television. He soon graduated to the online card rooms and, well, the rest is history.

Seat 4: Dan Heimiller (Las Vegas, USA)
Age: 46
Chips: 1,340,000

Dan Heimiller is a veteran of the live poker scene and has a string of results going back literally decades. However it's in the last six months that Dan has started hitting the really big money with a 3rd place finish in the WSOP 2008 $1,500 NLHE event in June for $ 275,695 and then 3rd again in the WPT Borgata $9,600 NLHE tournament for a further $ 387,500. According to the Hendon Mob, Dan is a "Solid all-around tournament player overdue for a shot at the big prize" Dan won Best All Around Player at the Commerce Casino in 1999 and in one two-year period, he won nine tournaments and had 33 final tables. He is rated 37th in all-time cashes at the World Series of Poker including one WSOP bracelet for the $ $2k ½ Hold'em - ½ 7 Card Stud event and 11 final tables. He also won the 2003 WCOOP $300 PLO High-Low event. Known online as "Lenny," Heimiller currently holds the record for most PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker final tables and is currently in sixth place for all-time WCOOP cashes.

Seat 5: Benny Spindler (Darmstadt, Germany)
Age: 23
Chips: 3,825,000

Benny Spindler has been playing poker since summer 2006 and began in the micro limits. But he had a very focused attitude from Day 1 and grinded his way right up to the high stakes cash games. His biggest online cash in a tournament was around $65.000. Benny is primarily a high stakes, online cash game player but for the last five months has taken part in a lot of live events including EPT Barcelona, the WSOP-E and EPT London. This is his best live result to date.

Seat 6: Kevin Saul
Age: 28
Entry: PokerStars qualifier
Chips: 1,640,000

Known as "BeL0WaB0Ve" online, Saul came to attention outside the online poker community in 2007 when he defeated Mike Matusow to win the WPT Bellagio Championship for $1.3 million. Saul is a guest instructor, along with other online professionals such as Eric Lynch, at PokerXFactor.com, an online poker training centre. As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1.7 million.

Seat 7: Dustin Dirksen (Iowa City, USA)
Age: 28
Entry: Supernova Elite
Chips: 760,000

Known as 'JohnSmiley1' online, Dirksen is a force in online, high-stakes cash games, regularly pitting his skills against some of the best players in the world. Dirksen studied law at the University of Iowa but spent most of his time there playing poker. He said: "When we first started using laptops in class, I used to play during the lectures. One time I was in a $200/$400 PLO cash game during a class on Constitutional Law. The lecturer asked me a question and I had no idea what he was talking about, but I ended up winning $150,000." Dustin rarely plays live tournaments but is planning to come to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. He is being supported at the PCA by girlfriend Lindsey and the couple have a 10-month-old son, Madison, who is also here in the Bahamas. As a Supernova Elite reward, Dustin was bought into the PCA by PokerStars.

Seat 8: Poorya Nazari (Toronto, Canada)
Age: 22
Entry: PokerStars qualifier
Chips: 6,790,000

Nazari qualified for the PCA through a $33 rebuy turbo tournament on PokerStars,and it represented his first online satellite success after narrowly missing out on qualification to this tournament last year. He is a recent graduate in Biochemistry from McMaster University, outside Toronto, but has been playing poker as his main income for several years - initially predominantly as a live player, but more recently online. Although he has put together a decent string of tournament results, this is by far his largest score. He has had a roller coaster ride to the final table, pushing past 300,000 when the average was only 150,000, but coming into today with only 15 big blinds. "I doubled up a bunch of times," he explained with a chuckle.

The 2009 PokerStars PCA began on Monday. 1,347 brave souls forked over $10,000 a piece. A portion of the field bought in directly but the majority of the runners in the event were satellite qualifiers on PokerStars. Several former world champions were in the field including Tom McEvoy (1983), Carlos Mortensen (2001), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and the current champion Peter Eastgate. Several EPT champions from Season 5 were in the mix including Sebastian Ruthenberg (Barcelona), Michael Martin (EPT), and Joao Barbosa (Warsaw).

The total prize pool for the 2009 PCA surpassed $12.6 million. The top 199 players made the prize money. Some of those notable players who cashed included Kathy Liebert, 2008 runner-up Hafiz Kahn, Vicky Coren, Miami John Ceruto, Max Pescatori, Mark Seif, Ylon Schwartz, Matt Glantz, Nenad Medic, Joao Barbosa, Peter Eastgate, Johnny Bax, Denes Kao, Jeff Madsen, Grant Hinkle, James Mackey, George Danzer, Barry Greenstein, Carlos Mortesen, Jon Van Fleet, Shane Schleger, Marcin Horecki, and Jon Friedberg.

Here's the final table payouts:
1st - $3,000,000
2nd - $1,700,000
3rd - $1,100,000
4th - $750,000
5th - $550,000
6th - $400,000
7th - $300,000
8th - $214,000

And here's the final table players:
Seat 1: Tony Gregg (2,245,000)
Seat 2: Alex Gomes (8,080,000)
Seat 3: Pieter Tielen (2,010,000)
Seat 4: Dan Heimiller (1,340,000)
Seat 5: Benny Spindler (3,825,000)
Seat 6: Kevin Saul (1,640,000)
Seat 7: Dustin Dirksen (760,000)
Seat 8: Pooyra Nazari (6,790,000)

The final table has representatives from the US, Brazil, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. It also includes two bracelet winners (Gomes and Heimiller) and one WPT champion (Saul).

Cards should go in the air at approximately 1pm local time. Check back in with PokerStars Blog for live updates. You can also follow over at EPTLive.com.