Richard Sinclair today won the UKIPT Champion of Champions event at Dusk Till Dawn and the prize of buy-ins and hotel to all regular UKIPT Season 3 stops.

The Scotsman had won his seat to this star-studded sit-and-go by winning UKIPT Newcastle back in June. The online tournament specialist told PokerStars blog back then that he didn't travel to that many events because of the overheads involved. That's something he won't have to worry about now.

"This means I'm freerolling Season 3 of the UKIPT which is great," he said. "Cutting down on expenses and hotel costs is huge, I'm really looking forward to defending my title in Newcastle and coming back to Dusk Till Dawn."

With just two players remaining it looked as if Season 2 was going to end as it started - with a Nick Abou Risk victory. After winning a huge three-way all-in with just three players left he took a 100,000 to 20,000 chip advantage into heads-up play but couldn't claim another title. "Richard played really well heads-up," he graciously conceded.

It was very much a final table of two halves, for the first half it was Matthew McDerra who dominated. With six players left he was well in command and eliminating Chris O'Donnell (6th) and Joeri Zandvliet (5th) only strengthened his position. But then his and Sinclair's fortunes intertwined as he doubled up the Scotsman twice in quick succession. Despite re-claiming the chip lead after eliminating Sam Razavi in fourth, he then lost another big pot to Sinclair as the Scotsman took control. He exited in third soon after.

In a quick fire final table that lasted a little over four hours players were always going to need a combination of cards and luck, something which deserted Fintan Gavin (8th) and Gareth Walker (7th).

With Season 2 now in the books, attention turns to Season 3 of the UKIPT and the first stop in Galway between Feb 16th-20th. Qualifiers are running now on PokerStars. Richard Sinclair will be there, will you?

6.10pm: Richard Sinclair wins UKIPT Champion of Champions
And it's all over.

Richard Sinclair raised to 5,100 from the button with [As][9s], Nick Abou Risk moved all-in for around 40,000 holding [Kc][6d] and Sinclair made the call.

The flop was [4c][Jh][Jc] and when the [Ad] hit the turn Abou Risk was drawing dead, meaning a meaningless [6d] completed the board.

A full wrap of today's Champion of Champions will follow shortly.

6.10pm: Richard Sinclair doubles through Nick Abou Risk
With a second double through, the chip counts have now flip-flopped and Sinclair holds the lead.

He raised to 5,100 from the button, Risk set him in for 38,300 total and Sinclair called. On their backs:

Abou Risk: [Qh][8s]
Sinclair: [Ks][Qs]

The board of [6s][Kh][Jd][2s][3h] ensured Sinclair's hand held and he now has 76,600 to Abou Risk's 43,400.

6.05pm: Back from the break
Cards are back in the air and with just 50 big blinds in play now, I'd expect the winner to be determined in the next level or the one after.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,200-2,400

5.55pm: Break
That's the end of level 12 and Richard Sinclair and Nick Abou Risk are on a 10 minute break. Stacks are 75,000 for Abou Risk and 55,000 for Sinclair.

5.50pm: Richard Sinclair doubles through Nick Abou Risk
And the comeback is on!

About seven hands into heads-up play Richard Sinclair found pocket queens and moved in for his last 19,800 after eyeing up Sinclair's stack Abou Risk made the call with [Qd][7s].

"Surely not even you can get there this time," said Sinclair.

The board ran [4s][2h][2d][6s][2c] stacks now around 80,000 - 40,000 in Abou Risk's favour.

5.40pm: Three-way cooler leaves us heads-up
Nick Abou Risk had continued to move in frequently pre-flop and got up to second in chips when the following happened.

From the button Matthew McDerra moved all-in for around 30,000 with [Qd][10d], next to act Richard Sinclair moved all-in over the top with pocket sixes and then Abou Risk overcalled with pocket kings! If Sinclair could catch a six or make a straight he would win it right here.

Flop: [Qc][Jh][10d]
Turn: [4h]
River: [4d]

So McDerra exited in third, and Abou Risk now has a 100,000 to 20,000 advantage going into heads-up play.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,000-2,000 ante 200

5.30pm: Sinclair wins big pot, takes chip lead
From the button Richard Sinclair opened to 3,400, Matthew McDerra three-bet to 9,600 from the big blind and Sinclair called.

It was the first flop for a while and McDerra led for 9,000 on a board of [10h[Kc][7s], call from Sinclair.The turn was the [8d] and McDerra checked to Sinclair who bet 9,800 (about half his stack), with a shake of the head McDerra near insta-mucked. After that hand Sinclair climbs to around 60,000, whilst McDerra drops to 40,000.

5.25pm: Risky business
Nick Abou Risk certainly isn't going to get blinded away here in Nottingham. In the last five hands he's shoved all-in three times and moved all-in over the top of an opening raise once.

As it stands chip counts are roughly: Abou Risk (25,000), Richard Sinclair (40,000) and Matthew McDerra (55,000).

5.20pm: Short handed, plus winner takes all, equals aggressive play
The ratio of three-bets is soaring right now. First Matthew McDerra three-bet to 8,000 over a 3,200 open from Richard Sinclair, the latter folded and McDerra showed [Ad][Kh].

The very next hand roles were reversed, the outcome the same with the three-bettor winning, Sinclair showing pocket threes as he took the pot.

5.15pm: Sam Razavi eliminated in fourth place
First to act, Matthew McDerra opened to 3,400, Sam Razavi then moved in for 18,100 and after getting a count McDerra made the call. On their backs:

McDerra: [Ks][Qs]
Razavi: [As][Js]

The board ran [5h][4s][9d][3c][Kh] and McDerra spiked the river to eliminate yet another player.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 800-1,600 ante 200

5.05pm: Chip counts
After that flurry of action here are the approximate chip counts:

Seat One: Richard Sinclair, 39,500
Seat Three: Nick Abou Risk, 20,300
Seat Five: Matthew McDerra, 40,100
Seat Seven: Sam Razavi, 18,500

5pm: Three double ups and a exit
And it's yet again Matthew McDerra who's at the centre of all the action. First he doubled up Richard Sinclair, with pocket sixes against pocket tens. Then shortly afterward he eliminated Joeri Zandvliet. The Dutchaman shoved [Q][4] but ran into McDerra's [A][K] blind on blind.

And he has just now doubled up Richard SInclair again the latter holding [Qd][8h] and all the money going in by the river of a [3h][Qs][Qc][3s][9d] board.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 600-1,200 ante 100

4.50pm: Nick Abou Risk doubles through Joeri Zandvliet
Perhaps taking part in James Bond style skits for the UKIPT show helps you win flips, either way Nick Abou Risk just escaped from a sticky situation in a manner befitting of 007.

Joeri Zandvliet had opened to 1,600 from under-the-gun, it folded to Abou Risk in the big blind who moved all-in for 9,700, swift call from Zandvliet.

Abou Risk: [Ah][Jh]
Zandvliet: [9d][9s]

The flop was [10h][Qs][4c], giving Abou Risk more outs, the [2c] missed him, but the [Ad] didn't after that hand Zandvliet is down to about 11,000.

4.40pm: Chris O'Donnell eliminated in sixth place
We're down to five here in Nottigham, Chris O'Donnell shoved with for 15 big blinds with [A][2] over the top of a Matthew McDerra raise, the latter called with [A][K]. Despite a paired flop bringing the possibility of a chop, McDerra held firm to extend his chip lead.

4.30pm: Back in their seats
The six remaining players are back in their seats, below are the chip counts of the half dozen who are still in a chance with winning entry and hotel to all Season 3 stops of the UKIPT (except EPT London)

Seat One: Richard Sinclair, 7,400
Seat Two: Chris O'Donnell, 12,200
Seat Three: Nick Abou Risk, 11,600
Seat Four: Joeri Zandvliet, 23,800
Seat Five: Matthew McDerra, 39,100
Seat Seven: Sam Razavi, 25,900

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Nottingham: Nick Wright

Photos by Neil Stoddart

4.21pm: Gareth Walker eliminated in seventh place
From under-the-gun Gareth Walker moved all-in for 5,800 with pocket sevens and next to act Sam Razavi isolated him holding pocket queens. Everyone else folded, the board ran [6d][10h][2d][8d][As] to send Walker walking.

4.18pm: Chip counts
Full chip counts will be coming in about five minutes when the players go on break but this is the situation: Richard Sinclair and Gareth Walker are short stacked, Nick Abou Risk and Chris O'Donnell are struggling and Sam Razavi and Joeri Zandvliet are chasing the chip leader Matthew McDerra.

4.08pm: To do a Silver
Sam Razavi is busy inventing new phrases that he hopes will pass into the poker lexicon. His latest is to 'Do a Silver' (see 5.50pm post).

Razavi defined it thus: "To be doing well in a tournament and then recklessly four or five bet shove a hand like eight-four off-suit."

He then added if it gets through it's called to 'Do a Spindler.'

No word on what to 'Do a Razavi' is yet.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 300-600 ante 75

3.55pm: Walker gets set in, passes
The pots are definitely getting bigger and the atmosphere a little more serious.

Gareth Walker made it 800 to play from a stack of around 9,500 and Chris O'Donnell then moved all-in from the big blind with a covering stack. After thinking it over for a couple of minutes Walker folded saying: "I think we were racing."

Richard Sinclair is down to around 9,000, Matthew McDerra has 27,000 and Nick Abou Risk is back to around starting stack of 15,000.

3.45pm: Sam Razavi doubles through Chris O'Donnell
I didn't see the hand itself but Joeri Zandvliet told me that Sam Razavi raised with pocket kings, Chris O'Donnell three-bet with [A][Q], Razavi shoved for around 9,000 and O'Donnell called. The cowboys held up and Razavi's roller-coaster continues, O'Donnell is down to 14,000.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 200-400 ante 50

3.40pm: Joeri Zandvliet (almost) doubles through Sam Razavi
The smiling Dutchman is now up to around 25,000 after winning a big pot off Sam Razavi. The board was ace high by the river and Sam Razavi made a pot sized bet of 7,000, which Zandvliet called (leaving about 2,000 back) and his [A][9] was good enough to win the pot. Razavi is down to around 8,000.

3.31pm: Sparks, but no flames
The introduction of antes is slowly eeking out a bit more action from the seven remaining players. More flops but no more drops, as of yet. Two recent examples

Hand One: Richard Sinclair made it 725 from under-the-gun but folded after Joeri Zandvliet made it 1,700 to go. The Dutchman is on 11,000 whilst Sinclair has 16,000.

Hand Two: Nick Abou Risk raised to 650 from early position and got a call from Gareth Walker who was on the button. The flop fell [10d][3d][10s] and a c-bet of 1,000 from Abou Risk

You sense a big pot is brewing.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 150-300, ante 25

3.23pm: Razavi revival continues
After being as low as 4,500 at one point, Sam Razavi now has a stack of a little over 20,000. His latest uptick came courtesy of flopping top two pair on a board of [A][K][3] and getting a bet out of Matthew McDerra. A second barrel from Razavi on the turn won him the pot.

After Razavi showed his hand to the table McDerra said: "I had outs."

3.15pm: Some observations
- Nick Abou Risk and Joeri Zandvliet are engaged in almost permanent banter. Perhaps Abou Risk should try his hand at stand up if poker doesn't work out, as Zandvliet is, as usual, smiling and laughing.

- In the opening four and a half levels Abou Risk, Razavi and McDerra have been the most active, Chris O'Donnell, Richard Sinclair and Gareth Walker mostly taking a back seat

- Gareth Walker has upped the ante, not in a poker sense, but he's moved on to coffee an upgrade from water which was his beverage of choice for the first four levels.

3.05pm: Back from the break
Players are back from the break. Below are up to date chip counts. It's Nick Abou Risk who leads the way, in part due to eliminating Fintan Gavin

Seat One: Richard Sinclair, 16,850
Seat Two: Chris O'Donnell, 13,625
Seat Three: Nick Abou Risk, 26,700
Seat Four: Joeri Zandvliet, 13,950
Seat Five: Matthew McDerra, 20,800
Seat Six: Gareth Walker, 16,000
Seat Seven: Sam Razavi, 13,875

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Nottingham: Nick Wright

Photos by Neil Stoddart

2.45pm: McDerra continues to hold Hex on Abou Risk
Matthew McDerra is seemingly winning every pot he plays, mostly at the expense of Nick Abou Risk. After Sam Razavi limped he and four other players saw a flop of [8c][7c][2h] it checked round to Abou Risk on the button who bet 625, McDerra was the only caller.

The [8h] turn checked through before McDerra fired a bet of 1,625 on the [3c] river and Abou Risk folded.

2.40pm: Fintan first out
The first player to be eliminated is Fintan Gavin, he was all-in pre-flop for his last 6,000 with [A][K] and was up against Nick Abou Risk's pocket sevens. The pair held to send the Irishman to the rail.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 75-150

2.32pm: "I'll tell you after"
I picked up the action with the board reading [3s][3d][5d] and with two checks to him, Fintan Gavin fired out a bet of 750, Nick Abou Risk then three-bet to 1,625 only for Matthew McDerra to then four-bet to 4,000.

This forced out both Gavin and Abou Risk and after the Canadian mucked he asked McDerra what he had. "I'll tell you later," said the Manchester champion.

2.23pm: Chip counts
Here's approximate chip counts:

Seat One: Richard Sinclair, 17,500
Seat Two: Chris O'Donnell, 17,000
Seat Three: Nick Abou Risk, 19,000
Seat Four: Joeri Zandvliet, 15,000
Seat Five: Matthew McDerra, 17,000
Seat Six: Gareth Walker, 18,800
Seat Seven: Sam Razavi, 9,300
Seat Eight: Fintan Gavin, 9,500

2.16pm: McDerra takes one from Risk
Matthew McDerra just won a pot worth 4,000 from Nick Abou Risk. His stack is going in the right direction, up to 17,500 or so, Risk down to 22,000. Both Gavin and Razavi still have just under 10,000, whilst the other four players are hovering around starting stack.

There's a break at the end of level four (30 minutes time) where I'll get 100% accurate chip counts.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 75-150

2.09pm: Sam Razavi doubles through Fintan Gavin
I joined the action to see a flop of [5h][10s][4d] and Sam Razavi leading out with a bet of 650, call from Fintan Gavin, fold from Matthew McDerra.

The turn came the [10d] Razavi checked, Gavin set him in for his remaining 3,300 and after a brief dwell Razavi made the call.

Gavin: [8c][6c]
Razavi: [6h][6s]

"Good call," said Gavin, the [3s] completed the board, Razavi up to about 9,500, Gavin down to a similar amount.

2.03pm: Risk rewarded with full-house
Nick Abou Risk is up to 25,000 whilst Sam Razavi is now down to around 5,000. The two of them clashed on a [3][2][2] flop, Abou Risk with pocket threes, Razavi with what he said was [Ah][2h], the latter mucking his hand at showdown.

1.55pm: No fireworks just yet
There's been no huge confrontations in the opening level although Sam Razavi said: "Fintan is bullying the table, he's been raising every hand."

"Yeah but with what?" shot back the Irishman." Transpires Gavin has shown down aces and kings so far. "He keeps on flashing deuces," as well added Razavi. It might be up to the UKIPT Cork winner to keep him honest.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 50-100

1.45pm: Gavin gabbing
Fintan Gavin, who is noticeably the only player on the hard stuff so far today, just talked Joeri Zandvliet into a call. No shame in that it's not the first time the Irishaman's done that and it won't be the last.

Pre-flop Gavin made it 125 to play from the cut-off and the two blinds - Nick Abou Risk and Zandvliet came along. All three checked the [3d][3s][As] flop, before Gavin fired out 300 on the [Kd] turn, only Zandvliet made the call.

The [5d] completed the board and after Zandvliet checked, Gavin bet 700. As Zandvliet was contemplating his action, Gavin said: "Here comes the slowroll," before adding. "Good fold next hand," after a few more seconds Zandvliet flicked in the call but mucked when Gavin showed [Ks][Kc]. "The third nuts," said the Irishman.

1.35pm: And we're go
Cards are in the air, rumours of a one hand flip did not come to fruition. Here's how the players are seated:

Seat One: Richard Sinclair
Seat Two: Chris O'Donnell
Seat Three: Nick Abou Risk
Seat Four: Joeri Zandvliet
Seat Five: Matthew McDerra
Seat Six: Gareth Walker
Seat Seven: Sam Razavi
Seat Eight: Fintan Gavin

1.30pm: Almost there
The players are now in the vicinity of the final table and being called to their seats. After a few preliminary photographs we should be good to go. A reminder that the levels are just 20 minutes long with the usual UKIPT main event structure. I'll bring you a seat draw just as soon as I've got one.

1.10pm: Delay
There's a slight delay in starting, the players are just filtering in now. Let's just say a few of them are feeling a little tender after a night out in Nottingham. Coffee's and aspirin all round. Sample tweet from one of the champions: "Oops...the restaurant has no jaegermeister left! I wonder why ...."

Word has reached me that Benny Spindler is a non-runner, not down to jagerneister, he's just been unable to make it to Nottingham today.

12.25pm: Champions in a league of their own

Whilst four stops of Season 3 of the UKIPT may have been announced and over 70 players have already won seats to the first event in Galway (Feb 16th - 20th), today is all about bringing down the curtain on Season 2.

To that end the nine champions from Season 2 have gathered at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham to battle it out for the right to be crowned the UKIPT Champion of Champions for Season 2. But it's not just about the glory, as the winner will receive buy-ins plus hotel for all UKIPT Season 3 events (except EPT London) and probably a shiny trophy too. Not to be scoffed at and David Vamplew who won the corresponding event last year cashed twice during Season 2 of the UKIPT.

Two of the nine players - Nick Abou Risk and Joeri Zandvliet - know what it's like to be in this position having been among the players Vamplew defeated at this stage last year. The format is simple, usual UKIPT structure but with a turbo twist as levels are just 20 minutes long, play is set to start at 1pm.

Let's take a look at the runners and riders.

Nick Abou Risk, Canada, winner of UKIPT Galway and €67,100

The Irish based Canadian won the opening event of Season 2 of the UKIPT and with it became the first person to claim two main event titles, having won in Edinburgh in Season 1. Despite seemingly always running up a stack, Abou Risk's only other cash in Season 2 was a 37th place finish in Newcastle.

Gareth Walker, UK, winner of UKIPT Nottingham and £68,700

Geordie Gareth took down the mammoth Nottingham leg right here at Dusk Till Dawn. He beat a field of 1,058 players, which at the time was a record field for a UK poker tournament and is still a record turn out for a UKIPT Main Event. He also made the final table of UKIPT Nottingham in Season 1, clearly he likes this venue.

Matthew McDerra, UK, winner of UKIPT Manchester and £74,000

If anyone in today's field will feel they've earned the right to be here it will be Matthew McDerra. He defeated Mateusz Warowiec in an epic heads-up battle that went on for over six hours, easily the longest such contest we can remember from UKIPT main events.

Sam Razavi, UK, winner of UKIPT Cork and €71,000

The ever-entertaining Sam Razavi is actually free rolling this event in more ways than one. Thanks to racking up four cashes during Season 2 of the UKIPT, Razavi topped the UKIPT Leaderboard and has already won buy-ins and accommodation for all Season 2 stops except for EPT London. As he might say, 'Shamone.'

Richard Sinclair, UK, winner of UKIPT Newcastle and £67,000

Whilst the eyes of the poker world were fixated on Las Vegas during June, Richard Sinclair was quietly besting a field of 554 players to claim a UKIPT title. In Newcastle he seized the chip lead with a dozen players remaining and steamrolled his way to the title.

Chris O'Donnell, UK, winner of UKIPT Brighton and £71,100

Bobby Big Head as Chris O'Donnell is affectionately know to his friends, seized the chip lead halfway through Day 1 in Brighton and always looked set to make the final table. He had a large chip lead going into heads-up play, but showed great character after relinquishing it to win a three and a half hour heads-up battle against Richard Hasancebi.

Fintan Gavin, Ireland, winner of UKIPT Edinburgh and £61,500

One of the true characters of the Irish poker scene, Fintan Gavin craiced the UKIPT conundrum with victory in Edinburgh. The popular and never knowingly quiet Irishman was cheered on by a large number of supporters as he took victory in the Scottish capital.

Joeri Zandvliet, Netherlands, winner of UKIPT Dublin and €83,500

It was a double for Dutchman Joeri Zandvliet as he became the second player to win two UKIPT main event titles having also tasted victory in Manchester in Season 1. But the smiling Zandvliet was only one half of the story of the final table in Dublin as Max Silver was chasing not only a second title but was also defending the Dublin title he'd won a year previously. It was fitting then that Zandvliet eliminated Silver in a huge pot and never looked back to claim his second title.

Benny Spindler, Germany, winner of UKIPT London and £750,000

The German superstar won his seat at this table by winning the UKIPT Grand Final, also known as EPT London. That win at the beginning of October vaulted Spindler to second on the UKIPT all-time money list, behind David Vamplew.

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Nottingham: Nick Wright

Photos by Neil Stoddart & Mickey May.

This week, the UKIPT announced four of the events for the next season. The tour looks to return to four popular stops from Season 2. The announcement confirms the UKIPT will be going back to Galway, Nottingham, Dublin, and Newcastle.

We've just taken a look at the schedule. Here are the first four announced events of Season 3.

What's important to remember about the UKIPT is that it gives you a big-buy-in tournament atmosphere for a fraction of the big tour costs. When it comes to the UKIPT buy-ins, you only need to remember the number 770. All events schedule so far in Ireland are €770. All events in England are £770. Pretty easy, eh?

Feel certain that the UKIPT will be announcing more dates in the coming months. For now, you can brush up on all you need to know by visiting UKIPT.com.

I said, 'congratulations you've made an excellent choice - a no-brainer - but a new tour is just the stuff of science fiction it could never actually happen.'

How wrong I was.

The UK and Ireland Poker Tour has just finished its second season with the final event in London. It's been a huge success from the very beginning and amazing fun to be part of. It's been successful in terms of numbers and money and coverage - but far more importantly to me it's been a success in terms of how much fun everyone has had that's been involved.

The second season grew a lot - partly to the presence of Channel 4's TV cameras and partly to the good word of mouth and awareness after the first year. I haven't individually counted all of the players at events around the world but I'm pretty sure it's the most successful national/regional tour in the world....at least someone told me that was true so I'm going with it!

Putting together the TV shows has been really fun. From a personal point of view being able to make good shows that have quality poker and are knock about fun (no idea what that actually is - I think it's what they used to have on Cheggars Plays pop - google it if you're 25 and need to see the legend in his prime).

Of course none of it would be the same if it hadn't been for my co-talking lady Liv Boeree. Working with Liv has been one of the most positive uplifting educational experiences I've ever had and I couldn't have wished for a better personal or professional experience. (and yes she is sitting next to me watching me type this blog....true story).

It's been great to see the TV shows have done so well in the ratings too I think people really enjoy watching local players play. The show has allowed us to make some 'stars' of players who aren't the usual household names. Thankfully they're all extremely grateful and have given me a cut of their prize money haul ....or at least I presume they have they always laugh when I ask them if they've made the transfer so that seems very positive.

I'd say I hope that season 3 could be even bigger and better and more fun...but that's just the stuff of science fiction...

The German wunderkind burst onto the live scene with a million dollar third-place finish at the 2009 PCA and, if it wasn't for a couple of twists of fate, could have taken first then. Here in London Spindler always looked a threat and was at the front of the queue of those looking likely to take the title. A realist to the last, Spindler admitted that he didn't think his victory was a foregone conclusion.

"I was never sure of the win. In fact I got really lucky with that pair of tens against Martins Adeniya's ace-king. I had been running really well the whole tournament and it was good to win that huge flip," said Spindler. More about that flip later, first the payouts.

1. Benny Spindler, Germany, PoekrStars player, £750,000
2. Steve O'Dwyer, USA, £465,000
3. Andre Klebanov, Germany, £265,000
4. Juan Manuel Pastor, Spain, Team PokerStars Pro, £200,000
5. Mattias Bergstrom, Sweden, £155,000
6. Kevin Iacofano, USA, £120,000
7. Martins Adeniya, UK, £86,350
8. Miroslav Benes, Czech Republic, PokerStars qualifier, £64,000

Benes was the first to go. The plucky online qualifier started the day with just seven-and-a-half big blinds and managed to get himself in a flip to climb back to more than 20. It didn't work out, Spindler scoring first blood. It was a theme that was set to be repeated throughout the six hours of play.

As noted by our PokerStars Blog's German correspondent Robin Scherr, Spindler always has ten minutes every day where he wins two or three huge pots in quick succession. The same happened today. Spindler went from middle of the pack to a dominating chip lead within just a few hands.

First he made big calls with [ad][9d] for second pair which turned to two-pair on a [ks][8s][9c][3d][as] board. His opponent, Bergstrom, had check-raised the flop and fired huge chunks of chips at him - 700,000 on the turn and another 700,000 on the river - with just five-high. It was a bold move but had it been prompted by the desire to make a big play on TV? Only Bergstrom knows that. That spun Spindler up to 5,700,000 and into the lead.

The next moment pretty much guaranteed that the German would make it to the heads up at the very least and, in our eyes, all but sealed the title: Spindler took out former chip leader Martins Adeniya in a huge flip which saw the mop-haired terror take possession of almost half the chips in play with six players remaining.

We overheard Adeinya during a break say that he knew Spindler would four-bet him for stacks and indeed he did. Bergstrom, now one of the shortest stacks, opened for 150,000 under-the-gun and was flatted by Spindler on the button. Adeniya squeezed from the big blind for 475,000, Bergstrom passed and Spindler moved all-in. Adeniya, unfazed on the outside at least, announced the call tabling [as][kc] to Spindler's [ts][tc].

"It's a big one," said Adeniya.

Correction, it was a huge one. A giant flip for the chip lead at the final table of a £5,000 tounament. The winner would be firmly ensconced in the driving seat for the £750,000 first-place prize. While it's easier to think of it as a race the equities tell a different story, Spindler held 56.5%, Adeniya 43.5% and an edge like that proved to be critical. The board ran out [jc][8c][3h][2s][jh] and Adeniya was sent to the payout desk to sign for £86,350 - significantly less than he'd have been expecting having started as chip leader. Adeniya appears to be a precocious talent and this will not be the last time we follow his three- and four-betting antics on the tour.

Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor scored a solid fourth-place finish picking up £200,000 in the process. Pastor largely let the action rage around him, understandable given his seat one to the right of Spindler. All-in and at risk for the first time Pastor tabled pocket nines, Spindler pocket aces in a four-handed cooler.

That left three with Andre Klebanov scoring the bonus goal of winning his £5,250 buy-in back courtesy of a last longer bet from Skrill, official payment provider sponsor of the European Poker Tour. The German had his ace-queen rivered by O'Dwyer's ace-five, the American saying all along that he had 'a feeling' that he'd suckout.

That left two players and one felt that the heads up wouldn't last long. It didn't. Spindler's [ac][kd] all-in pre-flop dominating and holding against O'Dwyer's [ks][jc]. The tall American had stood up to watch the board run out before ruing his decision: "I should never have stood up," he explained. "I have been telling people to sit down all week, and now I have stood up in heads-up the first time I have got it in bad. I guess I deserve to have got such a terrible flop!"

The flop in question was [7c][8d][ad] and despite catching a jack on the turn O'Dwyer's hand couldn't suckout. Spindler's hand held giving him the title, £750,000 and the Shamballa winner's bracelet which is worth more than €10,000.

See you at EPT San Remo, running 21-27 October, in just a couple of weeks.

To catch up with all the action from today click on the link below and to see all the payouts click here:

Level 27-30 updates

Thanks go to photographer Neil Stoddart who captured the triumphs, agonies and mainly motionless faces of the final table players today. Credit must go to his images as he owns copyright.

For a long time Dublin Season 2 had a lot of déjà vu. Last year's winner, and making a bid for nicest guy in poker Max Silver went super deep and looked like he would do the impossible and defend his title. Eventually he finished fourth but it was a great run and it was a fourth to deserving now two-time UKIPT champ Joeri Zandvliet at a stacked final table.

The event was sandwiched by a bunch of work connected to the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker. I'm now in a secret undisclosed location (okay it's Edinburgh) recording the Radio WCOOP shows, web shows and final table highlight shows. I'm also recording a WCOOP musical for the West End....okay that last one might not be true but it feels like it should be as that's a ton of WCOOP media! The only downside of doing all the related work is I can't play any of the events...every time I see a PLO event come up a little piece of me dies inside!

On top of all the poker work I've just started work on a new script for Comedy Central - that'll take up a lot of my time in October/November and should be fun to write.

Not too much else to report...all work and no play makes jack a dull boy apparently ...I'll work on that one ...watch this space.

Joeri Zandvliet tonight won UKIPT Dublin to claim his second tour title and €83,500. The Dutchman topped a 718 player field to stop Max Silver from successfully defending his crown, breaking Irish and Hungarian hearts in the process. And Zandvliet did it all, as ever, with a smile on his face.

Zandvliet joins Nick Abou Risk in the exclusive double club, that of winning two UKIPTs titles (they've won a quarter of all UKIPT main events between them, which is just plain greedy). Admittance to that club was also open to reigning UKIPT Dublin champion Max Silver who put up an incredible title defence before busting out in fourth place. Silver, in typical high variance fashion, tried a spectacular five-bet bluff with [8h][4h] into Joeri Zandvliet's [ad][kd] with four players remaining, but there was still that expectation he would somehow suck out. He was only a two-to-one dog after all, but the Dutchman's hand held giving him almost two thirds of the chips in play.

"I don't care about denying Max a title, if he had spiked an eight or a four I would've liked him to win," said Zandvliet, who has incredibly final tabled three of the six UKIPTs that he has played, winning two and coming fourth in the other.

From that five-bet clash on it just felt like a matter of time until Zandvliet won, but Chuck Fabian - yet another member of the Silver/Abou Risk home game crew - and Robert Csire did not make it easy for him.

Csire's departure in third was a painful one to watch. Zandvliet had all but set him in with a three-bet to 2,000,000 and Csire had moved in less than a million more to create a pot holding half the chips in play. The Dutchman made the obvious call and watched as his [ah][9h] rivered Csire's [as][qd] on a [jh][kh][jc][7c][9d] board.

The Hungarian Csire sat and stared at the board, as if he could change the card if it willed it hard enough. If that was his intention it did not work and he was sent to the rail, disbelief soon turning to emotion. In that moment he was inconsolable but given time Csire will be thrilled with his finish, he was down to just one big blind 11 levels prior with his tournament expectation shot to pieces. It was an incredible comeback and the €30,700 paid into his PokerStars account will certainly help with that realisation.

Csire's departure set up a joyful heads up between Zandvliet and the fantastically named American Chuck Fabian. The Dutchman held a four-to-one lead and, despite a comeback double up from Fabian, it still felt like the Dutchman's day.

Fabian had played a conservative game throughout the tournament, not that he wasn't prepared to play hands, but pot control was certainly his central policy - he'd checked back middle set on the river of a relatively innocuous board against Noel O'Brien earlier in the day, perhaps a touch of final table nerves. In fact, he seemed to fully embrace his namesake tactic, the Fabian strategy, which was used by Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus to defeat Hannibal - yes, he of elephant horde fame - by using selective engagement, hit and run tactics aimed at disrupting his enemy's supply line rather than full frontal assault. It was a successful campaign and he looked thrilled to finish second, as he should for the €49,600 that he claims for his first final table.

If the double chasing antics of Zandvliet and Silver was one thread of the story of a great final table (likely the toughest line up of the UKIPT so far) then the other was whether the two chip leaders starting the day would be able to keep the title in Irish hands. While amateur player Noel O'Brien played with his heart on his sleeve and a preparedness to play big pots with anyone that challenged him, one felt that the Irishman's inexperience would prevent him from making it all the way to the top. A very credible sixth place finish of €13,950 was brought to a head when O'Brien jammed [kc][2c] into Silver's [qs][td].

The other Irishman, overnight chip leader Jason Tompkins, was a different proposition entirely. A much-fancied grinder with obvious talent, Tompkins correctly bemoaned his table draw and ultimately finished the day frustrated with a tough final table performance. Two hands stick out: the 22 big blind call for his tournament life with [ah][6h] against Chuck Fabian and the call of an under-the-gun limp-shove by Robert Cesire where Tompkins' pocket nines were crushed by kings.

Only the best players are so critical of their own performance and Tompkins certainly seemed to be, perhaps the Irishman needs to learn how to go a little easier on himself - he's obviously a great player and will be a major threat in any UKIPT he contests. We hope to see him next season.

Tompkins had also clashed in several spots with David Docherty, another highly rated online player. Docherty had made a couple of laydowns to the Irishman which you could tell were tough spots and they helped push the Scotsman out the door, the first player to bust when he lost a race with Zandvliet. Docherty is a story in the making; a young talent that is capable of keeping his head when others are losing theirs. He just needs to learn how to win a flip.

Curtis was out in seventh, a short stack stuck between aggressive players which gave him difficulty in finding spots to get his chips in. A shove with [kc][qh] was slowly called by Csire with [ah][td] and a paint-free board sent him to the cash desk to collect €10,450 - a fine return on a €500 buy-in.

Final table payouts

1st: Joeri Zandvliet, Netherlands, PokerStars Qualifier, €83,500

2nd: Chuck Fabian, USA, €49,600
3rd: Robert Csire, Hungary, €30,700
4th: Max Silver, United Kingdom, €22,650
5th: Jason Tompkins, Ireland, PokerStars player, €17,600
6th: Noel O'Brien, Ireland, €13,950
7th: Rory Curtis, United Kingdom, €10,450
8th: David Docherty, United Kingdom, €8,000

And with that we bid you adieu for Season 2 of the UKIPT, but the grand final EPT London is yet to be played out so while Sam Razavi may move into the top spot on the UKIPT Leaderboard there is still all to play for.

If you want to see all 90 payouts you can click on this link here and to catch up with all of today's events simply click on the links below.

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All images are copyright of Mickey May and should be credited as such. Internet worms are constantly searching for her unaccredited images, they are not set to stun.

See you next season. -- NW

10.45pm: Oranje-boom, Joeri Zandvliet wins UKIPT Dublin
From the button Chuck Fabian raised to 300,000, Joeri Zandvliet moved all-in from the big blind and Chuck Fabian called all-in for 2,350,000. On their backs:

Fabian: [Ah][9c]
Zandvliet: [As][5c]

Fabian was dominating Zandvliet and looking good for a double up that would get him back in the heads-up match. The flop of [8c][4s][7c] kept him in the lead but gave Zandvliet seven outs for his second UKIPT title.

The [4d] also gave Zandvliet some chop outs, the river was the [5d] to give Zandvliet the winning hand, his second UKIPT title, the trophy and a cheque for €83,500.

It was a valiant effort by Chuck Fabian but he couldn't overcome the deficit he faced going into heads-up play, still €49,600 is not a bad consolation prize.

10.40pm: Three-bet fold from Fabian
After Joeri Zandvliet had opened to 240,000 on the button, Chuck Fabian three-bet to 550,000 total. After about 30 seconds thought Zandvliet moved all-in and Fabian folded.

The American had won some small pots so after folding he's down to about 2,500,000. -- NW

10.30pm: Joeri Zandvliet gets some back
After Chuck Fabian opened to 300,000 on the button Joeri Zandvliet made it 685,000 total. There was a bit of confusion on Fabian's part but he eventually settled on a call.

The flop fell [7h][Jc][2c] and Zandvliet c-bet 465,000 and Fabian folded. -- NW

10.25pm: Chuck Fabian doubles through Joeri Zandvliet
From the button Joeri Zandvliet moved all-in with [Qd][Js] and Chuck Fabian called all-in with [Ah][5c] for his last 1,795,000.

The flop of [Qc][2d][5d] gave Zandvliet the lead, but the [5s] turn put Fabian back in the lead and the [7s] river was a blank.

Fabian back up to 3,600,000, Zandvliet still leading with 7,100,000. -- NW

10.20pm: Zandvliet bringing the pain
Joeri Zandvliet is really putting the hurt on Chuck Fabian at the moment. After Fabian raised to 300,000, Zandvliet moved all-in and Fabian folded. The hand after that Zandvliet simply open shoved from the button and took the pot, Fabian has less than 20 big blinds. -- NW

10.17pm: Boring
"This is going to make for boring TV," said Chuck Fabian as he gave Zandvliet a walk. "I think they'll probably only show three hands of heads-up play," continued the American. "Maybe only one if you don't win it," said Zandvliet before adding. "Wow that sounded really arrogant."

As it stands Zandvliet has an 8,000,000 to 2,750,000 chip lead. -- NW

10.12pm: Joeri gives Chuck some of his own medicine
After Chuck Fabian raised to 300,000 on the button, Joeri Zandvliet moved all-in to put the American at risk. It's the first time the Dutchman had made this move in the heads-up play and Fabian gave him credit, folding his hand. -- NW

10.07pm: Chuck risks his bucks
On around the ninth hand of heads-up play the players took a flop for the first time, Joeri Zandvliet raising to 240,000 and Chuck Fabian making the call. On the flop of [As][5h][9s] Fabain check-called a bet of 250,000. The [5s] turn was checked through before Fabian moved all-in on the [8c] river, Zandvliet turbo mucked his hand to conceed the pot. The Dutchman now has a 7,500,000 to 3,200,000 chip lead. -- NW

10.02pm: No flops as yet
The heads up match is about eight hands old and as yet the two players are yet to see a flop. Very little chip movement yet, Chuck Fabian has perhaps one back one big blind. -- NW

9.58pm: Two all-ins
The Dutchman won the first two pots, raising to 240,000 pre-flop and then getting a walk. On the third hand Joeri Zandvliet gave Chuck Fabian a walk and on the fourth Fabian moved all-in and took the pot. Even stevens right now. -- NW

9.52pm: Heads up begins
In the blue orange corner sits Joeri Zandvliet with 8,345,000 and in the ref white and blue corner sits Chuck Fabian with 2,395,000. Blinds 60,000 - 120,000 no antes in heads up play. -- NW

9.40pm: Heads up break
The players are on a short break ahead of the heads up. -- RD

9.38pm: Csire out in third (€30,700)
Robert Csire opened his button for 275,000 and Joeri Zandvliet three-bet to 2,000,000 effectively inviting Csire to play for his entire stack. Csire accepted that offer and shoved all-in for 2,800,000. Zandvliet made the automatic call to set up a pot of around 5,600,000, half the chips in play.

Csire: [as][qd]
Zandvliet: [ah][9h]

The flop was a dangerous one for Csire: [jh][kh][jc]. A jack for the chop, a nine or a heart for the win. The turn was the [7c], and the river? The [9d]. Zandvliet pulled one of those faces, the well-that-kinda-gives-me-the-pot-and-you're-not-going-to-be-happy-about-it. Csire was far from happy. He sat staring at the board fixed to his seat.

Eventually Csire stood and accepted the outstretched hand of Zandvliet and his commiserations. It was obviously a bitter blow for the Hungarian but in the fullness of time he'll be thrilled with his finish - he was down to one big blind 11 levels ago. -- RD

9.32pm: All-in and call
It's Joeri Zandvliet and Robert Csire... -- RD

9.25pm: Another walk
It's Joeri Zandvliet's turn to get a walk. Next hand. -- RD

9.20pm: Play on
Chuck Fabian gets a walk on the first hand back. -- RD

9.15pm: Three remain, two must fall
Three players are left here with Joeri Zandvliet still in pole position. The Dutchman has been in the chip lead for a good few hours now, a lead that was consolidated when he knocked out Max Silver in fourth place, but since then he's been pegged back. All to play for in these final levels of the tournament. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Dublin (in order of fatigue): Rick Dacey (walking dead) and Nick Wright (dead and buried). Photos by Mickey May (she's a photo-snapping machine).

Joeri Zandvliet, 5,240,000
Robert Csire, 2,915,000
Chuck Fabian, 2,585,000

Blind will be 60,000 - 120,000 ante 15,000 when they return. -- NW

8.15pm: Fabian puts Csire to the test
After Robert Csire opened the small blind to 250,000, Chuck Fabian moved all-in for 2,195,000 and the Hungarian went through what can only be described as the 'wringer' pulling lots of pained facial expressions before folding and showing the [As]. The American was at it again the next hand, moving all-in from the small blind and forcing a fold from Joeri Zandvliet. -- NW

8.10pm: Fabian fades as Zandvliet shoves
Joeri Zandvliet just three-bet jammed on Chuck Fabian's 250,000 small blind raise. The Dutchman is trying to stretch out his lead again.

Joeri Zandvliet, 5,100,000
Robert Csire, 3,400,000
Chuck Fabian, 2,100,000

A major clash must be on its way soon, but between which players? -- RD

8.10pm: The calm before the storm?
The last few hands have been simple raise and takes, with the first person to enter the pot winning it with no resistance. With the stacks bunching up, you sense it's not long before a big clash will occur, whoever comes out on the right side of that will have a big lead. -- NW

8.05pm: Zandvliet back into grind mode
Joeri Zandvliet has won three of the four last hands bounce with pre-flop raises of 220,000. He's back up to 4,500,000. -- RD

7.58pm: Csire climbs some more
Robert Csire just can't stop winning, from the button Chuck Fabian made it 250,000 to play and Robert Csire called from the big blind. On the flop of [Ad][7h][Qh] Csire check-called a bet of 325,000. The [Kc] fell on fourth street and Csire shoved all-in for around 2,200,000.

Fabian gave it a long think, but he never looked likely to call the overbet and eventually folded, Fabian is now the short stack but the stacks are bunching up. -- NW

7.52pm: Csire continues to climb
Hungarian Robert Cisre is putting up a fight here, although he is still the shortstack. From the small blind Joeri Zandvliet raised to 220,000, Csire called from the big blind.

The flop was [6h][2d][5d] and Zandvliet bet 215,000, call from Csire, the turn card was the [3c] and Zandvliet slowed down, checking it over to Csire. The Hungarian didn't take long in sliding out a bet of 500,000 - about a third of his remaining stack - after a few riffles and a rueful look at his cards Zandvliet mucked his hand. He's on 4,250,000, Csire has 2,700,000 and Chuck Fabian is on 3,000,000. -- NW

7.45pm: Csire gets another shove through
From the button Chuck Fabian opened to 250,000, Robert Csire then moved all-in from the big blind and Fabian didn't even ask for a count before passing, Csire up to 2,200,000 now, Fabian slips to three million, Joeri Zandvliet still out in front with about 4,700,000. -- NW

7.40pm: Fabian takes another
Chuck Fabian defended his big blind from a Joeri Zandvliet button raise of 210,000 and check-called a c-bet of 210,000 on a [5h][4s][ad] flop. The [8s] turn was checked before Fabian led 350,000 into the [4h] river. Zandvliet quickly passed. -- RD

7.34pm: Skirmishes
It's minor battles here, un-called shoves and checked down flops. The pressure is still on Robert Csire to get back into this three-way, he's down to less than two million. -- RD

7.25pm: Csire shoves again
First hand back from the break Robert Csire completed from the small blind and Chuck Fabian checked his option. On the [Jc][Kd][5d] flop Csire c-bet 210,000, call from Fabian. The [4c] fell on the turn and Csire made a large overbet moving all-in for 1,835,000 in total, Fabian tanked for a long time before releasing his hand. -- NW

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 50,000-100,000 ante 10,000

7.17pm: Csire shoves
Immediately after doubling up Charles Fabian, Robert Csire got some back. It had folded to Joeri Zandvliet in the small blind and he raised to 180,000, Csire moved all-in for around 1,700,000 total. After thinking for a couple of minutes Zandvliet said: "Nice hand," and folded, Csire showed [Ac][Kh] as he took the pot. -- NW

7.12pm: Fabian doubles through Csire
Robert Csire just lost a massive flip against Chuck Fabian for a 3,900,000 pot. Csire opened his button and Fabian shoved from the big blind for 1,950,00. Csire didn't fold, he sat and thought before making the call.

Csire: [3d][3c]
Fabian: [ac][jd]

A jack flopped in the window and Fabian's rail erupted. No three and Csire dropped to 1,800,000 as Fabian moved up to 3,800,000. -- RD

7pm: Fabian shoving his way back into contention
Chuck Fabian is getting his chips in every opportunity that he can and is winning a lot of pots. Joeri Zandvliet has been sucked back into the mix but doesn't appear to be showing any tension about it. Fabian up to 2,100,000, Zandvliet has 5,150,000 with Robert Csire on around 3,450,000. -- RD

7pm: Shove happy
Chuck Fabian has shoved all-in the last two hands in a row. Firstly from the button and then over the top of Joeri Zandvliet's 160,000 button open, the Dutchman folding. Those blinds and antes all add up. -- NW

6.55pm: Slowing up
That chip shift from Joeri Zandvliet to Robert Csire seems to have slowed the action a little. Zandvliet has won one pot, Robert Csire has taken a walk and Chuck Fabian has won two sets of blinds. -- RD

6.45pm: The last five hands
Hand one: Joeri Zandvliet raised to 160,000 on the button but folded when Chuck Fabian moved all-in for around 1,400,000

Hand two: Robert Csire raised to 200,000 on the button and won the pot

Hand three: It passed to Zandvliet in the small blind, he raised to 180,000 and won the pot.

Hand four: Zandvliet raised to 160,000 on the button and Csire called from the small blind. The two of them saw a flop of [Ac][Js][7s], check from Csire, bet of 185,000 from Zandvliet, call from Csire. The turn was the [Kh], Csire check-called a bet of 395,000.

The [2d] completed the board, again Csire checked, Zandvliet fired the third bullet, 855,000 this time, this sent Csire deep into thought and eventually he announced call and showed [Kd][Qs] which was ahead of Zandvliet's busted flush draw of [6s][4s].

Hand five: Joeri Zandvliet got a walk.

Chip counts are now: Zandvliet 5,300,000, Csire 3,800,000, Fabian 1,800,000. -- NW

6.35pm: Zandvliet marches on
As suggested Joeri Zandvliet is crushing the three-way action so far, as detailed below:

1) Zandvliet opens his button for 180,000 and takes the blinds, which are also worth 180,000.
2) Zandvliet gets a walk in the big blind
3) Zandvliet raises from the small blind to 180,000 and takes the blinds.
4) Zandvliet opens button for 180,000 and scoops the blinds again.
5) Zandvliet gets a walk in the big blind
6) Zandvliet folds the small blind to finish a run of five hands.

It's a uptick of 900,000 won in five hands. -- RD

6.20pm: Csire takes one from Zandvliet
Chuck Fabian folded the button, Joeri Zandvliet raised to 180,000 from the small blind and Robert Csire called from the big blind. The two of them saw a flop of [9h][Jc][2h], c-bet of 190,000 from Zandvliet, call from Csire.

That was the end of the betting action though as the two of them checked down the [4h] turn and [Qc] river, Csire showed [Kc][9d] to win the pot.

Since returning from the break Fabian has shoved from the small blind on both occasions but not been called. -- NW

6.15pm: Zandvliet closing in on second title
Joeri Zandvliet holds 6,845,000 of the 10,770,000 in play and he's looking increasing likely to follow join Nick Abou Risk in the two-time champions club. Zandvliet has played six UKIPTs and has final tabled three. It's an impressive record.

Robert Csire holds 2,595,000 with Chuck Fabian trailing with 1,300,000. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Dublin (in order of the length of our stare): Rick Dacey (thousand yards) and Nick Wright (thousand yards). Photos by Mickey May (can't tell, she's wearing ridiculously large sunglasses).

5.58pm: Csire feeling the pressure, Zandvliet turning the screw
"They're some really professional players," Robert Csire said to our photographer Mickey May as that last hand went on. This final table is a major deal for Csire and he's wearing that pressure on his face. The Hungarian is now guaranteed a minimum of €30,700.

Joeri Zandvliet is now a large chip leader with 6,845,000 and might pound Casire and Chuck Fabian in the run up to the heads up. If Zandvliet wins the next major confrontation we may as well get the engraver to work on his trophy.

It's a 20-minute break, join us in a new post then. -- RD

5.50pm: Max Silver eliminated in fourth place (€22,650)
From under-the-gun Joeri Zandvliet made it 125,000 to go, Max Silver then three-bet to 315,00 from the small blind. Back on Zandvliet he four-bet to 585,000 in total, Silver considered his options for about 20 seconds then announced all-in for 3,015,000 total, quick call from Zandvliet who had 3,100,000 just covering Silver by the slimmest of margins.

Silver: [8h][4h]
Zandvliet: [Ad][Kd]

Both players were giggling like schoolboys, as the dealer spread a flop of [Jd][7d][Js], Silver was now drawing thin. The turn was the [9h] giving him a few more outs as he adden a gutshot straight draw to the non diamond eight and fours that could win him the hand. The river though was the [6d] and Silver passed his chips and his lucky gorilla to Zandvliet.

It was a sterling defence of his title by Max Silver but ultimately he's come up just short in his quest to win a second UKIPT title, Zandvliet meanwhile now has over half the chips in play and is looking good to win his second title. -- NW

5.41pm: Chips
The final four players are fairly tight with Joeri Zandvliet and Max Silver just ahead of Robert Csire. Charles Fabian is at the back of the pack with just over 30 big blinds.

1. Max Silver, 3,000,000
2. Chuck Fabian, 1,900,000
3. Joeri Zandvliet, 3,300,000
4. Robert Csire, 2,400,000

A big clash between any two of these players could create a pull away chip leader. It's tense but the players certainly haven't nitted up so far. -- RD

5.32pm: Fabian plunders Silver
Chuck Fabian has taken a nice wedge from Max Silver after the reigning champ opened for 155,000 from the small blind. Fabian called before opening up on the [9h][kc][4c] flop. Silver had c-bet 115,000 and Fabian raised to 300,000. Silver called and checked the [jc] turn card over to Fabian.

The American pushed out 350,000 and Silver said: "Ahhhh, I hate this." He didn't look like calling, he didn't. -- RD

5.23pm: Max Silver wins a big pot
From under-the-gun Chuck Fabian made it 120,000 to go, Joeri Zadvliet made the call on the button, Robert Csire got out the way but Max Silver called from the big blind.

So three to a flop of [Js][Ad][Qs], it checked to Zandvliet who bet 165,000, call from Silver and then Fabian check-raised to 350,000 total, quick fold from Zandvliet, considered call from Silver.

The turn was the [Qd] and both players checked to see the [3s] complete the board. It was Silver who was first to act and he counted out a bet of 355,000 and pushed it over the line. Fabian took his time, cutting out the calling chips pretty swiftly, never really considering raising by the looks of it, but equally he didn't look like he particularly wanted to call. After a couple of minutes he pushed his cards face down towards the dealer, conceding the pot to Silver who's now up to 3,200,000. -- NW

5.15pm: Three small hands
A few small hands for you:

1) Joeri Zandvliet takes a small pot from Robert Csire.
2) Max Silver steals Chuck Fabian's big blind.
3) Max Silver steals Joeri Zandvliet's big blind.

There seems to be a lot of goodwill among this final four, it's certainly very chatty with Zandvliet and Silver particularly loud. They are both still on for their second UKIPT title, Silver on to retain his UKIPT Dublin title. -- RD

5.07pm: Zandvliet extends chip lead
On the first hand of four handed play it folded to Chuck Fabian in the small blind and he made it 135,000 to play, call from Joeri Zandvliet in the big blind. The flop was [7d][7c][6s], check from Fabian, bet of 130,000 from Zandvliet, call from Fabian. The turn was the [10d], Fabian checked again and Zadvliet fired a bet of 280,000 which was enough to take the pot. -- NW

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 30,000-60,000 ante 5,000

5.03pm: Small break
After a small break the final four have sat back down to play through to the heads up. -- RD

4.55pm: Jason Tompkins eliminated in fifth place (€17,600)
It folded to Jason Tompkins on the button and he made it 105,000 to play, Max Silver folded the small blind and Chuck Fabian then moved all-in for 1,200,000. Back on Tompkins he looked pained, genuinely not sure of the right move.

He riffled a stack of chips whilst starring downwards and eventually announced, 'call':

Tompkins: [Ah][6h]
Fabian: [As][Ks]

The stacks of the two players were counted down and it was established that both had exactly 1,200,000 so they were both at risk of elimination.

The flop of [2s][8c][Jc] helped neither, the [7h] turn card left Tompkins down to three outs and he couldn't catch one on the [Kc] river. As Tompkins collected his things and walked away from the table he looked absolutely gutted to have been knocked out.

He's highly rated in the Irish poker scene and tipped by many to be a future superstar, hopefully we'll see him at another UKIPT final table next season. -- NW

4.50pm: Heard the one about an Englishman and Irishman and a Dutchman?
And throw in an American and a Hungarian too for good measure. With five players left there are five different nationalities represented. Current chip counts look like this:

Joeri Zandvliet, Netherlands, PokerStars Qualifier, 3,600,000,
Max Silver, United Kingdom, 2,700, 000
Robert Csire, Hungary, 2,200,000
Jason Tompkins, Ireland, PokerStars Player, 1,200,000
Charles Fabian, USA, 1,200,000

4.45pm: Csire flops big, Tompkins gets away (semi) cheap
Joeri Zandvliet opened to 105,000 and was called by Robert Csire on the button before Jason Tompkins three-bet to 270,000 out of the small. Zandvliet passed, Csire did not.

Tompkins led 270,000 into the [jc][3s][3c] and Csire raised - unfortunately they cut away on the TV feed so we don't know by how much or whether it was all-in - and Tompkins passed. Csire showed pocket jacks for a flopped full house. -- RD

4.35pm: Noel O'Brien eliminated in sixth place (€13,950)
It folded to Max Silver who raised to 100,000 straight, Noel O'Brien then moved all-in for 480,000 total. Back on Silver, there was no insta-call, Silver asking for a count first, thinking for 30 seconds and then eventually announcing call:

Silver: [Qs][10d]
O'Brien: [Kc][2c]

The flop of [Jd][Qh][10h] gave Silver two pair, but O'Brien and up and down straight draw. The [10s] fell on the turn and left O'Brien drawing dead, Silver now up to 2,700,000. -- NW

4.27pm: Tompkins takes one
From the button Noel O'Brien limped, Robet Csire folded the small blind and Jason Tompkins checked his option in the big blind. The two players checked the {4h][7d][8d][3s][7h] board all the way to the river, Tompkins firing 85,000 on fifth street, after a brief dwell O'Brien called and Tompkins showed [10][3] to win the pot. -- NW

4.24pm: Curtis out in 7th (€10,450)
Rory Curtis has been knocked out by Robert Csire to take the play down to the final six players.

Curtis had shoved 470,000 from the cut-off and had been tank-called in the big blind by Robert Csire - a bit of a nit-roll perhaps? - who tabled [ah][td] against the short stack's [kc][qh]. The [7s][7d][2d][3d][3h] board missed both players to send Curtis to the rail in 7th place for €10,450. -- RD

4.16pm: Chuck cheesed off
Chuck Fabian said: "Let's see what happens," and raised to 105,000 from the small blind into Joeri Zandvliet.

The Dutchman moved 1,000,000 across the line. That's what happens, Chuck, when you mess with a big stack Dutchman. Fabian passed and is on around a million himself. -- RD

4.13pm: Poor ol' O'Brien
Noel O'Brien is looking quite demoralised after losing that spiked river to Max Silver. He's just lost a small pot to Jason Tompkins, who himself is starting to look zoned in again. -- RD

4.05pm: Max Silver doubles through Noel O'Brien
From under-the-gun+1 Max Silver moved all-in fro 1,090,000 it folded to Noel O'Brien in the small blind who announced call, Robert Csire folded the big blind, on their backs:

Silver: [Kd][Qs]
O'Brien: [10c][10d]

The flop of [Js][5h][2h] was no help for Silver, nor was the [8s] turn. The defending champion had just six outs on the river and lo and behold the [Qc] popped out to give him the pot. "They made me sweat," quipped Silver to his friends on the rail. After that hand Silver is up to 2,200,000 whilst O'Brien slips to 1,200,000. Silver is now second in chips. -- NW

4pm: Silver three-bet shoves (again)
Max Silver just three-bet jammed from his big blind into the 110,000 button raise of Robert Csire. Silver's monkey card protector went in first, the chips next and they were followed by Csire's hole cards.

Silver now up to 1,150,000. He's picked up a spectacular amount of dead money at this final table. -- RD

3.55pm: What they're playing for
Here's what's still to play for:

1st €83,500
2nd €49,600
3rd €30,700
4th €22,650
5th €17,600
6th €13,950
7th €10,450

Using an ICM calculator we estimate Joeri Zandvliet's stack to be worth €49,663 at the moment, more than second place money - not bad! -- NW

3.57pm: Tompkins looking frustrated, Zandvliet continuing to chip up
Jason Tompkins opened to 100,000 and was three-bet shoved on by Joeri Zandvliet from the big blind. Tompkins mucked his hand with disdain, he's looking increasingly irritated.

Rory Curtis shoved to chip up to 600,000 the next hand and Zandvliet scooped the blinds the hand after that. Zandvliet is up to 3,600,000. -- RD

3.50pm: Silver shoves
First hand back from the break it folded to Max Silver in the small blind and he moved all-in for 810,000, in the big blind Rory Curtis, who had less than Silver, folded his hand, Silver showed the [Ad] as he took the pot.

The defending champion repeated the trick next hand, shoving from the button and getting no takers, he's up to exactly 1,000,000. -- NW

3.45pm: Players returning to the final table
Joeri Zandvliet is leading this final table with 3,442,000 and is giving himself every chance to become the second UKIPT double winner. Rory Curtis is the player at risk with 571,000. Full chip counts can be found by clicking here. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Dublin (in order of ham and cheese products eaten today): Rick Dacey (four) and Nick Wright (zero, he's a lean, mean... hold on, he's had two croissants). Photos by Mickey May.

3.25pm: More for Zandvliet
The Dutchman is flying right now, it passed to him on the button and he raised to 82,000, Robert Csire made the call from the big blind.

The two of them saw a flop of [4h][4c][3d] c-bet of 88,000 from Zandvliet, call from Csire. Both checked the [8d] turn to see the [3h] double pair the board on the river. Again Csire checked to Zandvliet and he bet 166,000, but Csire was not done with the hand, he check-raised to 400,000 in total.

Back on Zandvliet he thought it over, blinking rapidly as he did so, before sliding out the call, Csire mucked and Zandvliet took the pot, best of all he didn't even have to show his hand to do so, did he make a call with ace-high, an overpair or something else? We'll have to wait till it's on TV to find out. The Dutchman has over three million now. -- NW

3.16pm: Zandvliet punishes Silver (again)
Silver keeping trying to beat up on Joeri Zandvliet, but it's just not working. Zandvliet opened under-the-gun for 82,000 and Silver three-bet his button up to 172,000. Zandvliet responded by setting him in with two large 500,000 stacks.

For the second time today Silver said to Zandvliet: "Okay, you got it," and passed.

Zandvliet up to 2,800,000, Silver down to 800,000 (I think, it can be tricky counts stacks from the TV feed). -- RD

3.10pm: Shove, shove, shove
Rory Curtis has shoved his way back up to about 600,000 after being as low as 350,000 at one point.

His latest all-in move came from the big blind, he'd called a pre-flop raise of 84,000 from Chuck Fabian (under-the-gun) and then moved all-in for around 400,000 on the [Js][7s][2h] flop, Fabian got a count but it was too rich for his blood and he passed his hand. -- NW

3pm: Zandvliet punishes Silver
Max Silver opened to 80,000 from the cut-off and Joeri Zandvliet three-bet to 183,000 out of the small blind. Silver looked serious, he cut out some chips and... passed. "You had it," said Silver. -- RD

2.55pm: Zandvliet extends chip lead
Joeri Zandvliet - the smiling Dutchman - just three-bet to 171,000 after Chuck Fabian had opened to 81,000 from under-the-gun, Fabian passed. Zandvliet in first with 2,600,000, Noel O'Brien second with 2,200,000, Rory Curtis the definite short stack with about 500,000, the rest bunched between 1,100,000 and 1,700,000, full chip counts here. -- NW

2.50pm: Curtis cripples himself, no showdown
Rory Curtis is down to around 380,000 after three-betting Jason Tompkins for 225,000 and getting called by Robert Csire. Curtis check, check-folded the [7d][th][ts][9h] board to Csire's turn shove.

Curtis moved all-in next hand to move up to 450,000. -- RD

2.40pm: Robert Csire doubles through Jason Tompkins
From under-the-gun Robert Csire limped, next to act Jason Tompkins made it 109,000 total to go. It folded back to Csire who re-raised all-in for 754,000 total. Back on Tompkins he tanked, suspicious of the under-the-gun limp re-raise all-in.

Eventually though he announced call and showed [9s][9c] but he said "Wow," when he saw Csire's hand which was [Kh][Kc], the board ran [2c][6h][8c][4c][4h] and Csire doubled whilst Tompkins is down to 1,400,000. -- NW

2.35pm: Docherty out in 8th (€8,000)
David Docherty is out in 8th after losing a flip against Joeri Zandvliet. The Dutchman had opened to 82,000 and Docherty had moved all-in for around 660,000. The action passed around and Zandvliet made the call.

Zandvliet: [8h][8s]
Docherty: [ah][jc]

It wasn't a good flop for Docherty: [9s][6d][9h]. The [qc] turn gave a few extra outs but the [7h] river card sent Docherty to the rail. Commendable performance by Docherty and not the last we'll see of him.

Zandvliet has probably pipped Noel O'Brien for the chip lead with around 2,500,000. -- RD

2.25pm: Silver shoves
It was a good first level for Max Silver he's almost doubled his stack without going to showdown. On the last hand of the level it folded to Robert Csire on the button and he raised to 65,000, Silver made it 157,000 from the big blind, Csire four-bet to 305,000 only for Silver to move all-in for 801,000.

Csire got a count, tanked and then folded, cheers and whoops broke out from Silver's rail, he's up to 1,100,000, Csire down to 900,000. -- NW

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 20,000-40,000, ANTE 4,000

2.22pm: Tompkins damages Docherty
Jason Tompkins has taken a large slice of David Dochety's stack. Tompkins had opened from early position and had been called by Rory Curtis, Docherty (button) and Noel O'Brien.

The [qc][7s][4s] flop was c-bet by Tompkins for 180,000, which only Docherty called.

Tompkins bet 244,000 into the [kd] turn and Docherty called. The river card was the [8h] and Tompkins moved all-in covering Docherty's 680,000 stack. He passed. -- RD

2.10pm: Chop it up
From middle position Jason Tompkins made it 62,000 to play, Chuck Fabian called on the button and David Docherty did likewise from the big blind.

So three to a flop of [9h][Ac][10s], connecting cards, an ace, action heavy surely? Nope all three checked to see the [8h] fall on fourth street. It checked to Tompkins who bet 87,000, Fabian the only caller. The [8c] completed the board, Tompkins check-called a bet of 130,000 from Fabian, they showed down [J][10] and [K][10] respectively to chop the pot. -- NW

2.05pm: Small ticks for Silver and Docherty
Silver shoves the small blind and Rory Curtis tank folds showing an ace - no doubt making Silver a happy man.

David Docherty wins the next pot, c-betting a [9s][6s][7d] flop to push Chuck Fabian off of his big blind. -- RD

2pm: O'Brien takes the chip lead
If there's one thing we've learnt about Noel O'Brien these past few days apart from the fact that he's travelled the globe playing handball, it's that he's not afraid play big pots. It didn't take him long to show that at the final table.

He raised from the cut off to 65,000, Jason Tompkins three-bet to 158,000 from the small blind and O'Brien made the call. On the flop of [7c][2h][9c] Tompkins gave up the lead in the pot, check-calling a bet of 250,000 from O'Brien. The turn was the [6h], check, 375,000 from O'Brien, call from Tompkins, there was now around 1,600,000 in the pot.

The river was the [3s], Tompkins checked again and O'Brien moved all-in for 792,000. Tompkins now went into the tank for over five minutes, puffing out his cheeks at various points, silent apart from to tell O'Brien that he had a big hand. Eventually though he passed his hand, dropping to 1,500,000, O'Brien is up to 2,400,000. -- NW

1.46pm: Fabian takes a chunk out of O'Brien
Robert Csire opened under-the-gun to 60,000 and Chuck Fabian (cut-off) and Noel O'Brien (big blind) made the call.

O'Brien led 125,000 into the [8s][9d][4s] flop and Fabian called. O'Brien fired another 125,000 at the [7h] turn and Fabian min-raised to 250,000. Call. The [kc] river was checked by O'Brien and Fabian opted to check behind. O'Brien showed [9][t] and Fabian a set of eights to win the hand. Cagey river play from Fabian. Both players are on around 1,500,000 now. -- RD

1.40pm: Silver getting active
Max Silver has taken another couple of pots uncontested to add 66,000 each time to his stack and David Docherty was given a walk when he was in the big blind. No fireworks just yet. -- NW

1.37pm: Silver shows down kings
After a quick hand where Noel O'Brien took the blinds the action passed to Max Silver in the small blind. The defending champ raised to 75,000 and Rory Curtis passed. Silver showed [ks][kc]. -- RD

1.30pm: Hungary for pots
In the first hand it folded to Robert Csire in the small blind and he completed, Jason Tompkins checked his option, first hand, first flop!

The dealer spread [Ad][9s][6d] on the felt, Csire checked to Tompkins who bet 34,000, Csire check-raised to 80,000 total and Tompkins made the call. The turn was the [Qh], Csire fired out a bet of 130,000 and Tompkins folded. -- NW

1.27pm: Play begins
A little delayed - TV, who would have thought it - but we're off. Jason Tompkins is in the big blind. -- RD

1.22pm: Chips, no players
The TV feed into the press room is showing chip stacks and empty chairs... hold on, that's David Dochety. The players are getting in their seats. Strap yourself in lads, I think we're gonna need a bigger boat. -- RD

1.20pm: Final table profiles
If you're just itching to know what David Docherty wanted to be when he was younger or what's Max Silver's dream is then click here and read the final table profiles in all their glory. -- NW

1.12pm: Players getting seated
The final table players are getting ready for the final push.

12.50pm: Tompkins on top, final table set to start
Jason Tompkins is the chip leader going into Day 4 of UKIPT Dublin. The final table is set to start at 1pm, but we think that may be a touch optimistic at the moment. Expect a start close to quarter past the hour.

Seat one: Jason Tompkins, Ireland, PokerStars player, 2,388,000
Seat two: Max Silver, United Kingdom, 699,000
Seat three: Rory Curtis, United Kingdom, 725,000
Seat four: Charles Fabian, USA, 1,023,000
Seat five: Joeri Zandvliet, Netherlands, PokerStars qualifier, 1,835,000
Seat six: David Docherty, United Kingdom, 958,000
Seat seven: Noel O'Brien, Ireland, 1,991,000
Seat eight: Robert Csire, Hungary, 1,145,000

We'd only just started level 25 when Michael White bust out in 9th place so they'll be the best part of an hour of 15,000-30,000 blinds when we start. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Dublin (and their favourite mythology): Rick Dacey (Norse) and Nick Wright ("what? I got woken up by someone banging on the wall" - abject confusion). Photos by Mickey May.

The final table of UKIPT Dublin is set to be a classic. Hyper aggressive big stack Jason Tompkins takes the chip lead into the eight-handed final table with two players looking to win their second UKIPT title, including reigning Dublin champion Max Silver. Tompkins' lead is strong and he'll start as favourite to win the €83,500 first prize but this is no-limit Hold'em; a single double-through can change the dynamics of this final table in an instant, and with it the destinies of the players at this last table of the regular UKIPT season.

The day started with 56 players and after eight one-hour levels just eight players remained, none of which are out the race yet and all are guaranteed at least €8,000.

Seat one: Jason Tompkins, Ireland, PokerStars player, 2,388,000
Seat two: Max Silver, United Kingdom, 699,000
Seat three: Rory Curtis, United Kingdom, 725,000
Seat four: Charles Fabian, USA, 1,023,000
Seat five: Joeri Zandvliet, Netherlands, PokerStars qualifier, 1,835,000
Seat six: David Docherty, United Kingdom, PokerStars player, 958,000
Seat seven: Noel O'Brien, Ireland, 1,991,000
Seat eight: Robert Csire, Hungary, 1,145,000

Silver may start short with 23 big blinds - we lost Michael White in ninth at the 15,000-30,000, 3,000 level - but should he manage to successfully defend his title he'd be only the third player to retain a PokerStars live tournament title. The others? Team PokerStars Pros Jason Mercier (NAPT Mohegan Sun bounty shootout) and Vanessa Selbst (NAPT Mohegan Sun main event). That would put him in some vintage company.

And he'd also be able to fully claim the Nick Wealthall created nickname Back to Back Max. Silver beat a 590 runner field last year, he's already outlasted more than that from this year's 718 players. Silver is not alone in the hunt for the UKIPT double.

Joeri Zandvliet is also on for his second title and currently sits third in chips, just behind Irishman Noel O'Brien. Zandvliet tore through the later levels, often taking on Silver, to challenge for the chip lead after spending most of the day below or near average. The Dutchman plays the game in the correct spirit: with a smile on his face and a willingness to get his chips into the middle, damn the consequences. His UKIPT Manchester win had come after a terrible start to his final table, you simply cannot rule Zandvliet out.

David Docherty was compared to Humphrey Bogart in last night's wrap* and that comparison seemed to bear out today. When the running was good for the Scotsman it always seemed like it was just a matter of time until something terrible would happen, but Docherty refused to stay down and has rightly earned his place at the final table.

Docherty had got it all-in for the chip lead early on and would have been the first player to break a million calling a 4-bet over-shove from Noel O'Brien with [ad][kc]. O'Brien tabled [as][8s] and flopped an eight. Docherty was left short but managed to reclaim the chip lead some hours later with just a couple of tables left. He starts the final table short again. Can he make another comeback? Find out with the PokerStars blog tomorrow.

*It's been a long tournament, you can't blame us for some jibberish.

Another player that has shown almost superhuman fortitude and powers of recovery is Robert Csire who was down to 27,000 for little more than one big blind before doubling up time and again to finish the day on 1,145,000. Charles Fabian had methodically chipped up and as part of the Silver/Nick Abou Risk home game will he be another part of that crew to score a title?

Players that will have to wait for next season to have their chance at their first UKIPT final table include Dominick Hever, Rhys Jones, David Maudlin, Dermot Blaine, Callum Smith, Gary Ludgate and Rebecca McAdam. They all fell today in the money.

Play starts tomorrow at 1pm. You can find all the payouts by clicking on this link to the money and if you want to catch up with all the day's action click on the links below.

Level 17 & 18
Level 19 & 20
Level 21 & 22
Level 23-25

All images are copyright of Mickey May and must be credited as such. She is on the mend from a bitter cold and that means she's cranky. Do not cross her.

Seat One: Jason Tompkins, Ireland, PokerStars Player, 2, 388,000
Seat Two: Max Silver, United Kingdom, 699,000
Seat Three: Rory Curtis, United Kingdom, 725,000
Seat Four: Charles Fabian, USA, 1,023,000
Seat Five: Joeri Zandvliet, Netherlands, PokerStars Qualifier, 1,835,000
Seat Six: David Docherty, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 958,000
Seat Seven: Noel O'Brian, Ireland, 1,991,000
Seat Eight: Robert Csire, Hungary, 1,145,000

Defending champion Max Silver is still in it, he'll start the final day as the short stack, albeit with 23 big blinds.

A full wrap of the day's play is on the way. -- NW

0.40am: Michael White eliminated in ninth place (€5,565)
On the first hand on nine handed player Michael White moved all-in for 201,000 with [Kd][6d] and Noel O'Brian called with [As][Js].

The flop of [6d][Ks][4s] gave White the lead, but O'Brian had a lot of outs. The [9s] turn was one of those and it left White drawing dead.

Players are now bagging and tagging their chips, we'll bring you the final eight re-draw and chip counts as soon as possible. -- NW

0.30am: Re-draw still going on
Once the table is settled we'll post seats and chips. -- RD

0.15am: Daniel Henderson busts first hand back, out in 10th (€3,850)
Daniel Henderson shoved all-in for 199,000 with [qd][jh] and was looked up by Robert Csire with [ac][3h]. An ace on the flop settled it to knock out Henderson and complete a stunning comeback for Csire who is up from 27,000 to over a million in a couple of levels.

Final table re-draw taking place now. -- RD

0.15am: Play resumes
We're back into it. -- RD

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 15,000-30,000, ante 3,000

11.55pm: Break
The break is about to begin with Rory Curtis doubling up through David Docherty on the last hand. -- RD

11.52pm: Old guys can play too
Whilst neither Charles Fabian or Noel O'Brian will be drawin their pension anytime soon they're old enough to remember the last time that say, Liverpool won the English title, unlike the rest of their table.

They've not been shy and pulling out some fancy moves John Barnes style either, getting involved in plenty of pots, usually against each other. No fireworks yet but you can feel them brewing. -- NW

11.45pm: Tompkins adds more to his stack
This time last year UKIPT Dublin was already over, Max Silver holding the trophy aloft. He's making a sterling defence of his title but just lost some chips to Jason Tompkins.

It folded to Tompkins on the button and he made it 48,000 to go, Silver three-bet to 132,000 from the small blind, Tompkins then four-bet to 277,000 and Silver, who had about 560,000 back, released his hand. -- NW

11.35pm: Dominick Hever eliminated in 11th place (€3,850)
It folded round to Dominick Hever in the small blind and he raised to 52,000, call from the great wall of China that is Jason Tompkins.

The flop fell [4h][5c][Qd] and Hever led for 66,000, call from Tompkins. To fourth street, which was the [8h]. Again Hever fired, 99,000 this time, Tompkins 'click-raised' making it 198,000 total.

Hever now tanked hard, the most 'in the tank' I'd seen anyone thus far at this event. After perhaps four or five minutes of thinking he announced all-in, for roughly 475,000 total, Tompkins snap called and showed [8h][4d] which had turned two pair against Hever's [Qh][10d]. The river was the [Kd] and Tompkins now has over two million and is running away with it at the outer table. -- NW

11.30pm: Silver busts!
Ahhh, no he hasn't. He's just being moved from the TV table to the outer table, which must mean there's been a bust out there. Nick Wright on the case (hopefully). -- RD

11.20pm: Csire doubles again
Robert Csire has doubled yet again and is back up to 360,000. The others at the table are Daniel Henderson (500,000), Joeri Zandvliet (1,800,000), David Docherty (1,300,000), Rory Curtis (750,000) and Max Silver (900,000).

Eleven players remain. -- RD

11.12pm: Fabian takes some from O'Brian
Charles Fabian just won a 400,000 chip pot from Noel O'Brian. The former check-called a bet of 125,000 on a [6s][Qh][As] flop, the two of them then checked down the [9c][6d] turn and river with O'Brian showing pocket fives, Fabian [Ac][5d].-- NW

11.08pm: Pole-axed; Porebski out in 12th
From the cut-off Jason Tompkins made it 48,000 to play, next to act Damian Porebski moved all-in for 400,000 total, Tompkins made the call.

Porebski: [As][Jc]
Tompkins: [9s][9d]

The flop of [3c][Kd][9c] was pretty conclusive and the [Js] turn sealed the deal, with the [Qc] completing the board.

It's been another solid showing by Porebski who had gone deep at UKIPT Newcastle and also made the final two tables on three other PokerStars tours this year. -- NW

11pm: Campbell out in 13th (€3,150)
Paul Campbell is out. It was a standard short stack shove and call. Good game. -- RD

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 12,000-24,000, ANTE 3,000

10.53pm: Barton out in 14th (€2,600)
Jason Barton is the next to go. He got it in against Robert Csire (who was all-in again) and couldn't get his [ac][tc] to beat [ks][qc]. Csire back up to 380,000. -- RD

10.50pm: Csireous comeback
Robert Csire has just won back to back all-ins to claw his way back to 200,000. Impressive, he's back in with a chance. -- RD

10.42pm: Rhys Jones eliminated in 15th place (€2,600)
Rhys Jones has just been semi-coolered out of this tournament by Noel O'Brian. Pre-flop Jones made it 42,000 to go from under-the-gun+1 and O'Brian called from the button.

The two of them saw a flop of [As][Kd][3d] and they both checked to see the [5d] fall on the turn. This turn of events prompted Jones to lead 57,000, a bet that was swiftly raised to 200,000 total by O'Brian. After about five seconds thought Jones moved all-in for around 500,000 total and O'Brian snap called.

Jones: [As][3s] for two pair
O'Brian: [5s][5c] for a turned set

The river was the [2c] to send Jones to the rail and send O'Brian's stack over the million mark. -- NW

10.40pm: Silver doubles
Max Silver has doubled through Robert Csire up to 700,000 leaving the Czeh very short with just over 30,000. Silver held [ad][kd] over a smaller ace. -- RD

10.32pm: Barton fighting back
Jason Barton doubled once through Daniel Henderson rivering a straight with [8s][9s] over [jh][qh] to chip back up to 180,000. Another shove and he's over 200,000. -- RD

10.27pm: Zandvliet coolers Barton, joins chip lead
Joeri Zandvliet has just coolered Jason Barton with [ac][ad] to [as][kc] for a 1,400,000 pot. The board gave some sweats as it ran out [js][qh][9s][3s][2h]. Barton was left with less than 40,000 and managed to double through Max Silver shortly after.

Zandvliet is now similarly stacked to Docherty, but the cat in the hat has position. - RD

10.28pm: Blaine busts in 16th (€2,050)
Dermot Blaine bust a little earlier running [js][ks] into ace-king. We missed the details, it slipped through the net. Rest assured that we will flog ourselves severely later. -- RD

10.25pm: Hever takes one from O'Brian
From the cut off Noel O'Brian made it 65, 000 to go and then called Dominick Hever's three-bet of 150,000.

On the flop of [qh][9c][3d] O'Brian led for 225,000 and after taking for a couple of minutes Hever announced all-in, a bet of around 450,000 in total, after thinking it over O'Brian folded his hand, he's down to 600,000, Hever up to 875,000. -- NW

10.20pm: Outer table chip counts
Dominick Hever, Ireland, 550,000
Jason Tompkins , Ireland, PokerStars Player, 1,000,000
Damian Porebski, Poland, PokerStars Qualifier, 385,000
Rhys Jones, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 480,000
Charles Fabian, USA, 1,075,000
Michael White, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 350,000
Rory Curtis, United Kingdom, 975,000
Noel O'Brian, Ireland, 975,000

10.15pm: TV table
The TV table is as follows:

Daniel Henderson, 500,000
Joeri Zandvliet, 650,000
David Docherty, 1,400,000
Paul Campbell, 500,000
Robert Csire, 280,000
Max Silver, 325,000
Jason Barton, 650,000

Docherty ruling the roost with a huge stack at the moment. -- RD

10.05pm: Stig Thomassen eliminated in 17th place (€2,050)
The Norwegian had been getting visibly frustrated at a lack of spots or hands with which to get his chips in, eventually though he found one. It folded to him and he moved all-in for 130,000 (six and a half big blinds), from the small blind Daniel Henderson re-raised all-in and Dominick Hever folded from the big blind.

Thomassen: [5d][2d]
Henderson: [Kc][Qc]

The flop of [7h][Ks][7s] left Thomassen needing runner-runner and it didn't appear as the [Jc] and [4h] completed the board.

There are now 16 players left and they'll be a brief pause whilst three tables become two. -- NW

10pm: Five handed TV table
We have five players at the TV table and they are:

1. Joeri Zandvliet
2. David Docherty
3. Paul Campbell
4. Max Silver
5. Jason Barton

There's a whole of banter at the TV table and short stacked Joeri Zandvliet is getting his stack in a lot: "I love it when poker's easy," said the Dutchman. -- RD

9.56pm: Little action as of yet
Perhaps the players on the outer table and in a carb induced coma, who knows? Although what I do know is that there's been no action of note in the opening ten minutes of this level on the outer tables. Michael White has shoved all-in a couple of times, that's about it really. -- NW

9.52pm: Zandvliet all-in...
...but gets no caller after shoving on David Docherty for 350,000. Zandvliet up to 400,000. -- RD

9.45pm: Dinner done, level 23 begins
Seventeen players return to the UKIPT Dublin main event and both Max Silver and Joeri Zandvliet are on course for their third final table and, possibly, their second UKIPT title. It's quite an achievement, particulalry given that Silver is the reigning champion here in Dublin.

Chip counts are up to date. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Dublin (and their dinner options): Rick Dacey (bangers!) and Nick Wright (more bangers!). Photos by Mickey May.

8.42pm: Dinner break
It's a one hour dinner break. Seventeen players remain, nine more players to lose before the final table is set. -- RD

8.40pm: Docherty takes one from Silver
With a finished board of [4c][Jd][5h][6c][Qd] on the felt and around 180,000 in the pot, David Docherty bet 144,000 and action was on Max Silver. He took his time running over the possible hands out loud before eventually announcing call, Docherty showed [Kh][Qh].

"Nice bet," Silver said as he mucked his hand.. -- NW

8.39pm: Perennial short stack White doubles
Michael White has just doubled through Damian Porebski, he's back up to 240,000. Ace-king into ace-jack holding up. -- RD

8.32pm: Hammond out in 18th, Docherty chip leader
Down to 240,000 Colin Hammond moved all-in from the button and after getting a count David Docherty made the call from the big blind, on their backs:

Docherty: [Ks][10s]
Hammond: [Jc][10c]

The flop of [As][5h][8c] was safe enough the [2c] turn prompted Max Silver to say, "It's never easy," and the [8s] completed the board, Hammond takes home € 2,050 for his efforts in Dublin. With around 1,200,000 David Docherty has the chip lead. -- NW

8.25pm: Muldoon eliminated in three way all-in
Down to just 82,000 Colin Hammond moved all-in with [Kd][2h], he was flat called by David Docherty who had [Ac][Qd] before Mark Muldoon then moved all-in for about 200,000 total with [As][Js], Docherty made the call to put both players at risk.

The flop of [2s][2c][8c] was pretty much gin for Hammond and the board ran out [9s][4d] to treble him up to 250,000, eliminate Muldoon and give Docherty a small profit of the hand of about 40,000 as he took the side pot. 18 players left. -- NW

8.21pm: Blain crippled by quads
Rhys Jones was the player at risk with his 372,000 stack all-in against Dermot Blain. Jones held [7d][7h] against Blain's [ac][ks].

Flop? [7s][7c][qh]. Quads for Rhyss and he's up to 750,000, Blain short on 60,000. -- RD

*He doubled shortly after with ace-king to Charles Fabian's ace-queen up to 110,000.

8.15pm: Mullin out in 20th
Emmet Mullin has just busted in 20th place, never recovering from losing that million-chip pot to Jason Tompkins.

It was two hands in a row that did for him. In the first he moved all-in from the button for 232,000 with [Kd][10h], Daniel Henderson , who had 219,000 called from the small blind with pocket jacks and held.

With just 13,000 left Mullin moved all-in the next hand with [9h][5h], Henderson re-raised to 39,000 but passed when Dominick Hever made it 98,000 with [As][Kd]. No help for either on the board, Mullin collects €2,050 for his efforts. -- NW

8.12pm: Fabian in full flow
Charles Fabian has been quietly dominating the TV table with lots of controlled small pots. The American is looking calm and doesn't seem like the kind of player to blow up. Looks like a shoe-in for the final table. -- RD

8.02pm: Dinner break news
If more than 10 players are left at the end of this level then there will be a dinner break. -- RD

8.01pm: Tompkins applying the pressure
Chip leader Jason Tompkins is putting his foot to the metal, he's three-bet the last two pots forcing first Rory Curtis and then Daniel Henderson to lay their hand down. He's up to 1,200,000. -- NW

8pm: Lucey busts in 21st (€2,050)
Paul Lucey jammed [6c][6h] over a [ac][td] open from Charles Fabian who called the 167,000 shove. Fabian hit top pair on the flop and Lucey was sent to the rail. -- RD

7.52pm: Emmet Mullin doubles through Jason Tompkins
Emmet Mullin just got a portion of his chips back from Jason Tompkins. The latter opened to 33,000 from middle position with pocket queens, Mullin jammed 111,000 from the big blind with [Kd][10c]. A board of [7s][Kc][3c][2d][6d] gave him a much needed double up. -- NW

7.45pm: Outer table chip counts
Table 2
Colin Hammond 290,000
Joeri Zandvliet 700,000
David Docherty 480,000
Paul Campbell 360,000
Mark Muldoon 241,000
Max Silver 850,000
Jason Barton 600,000

Table 3
Rory Curtis 380,000
Robert Csire 580,000
Stig Thomassen 140,000
Emmet Mullin 120,000
Daniel Henderson 330,000
Dominick Hever 640,000
Jason Tompkins 1,025,000

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 8,000-16,000, ANTE 2,000

7.38pm: Jason Tompkins wins million chip pot
I've just witnessed the biggest pot of the tournament so far and the first million chip pot to boot.

Emmet Mullin opened to 25,000, Jason Tompkins three-bet to 61,000 from the button, Mullin then four-bet to 112,000, Tompkins five-bet to 210,000, Mullin moved all-in for an effective 507,000 and Tompkins called.

Mullin: [Ah][Kc]
Tompkins: [Qs][Qd]

The flop of [Ad][6h][5s] gave Mullin the lead, the [8s] turn kept him there, but the [Qh] hit the river and Tompkins doubled to 1,025,000 whilst Mullin was left with around 125,000. -- NW

7.32pm: Smith out in 22nd (€1,750)
Callum Smith busted from the outer tables after three-bet jamming queens into Jason Barton's aces. Unfortunate for Smith who has played a good game, Barton now well chipped. -- RD

7.28pm: Fabian cagey against Lucey
Charles Fabian just won a cagey 180,000 pot against Paul Lucey. Fabian opened to 26,000 and was called by Noel O'Brian on the button before Lucey squeezed to 72,000. Fabian made the call.

The [kd][kc][3h][6s][4c] board was checked all the way and Lucey's [ah][qh] lost out to Fabian's pocket jacks. Fabian up to 500,000. -- RD

7.20pm: Dave Maudlin eliminated in 23rd place (€1,750)
We just lost Dave Maudlin in 23rd place, eliminated by Max Silver who now has 830,000. I only caught the tail end of the hand but I was told that the majority of the money went in on the turn, the complete board was [3d][9h][8s][6d][Qh], Silver had [9s][6s], Maudlin [Jh][8h]. -- NW

7.18pm: Rory Curtis doubles through Callum Smith
I didn't see exactly how but all the money went in on the turn of a [8][9][6][10] board with Curtis holding [Qc][Jc] whilst Smith had [K][10], the river was a blank. Smith did not look happy with his play as he handed over the vast majority of his stack to Curtis who is up to 625,000, Smith down to 100,000. -- NW

7.14pm: David Mutch eliminated in 24th place (€1,750)
The one man wrecking crew that is Joeri Zandvliet shows no signs of slowing down. Just a couple of hands after he eliminated Ciaran Furey, he did for David Mutch.

Zandvliet held pocket kings against Mutch's pocket sixes and the board of [5h][As][7s][5s][2s] gave Zandvliet the nut flush. He's up to about 800,000 now. -- NW

7.10pm: Ciaran Furey eliminated in 25th place
It folded to Joeri Zandvliet on the button and he raised to 25,000 with [Ac][9c], from the small blind Ciaran Furey moved all-in for 220,000 with [Kd[10d] and Zandvliet made the call.

The board ran out [5c][5h][2c][9s][Qh] and with that elimintion we're down to three tables. -- NW

7.02pm: Campbell takes a chunk of Jones
Paul Campbell is up to 800,000 after bashing up Rhys Jones on a [jd][4d][4c] [td][7c] board. Campbell fired 175,000 on the turn and shoved the river. Jones made a crying fold (you can have those too, right?) but is still healthy on 500,000. _-- RD

7pm: Battle of the youngsters
David Docherty and Daniel Henderson are both young and fearless, or if they aren't they do a good job of looking like they are. You know, all hats, hoodies and re-raises. They just clashed in a pot, Docherty opened to 25,000, Henderson three-bet to 67,000, Docherty four-bet to 167,000 and Henderson with about 300,000 back made a sigh and then folded.

Round one to Docherty. -- NW

6.52pm: Thomas McCaul eliminated in 26th place (€1,750)
After doubling up Mark Muldoon the previous hand Thomas McCaul was left with about 15 big blinds and he moved all-in with [Ah][3s] over the top of a raise from Emmet Mullin who called it off with [Kh][10d]. A board of [10c][Kc][2h][10d][Ks] gave Mullin a full house and eliminated McCaul. -- NW

6.48pm: TV table
The TV table is as follows:

1. Paul Campbell, 527000
2. Damian Porebski, 430,000
3. Ryhs Jones, 698,000
4. Charles Fabian, 295,000
5. Michael White, 300,000
6. Dermot Blain, 750,000

Michael White just doubled through Dermot Blain up to 300,000 with a pre-flop shoves from the button. He's up to 300,000. -- RD

6.42pm: Mark Muldoon doubles through Thomas McCaul
From under-the gun Thomas McCaul raised to 23,000 - an under raise - so he was obliged to put the extra 1,000 in to make ith the legal minimum raise. Action passed to Mark Muldoon on the button who raised all-in for 230,000 total.

It passed round to McCaul who tanked before calling with [Kh][Jc] which was behind Muldoon's [Ah][Jd], the board ran [Kd][Ad][5s][8h][9s], McCaul is down to 180,000. -- NW

6.30pm: Blazing Blain
Dermot Blain is currently second in chips and is certainly a player that is dangerous with a big stack. The Irishman has $776,915 in live winnings and will be playing to win. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Dublin (and what they're now coveringx): Rick Dacey (the TV table) and Nick Wright (the outer tables). Photos by Mickey May.