Monte Carlo is the home of many things; the world famous Monte Carlo Casino, the Monaco Grand Prix and the €28 cheeseburger being among them. But if there's one thing that can truly call this majestic old principality its home then it is the high roller. Even the taxi drivers sit behind the wheel of Bentleys here. Put simply there is nowhere else on Earth more appropriate than Monte Carlo for a record breaking EPT High Roller field to take to the felt. An incredible 113 players unfurled €25,000 from their money clips and online accounts to put together a huge €2,825,000 prize pool. We lost many of the good and the great yesterday with the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Viktor Blom, Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Dennis Phillips, Steve Sung, Justin Smith and Carlos Mortensen (just to mention a few) falling during the eleven hours of play yesterday.

Today we came back with forty-one wannabes and they had to be whittled down to eight potential playboys, all of whom are guaranteed an €81,300 payday tomorrow. Our High Roller champion stands to win €956,000 - not bad for three days work. The player leading that charge is Dori Yacoub (1,199,900) and he is closely followed by Tom Marchese (909,000) and Tobias Reinkemeier (826,000). Sorel Mizzi and Olivier Busquet aren't far behind either.

On the fringes of tomorrow's epic final table we had Javier Garcia and Luke Schwartz who will both be thankful they agreed to the suggestion that a €49,500 saver be extended to the ninth and tenth place finishers. Frenchman Antoine Saout bagged himself the return of his €25,000 buy-in with a deal that was made late in the last break of the day - just too late for Matt Marafioti who had been knocked out by Dori Yacoub in 12th place. To be fair, the savers are the least that Garcia, Saout and Schwartz deserve.

Although those three will be disappointed not to cross that final table hurdle they should be proud that they beat one of the toughest fields ever assembled. Schwartz was particulalry annoyed to be knocked out. How could we tell? The bad boy smashed his chips across the table after his [ts][td] was called by Dori Yacoub's [kc][qc] and a king-high flop dropped. Players that valiantly tried and died earlier in the day include Team PokerStars Pros Elky, Leo Fernandez, Rino Mathis, William Thorson, Alex Kravchenko and Chad Brown. Greg Dyer, Matt Woodward and Yevgeniy Timoshenko were other notable tournament crushers that came oh-so-close to the money spots.

Although players came in focussed this morning on negotiating their way through to the final table the question that was on everyone's lips was, 'Where is Gus Hansen?' The big name poker player had made his way through to day 2 with a relatively short stack of 62,200 but failed to show up. Phone calls were made, promises were made and helicopters were sent (okay, no helicopters were sent but given this is Monte Carlo it would be quite straightforward to arrange). Hansen never arrived and it took his stack exactly 2 hours 26 minutes and 20 seconds to blind itself away. No great tournament is complete without a little mystery. Join us tomorrow to find out what else happens when Sorel Mizzi, Olivier Busquet, Michael Friedrich, Tobias Renkemeier, Paul Berende, Allen Bari, Dori Yacoub and Tom Marchese come back to play out for the EPT Grand Final High Roller title and that €956,000 first prize. Play starts at noon tomorrow.

The payouts
1. €956,000
2. €597,600
3. €358,500
4. €263,000
5. €191,200
6. €143,400
7. €109,900
8. €81,300
9. Luke Schwartz, UK, €49,550
10. Javier Garcia, Switzerland, €49,550
11. Antoine Saout, France, €25,000

The seat draw and chips
1. Dori Yacoub - 1,199,000
2. Tom Marchese - 909,000
3. Tobias Reinkenmeier - 826,000
4. Sorel Mizzi - 770,000
5. Allen Bari - 835,000
6. Olivier Busquet - 666,000
7. Paul Berende - 327,000
8. Michael Friedrich - 112,000

To review all the action from the last two days click below:

Level 1&2
Level 3&4
Level 5&6
Level 7&8
Level 9,10 & 11
End of day 1 wrap
Level 12&13
Level 14&15
Level 16&17
Level 18,19 & 20

At about 4.10pm yesterday, the Lebanese player Nicolas Chouity seized the chip lead at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. There were 16 players remaining and more than a day's play before the end. But at about 9.15pm today, Chouity was crowned the latest champion on the EPT - and in the intervening 29 hours he had not relinquished the lead for even one minute.

Chouity eliminated six of his seven final table opponents to land himself the €1,700,000 first prize that accompanies the winner's trophy in these parts. If winning a poker tournament means beating everyone else, then Chouity, who, as "niccc", qualified for this tournament via a $22 rebuy satellite on PokerStars, took that policy to its extreme.

"I played my best, I ran good, everything went OK and I won," said Chouity, in as accurate and economical summary of the past two days as could be wished for. "This is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

In truth, an eventuality other than a win for Chouity would have been even more surprising. He entered the final table with more than 40 percent of the chips in play. And while those around him spent the day with at least one eye on the payout ladder, which awarded a €100,000 jump in prize-money for each spot higher they could clamber, the scene was set perfectly for the big gun to pick them off one by one.

If those short-stacks were waiting for hands with which to double up, Chouity had the luxury of waiting for the hands with which to knock them out. The full final table coverage, available via the links at the bottom of this post, spells out the blow-by-blow action. But here's the bullet-point version, which pretty much says it all:

11.45pm: Schwartz blows up in 9th
Luke Schwartz is our final table bubble boy after losing a race and blowing up after. Dori Yacoub raised from mid-position before the Brit moved all-in for another 242,000. Yacoub looked like he was going to fold and Schwartz told him so but after two minutes of thought and dialogue with his opponent he called with [kc][qc].

"That's the worst donk call I've ever seen" said Schwartz. "Good game guys, this flop's got the most amount of paint coming I've ever seen."

The flop came down [kh][9s][2c] and Schwartz smashed his chips all over the table. The turn river came [4s] and [3d]. The Brit stormed off in a huff and we have our final eight players for tomorrow.

The official chip counts will be up soon and don't forget to look out for a full wrap of today's action. The final table will start at Midday CET tomorrow. --MC

11.30pm: '€100 if you show me worse than ace-jack or pockets tens'
Sorel Mizzi raised to 38,000 before Luke Schwartz three-bet to 93,000 out of his 380,000 stack. Mizzi asked how much his opponent was playing and then moved all-in. Schwartz looked like someone had put a dagger through his heart and then he said 'I'll give you €100 if you show me worse than ace-jack or pockets tens,' before mucking.

'I can't do that. I have better,' said Mizzi and he mucked too. Before his cards reached the muck Allen Bari said 'Will you give me €100 if I flip them over?' The whole table laughed as the dealer started shuffling up for another hand. Play goes on with one left to fall. --MC

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

We've still got just one player to get knocked out and unsurprisingly things have got very, very cagey. There are a couple of short stacks waiting for the right spot. -- RD

10:50pm: Table draw
The players have just been reseated at one table and we have one player left to knock out before we break for the day. It's been sensational from start to finish and tomorrow promises to be an absolute belter (that's a good thing in case you're wondering). There's been ace-high bluff's and nut check-raises galore. The day 3 bubble picks up €50,000.

Seat and chips
1 - Dori Yacoub - 1,000,000
2 - Tom Marchese - 800,000
3 - Tobias Reinkenmeier - 730,000
4 - Sorel Mizzi - 600,000
5 - Allen Bari - 700,000
6 - Olivier Busquet - 650,000
7 - Luke Schwartz - 320,000
8 - Paul Berende - 380,000
9 - Michael Friedrich - 230,000

Check the prizes and payouts by clicking here. -- RD

10:40pm: Garcia out in 10th (€50,000)
Javier Garcia is our 10th place finisher after getting it all-in on a flop against Tom Marchese. Marchese raised and Garcia called to see a [8d][qc][tc] flop. Marchese c-bet for 38,000 before Garcia moved all-in for 457,000. Call. Marchese had just 9,000 more than his opponent as the cards were revealed:

Garcia: [9c][7c] for straight and flush draws.
Marchese: [8c][8d] for bottom set.

The turn came [5d] and river [5c]. It made the flush for Garcia but crucially a full-house for Marchese. He's up to around 950,000 whereas Garcia gets €50,000 for his efforts. --MC

10.30pm: Aces for a double-up
Tobias Reinkemeier was short and need of a double-up and it came just in time. He woke up with [ad][ad] and found a customer in chip leader Dori Yacoub with [ac][kd]. The board ran out [js][3h][5h][2c][7s] to move the German up to 235,000. Yacob still has about a million.

Just as this hand was about to be published Reinkemeier doubled-up yet again. He got it all-in with jacks and was called by Paul Berende with sevens. The jacks held up and the German is up to nearly half-a-million now. --MC

10.20pm: Down then out
Two hands later Antoine Saout moved the last of his chips in with [6c][6s] and was called by the man who did all the damage before; Tom Marchese. The American showed [jh][js] for a dominating lead which held as the board ran out [8h][kd][4c][9c][4h]. Saout wins his €25,000 buy-in back thanks to a deal made late in the last break. --MC

10.15pm: Saout almost out
Antoine Saout is down to his last 50,000 after doubling-up Tom Marchese. All the chips went in on a [9c][8d][9h] flop with Saout holding a drawing [jh][th] to Marchese's [7h][8h] for two-pair. The board ran out [6h][6s] and Marchese up to 400,000. --MC

10.05pm: Players are back from break
We're into level 19 now and the end is in sight. The players have decided at the break that 11th will get the good old saver of 25,000 Euros back. That's two days of sweat that will no longer cost you a rocket. Expect some swift knockouts now. Play is no longer hand for hand. --RD

9.55pm: Mizzi of old
Sorel Mizzi just pulled off an amazing bluff ten minutes in to the break to force Michael Friedrich off a hand. The turn was out giving a [2h][9s][8c][ks] board and Friedrich led for 75,000. Mizzi had 255,000 left and sat and thought for what seemed like an age before moving all-in. Now it was the Austrian's turn to tank and he thought for five minutes before letting it go. Mizzi looked up at the camera filming the action and said "You want to see this one?" and tabled [ad][td] for ace-high.

Wow, just wow. "That's the 1mperium of two years ago" he added. He's up to 450,000 now. Friedrich down to 255,000. --MC

9.45pm: Break time
The players are on a 15 minute break but two players didn't realise that and were playing out a fascinating hand. Details to follow. --MC

9.30pm: Hand for hand
We're 11-handed now and on the money bubble so we playing hand for hand. It's tense times here at the Monte Carlo Bay. -- RD

9.25pm: Bubble time
Matt Marafioti had let his stack dwindle to 66,000 and 10,000 of that was invested in the big blind when it was time for his exit. It was no surprise then that he called all-in when Dori Yacoub set him in from the big blind and the American looked down at [as][7d]. Unfortunately he found himself out-kicked by Yacoub's [ad][jd] and the board ran [js][7h][kh][4c][5c]. Eleven players remain and only one more of these will leave empty handed. --MC

9.10pm: First real pot in a while
Things have slowed and while we're on tenterhooks for an elusive all-in and call some players are still trying to snatch pots away. Luke Schwartz raised from the cut-off and Dori Yacoub called from the button to see a [tc][3h][7c] flop. Schwartz check-called a 25,000 bet before both checked the [9c] turn. The river came [as] and Schwartz checked. Yacoub made a quick 100,000 bet. The Brit put his head into his arms and then made the call. Yacoub tabled [ac][2c] for the nut flush (again) and the pot. Schwartz is down to 300,000. Yacoub up to 1.1million. --MC

9pm: Money on their minds
The last twenty minutes has seen play tighten up no end. All the pots have become raise and take it or if there has been a call a simple continuation bet has done enough. It's a very big bubble so the pulling back on the reins is completely understandable. Matt Marafioti is the shortest stack at 120,000 so he'll most probably be the one who has to make a move first. Doubles and bubbles to come. --MC

8.40pm: New level, new deal
The players have decided to give a saver, well, better than a saver to ninth and tenth spots in the form of a double your money €50,000. That should change the dynamics a little bit with just two players left to fall before the money.

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the €25k High Roller in Monte Carlo (in order of allergies): Rick Dacey (lemongrass) and Marc Convey (penicillin)

9.15pm: We have a winner
Nicolas Chouity wins EPT Grand Final and €1.7m
Josef Klinger out in second, winning €1m
It seemed pre-ordained that Nicolas Chouity would win this event and win it he just did. Chip leader from start to finish Chouity snap-called Josef Klinger's all-in. He had good reason, showing [ad][ac] to Klinger's [8c][8d].

All he had to do was dodge an eight or some freaky draw. The flop came [9h][ts][kd]. So far so good. The [4s] on the turn left him a card away from victory and the [qc] river card sealed it. It's over, and so is season six. Nicolas Chouity is the new EPT Grand Final champion, a full report is on the way. - SB

9.05pm: Chouity escapes a Klanger
Josef Klinger wins a pot worth nearly 4 million. Klinger opened for 450,000 which was called for a flop of [tc][js][ad]. Chouity checked and Klinger bet 600,000. Call by Chouity and a turn card [jh]. Both checked for a river card [5s]. Chouity bet 900,000 and Klinger called, turning over ace-queen to beat Chouity's ace-three. - SB

9.01pm: Chip counts
Nicolas Chouity -- 21.5 million
Josef Klinger -- 5.1 million

9pm: An all-in and a call
Chouity opened for 350,000 and Klinger called from the big blind. On the flop of [4d][qd][jh] Klinger checked to Chouity who bet 425,000. Klinger snap shoved and Chouity snap called. Each had a queen but Klinger out-kicked Chouity's deuce with an eight. It looked like a double up for Klinger on the [ad] turn but the [4h] river split the pot and we're back to where we started. -- SB

8.55pm: Into the heads up
There's a familiar break before the heads up begins. The curtains are opened in the Salles des Etoiles, revealing the Monte Carlo backdrop lit up in all it's grandeur. We now play to a winner.

8.50pm: Dominykas Karmazinas eliminated in third place
Nicolas Chouity announced all-in from the small blind for 18,700,000. Dominykas Karmazinas looked down at [ad][7s] and called, and looked good when Chouity turned over [ac][6d].

But there was a last drama for Karmazinas, the first Lithuanian to make an EPT final table. While the flop came [5c][qh][3s] the turn came [6c]. The crowd roared as Chouity needed only to dodge a four or a seven on the river. He did. [kc]. We're heads up. -- SB

8.45pm: Three-betting
Another three-bet-take pot for Nicolas Chouity against Josef Klinger. -- SB

8.42pm: Easy does it
Nicolas Chouity takes a pot against Klinger on a flop of [3d][qd][9s]. He bet 400,000 behind a Klinger check to take the pot. -- SB

8.40pm: We're back
We're refreshed, sated, and back for three-handed action in Monte Carlo. -- HS

7pm: Herve Costa out in fourth winning €500,000
Fifth time unlucky for Herve Costa. The short-stacked Frenchman came to the final table with a bowl of rice and is leaving with half a million euros. He played five hands all day - the first four included two double ups and two uncontested all in shoves, but when he made his fifth forward motion, he was called by Nicolas Chouity. And this time he was unfortunate.

The hands were as follows:

Costa: [as][9h]
Chouity: [kd][qh]

But the flop was emphatic: [kc][ks][6d]. The next two cards out were [6h][3h] and that was that for Costa. He's gone and we're down to three. -- HS

6.50pm: Andrew Chen out in fifth winning €400,000
This is the kind of thing we thought might happen. Andrew Chen moved all in pre-flop for close to two million. It got all the way round to Josef Klinger in the big blind, and he woke up with a monster. He called instantly with [kd][ks] and Chen was in big bother with [7c][9c].

The flop came [10s][js][jd] and although that game him a gutshot straight draw, the [5d] and [9h] didn't help.

Chen is out in fifth, rising his FPP qualification all the way to €400,000. Meanwhile Herve Costa, and all the others, are now guaranteed €500,000. -- HS

6.48pm: Chouity klangs Klinger
The biggest hand of the day crops up from out of nowhere. On a flop of [4h][kd][6c] Josef Klinger checked to Nicolas Chouity who bet 700,000. Klinger called for a [3h] turn card. Klinger checked again and Chouity now made it 1,375,000. Again, Klinger called for a river card [4d]. With 6 million in the pot Klinger checked and Chouity moved all in. Klinger tanked but passed, leaving Chouity with an increased lead with 16,805,000. - SB

6.41pm: Welcome back
On the second hand of the new level, we might have seen the first four bet of the final. It came from Josef Klinger. He opened for 375,000 and then Nicolas Chouity three-bet from his left to 875,000. Klinger was not buying that, though, and four bet to 1,200,000 and Chouity laid it down. -- HS

6.40pm: And on we go
Blinds have been raised to 80,000-160,000 in level 31, where we should expect to see a bit of a shake up. It's been very, very slow up until now, but it simply cannot continue.

The chip leader, Nicolas Chouity, is still way out front, but Josef Klinger now has a stack big enough for him to take the occasional pot shot at the shorties too. He's certainly been more willing than most to get his chips in, so there could be some action.

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Monte Carlo (In order of best anagram of their name): Stephen Bartley (Penalty Sherbet), Howard Swains (Road Wash Wins).

8.20pm: Marafioti fuming
Matt Marafioti isn't too happy that he's short stacked but he has been grinding his way back up. He's got one shove through and picked up a small pot against Dori Yacoub to get back to 140,000. Down but certainly not out. -- RD

8.15pm: Two double-ups in two minutes
Sorel Mizzi and Paul Bernende both doubled-up with two minutes of each other on different tables.

Firstly Mizzi got it all with big slick versus the pocket tens of Javier Garcia. A king appeared on the flop and Mizzi's up to 280,000. Garcia down to 300,000.

Then on the other table a flop was out as [jh][9s][qh] before all the chips went in between Berende and Oliver Busquet. Berende tabled [9h][9d] for middle set to Busquet's [kh][ts] for a flopped straight. The Dutchman looked resigned to his fate but the turn came a magic [qs] to give a full house. He's up to 640,000 now. Busquet is down to 450,000. --MC

8pm: Golser out-drawn and out
Luke Schwartz has eliminated Markus Golser to move to 450,000. He raised and then moved all-in when Golser three-bet. Golser had got his chips in good with [as][kd] to Schwartz's [as][js]. The board came [7c][qc][6h][kh][td] to make a straight for the Brit.

When the turn came Schwartz said "Ooh, more outs now" and when one of those outs came he shouted "YES. You lot are f####d now". He then shook Golser's hand and added "Unlucky." --MC

7.55pm: Schwartz knocks out Golser
Full details coming.

7.55pm: Bari talking nonsense
Allen Bari is getting talkative. It must be something to do with his growing chip stack and the approach of the money spots. He raised from early position and was called by Michael Friedrich in the big blind. When Friedrich check-raised Bari's 21,000 bet on the [3c][3s][2c] board Bari folded claiming to have Kings. 'You never bluff, right?' he questioned. 'I had kings.' Sure you did, Allen, sure you did.

The next hand Bari raised under the gun to 18,000 and was called by Javier Garcia in the hijack. Bari check-called 23,000 on the [3d][9h][7h] board before check-folding the [2c] turn. This time he showed ace-king. -- RD

7.50pm: The last Team Pro falls
Chad Brown, the last Team PokerStars Pro, has been eliminated by the big stacked Oliver Busquets. Busquets raised to 20,000 and then called Brown's 75,000 all-in push. Brown tabled [qs][td] to Busquets [ac][jd] and the board ran [kd][2s][ad][3s][6c]. Brown flopped a gutshot draw that he to but failed to hit. Busquet up to 830,000. We're down to 13 players now. --MC

7.40pm: Suck out by Saout
Mikael Azoulay has been eliminated by Antoine Saout. They got it all-in pre-flop with Saout behind with [7s][7h] to Azoulay's [8h][8s] and the board ran [kh][2d][9h][7d][ad]. Saout got lucky and hit his set on the turn. We say goodbye to the very entertaining Azoulay. Saout up to 450,000. --MC

7.30pm: Play resumes
Most of the players are back in there seats. Play is underway regardless. --MC

6.15pm: Chips and seat draw
There are fifteen players currently preparing for their final push towards the money and the final table. Eight places are paying out with the first pay out giving our high rollers €85,000. The winner stands to pick up an incredible €1,000,000. None of that will be decided tonight though. No, but the bubble will and one player will have to feel the agony and heartache of coming so close but yet so far. Here are the draws for the final levels of the day and the chips as they stand.

Table 1
1 - Dori Yacoub - 1,050,000
2 - Javier Garcia - 443,000
3 - Antoine Saout - 388,000
4 - Tom Marchese - 372,000
5 - Michael Friedrich - 466,000
6 - Sorel Mizzi - 151,000
7 - Allen Bari - 649,000
8 - Mikael Azoulay - 64,000

Table 2
1 - Chad Brown, Team PokerStars Pro - 95,000
2 - Matt Marafioti - 137,000
3 - Tobias Reinkemeier - 362,000
4 - Markus Golser - 151,000
5 - Paul Berende - 356,000
6 - Olivier Busquet - 762,000
7 - Luke Schwartz - 199,000

5.55pm: DINNER BREAK
Players are on a 90 minute dinner break now. Updated chip counts and two table seat draw on the way. --MC

5.50pm: Min-raise river bluff gone wrong
Ronny Kaiser is out after min-raise bluffing on the river. He Oliver Busquet and Chad Brown all saw a [6h][kd][7c] flop where Kaiser led out for 22,000. Only Busquet called to see the [ad] turn. Kaiser check-called a 45,500 bet from Busquet and they went to the [td] river. Kaiser checked again and this time Busquet bet 120,000. Kaiser only had twice as much as that left and moved it all-in. Busquet called and Kaiser said "You got it" and held his cards out facedown ready to muck.

Kaiser tabled [5d][6d] for a flush and Kaiser mucked and said "So sick". Busquet into second place on 690,000. --MC

5.45pm: ElkY out as he runs into the nuts
Dori Yacoub is on fire and has just knocked out Team PokerStars Pro Elky with the rivered nuts. ElkY had bet 70,000 - around half of his stack - on the river of a [3h][8h][5c][kc][9c] board when Dori Yacoub moved all-in. ElkY did not look happy with the news and seeing so many chips out there felt he had to make the call. Yacoub showed [ac][7c] for the backdoor nut flush and stretched his chip lead to around 950,000.

As Yacoub raked in the pot Matt Marafioti said, 'I think we're playing with Eli Elezra's cousin here.' -- RD

5.35pm: Stretching his lead
Dori Yacoub has extended his lead even further by moving onto 675,000. EklY raised to 13,000 and was called by Tom Marchese in the cut-off and the man himself on the button. The flop came [4h][6s][5d] and ElkY's 18,000 c-bet was only called by Yacoub. Heads-up to the [3s] turn and ElkY check-called a 22,000 bet before both checked the [5c] river. Yacoub tabled [ac][5s] and took the pot as ElkY mucked. --MC

5.30pm: More aces bad news for Lyndaker
Javier Garcia has gone on a bit of a tear and is up over 400,000 now. A large chunk of his chips just came from Richard Lyndaker who is out in 18th. Lyndaker's three-bet shove came at just the wrong time. -- RD

5.20pm: Berende all-in with aces
Paul Berende would have been out of this tournament at least twice last night if he hadn't been saved by river cards, now he's not far behidn the chip leaders with 380,000. Ronny Kaiser opened to 13,000 from the cut-off with [5d][5h] and Berende naturally three-bet from the button with [ad][as] to 26,500. Kaiser moved all-in and Berende obviously called. An ace on the [kc][ah][7s] flop left Kaiser drawing super thin. Kaiser is still fairly well stacked.

We have 18 players left. Check the chip counts by clicking here. -- RD

5.10pm: Salamzy busts
Najibullah Salamzy has been eliminated by Ronny Kaiser. Kaiser opened to 13,500 and then called Salamzy's 39,500 push from the small blind. Salamzy was ahead with his [qs][ts] to Kaiser's [9c][7c] but failed to stay there through the [7d][6d][5d][kd][6s] board. We're down to 18 players now. --MC

5.00pm: Blinds up and nowhere to hide
There are 19 players left and with only eight getting paid there really is little point in blinding yourself out at this point. Alex Kravchenko was one of the players that had to double or die and unfortunately for the Team PokerStars Pro it was the latter. Bubble dynamics will no doubt kick in before too long but we still have a few more players to lose first. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the €25k High Roller in Monte Carlo (in order of coffees drunk today): Rick Dacey (5) and Marc Convey (3)

4.57pm: ElkY loses some
Tom Marchese raised from under-the-gun and was called by ElkY in the big blind to go the [7d][th][ad] flop. ElkY check-called a 18,500 bet before leading out for 27,000 on the [qd] turn. Call. Both players checked the river and ElkY's ace-queen lost out to Marchese's [ts][7h] for a full-house. Marchese up to 350,000, ElkY down to 300,000.

That was the last hand of the level. Over to the new post for level 16.

4.48pm: Rub your eyes
Matt Woodward is down to 35,000 after folded a full-house on the river to ElkY. The board read [2h][jh][jc][qs][kc] and Woodward led out for 65,000 leaving himself just 35,000 behind. ElkY then put him all-in. The auto-call didn't come like you'd expect instead Woodward thought for a while and open folded [2s][2c] for a full-house. ElkY flashed the case two and raked in the pot. "Oh you had jack-deuce" said Woodward.

Other players at the table could not believe what they were seeing and questioned Woodward on his play.

The 35,000 he had left didn't fair him too well and he was out shortly after. --MC

4.35pm: New chip leader
Dori Yacoub started today with less than 60,000 but after doubling-up through Matt Woodward he now sits on 630,000 chips. Yacoub opened to 11,500 and then called Woodward's three-bet to 27,500. Both checked the [jc][3d]kd] flop to go to the [9c] turn. Yacoub checked again and when Woodward bet 37,000 he snap-raised to 100,000. Woodward went into the tank and Yacoub said to him "I'll show if you fold".

Woodward then moved all-in and Yacoub quickly called-off his last 289,000 with [ah][ad]. Woodward winced and tabled [jc][jc]. The river came [2c] and Woodward handed over the extra chips. He's down to 150,000 now. --MC

4.20pm: Busquet set
In a three-way pot on the [qd][7d][jh][8c] board Markus Golsa bets 35,000 into Luke Schwartz, who has checked out of the blinds, and Olivier Busquet on the button. Busquet called, Schwartz did not. The river completed an unlikely straight but little else. Golsa fired out a 70,000 bet into the American who slowly made a min-raise to 140,000. Golsa called and was shown a flopped set with [7h][7s]. -- RD

4.15pm: Brown races back into contention
Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown has put a stop to the recent glut of Team Pros going out in showdowns. Ronny Kaiser opened the pot with a raise to 11,500 and was called by Oliver Busquet and Luke Schwartz before Brown moved all-in for 71,000. Kaiser and Busquet folded but Schwartz said "I guess I got to call and hope we're racing" and called.

There were indeed racing as Brown tabled [ac][th] to the Brit's [5d][5c] and the board ran [ad][8s][2h][ts][4s]. Brown hitting two-pair to go to 170,000, the same now as Schwartz. --MC

4.05pm: Saout shoves
Sorel Mizzi raised under the gun to 12,000 and was called in two spots before Antoine Saout moved all-in from the small blind for 235,000. Mizzi passed and Mikael Azoulay started stacking his chips as if to call before knocking a tower of reds down by mistake. This seemed to break his trance and he instantly mucked his hand. -- RD

3.50pm: Play resumes
Players are back in their seats for level 15. Below is a picture of current chip leader Michael Friedrich.

3.35pm: Colour-up
Players are on a quick break while the black 100 denomination chips are coloured up.

3.30pm: 'I hate this game'
Players are busting out at such a rate we finding it difficult to keep up. News has just reached us that the latest casualty is Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez. He got it in good with [ah][ks] against Michael Friedrich's [ac][qd] but the board ran [3d][qc][3s][qh][6d]. Friedrich has now leapfrogged Sorell Mizzi to claim the lead with 571,800. --MC

3.25pm:The tightest man in the tournament
If you're one for statistics I've got a good one for you. The statistically tightest player in today's field has been Gus Hansen. I bet you never thought you'd ever read that fact. There is unfortunately a very good explanation for it; he was a no-show and now he's out. It took exactly 2hrs 26mins and 20secs for Hansen's 62,200 to be blinded away and he was eventually all-in from the small blind. --MC

3.20pm: Mizzi crushed by the nut flush - and still wins
You want to know the secret of winning poker? It's play good, run good. Dren Ukella moved all-in under the gun and was snapped off by Sorel Mizzi in the big blind. Ukella, who made the final table at the 2008 EPT Barcelona, tabled [ad][kd] and Mizzi [qs][qc].

Flop: [4d][td][8d]

The flopped nuts for Ukella created a huge explosion of laughter before the oooo's and ahhh's of a paired eight with the [8d] on the turn. And the river? It's the [8c] cue another painful amount of laughter as the big German stomped away from the table with his hands around his head. -- RD

3.10pm:Thorson flushed out
Team PokerStars Pro William Thoson has been eliminated the harshest of circumstances. Allen Bari raised to 8,000 and was called by Tom Marchese before Thorson moved all-in for 75,000. Bari folded bur Marchese called. Showdown:

Marchese: [9h][9c]
Thorson: [9c][9h]

The board ran [kh][jh][3h][2s][ah]. Thorson hit a set on the river but it also made a flush for Marchese to scoop the pot. He's up to 420,000 and takes over the chip lead from Sorel Mizzi.

Another Team Pro Rino Mathis is out as well. He never recovered from being so short and was eliminated by Allen Bari. It also seems another dangerous player has bit the dust. The short-stacked Yevgeniyy Timoshenko is no longer in his seat and is presumed out. --MC

3pm: Marafioti doubles
Matt Marafioti has doubled-up to 185,000 with pocket kings. Peter Jetten opened the pot with a 10,000 raise from early position before Marafioto three-bet to 24,100 from the next seat. The action folded back around to Jetten who slid a big stack of chips over the line. It was enough to cover Marafioti and he double checked his cards before calling all-in. Jetten tabled pocket jacks and he failed to find the two-outer need. He's now short on 27,000. --MC

2.50pm: Azoulay causing mirth and merriment
Mikael Azoulay is having a great time in this High Roller event. Yesterday he busted Dario Minieri in a flush versus top set set-up and was chip leader for a while. Today he's banging around in pots limping into pots and moving all-in post-flop. It's making Timoshenko giggle but to be fair to Azoulay it is taking away a lot of the pro's post flop abilities... at the moment.

News just in: David Paredes has busted to Michael Friedrich. Friedrich had raised William Thorson's initial raise before Paredes moved all-in over the top with pocket eights. Thorson moved out the way and Friedrich called with aces. -- RD

2.40Pm: Rino's river bet
Team PokerStars Pro Rino Mathis is down to 49,000 after bluffing off some chips to Richard Lyndaker. Mathis opened from the hijack and was called by Mathis is the cut-off to go to a [8s][td][7c] flop. Mathis made a c-bet of 16,500 and was called before both players checked the [3c] river. The river came [3c] and Mathis led for 27,200 and was called. "Good call" said the Swiss and tabled [ac][5c] for ace-high.

Lyndaker tabled [qh][th] for the pot. He's up to 204,000 now. --MC

2.30pm: Sorel Mizzi is king of the chips
Canadian MTT pro Sorel Mizzi has built up a large 385,000 stack to take the chip lead here in the High Roller event with 31 players left. Blinds are going up to 2,000-4,000, ante 400 so we can expect some more double up or busts soon. Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown is sat on 65,000 and Yevgeniy Timoshenko has 66,000. Of course there is also Gus Hansen who is still yet to arrive. The Dane has dwindled to 22,000. -- RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the €25k High Roller in Monte Carlo (in order of surprise at Gus Hansen's no show): Marc Convey (none) and Rick Dacey (some)

6.15pm: Break time
The end of another level and a 15 minute break in play.

6.10pm: Aleh Plauski eliminated in sixth place
It seems like a lifetime since the last elimination but Aleh Plauski is out. He shoved for 680,000 with [kh][tc] and was called by Nicolas Chouity with [ac][qd]. No drama on the board this time: [2s][5c][7s][9c][qc]. Herve "three-hands to the good" Costa moves up another spot on the payouts. -- SB

6.05pm: Klinger Kerching
Josef Klinger opened for 275,000 which was called by Nicolas Chouity. On the flop of [th][5h][3c] Klinger checked to Chouity who bet 375,000. Klinger then moved all in for 2,360,000 and Chouity asked for a count. "I have to call this," said Chouity, and did so, showing [kh][jh]. But Klinger was in better shape with [ah][4h].

Josef Klinger

The turn came [jc]. Suddenly Chouity was in the lead and on the verge of eliminating the Austrian, celebrating with friends on the rail. But the hand wasn't finished yet. The [ac] on the river saved Klinger, again, and he's back in the game. - SB

5.55pm: Chips
There's precious little action here. Really very little. Dominykas Karmazinas moved all in and everyone folded. That's about it.

The principal reason for this sloth is the very big payout jumps and the fact that no one has many chips. Here's the current counts:

Nicolas Chouity - 15,655,000
Josef Klinger - 2,655,000
Andrew Chen - 2,605,000
Herve Costa - 1,900,000
Dominykas Karmazinas - 1,745,000
Aleh Plauski - 920,000

5.45pm: Pulling teeth
Aleh Plauski moved his short stack of about one million in pre-flop and picked up no takers. Herve Costa moved his short stack of about 1.5 million in pre-flop and picked up no takers. This is like a poker tournament in slo-mo. -- HS

5.35pm: Klinger M*A*S*H*-es Plauski
Josef Klinger moved all-in. Aleh Plauski called showing [td][th] and Klinger winced as he turned over [9s][ts]. It looked to be the end for Klinger, who has been playing pots trying to build some kind of fighting stack to take on Chouity. But no, the flop changed that: [ah][9c][9s].

Klinger's arms seemed to fly up involuntary as Plauski was left looking for serious help. The [6d] turn and [qs] river didn't bring that. Klinger doubles up to 2.2 million. Plauski takes his next turn as the short stack with 1,000,000. - SB

5.25pm: Chouity's charge
The chip leader Nicolas Chouity has just won back-to-back hands. First, he three-bet Josef Klinger's opening under-the-gun raise, which was good, and then he opened himself from early position and that too got through. Anyone clashing with Chouity is playing for their whole stack - and doesn't he know it. It should really a case of when rather than if he gets heads up.

Herve Costa moved all in again, by the way. Everyone folded. That's three for three for Costa. -- HS

5.20pm: Costa in a second time
Herve Costa has somehow managed to defy odds/ physics/ and the laws of nature to doubling up for a second time. Unbeaten in the hands he's played today Costa moved in for the second time after Josef Klinger had bet 275,000. Costa's shove - just the second hand he's played today - was for 860,000. Klinger knew he had to call but didn't like it and turned over [qs][js] for a race against Costa's [7s][qh].

Herve Costa

The flop gave Klinger outs: [9c][ac][kh]. A queen, jack or ten would send Costa to the rail but the Frenchman was not done. A [7s] on the turn sent the French crowd into rapturous applause. A [qh] on the river was irrelevant. Stand by for a few more ours of Costa, he's back, and up to 1.9 million. Klinger down to 1.5 million. -- SB

5.05pm: Blinds up
We're into the new level, level 30, with blinds at 60,000-120,000 with a 10,000 ante.

5.03pm: Stand off
It's gone tense again with a few cagey raise and take hands. It almost gets fired up again when Josef Klinger and Nicolas Chouity limped before Aleh Plauski moved all-in. Fold fold. -- SB

4.50pm: Roger Hairabedian out in seventh, winning €200,000
And Roger Hairabedian's long grind is over. Nicolas Chouity raised to 230,000 and Hairabedian, with only three big blinds - one of them in the middle already - moved all in for a whopping 80,000 more. Chouity called.

Choity: [ac][3d]
Hairabedian: [js][3s]

The Frenchman was drawing very thin, and it got even thinner on a flop of [ah][as][5d]. He picked up some outs when the [qs] turned, but the [qh] river finished it. That was that. Hairabedian is out in seventh for €200,000. - HS

4.45pm: Allez Aleh Plauski
Aleh Plauski moves all-in with [kc][qd]. Nicolas Chouity called with [as][5d] and Roger Hairbedian's pulse rate went up.

Aleh Plauski

They waited for the board which came [jd][js][5h][7d][qh]. The river saved Plauski and cost Hairabedian about a hundred grand. - SB

4.40pm: Counts
After than long break, here's what they are playing.

Nicolas Chouity, 15,060,000
Dominykas Karmazinas, 3,220,000
Andrew Chen, 2,650,000
Josef Klinger, 2,140,000
Herve Costa, 1,480,000
Aleh Plauski, 590,000
Roger Hairabedian, 350,000

Since then, Andrew Chen won a small pot and the short stacks folded. -- HS

4.35pm: Welcome back
We're off again.

4pm: Er...
...we're still waiting for a resumption. It'll be in about 30 minutes apparently. Let's pretend all this never happened. -- HS

3.45pm: Sorry about this...
We're still experiencing "technical difficulties" which means play is suspended. You're not missing anything. -- HS

3.15pm: The Costa crash
Herve Costa just moved in. So stunned by this - it being the first hand Costa has played all day - the EPT Live broadcast went down, effectively giving Costa more power than the millennium bug. The rest of the hand was played out in the dark.

Costa's shove was for 600,000 with ace-queen, called by Aleh Plauski with ace-ten. The board, as described by Thomas Kremser, came [5][6][5][2][j]. The cheers from the sadistic French crowd said it all - Costa had doubled up to 1.3 million and should now last beyond 5pm.

We're on an unscheduled break now as cables are checked and bills are paid. - SB

3.10pm: Costa moves all in, breaks internet
Herve Costa moved all in for his last 600,000. Really. I saw it with my own eyes. But at that precise moment, the feed broadcasting the final table action across the internet - and to the press room in Monte Carlo - broke down. I'm not kidding. We're (well, someone) is fixing the problem at the moment and a satellite drone has just gone down to the tournament floor to find out what the eff is going on. Stand by. --HS

2.50pm: Poker analysis
Let's not beat around the bush: this is a bit anticlimactic so far. The reason is that Herve Costa and Roger Hairabedian are simply folding every hand, waiting for the other to go out, which will earn the man who remains an additional €100,000.

Furthermore, the likes of Aleh Plauski, Josef Klinger and Andrew Chen don't want to get involved unnecessarily against the chip leader Nicolas Chouity, because they can go broke very easily too, allowing Costa and Hairabedian to eke even further up the ladder. Klinger recently raised pre-flop, Chouity three bet him, and Klinger had to fold.

Only Dominykas Karmazinas and Chouity have the luxury of being able to see a flop at the moment. That is until those two shorties hit the rail, then this should open up a bit. At which point I'll duck out of poker analysis; it's not really my bag. -- HS

2.44pm: Dominykas karma?
Dominykas Karmazinas just doubled up through chip leader Nicolas Chouity. Chouity had opened before Karmazinas shoved for 1,930,000. Chouity thought about it as Karmazinas talked and talked. Chouity called showing [ah][jc]. Karmazinas banged the table showing [ad][kc]. The board ran [2d][3c][qh][3s][5h]. More than 4 million now for Karmazinas. Chouity still has 13 million. - SB

2.40pm: Shoving and not shoving
Aleh Plauski, with 1,400,000, moved all in pre-flop. He got it through. Meanwhile a word on the other short stacks: you might not have read much about Herve Costa today. For good reason. He is at the table but hasn't played a single hand. Not one. Roger Hairabedian, also waiting for aces, now has about seven big blinds. Don't forget, there's a €100,000 money jump for every spot from here to fourth, so this probably makes economical sense. But boy, it doesn't make for much to look at. -- HS

2.30pm: Klinger on the end
After a delayed re-start three players saw a flop of [ks][7s][4s]. Aleh Plauski checked, as did Dominykas Karmazinas. Josef Klinger then bet 200,000 which only Plauski called for a [4d] turn. Both checked that for a [6h] on the river. Plauski checked but Klinger bet, 400,000 which gave Plauski something to think about. He passed. Klinger up to 2.5 million. - SB

2.10pm: The magnificent seven return
After the last-gasp elimination of Mesbah Guerfi, we are down to seven in Monte Carlo. Arguably, Guerfi has paid the price for actually playing some hands here - it's not been a policy that many players have adopted. That has meant that they've managed to move on up the payout page without contributing much to this as a spectacle. We're hoping for better from here on.

The latest counts are on the chip count page. Nicolas Chouity leads by so far it's not even funny. He has more than 12 million more than his closest challenger. -- HS

2pm: Break time
That's the end of the level and players are on a 15 minute break.

1.55pm: Mesbah Guerfi eliminated in eight place
Mesbah Guerfi began today second in chips but has just become the first to depart. On a flop of [8c][3s][4s] both he and Nicolas Chouity checked for a [4d] turn. Guerfi then bet 310,000 which Chouity called for a [kd] river card. Guerfi then bet big, 785,000. Chouity then announced all-in and he had good reason.

Mesbah Guerfi

His pocket eights had made him a full house on the river. Guerfi didn't know this and called with ace-king. It was a hand to send him crashing out, while it leaves Chouity with 14.8 million, more than 12 million ahead of Andrew Chen in second place. - SB

1.45pm: Guerfi fights back against Klinger
I guess this is how to deal with Josef Klinger. The Austrian raised again pre-flop and Mesbah Guerfi moved all in from the button, for 2,330,000, which covered even the increased Klinger stack.

Klinger didn't fold instantly - and he hasn't been the kind of player who would stall unnecessarily. But eventually he let it go, temporarily halting his upward surge. -- HS

1.38pm: Three-bet
Andrew Chen tests the water by opening for 185,000. Dominykas Karmazinas announces "raise", making it 420,000 to go. Chen waited for the action to get back to him and passed his cards. -- SB

Andrew Chen

1.30pm: Klinger continues climb
Again Josef Klinger opened, making it the standard 180,000 from early position. Aleh Plauski asked him for a count of his chips - "About one point nine" - and the two of them went to a flop of [8c][9c][jc]. Plauski checked, Klinger bet 200,000, Plauski called, and that took them to a [5c] turn. Plauski checked, Klinger checked, and the [ah] rivered. Plauski checked for a third time and Klinger now moved in 300,000. Plauski folded.

Klinger has been rewarded for his active approach this afternoon and has all but doubled his starting stack. He now has 2,345,000. -- HS

1.24pm: Chouity all-in
Aleh Plauski opened for 220,000 which Mesbah Guerfi raised to 640,000. Nicolas Chouity then used his chip might to move all-in for more than 9.5 million. Plauski passed and Guerfi looked uncomfortable for a bit. It didn't want to call for his stack though and folded. - SB

Nicolas Chouity

1.20pm: Chouity all-in
Aleh Plauski opened for 220,000 which Mesbah Guerfi raised to 640,000. Nicolas Chouity then used his chip might to move all-in for more than 9.5 million. Plauski passed and Guerfi looked uncomfortable for a bit. It didn't want to call for his stack though and folded. - SB

1.15pm: It's not a thriller
Josef Klinger limped from the small blind and Mesbah Guerfi checked his big blind. The flop was a full 24 hours in Dolly Parton's world: [9d][5h][9c]. Klinger checked, Guerfi bet, Klinger folded. Yes, that made the cut, which gives you an idea of the style of play so far. -- HS.

Josef Klinger

1.05pm: Klinger klings to active line
On the outer table yesterday, Josef Klinger was one of the more active players, not afraid to raise pre-flop, nor to call three bets and go to a flop. The same has been true this afternoon and he has raised three pots in succession - winning all of them without contest. -- HS

1pm: Guerfi folds
Josef Klinger opens for 185,000 and is called by Mesbah Guerfi for a flop of [8h][8d][9d]. Klinger then made it 250,000 which Guerfi called for a [9s] turn. Now Klinger moved all-in. Despite earlier interest Guerfi folded. -- SB

12.55pm: First flop
Our first flop of the afternoon appeared after Aleh Plauski raised and Nicolas Chouity called from the big blind. This was the second shortest stack versus chip leader. The flop came [5s][7s][10h] and after Chouity checked, Plauski bet 325,000 - and Chouity let it go. That's a nice little pot for Plauski. -- HS

From l-r: Aleh Plauski, Andrew Chen, Roger Hairabedian, Nicolas Chouity, Mesbah Guerfi, Herve Costa, Dominykas Karmazinas, Josef Klinger.

12.47pm: Second pot
Chen raises and takes the second and third hands of the day. -- SB

12.46pm: First pot
Chouity opens the first pot with a bet of 140,000 which is folded all round. - SB

12.45pm: Off we go
You might not believe it, but it's true. We're playing. Apologies to my online Scrabble opponent - that game is over. It's poker now. -- HS

12.30pm: A start is imminent
Yeah, we'll be off in a few minutes. -- HS

12.20pm: Waiting, waiting, waiting
The final table has not yet started. We're still waiting for microphones to be attached. Here's a money-making suggestion for anyone with enough knowledge: how to attach a television microphone to eight people in less than an hour. You'd make millions if you could nail that. -- HS

11.30am: Grand final day
Welcome back to Monte Carlo for the final table of the European Poker Tour Grand Final.

This is almost the last day of the last event of the sixth EPT season (were it not for the small matter of the high roller final table tomorrow). This is the last mouthful of a slap up meal served up in 13 courses. From the hors d'oeurves served up in Kyiv to the fish course at the PCA. We're now on Monte Carlo dessert where we're guaranteed sparkles on top.

Only eight players are here to enjoy it, led by Nicolas Chouity from Lebanon, who brings 10,280,000 to the final, a full six million ahead of the next guys. Those next guys are the newcomer Mesbah Guerfi alongside Andrew Chen, who is taking part in his second EPT final table.

We have everything you need for the armchair poker experience, including player profiles, which provide you with background to the cast. Click through for the starting chip counts, which will become updated chip counts once we start, and the results so far, all the way back to 128th place.

As for here we'll have detailed action from start to finish while you can watch for yourself on EPTLive.

Players are undergoing the pre-flight checks and we should be under way shortly. By the end of today we'll have a new EPT Grand Final Champion.

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Monte Carlo (in order of previous Grand Finals witnessed): Stephen Bartley (4), Howard Swains (3), Simon Young (2).