Two years ago at the Victoria Casino in London, Vicky Coren triumphed on home soil to become the first woman to win an EPT main event. Coren remained alone until about an hour ago at Hohensyburg Casino, Dortmund, when Sandra Naujoks, a PokerStars.de ShootingStar, joined her in the exclusive club, winning €917,000 and the latest EPT championship.

Naujoks, 27, took the lot after a tense heads up finale against countryman Holger Kanisch. An all-in with aces over jacks gave Naujoks the momentum and despite a battling comeback from Kanisch, Naujoks never looked like letting go.

With their chips in the middle pre-flop for the last time, and the stacks close to even, Kanisch was ahead, A-Q over Naujoks' A-9. An ace landed on the flop changing nothing but the crucial nine hit the turn making Naujoks the champion.

A modest Naujoks seemed awkward winning thanks to a well-timed dash of luck, but Kanisch, who had also played the tournament of his life, picking up €533,000, was as gracious in defeat as Naujoks was humble in victory. She lifted the winner's trophy to rapturous applause.

"It was sick. I don't really know what I feel," she told the EPT host Kara Scott moments after the last hand. "I'm exhausted." She added later: "I can't believe it. It's such a great feeling to win my home EPT."

It's been a week to remember for the Germans and the final table here did nothing but live up to local expectation. Marc Gork finished third, completing a German one-two-three and giving the home-town railbirds something to cheer about in what has been the largest EPT event of the year outside of the PCA.

It had been a final table loaded with possibility. The Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson fell short of a first title on his third final table. He finished in seventh place for €116,500. Luca Pagano made a record-breaking tenth cash en route to the final but also came up short, finishing in an exhausted sixth place for €153,000.

As well as Johan Storakers, an EPT veteran who recorded his best finish, collecting €237,000 for fourth place, there was also the matter of a certain Mike McDonald.

The 19-year-old, who famously became the youngest ever EPT winner in this very room 12 months ago, spent periods this afternoon dominating the table, a succession of all-in moves refilling the tanks after a coin-flip went awry against Kanisch, costing him his earlier momentum.

But hope for an historic second title was quashed by Naujoks who came alive after the dinner break and jumped into the lead. While McDonald exited in fifth place for €197,000, she survived a few knocks and eliminated Gork to go heads up.

Gork was the oddball of the final, even more so than Cengizcan Ulusu from Turkey, whose exit in eighth place followed a dramatic coin flip (we're talking literally here) that convinced him to call Mike McDonald's pocket kings with his own K-2, with statistically obvious consequences that will be talked about for years.

A self-confessed amateur, Gork, a literature student, read poetry for much of the final, ignoring the others in a bid to maintain his own concentration. It worked, albeit to the confusion of those on the rail, securing him third place and €307,000 to spend on whatever a student might need.

Tribute to the popularity of the game in Germany more than a third of the field called this their home EPT with German players picking up more than €2.1million of the €3.3 million prize pool. Sebastian Ruthenberg in Barcelona, Moritz Kranich in Deauville and now Sandra Naujoks, not to mention German winners of past seasons Thang Duc Nguyen and Michael Schultze, have proven that German poker is here to stay.

The result of the EPT Dortmund final table:

1st - Sandra Naujoks, Germany, ShootingStar, €917,000
2nd - Holger Kanisch, Germany, €533,000
3rd - Marc Gork, Germany, €307,000
4th - Johan Storakers, Sweden, €237,000
5th - Mike McDonald, Canada, €197,000
6th - Luca Pagano, Italy, Team PokerStars Pro, €153,000
7th - William Thorson, Sweden, Team PokerStars Pro, €116,500
8th - Cengizcan Ulusu, Turkey, €83,500

For a detailed look at how it got this way click on the links below:

Final table about to begin
Level 24 updates (continued)
Level 25 updates
Level 26 updates
Level 27 updates
Level 28 updates
Level 29 updates
Level 30 updates

Trying to imagine how the Germans feel? Count the exclamation marks on the German blog, or the tear drops of the Swedes. The Dutch stopped crying days ago, but their version of today's events can be found on the Dutch blog in all its glory.

As ever, today's photos were provided by the keen eye and expensive looking equipment of Neil Stoddart. You can also look back on any or all of the week's video blogs, as well as the extensive EPT archive, at PokerStars.tv.

All that's left is for us to say congratulations to Sandra Naujoks on what is unlikely to be her last tournament victory.

"The ShootingStars are a great team. We have so many good tournament players. My bet is that together we will win two bracelets at the World Series and I hope I win one."

She also said this:

Watch EPT Dortmund S5: Final Table Winner on PokerStars.tv

Them's fighting words.

Next stop San Remo for what could prove an even bigger EPT jamboree, with a beach. See you there.

Live updates from level 30 of EPT Dortmund are brought to you by Stephen Bartley and Howard Swains. Click refresh to see the latest updates here, or head on over to EPT Live for live action from the final table.

Blinds: 50,000-100,000 (ante: 10,000)

The final hand: Sandra Naujoks takes this one down. Naujoks makes it 300,000 to get it going, then Holger Kanisch makes it 1,000,000. Naujoks moves all in but is distraught when she hears an insta-call from Kanisch. She's right to be worried: Kanisch has A-Q and Naujoks has a dominated A-9. The flop helps nobody, but the turn is a miracle nine and Naujoks only needs to dodge a queen on the river to be the champion. The river is the 8d and that gives Naujoks the title.

A full tournament wrap is on its way.

Sandra Naujoks, PokerStars.de ShootingStar, wins EPT Dortmund, earning €917,000

10.40pm: Holger Kanisch, Germany, out in second, earning €533,000

10.30pm: Small ball
This heads up battle has now slowed right down again, with the stacks levelled right out. It could be the prelude to an explosion, but it might also stay like this for a couple of hours yet.

10.20pm: Swings
Holger Kanisch has got right up to about level with Sandra Naujoks now, the result of consecutive hands. In the first, Naujoks raised to 250,000 pre-flop and Kanisch got her off it with an 800,000 re-raise. The next hand got to the flop -- 5h-10d-6d -- which was checked and then Naujoks check-called 120,000. The river is the 4s and after Naujoks checked, Kanisch bet 500,000, which was enough to get Naujoks to give up.

10.12pm: Double up
Holger Kanisch doubles up. They get it all in pre-flop and Kanisch has it good with As-7s against Naujoks' Kc-4c. The flop has a seven on it, effectively removing Naujoks' four as an out, but then she picks up a straight draw on the turn. Still, she misses all her outs on the river and Kanisch fights on.

Kanisch: 2,540,000
Naujoks: 4,100,000

10.05pm: Dizzy heights
We have now reached level 30, where the big blind is a mighty 100,000. Revised prediction: this will be the final level.

Chip counts:
Holger Kanisch: 1,330,000
Sandra Naujoks: 5,310,000

Live updates from level 29 of EPT Dortmund are brought to you by Stephen Bartley and Howard Swains. Click refresh to see the latest updates here, or head on over to EPT Live for live action from the final table.

Blinds: 40,000-80,000 (ante: 10,000)

10.05pm: Slow
Sandra Naujoks has a massive chip lead heads up, but isn't prepared to give it up lightly. She's sticking to her plan and allowing Kanisch the small pots. The blinds are now going up.

9.56pm: Cooler
Jacks are pretty good heads up; aces are better. Kanisch had the former of those, Naujoks had the latter, and they held off until the seven high flop before all the money inevitably found its way into the middle. The turn and river were blanks and the aces were good. Naujoks now assumes the chip lead with about 5,060,000 and Kanisch has 1,580,000.

9.55pm: Video killed the blog star
Marc Gork was our third placed finisher, and he spoke with our video blog team:

Watch EPT Dortmund S5: Interview with Marc Gork Final Table on PokerStars.tv

Johan Storakers was our fourth-placed finisher. And gosh darn if he didn't talk to them there video bloggers too:

Watch EPT Dortmund S5: Interview with Johan Storakers Final Table on PokerStars.tv

9.50pm: Pre-flop
Sandra Naujoks has raised twice pre-flop and Holger Kanisch's has reraised on both occasions. Both times the three-bet was good.

9.40pm: A slow start
It's been a testy start to this heads up battle, with Kanisch happy to call Naujoks down without getting too cute. The first time they get all the way to the river and Kanisch's third pair nines is good. But the second time, they both check a flop of 2s-8c-6c and Kanisch check-calls the As turn. Naujoks' bet was 100,000. The river is the 3h and Kanisch checks again, Naujoks bets 200,000. Kanisch calls, but Naujoks' A-4 is good. That brings the counts close to even.

9.20pm: Battle begins
On a flop of 6d-8d-4h Naujoks bet 80,000 before Kanisch raised to 250,000. Naujoks called for a Th turn. Another 250,000 this time from Naujoks, enough to force the pass from Kanisch.

9.15pm: Marc Gork, Germany, out in third, earning €307,000
Something had to give and it was Marc Gork. He's just become our third-placed finisher after he went through the same coin-flip routine of Ulusu earlier, with similar catastrophic results. Holger Kanisch made it 160,000 pre-flop and Sandra Naujoks called from the small blind. Gork was clearly pondering whether to fold, call or shove and so decided to flip that coin. It obviously came down on the side of "shove", which he did for his last 900,000. Kanisch called, Naujoks didn't. They flipped. Kanisch had 7-7, Gork had Kd-10h and the flop came 2c-Qd-5c-Jd-5h. Gork is gone.

9.05pm: Tens to sixes
Gork bet 185,000 pre-flop which Naujoks raised to 500,000 total. Gork then re-raised all-in. Naujoks called showing pocket tens to Gork's pocket sixes. The board ran out 9s-5s-Jc-8d-2h. Naujoks doubles up.

9.01pm: Squeeze
Naujoks made it 200,000 which Gork called. Then Kanisch re-raised all-in and both opponents pass.

9pm: Getting close
Sandra Naujoks and Marc Golk have certainly become friends here in Dortmund.

8.50pm: Another level
On we go. Up go the blinds. Prediction: This will be the last level of this tournament*.

*PokerStars blog offers no guarantees as to the accuracy of predictions. May cause hypertension.

Live updates from level 28 of EPT Dortmund are brought to you by Stephen Bartley and Howard Swains. Click refresh to see the latest updates here, or head on over to EPT Live for live action from the final table.

Blinds: 30,000-60,000 (ante: 5,000)

8.52pm: Level comes to a close
Kanisch makes it 150,000 pre-flop which Gork calls. The flop comes 5h-Tc-5s. Gork checks and Kanisch bet 160,000. The turn came Qs which both checked for 9d on the river. Gork checked before Kanisch bet 250,000, good to take it down as the level ends.

8.50pm: Three-way nothing
Holger Kanisch makes it 150,000 pre-flop from under-the-gun/button. Both the blinds call. The flop is Qh-Js-Kc and all three players check. The turn is the 2c and all three players check. The river is the Ad and once Naujoks bets, Gork raises, Naujoks shoves and Gork calls, we all know that they're both about to show 10s. Which they do. Chop chop.

8.35pm: By the book
Curious or furious about that damn book Marc Gork has been reading? Here's his take on the whole deal...in German.

Watch EPT Dortmund S5: Final Table Interview mit Marc Gork (Deutsch) on PokerStars.tv

8.30pm: Silent but deadly
Sandra Naujoks made it 200,000 and Kanisch called for a 4c-Ks-Kh flop. Both checked for a 3d turn and when an ace hit the river Kanisch made it another 300,000 to go. Naujoks thought for a while and eventually called. But she mucked pretty fast when Kanisch showed Kc-Qh to win the hand.

8.20pm: the Gork and Naujoks show
Naujoks, made it 205,000 from the small blind and Marc Gork pushed all-in from the big. A tense few minutes followed before Naujoks passed.

A minute later it's the same process, a bet by Naujoks followed by an all-in shove by Gork, only this time Naujoks called showing Jh-Th to Gork's Ks-Js. The jack hit the all club flop, a king on the turn to double up Gork, who is now the new chip leader.

8.10pm: Breather. Back
The remaining three players took a bit of a break after losing Storakers. But now they're back.

7.55pm: The final table hunt
That is the name of the new video blog from our crack team in Dortmund. Here it is:

Watch EPT Dortmund S5: The Final Table Hunt on PokerStars.tv

7.50pm: Three Germans
The headline says it all. Whoever takes this one down, Germany will be crowning its third champion of the season.

7.45pm: Johan Storakers, Sweden, out in fourth, earning €237,000
This is the mother of all heaters for Sandra Naujoks. She has now knocked out Johan Storakers in another pot worth more than two million. They got it all in pre-flop and they both had the goods. Storakers had A-Q, Naujoks had A-K and the better hand stood up. Naujoks has been all in on something like nine hands out of ten since the dinner break and has won every one. She has millions and millions.

7.40pm: Mike McDonald, Canada, out in fifth, earning €197,000
Sandra Naujoks' amazing post-dinner rush continues and it has accounted for the defending champion Mike McDonald. Holger Kanisch got this one started by raising to 130,000 from under-the-gun. Mike McDonald pushed all in over the top for about 500,000+. Naujoks then re-raised all in and she had McDonald covered. Kanisch got out the way and the hands were: Kd-Jh for McDonald, 10d-10h for Najouks. The board was dry and the pocket pair stood up. Naujoks now has 2,700,000 and is the dominant chip leader. McDonald is dust, and we're still seeking a first two-time champ.

7.35pm: What you reading for?
Marc Gork, reading a book at the table right now, made it 160,000 pre-flop. Naujoks called. On the flop of T-Q-J Gork made it 175,000 before Naujoks moved all-in. Now Gork put the book down, but only to spend several minutes looking thoughtful before folding.

7.31pm: Naujoks continues the charge
After taking the first couple of hands, and now she's just taken the third and fourth too. McDonald raised to 140,000, Naujoks moved all in over the top, for 500-odd more. McDonald folds. She shows pocket fives. The next hand, she is all in again and again it gets through. She now has close to one million.

7.30pm: New level
The blinds creep ever upward and there's a lot of all in poker to come during the next few levels.

Live updates from level 27 of EPT Dortmund are brought to you by Stephen Bartley and Howard Swains. Click refresh to see the latest updates here, or head on over to EPT Live for live action from the final table.

Blinds: 25,000-50,000 (ante: 5,000)

7.25pm: Naujoks back to the action
Sandra Naujoks came back from the dinner break and moved all in on the first hand. It worked and she picked up the blinds and antes. The second hand back, she did exactly the same thing and again she got it through. There are only two minutes left on this level and we're entering our 28th hour of play.

7pm: Getting to like this place
Mike McDonald is no stranger to Dortmund. The defending champion spoke to the video blog team earlier today...

Watch EPT Dortmund S5: Interview with Mike McDonald Final Table on PokerStars.tv

6.20pm: Break
We're taking a dinner break of one hour. The prizewinners page has the latest payout details, the chip counts page has the latest counts for the five remaining players.

See you in an hour.

6.16pm: Luca Pagano, Italy, out in sixth place, earning €153,000
Pagano is done. He had been short-stacked for a while, had moved up to about 800,000 through a series of all in pre-flop shoves, but has now busted in sixth. He moved in again from the button and Marc Gork called from the small blind. They had similar stacks, but Gork just had Pagano covered. They showed their hands: pocket sevens for Pagano, A-9 for Gork. A race. The flop came 10s-Kd-4s, but the turn was the killer, the 9h. A seven did not appear on the river and the Team PokerStars Pro was knocked out.

6.10pm: Closed for business
There's a pattern developing of all-in moves. Luca PAgano did it, no takers, then McDonald did the same, no takers.

6pm: Pagano pounces
Luca Pagano moves all-in. It's folded round to Mike McDonald who doesn't immediately pass. Instead he counts Pagano's stack. That's all though. He mucks.

5.55pm: A flop!
McDonald all in, folded all round. Pagano all in, folded all round. McDonald all in, folded all round. Etc., etc., etc. But then, wow, all kinds of nothing breaks out. Sandra Najouks calls pre-flop, Pagano folds, then the two blinds -- Kanisch and Gork -- go to the flop. It comes 5d-8d-8c and it's checked all round. Then the turn is 8s and Kanisch bets 99,000 and everyone folds. That's that.

5.40pm: All in again
Sandra Naujoks is the latest to move all-in, giving McDonald a rest. Only Luca Pagano ponders a call but after a few minutes the Tema PokerStars Pro folds.

5.35pm: McDonald blitz
Mike McDonald is bossing this table now, even though he still doesn't necessarily have the biggest stack. He's realised that all in every single hand is the way to go and is doing precisely that, winning blinds and antes over and over again. He adds about 10 percent to his stack every time he does it, and even more when someone else tries to get involved.

5.21pm: Gork needs whoppa but McDonald gets supersized
Mike McDonald moves all-in with Ac-Qd for 326,000 and is called by Marc Gork holding 8s-7s. Both players stand to watch the flop, 8d-4d-Ah. McDonald is ahead and the turn card Jd gives the Canadian a flush draw which he makes on the Ad river.

5.20pm: New level
The blinds are up.

Live updates from level 26 of EPT Dortmund are brought to you by Stephen Bartley and Howard Swains. Click refresh to see the latest updates here, or head on over to EPT Live for live action from the final table.

Blinds: 20,000-40,000 (ante: 4,000)

5.17pm: As the level ends
Naujoks tries an all-in move and gets no contest. Then in the next hand Kanisch takes the blinds and ante with a simple pre-flop raise.

5.15pm: New/old chip leader
Johan Storakers is our new/old chip leader, regaining the top spot in a hand against Holger Kanisch. There's no action pre-flop and the two of them see a flop of 6-6-3. They both check and the turn is a queen and Kanisch bets 140,000. Storakers raises 210,000 more and Kanisch folds.

5.10pm: Naujoking
Naujoks move all in for 468,000. the only player showing any interest in calling is Gork, but he passes.

5.03pm: Gorky lark
Gork makes it 115,000 pre-flop which is immediately raised by Kanisch to 330,000 which gets an "argh" from Gork. After Gork chews on a banana for a few moments he mucks.

5pm: Through two million
Holger Kanisch is the first player through the two million mark, although it's mighty tight at the top. Johan Storakers has 1,800,000; Gork has 1,200,000. Sandra Naujoks and Luca Pagano have just more than 600,000, with Mike McDonald on something like 330,000.

4.45pm: Pagano changes his mind
Luca Pagano raises from under-the-gun to 110,000 and it seems as though it's going to get through until Sandra Naujoks reraises all in from the big blind.

It's about 526,000 in total. Pagano thinks, counts his chips, then says: "I think I might have to call." Then, however, he thinks and counts some more and then says. "You know what? I changed my mind." He folds.

4.50pm: So much promise
A couple of hands that show potential but then fizzle out. Luca Pagano moved all-in but got no takers, then a raise by Marc Gork was answered by a re-raise from Kanisch before Gork folded.

4.40pm: William Thorson, out in seventh, winning €116,500
The Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson will have to wait for his first EPT title. He lost a major pot to Holger Kanisch earlier and has been looking to pick his spot to double up. He shoved from the button and was looked up by Johan Storakers in the small blind. Storakers had Kc-Jd and Thorson had 8s-9h. The flop gave plenty of help to Thorson -- 7c-9s-10c, but the Ks on the turn gave the lead back to Storakers and Thorson missed his out to a straight on the river. That was the 4s. Thorson is bitterly disappointed and making his way to the rail.

4.35pm: Kanisch all-in
McDonald raises 105,000 pre-flop which Kanisch re-raises to 320,000 total. McDonald asks him "how much you got back?" covering the German. He then announces re-raise all-in which Kanisch calls showing Ac-Ks to McDonald's pocket tens. The flop comes Qs-Kc-Js, giving the local boy a pair but leaving McDonald with an open ended straight draw. Nothing on the turn and river to change that - 7s, 6s, and Kanisch doubles through. McDonald down to 491,000.

4.30pm: Thorson shoving
William Thorson now only has one move with a stack of less than 400,000. He's done it twice -- the all-in pre-flop shove, of course -- and he's taken it down both times.

4.20pm: Thorson takes big hit
The hopes of William Thorson have just been crippled by Holger Kanisch. All in with Qc-8s he was called by Thorson with As-Kc. All looked good for the Team PokerStars Pro on the 2d-5h-Ts flop but the 8d on the turn swung the momentum back to the German. A blank 6c on the river doubled up Kanisch and left Thorson with a little less than 400,000.

4.10pm: Break
The tournament players are on their first 15 minute break of the day. They will return to the following stacks:

Holger Kanisch 504,000
William Thorson 900,000
Johan Storåkers 1,014,000
Mike McDonald 1,389,000
Sandra Naujoks 632,000
Luca Pagano 846,000
Marc Gork 1,344000

Players listed by seat order

Live updates from level 25 of EPT Dortmund are brought to you by Stephen Bartley and Howard Swains. Click refresh to see the latest updates here, or head on over to EPT Live for live action from the final table.

Blinds: 15,000-30,000 (ante: 3,000)

3.58pm: Break time
Players go on a 15 minute break at the end of level 25.

3.55pm: Before the break
Thorson makes a pre-flop bet of 99,000. McDonald then raises to 300,000 before the action returns to the Swede. He thinks for several minutes but then folds as the level comes to comes to a close.

3.50pm: Naujoks getting involved
It's a relatively quiet passage of play, with few flops and little action. Mike McDonald recently made it 80,000 to play and Sandra Naujoks reraised to 230,000. That was enough and McDonald folded. Naujoks stacked up about 650,000 total. The approximate counts at the moment are:

Holger Kanisch 489,000
William Thorson 1,057,000
Johan Storåkers 1,050,000
Mike McDonald 1,163,000
Sandra Naujoks 638,000
Luca Pagano 852,000
Marc Gork 1,380,000

3.45pm: Blinds backed up
You may have noticed the blinds are not following the standard structure. This is because the blinds were pegged back a level at the start of play, making the level 25 blinds currently 15,000-30,000 with a 3,000 ante.

3.40pm: Gork and Pagano at it
the action is folded to Luca Pagano on the button who makes it 95,000. Marc Gork in the small blind raises to 200,000. With no one else involved it was back to Pagano who put a stack of blue chips on stand by while he thought things through. He glanced over at Gork, only to see Gork staring back with a certain degree of cheek. Pagano called for a flop of 7s-9s-5s. Gork immediately moved all-in without touching his chips. More thinking but Pagano passed.

3.30pm: Thorson loves blinds
William Thorson takes down two small pots back to back. The first is when he's in the big blind and Holger Kanisch makes it up from the small, then both players check the Kd-Jc-Ad-7c-Kc board all the way, before Thorson bets on the end. Kanisch folds. The next hand, it's folded all the way to Thorson's small blind before he puts in a raise and pinches Johan Storåkers' 40,000.

Incidentally, all incidences of this letter: 'å' on PokerStarsblog.com come courtesy of PokerStarsblog.nu, where there's loads of that kind of thing. (And some squealing whenever a Swede wins a pot.)

3.22pm: Cengizcan Ulusu, Turkey, finishes eighth for €83,500
A three way all-in makes for the biggest hand of the day so far. Ulusu, who had been crippled in the McDonald hand, moved in with Jh-9h, being met there by Marc Gork with pocket jacks and Johan Storakers with pocket sixes. The flop was good for Gork, Js-Qs-3s, but crucially one of Storakers's sixes was a spade, making Gork sweat. He needn't have worried. The 4d and 2d did nothing to change things and Ulusu becomes the eighth place finisher.

3.17pm: Well, it's unconventional; let's say that
This is a bonkers hand. William Thorson limped from under-the-gun plus two, and Cengizcan Ulusu raised to 150,000. Mike McDonald had seen enough and shoved all in for 572,000. Thorson folded, but Ulusu then went through one of the most extraordinary routines seen at an EPT final table. The Turk seemed desperate to call, but then maybe thought better of it, but then decided to let the Gods determine his fate. He reached into his inside pocket and found a coin, tossed it, then announced: "Call." What did he have? Well, he had Kd-2d. McDonald had pocket kings. The flop brought a two, but the miracle outdraw did not come and McDonald doubled up. "He quite literally lost a coin flip," said Stephen Bartley. McDonald doubles, Ulusu is crippled.

3.07pm: Storakers strikes
Johan Storakers consolidated his chip lead by three-betting William Thorson pre-flop and getting his countryman to lay it down. The latest approximate chip counts going into this level are:

Holger Kanisch 664, 000
William Thorson 1, 026, 000
Cengizcan Ulusu 644, 000
Johan Storåkers 1, 498, 000
Mike McDonald 629, 000
Sandra Naujoks 624, 000
Luca Pagano 1, 069, 000
Marc Gork 475, 000

3pm: First all-in
A bet of 85,000 by Pagano, raised by Kanisch who moves all-in for 510,000. Pagano thinks for a second but mucks.

2.55pm: Blinds up
Naujoks raises 50,000 pre-flop, good for the blinds and antes.

Live updates from level 24 of EPT Dortmund are brought to you by Stephen Bartley and Howard Swains. Click refresh to see the latest updates here, or head on over to EPT Live for live action from the feature table.

Blinds: 15,000-30,000 (ante: 3,000)

2.55pm: Thorson's
William Thorson has just taken the first sizeable pot of the final table so far. It was a battle of the blinds, with Holger Kanisch making up Thorson's 30,000 big blind. Thorson checked. The flop came Qc-Jh-9d and both players checked. The turn was the 4c and Kanisch bets 25,000. Thorson bumped it up to 75,000, and Kanisch called. The river was the Ac and Kanisch checked again. Thorson bet 105,000, which was half the pot, and Kanisch called. Thorson showed 9-4 for bottom two, and Kanisch mucked.

2.50pm: Luca's loot
Mike McDonald bet 22,000 pre-flop. Luca Pagano re-raised to 220,000, enough to take the pot.

2.40pm: Early action
McDonald and Naujoks see a flop. Ac-Th-9d both check but when McDonald checks the 7s turn Naujoks makes it 40,000, enough for the Canadian to pass.

2.30pm: Cards in the air
On the very stroke of half an hour late, play gets underway. Luca Pagano raises to 140,000 pre-flop and takes the blinds and antes. We still have about 20 minutes of level 24 to play.

The players are gathering, the cameras are flashing, the EPT trophy shines and the television stage is ready. Eight players remain in the EPT Dortmund and all that stands between them and an EPT title are seven others intent on ruining each other's day. This should make for a thrilling final with records to be broken and €917,000 up for grabs, and you can watch every hand on eptlive, with coverage about to get started.

Let's meet the players...

Seat 1: Holger Kanisch, 26, Koblenz, Germany - 661,000

Holger Kanisch is an economic science student at the University of Wuppertal but admits to spending much of his time playing online poker, $50 to $200 sit and goes, under the username 'Tonding'. He has also played a number of major live tournaments, including the 2007 WSOP main event and the APPT Macau, for which he qualified on PokerStars. Kanisch has no special plans for the final table except to finish as deep as possible, noting that the player he fears most is William Thorson. "He has position on me and is a very good and aggressive player."

Seat 2: William Thorson, 25, Gothenberg, Sweden - Team PokerStars Pro - 829,000

Thorson is one of the most popular players on the EPT. With his fearless attitude, he can terrify everyone at the table while still wearing a huge grin on his face. Thorson has had some major EPT achievements. Eliminated in sixth place at last year's EPT San Remo, he was the final table bubble boy at last year's PCA and finished third at EPT3 Dublin. Thorson career highlights also include his memorable 13th place finish in the 2006 WSOP for $907,000, and in 2007 he made the final table in the $5k limit hold'em event, winning $136,493. Online Thorson plays under the name 'William', focusing on Omaha cash games, but prefers tournaments when playing live.

Seat 3: Cengizcan Ulusu, 38, Erfurt, Germany - 537,000

Cengizcan Ulusu has been professional poker player for more than 20 years. However, he only started playing Texas Hold'em a year or so ago. Ulusu, who bought himself into the event, says EPT Dortmund is certainly his biggest tournament result to date.

Seat 4: Johan Storakers, 37, Stockholm, Sweden - 1,615,000

Johan Storakers is something of a veteran on the international poker circuit with a tournament resume dating back to 1996. The "Swedish Striker" has had more than a dozen final table appearances in World Series, WPT and other big buy-in events but, despite many appearances, has yet to go deep at an EPT main event, although he did come third in a €300 side event at EPT4 Barcelona. Storakers's biggest came in the 2008 Aruba Classic where he earned $486,000 for second place and took his live tournament winnings to over $2.5 million.

Seat 5: Mike McDonald, 19, Waterloo, Canada - 746,000

McDonald makes his second EPT final table today, having won this tournament last season, earning €933,600, and becoming, at 18-years-old, the youngest-ever EPT champion. Should McDonald win today he will become the tour's first double winner.
That success was his fifth major cash in a five-week period and the biggest of his career. The former maths student - known as 'Timex' online - also finished 14th at EPT4 Prague for €20,200.

Seat 6: Sandra Naujoks, 27, Dessau, East Germany - ShootingStar - 586,000

Naujoks initially studied German and history to become a high school teacher before pursuing careers as a graphic designer and model. She first started playing poker with friends in a home game before going on to try online no-limit hold 'em tournaments playing as "The Black Mamba". She began playing major live tournaments in 2008 and recorded an immediate success when she won the European Championship at the Casinos Austria Poker Tour, beating the Team PokerStars Pro Alexander Kravchenko heads up. Naujoks has been a member of the prestigious PokerStars.de ShootingStar team since the PCA in January but the Dortmund final table is her first EPT success.

Seat 7: Luca Pagano, 31, Treviso, Italy - Team PokerStars Pro - 1,115,000

Already the record-holder for the most EPT cashes, Pagano added his tenth in-the-money finish here in Germany, bringing his total EPT earnings to more that €500,000. His most recent major EPT result was the Grand Final in Monte Carlo last year where he came sixth, earning €337,000. The former computer programming student began his poker career using play money on PokerStars but soon progressed to real money and turned a modest deposit into a monster online bankroll. He is also hugely successful in live events and was voted EPT Player of the Year last September.

Seat 8: Marc Gork, 21, Chemnitz, Germany - 540,000

Gork is a German language and literature student who has been playing poker for four years, claiming, however, that he is "not even half a pro". This festival in Dortmund has now hosted the best two results of his career: firstly, the final table in the main event and previously the €300 satellite to win his seat. Prior to arriving here his biggest achievement was 14th place in a PokerStars Sunday second chance tournament. He said: "This is my first EPT and getting this far is really like a dream. But it's definitely made me want to play more events so I hope to come to San Remo as well."

Four years is a long time in poker. If we cast our minds back to season one of the EPT, we can probably remember the sight of a spiky-haired young Swede and a suave young Italian making quiet yet confident progress through fields of about 200 players, anteing something like €2,000 a pop. There was some raw, rude talent in each of those young frames -- and about fifteen pots of hair gel on top of them.

These days, EPT fields regularly top 600, the buy-in is up to about €5,000 and any wetness behind those two pairs of ears is just the gel. William Thorson and Luca Pagano might still be only 26 and 31, respectively, but they are veterans of the EPT, with a huge string of impressive results behind them. They are proudly decked in the livery of Team PokerStars Pro and an EPT really isn't an EPT without either of them. They are seasoned campaigners, fearsomely talented, and part of the furniture.

It has been a genuine delight, then, that this week in Dortmund, we have been treated to the maximum exposure of both of them. Both Pagano and Thorson have battled all the way through this monstrous field and will take their place around the familiar beige baize of an EPT final table. It's the third time for Thorson, the fourth time for Pagano, but the first time they have been there together. And neither is going to need reminding that they haven't yet gone all the way to the title.

This week, though, has been the time to break records. And doesn't a young Canadian named Mike McDonald just know it. He became the youngest-ever EPT champion when he took down last year's Dortmund renewal at the preposterously young age of 18.

This year, he is back to defend his title, and defend it to the death. At the preposterously young age of 19, McDonald is now at his second EPT final table, and in with a very real shout of becoming the tour's first double winner.

Those are only three of our finalists, and the other five are really not to be overlooked either. This week in the Ruhr region has also been the time for the PokerStars ShootingStars team to shine. That hand-picked band of the best players from the German-speaking countries has already recorded a number of high-profile results, most notably Sebastian Ruthenberg's victory in Barcelona this year.

And the last nine players here ended up featuring the two most-recent additions to the team: Sandra Naujoks and Florian Langmann, the former added to the teamsheet ahead of the PCA in January, and the latter earning his stripes on the opening day of this tournament. Although Langmann would ultimately perish in ninth, missing out on the final table, he has already taken a huge step towards paying back the supporters. Naujoks takes her place on her first EPT final.

Also joining them on the final table is Marc Gork, a young German who has been among the most distinctive presences here in Dortmund, not only for his happy-go-lucky table manner, but also for his unique stylings.

He has been mixing it up in the vocal jousting for most of the day, but has also featured in more of his fair share of photographs, owing to a pair of headphones that he clamps over his eyes, and a book of poetry that he reads between hands. Poetry. Poker. It's another first.

No one knew a great deal about the Turkish player Cengizcan Ulusu at the start of today, except for the fact that he started yesterday with only 9,000 chips, which he built up to more than 300,000.

In truth, no one still knows a great deal about Ulusu except for the fact that he has been sitting under the studio lights of the featured table all day and never once looked out of place, flustered, or anything but utterly comfortable among the sharks. He also now has close to a million in chips and would surprise no one if he could really upset the form book.

Holger Kanisch was our overnight chip leader, and he has taken a roller-coaster ride through the day, but stays in with a shot at the title.

Kanisch has, however, yielded the chip lead today to a man named Johan Storakers. The Swedish stalwart of the European scene has enjoyed his best run at an EPT here in Dortmund, and he seems to have been enjoying every minute. He was sitting for a long time beside Andreas Hoivold and the pair of them were laughing right up until the point that Storakers knocked Hoivold out, nines holding up against A-K. That started Storakers on a roll that takes him to tomorrow's final table with more than a million chips.

Storakers has ample experience of tournaments in all countries across the globe, and will fancy his chances.

All of which nine million words is a rather long winded way of saying that this is one awesome final table lined up for tomorrow in Casino Hohensyburg. How we got there is best discovered by clicking on any of these links below, where it's pretty much a blow-by-blow account.

The teddy bears' picnic
EPT Live
Clash of the titans
All in, English style
Out, out and ... out
Shipping lanes
Langmann's long game
Italian sandwich
Luca doubles, Kellett back, Gork up
Level 20 updates
Level 21 updates
Level 22 updates
Level 23 updates
Level 24 updates

If you've survived all this English and not understood a word of it, then here's what you're probably looking for: coverage in German, Dutch or Swedish. And head over to PokerStars.tv for video blogs, archive footage, and enough poker in pictures to fill your brain and have it trickling out your ears.

All static photography comes courtesy of Neil Stoddart. And we'll be back tomorrow, along with EPT Live, for all the action from the final table. The prizewinners to date can be found on the prizewinners page, and the full final table chip counts are on the chip count page.

Bis morgen, meine freunde.