If you were up late last night in London, kept the computer on during Sunday night football or the Championship game back in the States, or just logged in this morning to check out the latest news, you’ll know that the biggest buy-in tournament on the EPT, the EPT £1 Million Showdown, creaked towards a final table last night at the Victoria Casino in London.

Watch EPT London 08: £1,000,000 Show Down on PokerStars.tv

As Michael Martin had bestowed upon him all the honours of becoming the EPT London champion, before being ushered towards a bar for some light refreshments to celebrate; three tables were slogging away a few feet along, 21 players. Now that figure stands at just 14.

What’s all the fuss? This is the first event of its kind, at least for the European Poker Tour, a £20,000 buy-in ($35,000) deep stack marathon. Then there’s the money – a first prize of more than £500,000.

The plan was to play down to a final table in just one day, like one of those extreme sports found on three figure TV channels late at night, and they nearly made it. But despite the protests of some players, famous for having little use for a 24 hour clock, officials drew the line at 14, calling time at 2.30am.

That’s good for us because if the standard of play is as good as yesterday you won’t want to miss a beat.

So who’s left?

For starters Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier. “No Mercy” played solid poker for 12 hours yesterday and found a little mercy for herself right when she needed it, catching a break when all-in with A-Q against A-K. The queen bailed her out, leaving her with close to 100,000 and an expression on her face that said she didn’t intend to waste it.

David Benyamine leads going into today, a stack of 295,900 making him chip leader. Just two days ago the Frenchman finished 12th in the EPT London main event and this stands as a good way to make amends. Then there’s Jason Mercier, third in chips, who since winning the EPT San Remo seems to crop up at the top of chip count lists everywhere.

Others include WSOP H.O.R.S.E. champion Scotty Nguyen and recent WSOP Europe winner John Juanda, building on an incredible run of form this week. PokerStars players Michael Watson and Isaac Haxton are not far behind, and Million Dollar Man Dennis Phillips also eased his way into the last day yesterday.

It could have been even better for Team PokerStars. Daniel Negreanu busted when down to two tables and it was the same fate for Barry Greenstein.

But you still won’t need much back ground info on the candidates for the final, all of whom have track records that glitter with credentials.

David Benyamine, France, 295,900
Alexander Roumeliotis, Sweden, 229,400
Jason Mercier, USA, 161,200
Scotty Nguyen, USA, 159,100
Masaaki Kagawa, Japan, 159,000
John Juanda, USA, 138,900
Michael Watson, Canada, PokerStars player, 118,000
Christopher Jetten, Canada, 105,100
Isabelle Mercier, Canada, Team PokerStars Pro, 99,200
Isaac Haxton, USA, PokerStars player, 83,200
Dennis Phillips, USA, Million Dollar Man, 73,200
Ghassan Bitar, Ghana, 58,700
Andrew Feldman, UK, 33,000
Jani Sointula, Finland, 6,500

We’ll have the official word on each of them when we reach the final, before that it’s all about the poker.
Right now a security guard stands over a one foot high pile of £50 notes, wearing a tunic of lapels and polished buttons, looking suspicious, under orders only to release the cash to the winner later tonight.

There’s only one way to find out who that will be. Let battle begin.

We're now into level 31 where the blinds are 60,000-120,000. Two players remained at the start of the level. Updates will be posted here until we have a champion. Click refresh to update the page. Don’t forget you can also watch the action live on EPT Live and click here for prize winners so far

Michael Martin, USA, wins EPT London, earning £1,000,000
Michael Tureniec, PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, is eliminated in second place, earning £525,314

10.50pm: Michael Martin announces all in pre-flop. That, of course, means that Michael Tureniec is covered and he calls! It's pocket fours for Martin, K-9 for Tureniec and the flop runs out 2d-3s-6h, then 4d! then 2s on the river, which means this is all over!

10.45pm: After some small pre-flop raising, the players check a flop of Jh-10s-6h. Then all hell breaks loose. The prompt is the seemingly-innocuous 3s on the turn but Tureniec likes it and bets 385,000 into a 500,000 pot. Michael Martin calls. On the river - Jd - Tureniec bets 680,000 and Martin calls. Tureniec shows Q-4 for queen high, but Martin's K-10 - a pair of 10s - rewards the hero call. Martin is now back up to 4.6m in chips against the 1.375m of Tureniec.

10.40pm: The blinds are sky high, but so are the stacks in front of both of these men. And yet this has gone quiet again, with Michael Tureniec dumbfounding EPT Live commentator John Duthie by folding his button heads up. "I have never seen a Swedish player fold his button," says Duthie.

10.30pm: The players return with their even stacks and this really could go either way. More peerless insights such as that will follow right here.

10.10pm: We'll start this level in 15 minutes where Michael Tureniec will be the chip leader in what is an exceptionally well-balanced contest. The Swede has 3,140,000; Michael Martin has 2,865,000.

We're now into level 30 where the blinds are 40,000-80,000 with a running 10,000 running ante. Two players remained at the start of the level. Updates will be posted here until we have a champion. Click refresh to update the page. Don’t forget you can also watch the action live on EPT Live and click here for prize winners so far

10.10pm: On the last hand of the level they get to see flop of 8h-Kd-3h and Tureniec bets 120,000. Martin lets it go and the blinds go up.

10pm: The momentum has gently shifted towards Michael Tureniec, even though Michael Martin just has the chip lead. Martin raises pre-flop, another 120,000. Tureniec reraises to 700,000, leaving Martin needing to find another 480,000. He can't find it and instead opts to fold.

9.55pm: Turneniec takes down another decent pot, about 760,000, when he bets out on a board of J-J-6. Michael Martin folds.

9.50pm: In an unraised pot, they see it all the way to the river and a board showing Kh-10c-2c-9h-8c. Tureniec checks on the end, Martic bets 120,000, and that's good enough.

9.45pm: Michael Martin raises on the button and Tureniec calls. They see a flop of 10h-Jd-Qs, which they both check and then Tureniec bets 220,000 on the dangerous Kd turn. Martin calls and this is looking very suspicious. The river is the 6s and Tureniec checks. Martin also checks and shows K-9 but Tureniec has trap-checked the ace. Martin does very well not to bet his wrong end of the straight and Tureniec's cunning plan is foiled. Still, he takes the pot of 800,000 and on we go.

9.35pm: These two have both been relentlessly aggressive on this final table, but it's all become might cagey in recent minutes. We even see a turn card - it's the 2h to add to a flop of 4s-Qc-7c - and Martin bets 300,000. Tureniec slides in the call. The river is the 9h and Tureniec checks again (he's check-called both previous streets) allowing Martin to bet 650,000. He calls and Martin shows Q-2. Tureniec doesn't show. That's a million-plus pot going to Martin.

9.20pm: It's heads-up in London after the elimination of the Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki. Horecki talked to our video bloggers earlier today about the final table experience:

Watch EPT London 08 Final Table: Marcin Horecki on PokerStars.tv

9.15pm: The chip counts have definitely leveled out here with Tureniec sitting with 2,330,000 and Martin with 3,675,000. There's still some poker to be played here. Martin raises pre-flop and Tureniec makes it another 450,000. Martin folds.

9.10pm: About two hands into the new level, they race for the title. Tureniec is all in with A-J and Michael Martin calls from the big blind with pocket sevens. One ace, two aces on the flop and no seven level this one up and we play on.

We're now into level 29 where the blinds are 40,000-80,000 with a running 5,000 running ante. We play uninterrupted from here all the way through to a new EPT London champion. Updates will be posted here level by level with the latest information at the top. Click refresh to update the page. Don’t forget you can also watch the action live on EPT Live and click here for prize winners so far

9.10pm: With a three-to-one chip lead, the portents look good for Michael Martin. Considering he was down to one big blind earlier this level, it's an amazing turn-aroud for the American and few would bet against him now.

9.10pm: The approximate heads up chip counts are as follows:
Michael Martin - 4,800,000
Michael Tureniec - 1,205,000

9.05pm: As they reset the final table to accommodate the final two players, why not take a look at the thoughts of Alan Smurfit, the final table player who went out earlier today:

Watch EPT London 08 Final Day: Alan Smurfit on PokerStars.tv

8.57pm: Marcin Horecki, Team PokerStars Pro, Poland, eliminated in third place earning £303,439
Michael Martin is unbeatable here and will now go heads up with Martin Tureniec. He accounts for the final Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki, who pushes all in from the button with Kh-8d. Martin re-raises all in from the small blind and has Horecki dominated with Ks-Jh. The flop is blank, but Horecki thinks he's pulled off a massive outdraw when the 8h turns. However it's not all over and the Js pops out on the river to give Martin all of Horecki's chips and a sizeable chip lead as they go head-to-head.

8.51pm: Michael Martin and Martin Tureniec play out a pot that Tureniec ends up taking with a hefty bet on the turn.

8.50pm: There has been a ludicrous switch in fortunes in this level, with the chip counts now looking like this:

Michael Martin - 3,670,000
Marcin Horecki - 1,390,000
Michael Tureniec - 945,000

8.40pm: The rush continues for Michael Martin who now takes down a pot of 955,000 on a board of 3h-Ac-10h-8c-10h and shows 10-2 for trips. Marcin Horecki, his opponent, mucks and shakes his head.

8.30pm: Three-handed chip counts are as follows:
Michael Martin - 2,665,000
Marcin Horecki - 1,995,000
Michael Tureniec - 1,345,000

8.22pm: Eric Liu, USA, is eliminated in fourth place, earning £234,920
Liu can't pull off the same miracles as Michael Martin and when he gets his chips in, with J-10, he gets a call from the newly-chipped up Martin with A-9. Liu picks up an inside straight draw but doesn't hit it and Martin ends up with trip aces. Liu, who has dominated this table from the start, is now finished.

8.19pm: Michael Martin double up again!
That's one hell of a rush. Martin is down to his last 100,000 but is back to 1.4million in three hands. He finds aces this time and gets a call from his pre-flop push from Tureniec with his Q-J. No miracles and Martin is back in second place.

8.16pm: Michael Martin doubles up through Michael Tureniec
A crazy hand of fluctuating fortunes as Martin gets them all in with pocket nines and Tureniec has king seven. The flop brings a king and a seven and the turn what looks like a pretty convincing second seven giving Tureniec a full house. But the miracle nine comes on the river and he doubles up again.

8.15pm: Michael Martin triples up
Michael Martin is pretty much all in from the big blind of 80,000. He raises it the only 20,000 he has behind. Marcin Horecki and Michael Martin check it all the way down and see 6d-Kd-2s-Ks- 4h. But it's the all in player with the best hole cards, that he hasn't even looked at. He has pocket eights and they hold.

8.11pm: Eric Liu doubles up through Michael Martin. The two short stacks go to war with A-10 v 2-2 and Liu flops a broadway straight when it comes J-Q-K. No redraw and Martin is own to about 100,000.

8.10pm: Eric Liu pushes his short stack in from the small blind. It totals 490,000 and Michael Martin thinks about it from the big blind, but folds.

8.05pm: Massive double up for Erik Tureniec who raises from under the gun and must have been delighted to see Eric Liu reraise all in from the big blind. Delighted because Tureniec has aces and Liu only A-6c. The board is dry for Liu and he slips down to less than half a million, while the Swedish PokerStars qualifier is leader with more than two million.

8pm: And we're back. These four players are looking at some monstrous blinds of 40,000-80,000 and Marcin Horecki moves all in from the small blind to pick up Michael Martin's big blind.

7.50pm: Here's some entertainment while we wait for the players to return from the break. Chris Moneymaker gives hi impressions on this final table.

Watch EPT London 08 Final Day: Chris Moneymaker on PokerStars.tv

7.45pm: Players are a little late back from the dinner break, but coverage will continue here the minute they return. The chip counts at the break were as follows:

Marcin Horecki, Poland, Team PokerStars Pro, 2,152,000
Eric Liu, USA, 1,666,000
Michael Tureniec, Sweden, PokerStars qualifier, 1,357,000
Michael Martin, USA, 860,000

We're now into level 28 where the blinds are to 30,000-60,000 with a running 5,000 running ante. We play uninterrupted from here all the way through to a new EPT London champion. Updates will be posted here level by level with the latest information at the top. Click refresh to update the page. Don’t forget you can also watch the action live on EPT Live and click here for prize winners so far

6.35pm: Players are on a 60 minute dinner break. Chip counts are as follows:

Marcin Horecki, Poland, Team PokerStars Pro, 2,152,000
Eric Liu, USA, 1,666,000
Michael Tureniec, Sweden, PokerStars qualifier, 1,357,000
Michael Martin, USA, 860,000

6.30pm: On the last hand before the dinner break, Michael Tureniec takes a pot off of Eric Liu. There's a min raise pre-fop, a call from the Swede, and then a flop of 2h-Jd-Kc. Liu bets 150,000 and Tureniec calls. They both check the 9h turn and they both check the Ks river, meaning Tureniec's jack is good.

6.25pm: Michael Tureniec takes back to back pots with two pre-flop bets. That puts him just ahead of Michael Martin in an increasingly tight chip leaderboard. The approximate counts at this point are:

Marcin Horecki - 2,162,000
Eric Liu - 2,006,000
Michael Tureniec - 967,000
Michael Martin - 900,000

6.15pm: Marcin Horecki doubles up through Eric Liu
Eric Liu again minimum raises from the button and Marcin Horecki call again from the big blind. They see a flop of 7d-Kc-8h and they both check. Horecki then checks the Qh turn and Liu slides in a tower of blue chips, worth 200,000. Horecki immediately announces all in, for 750,000 more. Liu ums and ahs ad eventually calls, showing A-10h for an overcard, a flush and inside straight draw. Horecki has twice checked top pair - he has K-10 - but the river bricks and Horecki is now the chip leader. Liu still has more than a million.

6.10pm: There's a familiar pattern developing. It's called getting out of Eric Liu's way. Horecki breaks the mould to call Liu's pre-flop minimum raise but then lays it down when Liu bets the ace high flop. Here's Kara Scott with some tips for online play:

Watch EPT London 08 Day 3; Kara Online Tips on PokerStars.tv

6.03pm: Horecki's evident willingness to raise pre-flop and then fold has clearly been noticed by his opponents who have now shoved all in over the top three times. The latest to do so is Tureniec and Horecki lets it go again.

6.02pm: Marcin Horecki button raises and Michael Tureniec moves all in from the small blind. They have similar stacks and Horecki decides to pass his pocket fours face up.

6pm: We're now four-handed and here's how they stand:

Eric Liu - 2,897,000
Marcin Horecki - 1,376,000
Michael Martin - 900,000
Michael Tureniec - 862,000

Liu has more chips than the rest of the players combined.

5.50pm: The dynamics have changed now that we're four handed and everyone now has a decent-ish stack. Marcin Horecki, second in chips, raises pre-flop and Michael Tureniec moves all in for about 570,000. Horecki tanks and folds.

5.43pm: Philippe Dauteuil, Canada, eliminated in fifth place earning £195,766
The Canadian player, who led the tournament for long periods between days two and three, is out. He had got short, moved all in from UTG with 8-8 but ran into the kings of Marcin Horecki. Horecki obviously called with his huge stack and there were no miracles on the flop, turn or river. We're down to four and there's a short break.

5.35pm: Here are the chip stacks after Smurfit's elimination:

Eric Liu - 2,367,000
Marcin Horecki - 1,025,000
Michael Martin - 960,000
Michael Tureniec - 657,000
Philippe Dauteuil - 606,000

5.30pm: Marcin Horecki and Eric Liu get involved when the Team PokerStars Pro raises pre-flop and the chip leader calls from the blind. The flop comes 10s-9d-8d and they both check. The turn is the Kc and Eric bets 200,000. Horecki calls. The river is the Qc and they both check. Liu flips 9-8 for two pair and that's good.

5.26pm: Alan Smurfit, Ireland, eliminated in sixth place, earning £153,351
The Irish player had left himself very short, found an ace and moved all in with about 200,000. He can't have like Michael Martin announcing all-in behind him and he will have liked Martin's jacks even less. Smurfit had one over-card with his A-4 but a jack flopped and although there was a gutshot straight draw, it didn't get there and the steady Irish player is out.

5.25pm: The levels have gone up again and this is getting exceptionally expensive.

We're now into level 27 where the blinds are to 25,000-50,000 with a running 5,000 running ante. We play uninterrupted from here all the way through to a new EPT London champion. Updates will be posted here level by level with the latest information at the top. Click refresh to update the page. Don’t forget you can also watch the action live on EPT Live and click here for prize winners so far

5.20pm: It's raise and take it for Eric Liu, who has shown down very few hands here on this feature table, over two days, and is building his stack reliably. At the other end of the scale, Alan Smurfit is down to 215,000 and in dire need of a double up.

5.10pm: Double up for Philippe Dauteuil and he gets slightly fortunate. He moves in pre-flop and Michael Tureniec calls and the Canadian has 7d-8d which is well behind the Jd-Kh of the Swede. Tureniec flops top two pair, but there's also a flush draw for Dauteuil when two of them are diamonds. It gets there when the 3d hits on the river.

5.05pm: Dauteuil's short stack is all in and he picks up the blinds and antes. All his chips are in again just after and he chops it with Liu when they both have A-9.

5pm: Marcin Horecki doubles up through Phillipe Dauteuil. They get it all in pre-flop and Horecki has A-K to Dauteuil's A-7. There are no miracles - despite a gutshot straight possibility for the Canadian - and the Team PokerStars Pro is back up, with only three big blinds for Dauteuil.

4.55pm: Michael Martin has made a decent comeback here and is able to put some pressure on the big stack of Eric Liu. He bumps it up pre-flop to 100,000 and Liu folds. Liu takes it out on Marcin Horecki, reraising all in from the small blind after Horecki's button-steal attempt goes awry.

4.50pm: We're now down to six and the men under most pressure are still Marcin Horecki and Alan Smurfit. At the other end, Eric Liu is comfortable with more than two million.

4.45pm: Johannes Strassmann, PokerStars.de Shooting Star from Germany, is eliminated in seventh place, earning £120,723.
Strassmann must be one of the unlukiest players around EPT final tables, and his run of ill fortune continues here. He gets his chips in with J-J but runs into Michael Martin's K-Q. It's a flip, but the queen is first out on the flop and that's that for the Shooting Star.

4.40pm: Marcin Horecki doubles up through Johannes Strassmann The Team PokerStars Pro has put his tournament life on the line on countless occasions, but this time he gets a call. It's from Johannes Strassmann, who makes the call with A-10 and he's ahead all the way against Horecki's Q-J. All the way, that is, until th river when the jack pops up and the Pole doubles up.

4.30pm: Much of the play has now been taken out of this one by the rising blinds. The big stacks are sitting back and waiting for their chance to knock out the short ones. The short stacks are moving in whenever they spot an opportunity. Most recently, Horecki, Smurfit and Martin have all picked up the blinds and antes with this tactic. Eric Liu, meanwhile, now has more than two million.

4.23pm: After the big stack Eric Liu wields his chips to pick up a couple of uncontested pots, Marcin Horecki reverts to his trademark all-in pre-flop move and puts Michael Martin to the test. Martin tanks a long time but folds.

4.19pm: First hand back, Marcin Horecki is al in pre flop and gets the blinds and antes for his troubles.

4.15pm: Players have returned, and while we wait for something to happen here's a video introducing the day for you to enjoy:

Watch EPT London 08 Final Table- Introduction on PokerStars.tv

4pm: Players are on a break. When they return, here's what they'll have in front of them:

Eric Liu - 1,667,000
Michael Tureniec - 1,051,000
Philippe Dauteuil - 1,015,000
Johannes Strassmann - 748,000
Alan Smurfit - 601,000
Michael Martin - 578,000
Marcin Horecki - 344,000

The high roller event is underway, a £20,000 buy-in tournament to rival any other. This who's who of poker event has started with 86 players and will play through to a final table today, as long as it takes. Starting stack of 20,000, opening blinds of 50/100. We'll be bringing updates here alongside our EPT London coverage. Click refresh to see the latest details.

3.40pm: Players pause for a 15 minute break.

3.30pm: Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker is back up to 10,000, forcing Million Dollar Man Chino Rheem out of a pot with the board reading 2h-6s-Kd-7c. Chino folded his 5-2 whilst Moneymaker flashed pocket nines.

Another former World Champion Joe Hachem has also won bit more. He's now back up to 17,500. But it’s fellow Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu who is the early chip leader, more than 50,000, thanks in part to the Vicky Coren hand. Negreanu just took another pot from Sorrel Mizzi.

With the board showing Js-Jd-8s-2c the action was checked to Mizzi on the button who bet 1,200. Negreanu re-raised, making it 3,600, forcing out the seat nine player. Back on Mizzi, he thought about it but eventually mucked his hand, to the relief of Negreanu who laughed, showing 9s-6s.

3.10pm: Chris Ferguson in the cowboy hat just took down a pot worth a few thousand, showing pocket tens on a board of 2c-2d-3s-6h-2s. His opponent Jonas Danielsson, in a woolly hat, couldn’t match it.

After a few setbacks earlier Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem just picked up welcome few thousand, leading the betting on each street.

On the table alongside Gus Hansen is making some bold moves. With the board already showing Tc-Kc-3s-6d the seat nine player in middle position had made it 2,800 to go. Hansen in the big blind was thinking it over before shoving his chips in, literally gripping them by the handful and plonking them across the line. Team PokerStars Pro ElkY was also in the hand, but got out. So too did the raiser. Another pot for the Dane.

3pm Daniel Negreanu is up to 50,000 after busting his Team PokerStars Pro team-mate Vicky Coren. He does so with the mighty 7-2 diamonds. Coren makes it 700 pre-flop, Gus Hansen and Sorrell Mizzi call and Negreanu makes it 3,700. The flop comes A-7-4 with two diamonds and Coren bets 8,000. Negreanu pushes, Coren calls and shows A-K for top pair top kicker. Negreanu has the flush draw with his "worst hand in poker" and hits it on the turn.

2.40pm: Gus Hansen’s reputation as a slightly unconventional player is well documented, but watching him you realise that whilst he may be unpredictable his play is devastatingly effective. Just ask Sorel Mizzi. He bet out from the small blind on the Td-3d-2c flop, 825 total which, after spreading out his chips to count them, Hansen called from the big. It was the same process on the 4d turn card, a bet of 1,600 from Mizzi, again called after a pause for internal deliberation by the Dane. The river card Jd. Two checks and a showdown. Hansen showed his 2h-3c for two pair, ahead of anything Mizzi could table.

Brandon Adams looks to be an early faller, now to be found in the bar eating a burger whilst the tournament players are served fish cakes and prawns. On the table he busted from, two World Series bracelet winners contest a hand – Praz Bansi bet on a board of 4-9-T-T-6. Sitting opposite David Benyamine, who late yesterday still had the EPT London title in his sights, spend several minutes plotting whether to call. He didn’t. An early pot for the Englishman.

2.20pm: Terrifying. It’s the kind of table that would make a mockery of the random draw in any other event, but this is high roller day. The most unknown player at the 'stand out' table is PokerStars qualifier Johan van Till, who woke up this morning to find himself drawn alongside Vicky Coren, Scott Fischman, Sorel Mizzi, Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, William Thorson and ElkY Grospellier.

Turn the other way and you’ll see Denis Phillips, Chino Rheem, Isabelle Mercier, Chris Moneymaker, and Sebastian Ruthenberg sitting together. And in the near distance Jason Mercier, Phil Ivey, Brandon Adams and David Benyamine. The soft tables here have just one bracelet winner. I’m kidding of course, there are no soft tables. It’s not Greg Raymer’s table at least, which features Per Ummer, Dario Minieri, Jani Sointula and Chris Ferguson.

Stand by for an interesting day. Starting stacks of 20,000 for 85 runners, playing all the way through to a final table whatever the cost.

We're now into level 26 where the blinds are to 20,000-40,000 with a running 3,000 running ante. We play uninterrupted from here all the way through to a new EPT London champion. Updates will be posted here level by level with the latest information at the top. Click refresh to update the page. Don’t forget you can also watch the action live on EPT Live and click here for prize winners so far

3.57pm: Marcin Horecki makes a smaller pre-flop raise than usual, this time just 95,000. Philippe Dauteuil smells weakness and moves all in, another 777,000. Horecki is well covered and opts to let it go. Players take a 15 minute break at the end of the level.

3.50pm: Liu gets back in the saddle straight away after losing the coin-flip last hand. He raises it to 100,000 pre-flop and picks up the blinds and antes. Just after, Marcin Horecki moves all in again from the small blind and Michael Martin lets is go.

3.47pm: Eric Liu raises, again, and Johannes Strassmann moves all in with pocket 10s. Liu calls with A-Q and they race. The flop is 10h-Jh-4s, which gives a set and a straight draw, the turn is the 8h which extends the straight possibilties but the river is the harmless Ad. Liu is down to about 1.6m, Strassman up to 830,000.

3.45pm: Marcin Horecki's short-stack has been all in approximately once a round so far today and he's just got another one through. He shows A-K off suit. Eric Liu is also raising a lot pre-flop but his stack is big enough for him to bully anyone in his way.

3.40pm: Eric Lu is creeping up towards the two million mark. Here's how they stand at the moment:

Eric Liu - 1,909,000
Michael Tureniec - 1,155,000
Philippe Dauteuil - 888,000
Alan Smurfit - 557,000
Michael Martin - 654,000
Johannes Strassmann - 454,000
Marcin Horecki - 387,000

3.35pm: Two of the smaller stacks also do battle, with Alan Smurfit reraising Marcin Horecki's pre-flop raise. The Polish pro lets it go.

3.30pm: A massive clash between the two tournament big stacks when they get their million-plus in the middle pre-flop. Liu and Turiniec both have ace-king, but Turiniec picks up a flush draw on the flop. Liu dodges it through turn and river and they chop it.

3.25pm: Michael Martin doubles up
The vociferously-supported American player gets all his chips in pre-flop against Johannes Strassmann and is behind against the German. It's king-jack versus ace-queen and it's looking bleak for Martin on a 10-high board. But there's a K on the turn and a miracle jack on the river to vault him into safety and leave Strassmann looking short.

3.10pm: Michael Tureniec raises to 70,000 and Alan Smurfit raises all in over the top. Again the Swede is forced to fold to the stong bet by the Irish player.

2.55pm: There are seven players remaining at the start of this level. They are:

Eric Liu - 1,783,000
Michael Tureniec - 1,079,000
Johannes Strassmann - 969,000
Philippe Dauteuil - 750,000
Marcin Horecki - 571,000
Alan Smurfit - 469,000
Michael Martin - 383,000

Tournament officials have pegged the blinds back to 15,000-30,000 with a running 3,000 ante for the start of the final. But from there we play uninterrupted all the way through to a new EPT London champion. Updates will be posted here level by level with the latest information at the top. Click refresh to update the page. Don’t forget you can also watch the action live on EPT Live and click here for prize winners so far

2.55pm: On the last hand of the level, Phillipe Dauteiul raises to 70,000, Michael Tureniec bumps it up to 200,000 and the Canadian folds.

2.32pm: Marcin Horecki doubles up
The Team PokerStars Pro, short-stacked, raises all in pre-flop and Johannes Strassmann calls with A-7d. Horecki is in good shape with A-Q and although there's a a flush draw on the turn Horecki survives and he doubles up.

2.25pm: Alan Smurfit doubles up
Michael Tureniec raises from the button into the blinds of Alan Smurfit and Marcin Horecki. Smurfit announces "Well, this is it," and pushes all in, meaning it's another 285,000 for the Swede. Eventually, he realises that he has to call and flips K-10. Smurfit shows A-K. The flop comes 5h-Qs-Jc, the turn is the Qh and the river the harmless 2c. Smurfit doubles up.

2.17pm: Anthony Lellouche, France, eliminated in eighth place, earning £81,569
Johannes Strassmann opens from the button for 80,000 and Anthony Lellouche pushes all in from the big blind. It's another 100,000 for the German and it's a mandatory call. Strasmann has K-Js and Lellouche is ahead with Ad-9h but the flop only favours Strassmann. It comes Kh-6c-10s, then the turn is 7s and the river 10h. Lellouche is gone: "That's poker," he opines in the post-match interview.

2.15pm: Marcin Horecki moves his stack all in again from early position and obligingly flashes an ace of diamonds when everyone folds.

2.12pm: After those early fluctuations, the latest chip counts are:

Michael Tureniec - 1,411,000
Eric Liu - 1,398,000
Michael Martin - 609,000
Philippe Dauteuil - 884,000
Johannes Strassmann - 868,000
Alan Smurfit - 330,000
Marcin Horecki - 312,000
Antony Lellouche - 222,000

2.10pm: Marcin Horecki moves all in and gets it through the big stacks of Eric Liu and Johannes Strassmann. Strassmann is itching to call but looks down at 8-4 and lets it go.

2.05pm: Aah, the good old three-bet. Johannes Strassmann bets, Lellouche reraises, Strassmann moves all in and Lellouche maked the mandatory call. But Strassmann has the goods - he has aces - which are crushing Lellouche's pocket sevens. There's some excitement when Lellouche picks up a straight draw on the turn but the aces hold and Lellouche is in reverse. He's now theshort stack with 222,000 having lost about a million in two hands.

1.55pm: Philippe Dauteuil's tournament life hangs by a thread on the first hand when he makes it 50,000 from the button and Antony Lellouche moves all in from the blind. Dauteuil insta-calls with As-Kc but he's behind Lellouche's 4-4. The flop is 8d-5c-2c and the turn is the Jc giving plenty of outs to the Canadian. One duly arrives on the river - the 3c, which makes a flush to the king, and he double up.

1.50pm: Play starts in the EPT London final. Brandon Schaeffer, a friend of Michael Martin and himself an EPT winner has flown in from Germany to cheer on his friend. He was the most vocal from the rail during the introductions.

The final table was set late last night and here's how they line up, in search of the £1 million first prize at the Victoria Casino today.

A reminder that prizewinners to date can be found on the prizewinners page.

Seat one: Eric Liu, 23, San Francisco, USA – 1,308,000 chips

Eric Liu cashed at the PCA in January of this year in his first live tournament, then followed up with 17th at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. But he still wasn't happy with his game so went to Vegas in the summer to play a lot of the smaller World Series buy-in tournaments and the main event, hoping to bring his live game up to the standards he reaches online, where he plays high-stakes cash. "Players like Daniel Negreanu can read a lot off me, so I'm trying to get some more experience playing live," he said. He picked up a couple of cashes in Vegas and is thinking of moving there soon, from his most recent base in San Francisco. Liu took up poker after watching a televised poker tournament and, after just a few months, turned a $200 deposit into $34,000.

Seat two: Johannes Strassmann, 23, Bonn, Germany – PokerStars.de Shooting Star – 434,000 chips


One of the PokerStars.de ShootingStars team of sponsored players, Strassmann had an extremely precarious day three – he was close to busting several times and very nearly bubbled the final table – which would have been the third time he had gone out of an EPT in ninth place. He has had four EPT cashes so far – his biggest win being €152,000 for sixth place at EPT4 Dortmund. Now living in Berlin, Strassmann mainly plays heads-up cash games but also plays limit and no-limit hold 'em or pot-limit Omaha. As well as poker, he also enjoys basketball, running and strength training in the gym. He has been playing poker since 2006.

Seat three: Philippe D'Auteuil, 21, Quebec, Canada – 478,000 chips


D'Auteuil is playing in only his second live event but is an experienced online player specialising in high stakes cash games. His other live event was EPT Barcelona in season four but he busted on day one. He took up poker four years ago after watching the game on television. He studied statistics at college but dropped out after two years to devote himself to poker. Asked who he thinks the best players at the final table are, he replied: "Eric Liu – and me."

Seat four: Antony Lellouche, 28, Paris, France – 1,021,000 chips


This is the professional French player's third EPT final table in a year. At EPT London last season he came sixth for €140,081 and was runner-up at EPT4 San Remo for €505,000. Based in Paris, Lellouche mainly plays live poker in high stakes cash games around the world. He is popular among his peers and mentors, including the godfathers of French poker Claude Cohen and Jan Boubli. Lellouche turned professional nine years ago, honing his skills at the smallest limit games at the Aviation Club. Fearless and intuitive, Lellouche has also made two World Series final tables and gone deep in two EPT Grand Finals - 12th in 2005 and 21st in 2007.

Seat five: Michael Tureniec, 23, Stockholm, Sweden - PokerStars qualifier – 1,331,000 chips
Tureniec has played four EPT tournaments so far but busted early in all of them before this week. Aside from military service, Tureniec has only had one job in his life – working as a supermarket cashier – a job he abandoned to become a professional poker player four years ago. His best live results to date have been 400th in the WSOP main event in 2007, second in a £500 side event in London last year and third in the SKr 5,000 event at the 2008 Nordic Masters of Poker in March. He won his seat to EPT London in the $800 last chance qualifier on PokerStars - only three days before the tournament started.

Seat six: Alan Smurfit, 66, Dublin, Ireland – 396,000 chips
A regular on the European Poker Tour, Smurfit has cashed twice including 16th at EPT4 London for $32,641 but this is his first final table. He retired from work five years ago after selling the family business, the Smurfit Group - which at the time was the second biggest packaging company in the world. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Smurfit has been based in the United States for 20 years and is now about to move to Las Vegas. He says he plays poker for a hobby but has had a string of great results in recent years including winning a World Series event for more that $450,000 in 2007. His all-time poker earnings amount to $ 1,088,219 and he is ranked sixth on the all time money list from Ireland.

Seat seven: Marcin Horecki, 31, Poland – Team PokerStars Pro – 309,000 chips
Born in Poland, Horecki is a former member of the national alpine skiing team but was forced to quit the sport because of injury. Horecki studied for BA and MA degrees and then worked in corporate finance. In 2006, he came close to making the final table of the €1,000 NLHE event at the Barcelona Open and this gave him the confidence he needed to turn pro. In January 2007, he cashed at EPT3 Copenhagen and he final tabled at the Asian Poker Classic in Goa for $29,000 three months later. That year he also took down the €500 NLHE rebuy event for $28,637 in the Austrian Masters in Vienna. Already one of the highest earning Polish poker players of all time, Horecki joined Team PokerStars Pro during the WSOP in July.

Seat eight: Michael Martin, 24, Washing Crossing, PA - 728,000 chips
Martin has been playing poker for five years and turned pro in January 2007 after graduating in English from Penn State. Originally an athlete – he played college hockey for two years – he took up poker at the end of a hockey season and never looked back. Between November 2007 and April 2008 he won more than $1,000,000 – after coming second at the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam in November 2007 and then making fifth place at the EPT4 Grand Final in Monte Carlo. Martin's mother has flown over specially to rail her son at today's final table and has always supported his decision to become a poker pro. Michael said: "When I started, my dad wasn't keen at all but my Mum was an enabler. She lent me my first $100 to play online with and when I made my first $1,000, I asked her if i should cash out and she said no!" Michael's girlfriend Jen is also flying in to London to give her support.