We have clocked more than 13,000 miles on the European Poker Tour this season, crowning 11 champions in cities from Barcelona to the Bahamas, Deauville to Dortmund. And as the curtain comes down tonight on a season that shattered all previous records, the man with the widest smile and the fattest wallet is the 26-year-old Team PokerStars Netherlands Pro, Pieter de Korver.

Pieter de Korver

De Korver was the last man standing from 935 players who filed into the Salle des Etoiles at the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo this week, and when he stacked all of their chips in front of him this evening, he could prop on the top a cheque written out for €2,300,000. Beside it were two cards - the [9s] and the [6s] - the hand with which he ultimately defeated the PokerStars qualifier Matthew Woodward to become the EPT Grand Final champion.

But that hand represented only the ten-yard dash over the finishing line in what had been a marathon recovery from the brink of elimination. De Korver was down to only three big blinds at one stage of final table proceedings, but he rallied and scrapped and staged a genuine zero-to-hero comeback, becoming the second Dutch winner of an EPT main event in seven days.

"I was loving the atmosphere and enjoying playing cards," De Korver said. "I had a little bit of luck and I won. That's the best part of poker."

The last eight arrived today with Dag Martin Mikkelsen leading the way. And within the first level of final table play, there was nothing but clear, crisp Norwegian air between the youngster and any of his challengers.

The final table players (l-r): Alem Shah, Eric Qu, Daniel Zink, Pieter de Korver, Peter Traply, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Matthew Woodward, Mikhail Tulchinsky

Mikkelsen knocked out Peter Traply, the Hungarian PokerStars qualifier, who came to the final table second in chips, in what seemed certain to be a championship-defining pot. Mikkelsen took a chip lead of more than 11 million at that stage, and then eliminated Daniel Zink in seventh place.

Daniel Zink

The title seemed destined to be heading back to Stavanger - but we hadn't accounted for Lazarus de Korver.

Mikhail Tulchinskiy, from St Petersburg, Russia, momentarily took centre stage, picking off the short-stacked Alem Shah and Eric Qu in short order, but still trailing Mikkelsen by a country mile. At the other end of the leaderboard, De Korver had only 400,000, with blinds at 80,000-160,000. But when De Korver tripled up with Q-4, through Woodward and Mikkelsen, the momentum dramatically shifted. De Korver repeatedly shoved and repeatedly won, while Mikkelson couldn't catch a break. The Dane took a speculative all in shy at a board showing two sevens and a six, but De Korver was going nowhere with his full boat - he was holding pocket sixes - and vaulted into the lead at Mikkelsen's expense.

Dag Martin Mikkelsen

Woodward put Mikkelsen out of his misery soon after, leaving us three handed, and then the American, who had seemed at ultimate ease on the first final table of his career, took pocket threes up against Tulchinskiy's Q-T and sent the Russian out of the building.

But those skirmishes seemed like harmless bumps between dodgem cars compared with the juggernaut of momentum that was fuelling De Korver. Woodward battled gamely for close to an hour in the heads up joust, until he flopped middle pair and a flush draw, against De Korver's middle pair, bigger kicker, and a massive all in raise.

Pieter de Korver, left, celebrates the winning hand. Matthew Woodward, right, doesn't.

Woodward called, missed his outs, and sent the bar owners of Monte Carlo to the cash and carry to accommodate the legion of Dutch fans pouring out of the bleachers and into the party spirit. Woodward took €1,300,000 for his second spot - and a whole stack of credit. De Korver, however, takes the title, the plaudits, the two-point-three million big ones and a place on the front pages of newspapers and magazines across Europe.

That, then, is that from the European Poker Tour for another season. It started with Sebastian Ruthenberg's victory in Barcelona last August, and finished this week in Monte Carlo with the richest tournament in European poker history. I dare say we'll do something very similar next year -- only bigger, longer and better.

Thanks for tuning into the coverage at PokerStars Blog, where there'll be plenty more throughout the EPT close season, not least the World Series Main Event from Las Vegas in July.

Don't forget all this is also available in French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, German or Swedish -- and now Twitter-ese.

All video blogs come from our friends at PokerStars.tv. All photography comes from the razor-sharp lens of Neil Stoddart.

Cheerio.

Final table payouts at EPT Grand Final

1 - Pieter de Korver, Holland, Team PokerStars Pro Netherlands, €2,300,000
2 - Matthew Woodward, USA, PokerStars qualifier, €1,300,000
3 - Mikhail Tulchinskiy, Russia, PokerStars player, €800,000
4 - Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Norway, €600,000
5 - Eric Qu, France, €470,000
6 - Alem Shah, Germany, €350,000
7 - Daniel Zink, Germany, €250,000
8 - Peter Traply, Hungary, PokerStars qualifier, €170,000

Click through to the prize-winners page for the full list of winners here in Monte Carlo.

Live updates from level 31 of EPT Monte Carlo 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 featured table.

Blinds: 80,000-160,000 (ante: 20,000)

5.40pm: Dag Martin Mikkelsen from Norway, eliminated in fourth place
Mikkelsen's fall is complete. After Woodward made it 320,000 and De Korver called, Mikkelsen moved all-in for 340,000. The others called and checked down the board - [10c][4d][9c][qd][4c]. De Korver showed Q-9, enough to take it all. Mikkelsen out. Three left.

5.37pm: Mikkelsen in free fall
A massive hand which almost sneaks up on everyone. Mikkelsen leads out for 380 which is raised by De Korver to 680,000 which Mikkelsen calls. The flop comes [7h][6d][7s]. De Korver made it 430,000 and Mikkelsen calls. The turn [9d] and De Korver makes it 1,040,000. Mikkelsen shoves with K-T but De Korver is only happy to call with pocket sixes. Mikkelsen drawing dead and left now with 360,000.

5.28pm: Russian might
Tulchinskiy leads out for 425,000 which Woodward calls. The flop comes [8c][10c][2s]. Woodward checks, Tulchinskiy makes it 750,000 and Woodward folds.

5.22pm: Woodward again
Woodward leads out for 340,000 which Tulchinskiy calls. They see the flop [8s][qc][6h]. Woodward bets 475,000 which Tulchinskiy re-raises to 1,200,000. Woodward calls and they see a [4h] turn. Tulchinskiy checks and Woodward moves all in - good for the pot.

5.17pm: All to play for
De Korver is the new chip lead with Mikkelsen folding to a raise from Woodward on a [3c][3h][9c] flop. The four players are only seperated by two million.

5.13pm: The De Korver Show
Now officially bullet proof, De Korver doubles up again with A-J against the pocket tens of Mikkelsen, catching an ace and a jack on the flop.

5.08pm: Double up
De Korver moves all-in for 1,850,000. Mikkelsen flat calls and shows A-3 to De Korver's K-J. De Korver needn't have worried, the flop landing Q-T-9 for a king high straight. No further cards were needed.

5.05pm: Another one for Woodward
Woodward wins another pot, betting on a flop of [9s][ah][ac].

5pm: Showdown
Tulchinskiy leads out for 425,000 which Woodward calls for a flop [kc][3h][3s]. Noth check for a [6h] turn. Woodward makes it 475,000 which Tulchinskiy calls. The river is the [ts]. Both check. Woodward turns over ace high to take down the pot.

4.55pm: Re-raising
Mikkelsen raised pre-flop and Tulchinskiy re-raised to 900,000, enough to force Mikkelsen to fold.

4.50pm: De Korver all-in
Mikkelsen opened for 400,000 and De Korver moved all-in, getting called immediately. De Korver was ahead with [kc][6d] over Mikkelsen's [qd][2s]. The flop brought some drama but not for long, [jh][ks][qs][8c][6c]. De Korver doubles up.

4.46pm: On the turn
On a flop of [5d][ac][9h] Woodward bets 220,000 and Mikkelsen called. The turn, [js] is checked by Woodward before Mikkelsen makes it 500,000. Woodward folds.

4.40pm: Pieter de Korver triples up
With a micro-stack, Pieter de Korver gets it in with Q-4. Matt Woodward and Dag Martin Mikkelsen both call, with 9-2 and K-3 respectively, and when the board runs out 6-8-4-3-10 De Korver's four scoops the 1,120,000 pot. A triple up.

4.32pm: De Korver crushed
De Korver opened for 500,000. Woodward moves all in and is called. Pocket nines [9h][9s] for De Korver and [kc][jc] for Woodward. The board was kind to him, [7c][6d][ah][qd][10d] the river giving him the straight, leaving De Korver with just 365,000.

4.25pm: New level
And the blinds now go up to 80-160 (20). Or 80,000-160,000 (20,000) to be more accurate. Dag Martin Mikkelsen has close to 17 million and is by far the chip leader.

Live updates from level 30 of EPT Monte Carlo 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 featured table.

Blinds: 60,000-120,000 (ante: 10,000)

4.25pm: Bluff gone wrong
Matthew Woodward has a stab against Dag Martin Mikkelsen on a board of [2h][2d][4h][qc][6s]. Mikkelsen calls and shows A-6. Woodward had K-10 and is defeated. That's the end of the level.

4.20pm: De Korver doubles
The Dutchmen in the bleachers roar as Pieter de Korver chips up to 2,960,000 after doubling through Mikhail Tulchinskiy. Tulchinskiy raises from the button, De Korver shoves, and Tulchinskiy calls. It's [ah][9h] for De Korver and [ks][8d] for Tulchinskiy. The ace high stays good all the way.

Seems like a good time for a video blog with Pieter de Korver:

4.10pm: "Tight fold"
Dag Martin Mikkelsen raises under the gun and Matt Woodward defends his big blind. The flop comes [4s][5c][7c] and after Mikkelsen bets 360,000, Woodward moves all in for close to three million. Mikkelsen thinks for a good few minutes before laying it down. "Tight fold," he says, and we've no reason to doubt him.

4.05pm: Tulchinskiy chips up through Mikkelsen
The chip leader has taken a small-ish hit. Dag Martin Mikkelsen raised from the small blind and Mikail Tulchinskiy called from the big. The flop came [10d][10h][qh] and after Mikkelsen checked, Tulchinskiy bet 360,000, which Mikkelsen called. They both checked the turn of [3h] and and the river was [8s]. Mikkelsen bet 1,100,000 and Tulchinkiy called. Mikkelsen had a weak queen -- Q-4 -- but Tulchinskiy's J-10 had him well beat.

4pm: Woodward busy
Matt Woodward is by far the busiest player at the moment and has taken a couple of pots with pre-flop raises. Later, he limps from the small blind in Mikkelsen's big, and they see an ace-high flop. Woodward bets it and Mikkelsen folds.

3.50pm: Woodward and Tulchinskiy go at it
Matt Woodward raises to 280,000 pre-flop from the button and Tulchinskiy calls from the big blind. The flop comes [qc][js][kh] and Woodward bets 300,000, which Tulchinskiy calls. The turn is the [ah], which both players check,then the river is [kd] and Woodward fires 650,000, which is good enough to pick up the 900,000-pot.

3.45pm: Tulchinskiy the bully pt II
The Russian, whose stack is still hovering around the seven-million mark, picks up the blinds a couple of times with some pre-flop aggression. Matt Woodward, whose stack is about 2.5m, also tries it, and gets one through.

3.35pm: Tulchinskiy the bully
Matt Woodward makes it 280,000 pre-flop and, after Mikkelsen asks for a count and folds, Tulchinskiy asks for a count and calls. The flop comes [qh][9d][2c] and Woodward fires out the continuation bet of 300,000. Tulchinskiy asks for a count again, then moves all in for his near seven million stack. Woodward folds.

3.30pm: Dag-ger to Woodward's heart
The massive-stacked Dag Martin Mikkelson raises pre-flop to 280,000 from under-the-gun, four handed. Matt Woodward calls from the big blind and the flop come [8s][js][6s]. Woodward check-calls Mikkelsen's 380,000 and the turn is [ah]. Then Woodward check-folds to the Norwegian's 750,000 bet.

3.25pm: De Korver double up
The short-stacked Dutchman Pieter de Korver doubles up. Mikail Tulchinskiy raises from the small blind and De Korver calls all in from the big. He has an ace -- [ad][4s] to be precise -- and it's ahead of Tulchinskiy's [qh][10c]. He stays in the lead all the way and is up to 2,230,000. Tulchinskiy is still very healthy, with 6,345,000.

Eric Qu, France, out in fifth, earning €470,000
3.15pm: No sooner is Shah shafted that Qu is qu...err... out as well. Again Mikhail Tulchinskiy is the assassin, this time with [ah][qs] versus Qu's [qh][kh]. The flop is dry, but the turn gives Qu what he thinks might me the miracle king for the double up. But then Tulchinskiy re-draws with the ace on the river and Qu's day finishes in fifth.

Alem Shah, Germany, out in sixth, earning €350,000
3.10pm: On the first hand back after the break, Mikhail Tulchinskiy opens from early position and Alem Shah moves all in. He was the short stack and there was something premeditated about the move. Even so, these cards played themselves: Tulchinskiy called and showed [ad][kh] and Shah had [as][10c]. The board ran out [8c][3c][3d][2c][6s] and Shah is out.

3pm: Still breaktime
The players are still on an inter-level break, so here's a video to tide you over:

2.45pm: New level
Although you can always click over to the chip count page for the latest counts, we'll save you that one click at the start of this level. The remaining six players have the following:

Dag Martin Mikkelsen - 15,315,000
Mikhail Tulchinskiy - 4,500,000
Matthew Woodward - 4,305,000
Eric Qu - 1,550,000
Alem Shah - 1,380,000
Pieter De Korver - 1,115,000

Live updates from level 28 and 29 of EPT Monte Carlo 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 featured table.

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

2.43pm: Last hand of the level.
Mikkelsen bets on the button to take the blinds. Players take a 15 minute break.

2.35pm: Daniel Zink from Germany, eliminated in seventh place
Zink opened for 250,000 which Mikkelsen raised to 700,000. Zink moved all-in and was called instantly. Zink showed [ah][jh] but Mikkelsen was ahead with [ad][kh]. He was further behind on the [8d][ks][2d] flop. Zink called for the [jd] on the turn which dutifully arrived but not the other one on the river. Six left.

2.30pm: Anyone?
De Korver moves all-in. No takers.

2.25pm: Tit for tat
A raise, re-raise, shove situation - Zink doing the shoving against Mikkelsen. It's 1.7 million to call which Mikkelsen doesn't do.

2.20pm: Long big hand
Qu opens for 200,000, Zink calls as does Tulchinskiy in the big blind. The flop comes [as][10d][4d]. The all check for an [8s] turn. Tulchinskiy makes it 275,000 and Qu calls. Zink passes before teh [2h] river. Tulchinskiy checks before Qu bet 700,000. For several minutes Tulchinskiy thinks while Qu pulls a series of facial expression. Tulchinskiy calls and Qu mucks. Tulchinskiy showed [tc][3c].

2.15pm: Taking turns
De Korver's turn to move all in, no takers.

2.12pm: Qu v Zink
Qu to 250,000, Zink all-in for 2.2 million. Qu thinks, looks annoyed and eventually folds.

2.05pm: Qu in form
Zink leads out again for 235,000 and Qu calls. The flop comes [7d][3h][2s]. Both check for an [8c] turn. Qu bets 200,000 says a few things and Zink passes.

2pm: Peter Traply from Hungary is eliminated in eighth place
Woodward opned for 250,000 which Mikkelsen raised to 625,000. Traply then shoved for 4.5 million forcing Woodward out. Mikkelsen was in no rush. After several minutes he announced "call", showing [qs][qd]. Traply showed [ad][kh] for a coin flip. the board ran out [2h][5c][8h][10d][6c]. Traply, a surprise elimination in eighth place.

1.56pm: More re-raising
A De Korver bet pre-flop of 275,000. Woodward re-raises to 625,000. That did it. De Korver folds.

1.52pm: Battle of the blinds
Woodward limps on the small blind but Mikkelsen isn't having any of it, raising to 350,000. Woodward mucks.

1.48pm: Qu all-in
Mikkelsen makes it 250,000 which Tulchinskiy called before Qu moved all-in for 2.1 million. Good for the pot.

1.45pm: Shah shoves again
Shah moves in again, this time behind a 300,000 bet from Qu. Qu thinks and folds.

1.42pm: Another re-raise
Mikkelsen made it 250,000 pre-flop and Traply re-raised to 675,000. Mikkelsen leaned over to check on Traply's chips but eventually passed.

1.40pm: Enough words. A picture

1.38pm: Shah all-in
Short stack Alem Shah moves all-in for 1.3million. Traply looks interested but then not. Shah picks up the blinds and antes.

1.35pm: Qu raising again
Qu makes it 250,000 pre-flop. Woodward goes to his chips and re-raises to 600,000 total. Qu asks how much, but folds.

1.32pm: Still no showdowns
Qu rasies 250,000 pre-flop and Woodward calls in the small blind. The flop came [as][js][8h]. Woodward checks and Qu makes a bet of 500,000. Woodward passes.

1.30pm: Heads up pot
Tulchinskiy bets 250,000 and is called by Matthew Woodward. On the flop of [5s][10c][5h] Woodward checks to the Russian who makes it 350,000. Woodward passes.

1.27pm: Same again
Another pot for Zink after a pre-flop raise.

1.25pm: Level up
We're into level 29, with blinds at 50,000-100,000 with a 10,000 ante.

1.22pm: Zink in action
Daniel Zink takes his first pot of the day. He made it 200,000 pre-flop which was called by Tulchinskiy and De Korver in the big blind. the each checked the [3h][3d][kd] flop before a turn card [10s]. De Korver checked before Zink made it 185,000, enough to make both opponents pass. De Korver has lost a million so far.

1.16pm: Normal service is resumed
Dag Martin Mikkelsen takes a pot worth 800,000, re-raising Alem Shah's bet before the flop.

1.11pm: The first flop of the day.
Mikhail Tulchinskiy made it 210,000 pre-flop which Peter De Korver called for a flop of [8s][8h][2d]. Tulchinskiy bet 350,000 more which Korver called before the turn card [ad]. Another 550,000 form Tulchinskiy which this time induced the fold from Korver. A 1.8 million pot for the Russian.

1.05pm: First all-in
Four hands in and the first all-in. Eric Qu made it 205,000 from the button and Alem Shah pushed all-in for 1,495,000. Qu thought, then passed.

1.02pm: And again
Taply on fire, two pots in a row, a pre-flop raise being enough.

1pm: Underway
All set, introductions done, cards are in the air. Peter Traply takes the first pot.

12.50pm: Ready to go.
The final table players are getting themselves seated and having their photos taken, not necessarily in that order. In fact, it's the other way round. But it's written now. There are 20 minutes left in level 28 (where the blinds are 40,000-80,000) before we move up to the new level.

The final table is set for the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, with the following players sitting down today to play for the €2,300,000 first prize.

As ever, we'll have full coverage of every hand played and every major pot here on PokerStars Blog, and you can see all the prizewinners to date over at the prizewinners page.

Here are your final table players:

Seat 1: Peter Traply, Hungary - - PokerStars qualifier - 4,365,000 chips

A recent graduate in communications, and one of a sizeable contingent of Hungarian players travelling to Monte Carlo for the Grand Final, Peter Traply has repeatedly proved his mettle in vast tournament fields. He finished 188th last year at the World Series Main Event, months after coming 26th at the 2008 EPT Grand Final. Traply yesterday completed an unlikely double in Monte Carlo: he was the chip leader at the bubble stage last April, and was in the same spot when Marcel Luske departed one off the money this time. Wary of complacency, Traply waited until the dinner break today, when he was also the tournament chip leader, to call home to Budapest to invite his parents and brother to come to Monaco. They arrive tomorrow to watch from the rail.

Seat 2: Mikhail Tulchinsky, 43, St. Petersburg, Russia - 3,220,000 chips

Mikhail Tulchinsky is an "old school" professional poker player from St Petersburg. He has been playing the game for around 12 years and specialises in high-stakes cash limit games, both live and online, where he has had numerous small cashes - his best before today's final table being first place in an event at the Concord Club in Vienna in 2003 for €35,000. He is considered one of the best players in Russia at limit hold 'em, Omaha hi-low and stud hi-low games. He has a big crowd of supporters here in Monte Carlo, including the Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko, who believe he has what it takes to go all the way.

Seat 3: Eric Qu, 47, Paris, France - 2,880,000 chips

Eric Qu is an increasingly rare figure at European Poker Tour events - an accomplished professional poker player who only plays live. He describes himself as a cash game pro and is a regular at the Aviation Club de France in Paris where he mainly plays hold'em and Omaha from €5-€5 to €10-€20. Eric bought in direct to EPT Monte Carlo and this is his first big international tournament.

Seat 4: Pieter de Korver, 26, Leeuwarden, Holland - PokerStars player - 2,500,000 chips

In 2007, Pieter de Korver quit his job to become a professional poker player and in 2008 he won a PokerStars-sponsored television show in his native Holland, earning himself a place on the new Team PokerStars Holland team. The Grand Final this week in Monte Carlo is his third event on the tour, having played the EPT Barcelona and the PCA in season five. De Korver plays online under the screen name "Balls_NL", where his biggest online cash prize was $53,000. He made a final table in a €200 rebuy tournament during the 2008 DOM Classics in Utrecht and also cashed in the €6,000 main event of the 2008 Master Classics in Amsterdam. If he wins the EPT Grand Final, he plans to invest the money in real estate and also help a friend to get his business started.

Seat 5: Alem Shah, 51, Hamburg, Germany - 1,490,000 chips

Alem Shah is a businessman from Hamburg who is a regular cash game player at Casino Schenefeld (close to Hamburg) and at tournaments in Germany, Austria and Las Vegas. A regular online tournament player, he has had several smaller cashes and qualified for the Grand Final through a $800 satellite. "Every poker player wishes to play an EPT final table and the dream has come true," he said after the last hand of day four. Shah has no big expectations of the final table, saying: "I played the Grand Final last year too and you need to be lucky to win such a big tournament. So we will see what happens today."

Seat 6: Daniel Zink, 24, Brochum, Germany - 1,865,000 chips

Daniel Zink and his twin brother Sebastian are familiar figures on the European circuit and regularly qualify for EPT events on PokerStars. This final table is Daniel's first ever cash although Sebastian came 11th in Prague on season four, earning €27,800. Like many poker players, including Dario Minieri and Noah Boeken, the brothers took up the game after migrating from the popular strategy game Magic: The Gathering. Sebastian qualified for the Grand Final while Daniel had won a seat for the PLO tournament here in Monte Carlo, but after that event was cancelled, he converted his seat into a Grand Final entry. Sebastian said of his brother: "This is definitely his best result to date. I actually think Daniel is the better player out of the two of us. He is very focused and analytical and keeps his composure. I think he is making a really good impression here; he isn't phased at all and he's playing really well."

Seat 7 : Matthew Woodward, 26, Waterboro, ME, United States - PokerStars qualifier - 4,560,000 chips

A professional poker player - specialising in limit hold 'em cash games - Matthew Woodward is currently enjoying his deepest ever tournament run, either live or online. He qualified for this tournament via a step six satellite on PokerStars, the same route he took to Budapest, Dortmund and San Remo on this season of the EPT, but has never made a final table. Indeed, he concedes that he has enjoyed the tournament immensely until these late stages, where he says he now feels like a novice. "I really have zero final table experience," he said. Although he admits to having one eye on the money -- "Each €30,000-€40,000 step is a lot to me" -- he also pointed to his elimination of Grayson Physioc in 11th, calling all in with A-9, as proof that he will continue to back his reads and won't shy away from a major encounter.

Seat 8: Dag Martin Mikkelsen, 22, Stavanger, Norway - 7,315,000 chips

Dag Martin Mikkelsen is an accomplished professional, who has been playing for five years, and most notably was the chip leader for much of the World Series Main Event in 2007, before eventually busting in 42nd, earning more than $200,000. His best online result was when he took down a $2 million guaranteed event online for $440,000. His best live result in Europe was 22nd place at the EPT main event in Barcelona in season four, winning €20,900. Mikkelson nearly didn't play the Grand Final as he didn't have enough cash on him, but the special arrangement enabling players to buy in from their PokerStars accounts meant he was able to play. He spent much of day four below average in chips but a good run gave him the chip lead late in the day and eventually he was responsible for the elimination of Chris Rossiter in ninth to complete the final table. "I'm feeling pretty good," Mikkelsen said. "I'm one of the most experienced tournament players still in and, right now, I have the most chips - but anything can happen."

From Miami John Cernuto to Chris Rossiter - they fell one-by-one on the penultimate day of season five of the EPT. It left us eventually with eight, but nothing today was ever set in stone. Chip leaders became early fallers, while those previously with little hope become giants in short order. So it had to be if we were to reach our Grand Final final table.

Dag Martin Mikkelsen finally saw to that, busting the last British player, Chris Rossiter, with a touch of good fortune, to greatly help his own cause. The Norwegian returns tomorrow in pole position with more than seven million tournament-leading chips.

Here's how they'll line up:

Seat 1 - Peter Traply, Hungary, PokerStars qualifier, 4,365,000
Seat 2 - Mikhail Tulchinskiy, Russia, 3,220,000
Seat 3 - Eric Qu, France, 2,880,000
Seat 4 - Peter De Korver, Holland, PokerStars player, 2,500,000
Seat 5 - Alem Shah, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, 1,490,000
Seat 6 - Daniel Zink, Gemany, 1,865,000
Seat 7- Martin Woodward, USA, PokerStars qualifier, 4,560,000
Seat 8 - Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Norway, 7,315,000

Throughout the week, top German pros had been edging towards the top of the chip lists, a similar story that has played out all season. The likes of Sandra Naujoks and Sebastian Ruthenberg may have departed yesterday, but their hopes rested on the talented shoulders of George Danzer and Johannes Strassmann, two players who had demonstrated an ability to make others look bad.

Danzer arrived with great confidence but his early fighting spirit was stamped on prematurely, out in 24th place. Strassmann fared better, his steely approach guiding him through the early levels, but his plans were put on hold until next time, falling short of the final table in 14th position.

If 14th was unlucky for Strassmann, 13th was just as bad for Annette Obrestad. When she busted the atmosphere changed - the plot we were all following was ripped up, shredded and swapped for something no one had expected. The purists' favourite was suddenly gone, victim to some bad aces, crushed by Peter De Korver's nines that first made a set, then the quads. Obrestad had seemed in control, her class showing through yesterday when recovering from a knock that sent her back to 150,000. She recovered then but not today. The final table would have been richer with her along too.

But those left showed a determination to fight every inch of the way, making tomorrow's final entirely unpredictable, peppered with unknown quantities. He may have flown under the radar before arriving in Monte Carlo but Mikael Tulchinskiy might well turn out to provide the kind of zero-to-hero, chip and a chair, stories so beloved of the poker myth-makers. Despite starting among the short stacks, a few double ups will work wonders, and Tulchinskiy did just that, at one point assuming the chip lead and then reclining for the cruise to the final table.

Ludovic Lacay's story was almost precisely the opposite. Primed for action on arrival this afternoon, the Frenchman was soon forced to endure the bad times of beat after beat, culminating in a make-or-break shove with Q-J that ran slap bang into Strassmann's A-K. Lacay left the building in 21st place.

There were some weighty fallers in the closing stages. The online wizard turned EPT serial-casher Stephen Silverman would depart 12th, the brilliantly named Grayson Physioc in 11th, then Marc Naalden, one of the few players left with EPT final table experience, seen off in tenth by Dag Martin Mikkelsen. With Rossiter gone on the TV bubble that was that.

We have our final table, the last of season five, ready to make history tomorrow afternoon.

That's where all eyes now turn. Eight players will enter the Salle des Etoiles, but only one will leave with the EPT trophy. Most will claim that to be the true goal, but the €2.3 million that goes with it might be hard to ignore.

The full list of players who may be gone but are not forgotten can be found on the prize winners page and if none of this made any sense you might be French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, German or Swedish. You can read the blog in all of those languages.

And for tweeters out there, PokerStars Blog now has its own Twitter page, the best use of so few characters this side of Waiting for Godot. Follow us at Twitter for more updates and breaking news. You can catch up on an archive of video blogs on PokerStars.tv and all photos appearing on the blog come from the unrivalled lensmanship of Neil Stoddart.

Until tomorrow it's goodnight.

Live updates from level 28 of EPT Monte Carlo 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 featured table.

Blinds: 40,000-80,000 (ante: 5,000)

10.40pm: Rossister roasted, down to eight
Chris Rossiter becomes our final table bubble boy and is desperately unlucky to be sucked out on by Dag Martin Mikkelsen. They get it all in pre-flop -- Mikkelsen is well-covering Rossiter, which kind of explains his move with [6s][8c]. Rossiter has [ac][qs] and the flop is good for the British player. It comes: [5h][8s][as]. The turn, though, is [4h] which gives some extra outs and the [7h] is one of them, filling Mikkelsen's straight. Rossiter departs and we have our final eight. A full wrap is imminent.

10.30pm: You don't get this online
Shaun Deeb has assumed commentary duties on EPT Live and is amazed by the style so far adopted by our final nine. He mentioned one hand in particular, where Eric Qu raised from under the gun, Pieter De Korver min-re-raised to 300,000 and Eric Qu min-re-re-raised to 700,000. De Korver folded. "Four bet without ever getting above ten big blinds," observes the tournament tyro Deeb. "You'd almost never see that online. It shows how valuable each of these chips are to these players."

10.10pm: Pseudo final table
We're down to our final nine and they're all around one table. But there are only eight seats around the "real" final table and these guys are the ones chasing down a chair:

Seat one - Peter Traply, Hungary, 4,155,000
Seat two - Mikhail Tulchinskiy, Russia, 3,170,000
Seat three - Eric Qu, France, 2,495,000
Seat four - Pieter De Korver, Holland, 3,040,000
Seat five - Alem Shah, 1,640,000
Seat six - Daniel Zink, Germany, 1,710,000
Seat seven - Matthew Woodward, USA, 4,870,000
Seat eight - Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Norway, 5,510,000
Seat nine - Chris Rossiter, UK, 1,595,000

9.55pm: Naalden out
Dag Martin Mikkelsen just finished off what he started in the previous hand by eliminating Marc Naalden. Naalden shoved under the gun for his final 625,000 and Mikkelsen, with Peter Traply to act behind him, stalled and pondered before shipping all in. It turned out to be a ruse to get Traply involved as Mikkelsen showed pocket kings, crushing Naalden's [4c][7c]. The miracle outdraw did not materialise and that was that for Naalden.

Dag Martin Mikkelsen

9.50pm: Mikkelsen charging, Naalden clipped
Dag Martin Mikkelsen has moved into the chip lead when he flopped a set of fives on a board of [6s][5h][3d] and got it all in against Marc Naalden. The Dutchman insta-called with his 7-8, an open-ended straight draw, but the [6d] on the turn gave Mikkelsen the house and about 4.5m chips. Naalden is now the short stack with less than 500,000.

9.40pm: Order restored
Rossiter started this one. 160,000 from the button which was called by Qu on the big blind. The flop came [jc][js][9h] which was checked to Rossiter who made it 180,000. Called. then the turn, [7d], checked to Rossiter, 380,000 this time, called. The river [4s]. Qu now moved all-in for another 700,000. Rossiter put a chip on his cards, his hand over his brow, thought about things and then folded.

9.25pm: Physioc out
Grayson Physioc has just been eliminated in 11th, beaten by Matt Woodward. They got it all in pre-flop - Physioc had marginally the smaller stack at something like 1.3million. He was ahead at the start of the hand with pocket sevens against Woodward's [ac][9c] but the flop came [10s][ks][as] to put Woodward into the lead, and the chop draws missed, even if it looked like they could split it with a royal. The turn was [js] but the river a less pretty [6d].

Grayson Physioc

Matt Woodward

9.20pm: "Three volunteers please, we're looking for three volunteers
There are 11 players remaining as we enter level 28. If three of them would volunteer themselves as self-sacrifice, we'd have a final table. Let's see if they go for it.*

*They won't.

Live updates from level 27 of EPT Monte Carlo 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 featured table.

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

9.15pm: Double Dutch again
Marc Naalden and countryman Peter De Korver play the only significant hand in recent orbits. On a board of [5d][9c][5c][ac] Naalden bet 200,000, De Korver made it 425,000 and Naalden called. The river card [6d] was checked by both. De Korver showed [as][7c] but it was Naalden with [5s][2s] who took it down.

9.10pm: Silver rush is over
Steven Silverman is out in 12th, beaten by Daniel Zink. It was a cooler at this stage of the tournament with the stacks they're playing: Silverman raised from late position, Zink shoved all in and Silverman pretty much had to make the call for his million-only stack. Silverman had [as][qc] and Zink had [ac][kh] and although he picked up some outs to chop it on the flop of [5h][jc][5d], they didn't come and Silverman is out.

8.55pm: Consolidation
Peter Traply reraises Grayson Physioc pre-flop and takes it down to keep his chip lead intact. We had a chat with Traply during day three where he reminded us that he was the tournament chip leader here when the bubble burst last year, but ended up going out in 26th. He's already surpassed that achievement, and only four more players need to go out before he makes the final table.

8.50pm: Double up for Qu
Eric Qu is staring at the door after his 7-7 are outflopped by Alem Shah, who also has him out-chipped. But then the river gives him a four-flush to keep him back in it with a doubled-up stack.

8.45pm: Busted
Perhaps the most eagerly watched player still in the tournament is no more. Mikhail Tulchinskiy started things with a bet of 150,000 which was called by Obrestad and De Korver. The flop, [7h][qs][9s] was checked by De Korver and Tulchinskiy before Obrestad made it 275,000.

De Korver asked to see Obrestad's chips and shoved in 800,000 of his own. Obrestad called all in and turned over [ah][as], but knew she was pretty much beaten when De Korver turned over his [9c][9d]. A [4d] hit the turn while the [9h] on the river made De Korver chant something Dutch as Obrestad snuck away.

8.40pm: Sloooooow
A lot of the stacks are very even and this has slowed right down. Steven Silverman picks up the blinds once or twice and that's about it.

8.35pm: Lot of fuss about nothing pt II
Steven Silverman makes it 150,000, Daniel Zink makes it 410,000, Steven Silverman moves all in for his last 1.1m, Zink calls. It seems exciting, but it isn't. Both players have an unsuited A-J and there is no cruel four-flush.

8.30pm: Lot of fuss about nothing
Grayson Physioc, Matt Woodward and Dag Martin Mikkelsen get to a flop in an unraised pot. It's [4h][jc][4c] and and after Physioc and Woodward both check, Mikkelsen bets 225,000. Woodward then moves all in over the top, for another 1,.77m. Mikkelsen "needs a count", gets it, tanks, then calls. He has Q-J which is also what Woodward has. They chop it.

8.25pm: All in, call!
A slow pace on the second table. Marc Naalden has picked up a few pots but the only one of note involved an all-in by Alem Shah, a total of 1.4 million. De Korver wanted to call and did, turning over [ah][kh] to Shah's [as][kc]. No hearts anywhere, a split pot.

8.20pm: Physioc still here
Steven Silverman raises to 150,000 from mid position but Grayson Physioc moves all in from the big blind for a total of just more than a million. That's too rich for Silverman and he folds. Physioc then goes on a bit of a roll. He pinches the blinds on the next hand, and then he re-raises Matt Woodward pre-flop to take that down too.

8.15pm: Silver over Zink
Steven Silverman took a small pot from Daniel Zink, betting on the turn of [3h] after both had checked the flop of [5s][4c][4s]. Silverman's 100,000 was good.

8.10pm: Dinner break over
We have returned from the dinner break to find two Main Event tables and about 500 six-max side event players. We'll be keeping our eyes on the men (and one woman) in the middle. The one below, Peter Traply, is the chip leader.

Live updates from level 26 of EPT Monte Carlo 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 featured table.

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

6.35pm: Dinner break
With 13 remaining, players take a 90 minute dinner break. Play resumes just after 8pm local time. Peter Traply is now the leader and the full chip counts are available on the chip count page.

6.30pm: Another departure
Johannes Strassmann exits after pushing all in against Peter Traply. He showed [ad][9d] against Traply's [as][kd]. No help on the board takes us down to 13.

6.25pm: Mikkelsen with the upper hand
Woodward bets and Mikkelsen re-raises to 285,000. On the flop [jc][5c][jh] Woodward checked to the Norwegian who bet again, 325,000. It makes it a 1 million pot but the hand goes no further.

6.20pm: Bet and take it. Or don't.
With 110,000 in the pot before a card is even dealt, this has become very much a pre-flop raise and take it kind of game, especially on the outer table where a lot of the stack are of a similar size. In two recent orbits, we did not see a single turn card, and scarcely even a flop. Marc Naalden raised twice, both times to 125,000, but winning only once. The other time, Chris Rossiter reraised to 325,000 and it ended there. Rossiter took another couple of those pots, raising to 110,000 from early position. Of the pots that went to the flop, Pieter De Korver took one by betting out on an ace high board, forcing a fold from Naalden. Then Eric Qu took down two more, both times by continuation betting ace-high flops.

6.10pm: A real tournament changer
Traply raised 125,000 under the gun and Strassmann called. On the flop of [qh][9s][5d] Traply bet again, which Strassmann called for a [qd] on the turn. Traply now pushed 665,000 forward sending Strassmann into the tank. After five minutes of twitches and chip re-arrangin he called. Traply showed pocket fives for a full house as Strassmann mucked. A huge pot that sends nearly 3.7 million to Traply. Strassmann down to 520,000.

5.55pm: Big pot brewing
Zink raised 125,000 pre-flop and Strassmann calls for a flop of [6c][2s][ac]. Strassmann checked before Zink made it 175,000. Strassmann called for a turn card [2c]. Strassmann checked again and Zink slid a stack of orange chips across the line, 425,000 total. Strassmann backed out.

5.50pm: Video video
Johanness Strassmann is the final remaining of the German ShootingStars in the Main Event (although Florian Langmann is leading the High Roller). Anyway, back to Strassmann: he talked to the video blog team earlier in the day.

5.45pm: Double up for Shah
Alem Shah just got it in bad but flopped good against Marc Naalden to double up. He moved in with [qs][4s] and was up against Naalden's [as][2h]. The flop came [qd][5c][9d] and no ace came on turn or river, meaning Naalden was forced to count out 740,000 and slide them to the German. Shah is on about 1,500,000, while Naalden has around 2,200,000.

5.40pm: Traply out of the gate
Dag Martin Mikkelsen raises to 125,000 pre-flop but is re-raised out of the hand by Peter Traply.

5.30pm: Down to 14
Despite tripling up it still left Morozov with just 120,000. He pushed in with K-9 but he was up against K-Q. A queen on the flop and turn saw Morozov head for the rail in 15th place.

5.25pm: Three way action
A three way all-in and Morozov triples up when his Q-3 hits a queen on the flop and another on the turn. The hand costs Sergio Castelluccio his stack, out in 16th place. Pieter de Korva took the side pot.

5.15pm: Back
The players are back from their break and are down to two tables. The revised line up is:

Featured table (action available on EPT Live)

Seat one - Peter Traply, 2,295,000
Seat two - Steven Silverman, 1,300,000
Seat three - Alem Shah, 820,000
Seat four - Daniel Zink, 1,555,000
Seat five - Matthew Woodward, 2,700,000
Seat six - Johannes Strassmann, 2,106,000
Seat seven - Grayson Physioc, 1,025,000
Seat eight - Dag Martin Mikkelsen, 2,175,000

Outer table

Seat one - Eric Qu, 1,275,000
Seat two - Pieter De Korver, 1,600,000
Seat three - Alexander Morozov, 35,000
Seat four - Marc Naalden, 306,000
Seat five - Chris Rossiter, 1,895,000
Seat six - Mikhail Tulchinskiy, 4,005,000
Seat seven - Sergio Castelluccio, 630,000
Seat eight - Annette Obrestad, 1,810,000

4.50pm: Quick break
Players take a ten minute break while tables are redrawn.

4.45pm: Annette nets chips
Annette Obrestad bets 100,000 under the gun and Merozov pushes all-in. Obrestad calls with [ks][qh] which dominates the Russian's [kd][td]. The board runs out [8d][as][3h][8s][9h] doubling up Obrestad and taking her stack to 1,798,000.

Meanwhile on the other table, Roger Hairabedian is eliminated, kings against pocket nines. "Good luck everyone" he says and heads for the rail.

4.40pm: As surely as day follows night...
...level 26 follows level 25. And it's already started.

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