Confidence in poker can go an awful long way, and the abundance of that commodity in Maxim Lykov has made him the first ever champion of EPT Kyiv.

"I'm already thinking of my second title," said Lykov in the moment after his dominant display in the first EPT event of season six. This was also the first EPT in a CIS country and Lykov's was the first victory by a Russian player in the five-year history of the tour.

Maxim Lykov, EPT Kyiv champion

Lykov's confidence is by no means misplaced. The 21-year-old was chip leader at the end of days three and four, reaching the final table as if certain he could not put a foot wrong. Even when he suffered the buffeting common around any major poker tournament final table -- losing his chip lead as a succession of races went against him -- he simply regrouped, re-stacked and refocused until the job was done.

The last hand of a six-hour final came when Lykov and Alexander Dovzhenko got to a jack-high flop, no more than 20 hands into their heads-up confrontation. To be precise, it was [4s][jd][7s] but it was the turned [4c] that was crucial. Lykov had [9d][4h] to Dovzhenko's jack-ten and it brought to an end a fascinating personal duel between these two.

Lykov and Dovzhenko

Lykov was giving up 23 years experience to his wily adversary Dovzhenko, who was also buoyed by a firm cluster of supporters draped in the flag of Ukraine. And these two had been at it all day, Lykov pounding and pounding as Dovzhenko kept calling and calling. One hand in particular gave the Kyiv native the chip-lead; an ace-high hero-call bettering the Russian's king high. It was worth more than a million chips and could have been a turning point. But Lykov simply came back for more.

For a period, Lykov's countryman Vitaly Tolokonnikov threatened to gatecrash this tete-a-tete. The chip leader at the end of day two -- one of few nights that accolade did not belong to Lykov -- is another Russian clearly following in the footsteps of the Team PokerStars Pro duo Alex Kravchenko and Ivan Demidov, here relegated to the role of translator for their countrymen.

Vitaly Tolokonnikov

Tolokonnikov also scarcely put a foot wrong, except failing to get pocket sevens to hold up against Lykov's [ad][jc] when they were three handed. With Lykov's extraordinarily wide opening range, he had every right to think he was ahead. C'ЗST LД VIЭ, as they say in Moscow.

To get to that final three, they had to skittle out the previous five -- and each of those will have left the Palace of Sports in vastly differing moods. Vadim Markushevski will have been infuriated: one of the dominant chip stacks overnight, he ran kings into Dovzhenko's aces, one of the only players who could bust him. He was dispatched back to Minsk in eighth, fists furiously waving at the poker gods.

Vadim Markushevski

Torsten Tent went in seventh, but he would have been content. He was a micro-stack coming to the final table and played it super-tight; one place up the payout ladder was as good as he could have hoped, barring miracles. Adrian Schaap was a medium stack and he went out in sixth. It was tens against ace-queen and he lost the race. Fair enough.

Adrian Schaap

Lucasz Plichta was far more active, and doubled up, chipped down and doubled up again. Eventually he found eights when Tolokonnikov found queens, and that battle rarely ends well. But it was a spectacular show from the man from Gdansk. He free-rolled into the tournament on an FPP satellite on PokerStars, and when he got here discovered he was the only representative from Poland in the room. Fifth place is enough to go back with head held high.

Lucasz Plichta

As for Arthur Simonyan, who finished fourth, he was the short-stack grinder who went deepest. He never had many more than about 10 big blinds, but crucially rarely had fewer. Eventually he became Dovzhenko's prey, when the Ukrainian's tens vacuumed up the Russian's queen-eight. Simonyan could have no complaints at all, and 100,000 reasons not to have them.

Arthur Simonyan

And so that left those three for the post-dinner shenanigans, with most commentators agreeing that they were the most accomplished players of the lot. When the swings stopped swinging and the dust was all swept clear, it was Lykov standing tall and Dovzhenko falling one spot short of emulating Vicky Coren's feat of winning an EPT in his home town.

A job well done for Maxim Lykov

Relive it all in Russian or German by clicking through to our vodka-quaffing or sausage-eating Russian or German sister blogs. Then swing back and take a blow-by-blow look at how he did it:

Level 23 updates
Level 24 updates
Level 25 updates
Level 26 updates
Level 27 updates
Level 28 updates

As ever, video blogs are available at PokerStars.tv. And we're ever grateful to the sharp eye and index finger of our photographer "(c)" Neil Stoddart.

Next stop Barcelona, where Lykov has the first chance to win that second title. It's a long shot, but this kid is good.

Take a look at how the video blog team saw it. And then that's your lot from Kyiv. Good night.

Live updates from day 5, level 28 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 5,000-40,000-80,000.

8.33pm:Maxim Lykov is the EPT6 Kyiv champion, earning €330,000
After a relatively short heads-up battle we have crowned our inaugural winner of the EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship. The action started with a raise from Lykov which Dovzhenko called to see a [4s][jd][7s] flop. Both players checked before Dovzhenko bet 400,000 on the [4c] turn. Lykov treated this with a raise up to 1,000,000 then Dovzhenko moved all in and received an instant call from Lykov. Lykov tabled 4-10 for trip fours and Dovzhenko tabled J-9 for two-pair. The river came [ad] and a champion is crowned.

8.26pm: It's all over
Lykov is our EPT Kyiv champion. Details coming right up.

8.22pm: Pre flop action
Dovzhenko raised to 240,000 but folded to Lykov's 580,000 three-bet.

8.15pm: Big betting
With the flop showing [jd][5s][ks] and 480,000 in the middle, Lykov made it 250,000 which Dovzhenko called. The turn came [7c] which Lykov checked before Dovzhenko made a pot winning bet of 500,000.

8.12pm: Checking
On a flop of [jc][5s][js] Lykov checked before Dovzhenko made it 225,000. Lykov called. An [ad] on the turn, checked by both. A [qh] on the river, checked by both. Dovzhenko showed an ace, beating Lykov's queen.

8.08pm: All in call
Hold on though. After Dovzhenko limped to see the [2d][2h][8s] flop there was no betting on the [jd] turn but after the [8h] on the river Lykov bet, was re-raised all-in by Dovzhenko then snap called by Lykov. Dovzhenko showed eight-three, Lykov eight-queen for an anti-climactic split pot.

8pm: Second flop of heads up
Lykov puts in 220,000 which Dovzhenko calls for a [kd][kc][9c] flop. Both check and do the same after the [ad] turn. After the [5c] river, Dovzhenko bet 350,000 which Lykov called. But Dovzhenko showed [ac][3c] for the flush.

7.50pm: Vitaly Tolokonnikov, Russia, eliminated in 3rd, earning €140,000
Tolokonnikov made it 210,000 pre-flop which Lykov raised to 550,000 before Tolokonnikov moved all-in. Lykov called showing [ad][jc] while Tolokonnikov turned over [7d][7h] for another classic race. The flop kept the tension flowing: [3c][qs][5h]. Tolokonnikov was ahead until the [ah] hit the turn. Now Tolokonnikov needed a seven on the river but got a [8d] instead. Within minutes of the restart we're heads up in Kyiv.

7.35pm: Last level, or five more hours?
The three players have retaken their seats after dinner and are mighty close to that €330,000 first prize. With the stacks pretty even -- just a big blind between first and second, for example -- it's anyone's game, meaning there could still be a good deal of play in this tournament yet. Here are the stacks:

Alexander Dovzhenko - 3,110,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov - 3,050,000
Maxim Lykov - 2,755,000

And here's what they look like:

From left to right, Maxim Lykov, Alexander Dovzhenko, Vitaly Tolokonnikov

Live updates from day 5, level 27 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 5,000-30,000-60,000.

6.35pm: Break time
So that's dinner then. Three players will pop down to the refectory thinking they could be taking home €330,000. When they come back in 60 minutes, they'll find these chips:

Alexander Dovzhenko - 3,515,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov - 3,115,000
Maxim Lykov - 2,285,000

In other words, they're all still in it.

Prizewinners to date can be found on the prizewinners page.

6.32pm: Bit of a think
Lykov makes his standard raise of 140,000. Dovzhenko raises to 400,000 before Lykov re-raises all-in for 2,280,000. He smiles while Dovzhenko looks fierce. He takes his time about it but the Ukrainian passes, ending the level.

6.30pm: C-betting good
Lykov and Dovzhenko get to a flop, with Lykov having raised and Dovzhenko calling. The flop is queen high and Lykov bets 175,000, which is good.

6.25pm: 145 from the button
The bet is 145,000, the position is the button, and each of Lykov, Dovzhenko and Tolokonnikov have done so in the past three hands, each of them picking up blinds and antes.

6.15pm: Pots are getting bigger
On a board reading [3d][kd][9c][8d] Lykov bet 200,000 which Dovzhenko called. On a [5c] river, Lykov came out betting again, 505,000 this time, too much for Dovzhenko who mucked his hand.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

6.10pm: Arthur Simonyan eliminated in 4th earning €100,000
Arthur Simonyan had been the short stack for most of today. Finally he could hold on no longer and pushed for his last 275,000 with [qc][8c], only to walk into the [10d][10c] of Alexander Dovzhenko. The Russian needed help from the dealer, and the [kc][4d][8d] gave a small ray of hope, but the [4h] turn and [kd] river ended his day.

Simonyan is the first player to leave Kyiv with a bag containing six-figures of Euros, while Dovzhenko soars to 4.4million chips. Vitaly Tolokonnikov has 3.1million, and Maxim Lykov 1.4million.

5.59pm: Lucasz Plichta, Poland, eliminated in 5th earning €80,000
Tolokonnikov made it 140,000 before Plichta re-raised all-in for 790,000. Tolokonnikov called with [qc][qh] to Plichta's [8d][8c]. The board had elements of cruelty to it, landing as it did: [10h][8h][qs][9s][5s]. After a long spell five handed Plichta's exit leaves just four.

5.55pm: Simonyon asks the questions
Another Simonyon push. Any takers? No.

5.50pm: The new pattern
The new style of play here is this: raise, re-raise, four bet shove. This time, the players in the clinch were Alexander Dovzhenko and Maxim Lykov; the former with the original raise (75,000), then Lykov's 275,000 re-raise, then a chip-leader size shove. Fold.

Alexander Dovzhenko, right, and Maxim Lykov

5.44pm: Tolokonnikov aggression
Vitaly Tolokonnikov re-raises all-in against Lucasz Plichta. It's good.

5.41pm: A hand
Dovzhenko made it 140,000 pre-flop, called by Max Lykov. On the [8d][8c][5c] flop Lykov checked to Dovzhenko who made it 200,000 to play. Too rich. He takes it down.

5.40pm: Raise and take it
This is now a very long five-handed battle and the tournament is in slow-down mode before the dinner break.

5.20pm: Quiet men get involved
Vitaly Tolokonnikov raises to 130,000 from the button and Arthur Simonyan calls from the big blind. The flop comes ace high, and Simonyan's check is all the encouragement his countryman needs to continuation bet 150,000. Folds.

5.17pm: First pot of the level for Plichta
Lucasz Plichta and Maxim Lykov saw and checked a [7d][8d][2c] flop. Plichta check-called a 155,000 bet on the [4c] turn, and then both checked the [js] river. Plichta's pocket sixes were good.

5.15pm: Back
They're back. So are we. They're playing. We're watching. We also did some chip counting and we scribbled that on the chip-count page.

Here's a nice aerial view of the tournament room.

Live updates from day 5, level 26 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 5,000-25,000-50,000.

4.55pm: Lykov shoves
Dovzhenko made it 135,000 pre-flop and both Simonyan and Lykov called from the blinds. After a flop of [4h][2d][6h] Simonyan and Lykov checked before Dovzhenko bet 250,000. Lykov then re-raised all-in, a total of 1,190,000. Dovzhenko asked for a count and descended into the tank for several minutes before re-emerging to fold.

4.45pm: The ace does it
Tolokonnikov made it 120,000 which Plichta called from the small blind. The flop came [8h][4c][ac] They both check that, then the [6d] turn but Plichta bets 140,000 on the [9c] river. Tolokonnikov called, showing Ace-three, betting than Plichta's king-queen.

4.43pm: What they're after
It looks like this:

4.37pm: Simonyan back in it
Arthur Simonyan doubled up when he pushed all-in for 625,000 with [ah][kc] only to be insta-called by Alexander Dovzhenko with [qh][qd].

Simonyan needed an ace or a king to keep his tournament hopes alive - and the flop duly came [ad][7c][6s]. The turn of [8h] and river of [kh] ensured he doubled his stack to 1.3million.

Arthur Simonyan

4.35pm: A gentle reminder
Just to make sure you're aware, we're updating chip counts continually throughout the levels. You can always click through to the chip count page to see them, and the easiest way to do that is hinted at below. Also, there's a prize pool page, which will tell you who has won the dosh so far, and how much those remaining are chasing.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

4.30pm: Million dollar pot
Alexander Dovzhenko has just made a marvellous call to take a million-plus pot from Maxim Lykov. It was only the two of them to the flop, which came [2s][6h][7d] and Lykov bet 135,000. Dovzhenko called. The turn was [js] and Lykov bet another 255,000. Called as well. The river was [4d] and Lykov this time bet 275,000. Dovzhenko took an age, but eventually found the call and he was bang on. Although he only had A-Q for ace-high, he beat Lykov's K-10 three-barrel bluff. The Ukrainian is now past four million, while Lykov is on the slide.

Maxim Lykov

4.18pm: Lykov takes them on
Maxim Lykov, who had been slipping slightly in chips, has moved up a gear to get back in contention. He has just re-raised pre-flop three hands in a row to win them all and move up to 2.17million - increasing his stack by a third.

4.15pm: Plichta steps in
A tense hand, started by Dovzhenko's raise to 135,000 on the button. Tolokonnikov called from the small blind before Plichta re-raised to 400,000 on the big. The action was folded back to Tolokonnikov who tanked for a few minutes, getting a count, and some close up camera time, before folding.

4.08: Dovzhenko turns the screw
Alexander Dovzhenko picks up another one. Facing a 135,000 raise from Vitaly Tolokonnikov, who is second in chips, he pushed all-in, forcing an insta-fold from the Russian. Dovzhenko is no up to 3.7million.

4.05pm: Tolokonnikov takes a slice from Simonyan
Vitaly Tolokonnikov raises on the button and Arthur Simonyan, who has been very quiet, calls from the big blind. The flop comes [qs][8c][2c] and Tolokonnikov's continuation bet takes it. He shows a queen for top pair.

3.55pm: Value bet with a deuce. Wins.
Alexander Dovzhenko raises pre-flop and the only caller is the man to his right, Maxim Lykov. The flop comes [2s][qc][8c], checked, the turn is [4d], checked. The river is [qs] and then Lykov bets 200,000. Dovzhenko, who has barely put a foot wrong when he's been calling on the river, stumbles this time. He calls and is shown 10-2, for bottom pair. Dovzhenko mucks, presumably with ace-high, and the common consensus is that that was a value bet from Lykov, which worked perfectly.

3.50pm: Tolokonnikov and Lykov again
Vitaly Tolokonnikov raised to 120,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov raised to 335,000. With the action back on Tolokonnikov the Russian announced all-in, 1,315,000 total, which prompts Lykov to fold.

3.46pm: Simonyan all-in
A Lucasz Plichta raise of 150,000 is met by the all-in of Arthur Simonyan, 740,000 in total. Plichta doesn't fancy it and folds.

3.40pm: Play resumes
The five players have returned to their seats behind the following stacks:

Alexander Dovzhenko - 3,589,000
Maxim Lykov - 1,900,000
Lucasz Plichta - 1,896,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov - 1,724,000
Arthur Simonyan - 520,000

That man at the top is the local hope Alexander Dovzhenko. He looks like this:

Remember, the mid-level chip counts are on the chip-counts page.

Live updates from day 5, level 25 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 4,000-20,000-40,000.

3.35pm: The level ends
The last hand of the level starts with a Dovzhenko raise of 95,000 from under-the-gun. Tolokonnikov called before Simonyan looked at his cards, thought a bit, then pushed in for 516,000. Dovzhenko and Tolokonniov skip this one and head for a 15 minute break.

3.22pm: Button and blinds
Alexander Dovzhenko bet pre-flop which Tolokonnikov and Plichta called from the blinds for a flop of [4s][9h][ac]. Tolokonnikov and Plichta checked and Dovzhenko made it 175,000. That did it. Both fold.

3.20pm: Lykov gets some back
Again it's Maxim Lykov and Lucasz Plichta going to war. This time the Polish player raises late position and Lykov calls from the small blind. They check the flop of [4s][10h][8s] and then Lykov bets 120,000 on the turn of [7h]. Plichta calls. The river is [ah] and Lykov bets 155,000. This time Plichta gets out the way.

3.15pm: Out of the darkness
Arthur Simonyan, remember him? He just moved all-in for 416,000 finding no takers.

3.10pm: Plichta picks off Tolokonnikov
In an unraised pot, Lucasz Plichta and Vitaly Tolokonnikov saw a flop of [4h][8h][10c] and checked. The turn was [5c] and Tolokonnikov had a tickle: 40,000. Plichta was having none of that, bumped it up to 100,000 and that was that. On the next hand, Plichta three-bet Maxim Lykov pre-flop and took that one down too. He's making some moves.

3.02pm: Step forward Lucasz Plichta
Maxim Lykov raised to 95,000 from the button which Alexander Dovzhenko called from the small blind. Then Lucasz Plichta stepped in, raising things to 440,000 total. That ruined everything for the others, who prompty fold. Plichta showed jacks.

2.51pm: Out of the small blind
Alexander Dovzhenko made it 100,000 from the button which Vitaly Tolokonnikov raised to 270,000 from the small blind. Back to Dovzhenko he called for a [9d][6h][5h] flop which Tolokonnikov bet 300,000 on. Dovzhenko passed.

2.50pm: Battle royale
This is becoming a good little battle between Maxim Lykov and Vitaly Tolokonnikov. After showing that nine-deuce earlier, Lykov re-raised Tolokonnikov's opener, making it 225,000. Tolokonnikov said the poker equivalent of: "Have some of this!" and four-bet shoved for his million-odd. Lykov folded.

2.45pm: Lykov at it
Vitaly Kolokonnikov made it 95,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov raised to 245,000. Kolokonnikov tapped the table and mucked his cards. Lykov showed him nine-deuce.

2.40pm: Chips
Get the latest five-handed chip counts on the chip count page.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

2.37pm: Adrian Schaap, Holland, eliminated in 6th earning €60,000
Adrian Schaap's tournament is over. Maxim Lykov raised, Schaap shoved and Lykov called. Pocket tens for Lykov against Schaap's [ah][qc], a classic race situation. The board ran: [4s][4d][3h][jd][2h]. After losing any number of coin flips, Lykov's hand finally holds up and Schaap departs.

Adrian Schaap

2.32pm: Dovzhenko re-raising
Adrian Schaap made it 87,000 pre-flop which Alexander Dovzhenko re-raised to 265,000. A minute or so of deep thought followed before Schaap passed.

2.30pm: Plichta doubles, Lykov pays (again)
Maxim Lykov opens to 100,000 from under-the-gun. We've seen this before. Lucasz Plichta moves all in from the button and after the blinds get out the way, Lykov calls. He has [ac][jh] and it's a good call because Plichta has [kc][10c]. The flop -- [3s][2d][5h] -- is no good for Plichta. The turn -- [6h] -- isn't much good either. But the river. Oh, the river. It comes [10h]. Plichta allows himself a clench of his fist as his cheeks turn an even brighter shade of scarlet.

Lucasz Plichta

2.20pm: Kolokonnikov moves in
After a pre-flop raise from Maxim Lykov, Vitaly Kolokonnikov moved all-in for 535,000 total. The action came back to Lykov who wasted no time in calling, showing [ac][kd] to Kolokonnikov's [js][jd]. The flop and turn: [5s][9c][10s] [qd] gave Lykov more outs and Kolokonnikov cause to worry, but not for long when a harmless [4d] hit the river. Kolokonnikov back up to 1,154,000.

Vitaly Kolokonnikov

2.15pm: Simonyan doubles
First hand after the break and Lucasz Plichta raises from the cut off to 105,000 and Arthur Simonyan insta-shoved his short stack all in. Plichta was pretty-much forced to call the extra 200,000, even though he didn't much look like he wanted to. Simonyan showed [qc][qs] and Plichta only had [as][3s]. There were no spades on the flop, and no ace on turn nor river. Simonyan doubles and Plichta is now the short stack with a little more than 500,000.

2.10pm: They're back
The six remaining players are back in their seats. Alexander Dovzhenko is way ahead here, but Maxim Lykov still has all the moves and is breathing down his neck. After Adrian Schaap's double up, the short stack has become Arthur Simonyan. Something like this:

Alexander Dovzhenko, Ukraine, 3,768,000
Maxim Lykov, Russia, 2,552,000
Lucasz Plichta, Poland, PokerStars qualifier, 953,000
Adrian Schaap , Holland, 746,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov, Russia, 623,000
Arthur Simonyan, Russia, 365,000

Follow the blow-by-blow action right where you are. (Hit Refresh or F5 for the latest.) Find chip counts on the chip count page. Find prizewinners to date on the prizewinners page. Find all the same in Russian or German at the Russian or German blogs.

Live updates from day 5, level 24 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 3,000-15,000-30,000.

1.55pm: Level over
That's the end of that level and so we go to the next with six players. There'll be a 15 minute break now; check the chips counts in the usual place.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

1.50pm: Schaap doubles up
A chink emerges in the previously-impenetrable armour of Alexander Dovzhenko. The Ukrainian raises from early position and Adrian Schaap moves all in for 269,000 more. Everyone else gets out the way and Dovzhenko calls. It's good news for Schaap: his [ac][jc] is ahead of Dovzhenko's [kd][js] and an ace on the river seals the deal.

1.42pm: Another for Plichta
Lucasz Plichta continues his impressive progress. Vitaly Tolokonnikov made it 75,000 and Plichta came in with a re-raise to 225,000. It's enough to take the pot, and the man from Poland eases up to around 956,000.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

1.35pm: Torsten Tent, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, eliminated in 7th earning €45,000
The micro-stacked Torsten Tent moved it all in pre-flop. He had no other move, sitting with only about three big blinds. Max Lykov called instantly and initially it looked pretty good for the German. He had [ac][8s] to Lykov's [kd][8d]. But then the flop came [kc][8h][3c] and there was no ace on turn or river, costing Tent his tournament life. He qualified for the event in a FPP satellite on PokerStars; he leaves €45,000 richer.

Torsten Tent

1.28pm: Dovzhenko has Lykov's number
Alexander Dovzhenko just took another pot from his only serious rival here, Max Lykov. It was a battle of the blinds, unraised, and the flop came [7c][8d][2h]. Lykov bet 50,000 and Dovzhenko called. The turn was [3h] and Dovzhenko called Lykov's 110,000 bet. The river was the [kc] and they repeated the procedure again, this time Lykov's 100,000 bet was called. Lykov showed A-7 but Dovzhenko's 8-5 was better. He's now past 400,000 in chips. And you can find all those counts on the chip-count page.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

1.20pm: Lykov finds the value
Another raised pot -- raised, of course, by Maxim Lykov -- and Vitaly Tolokonnikov is his lone customer. The flop came [as][6d][3c] and both checked. They both also checked the turn of [jd] and then Lykov bet 150,000, which sent Tolokonnikov into the tank. Eventually he called and was shown pocket queens by Lykov. It was a good value bet; Tolokonnikov mucked.

1.09pm: Vadim Markushevski eliminated in 8th place earning €30,000
Vadim Markushevski becomes our first final table casualty, falling in a monster pot against Alexander Dovzhenko. What started as a normal pre-flop raise from Markushevski became a huge pot that left Dovzhenko as clear chip leader with 3.8million.

Markushevski raised and then faced a re-raise to 240,000 by Dovzhenko. Undeterred, Markushevski came back with a re-re-raise to 590,000, but Dovzhenko wasted no time in moving all-in for around 1.6million more. Markushevski showed pain as he thought through the hand. He called almost reluctantly, and to observers it looked like it would be a classic aces-against-kings confrontation.

They went on their backs, with Dovzhenko covering Markushevski by around 100,000, and sure enough:

Markushevski: [kh][ks]
Dovzhenko: [ah][ac]

The board ran [8c][2s][10s][4c][10d] and Markushevski from Belarus leaves with €30,000 to add to his bankroll.

Vadim Markushevski


1.03pm: Pushy Plichta
Lucasz Plichta continues his new-found aggression, and again takes down the blind and antes with a 80,000 pre-flop raise.

1pm: Video action
Action continues on the feature table, but spend a few minutes away to see how the video blog team set up the final day:

12.55pm: Schaap snaps
Max Lykov has a stab at Adrian Schaap's big blind, but the obdurate Dutchman is going nowhere and calls. The flop comes [8c][10d][4c] and Schaap insta-pushes all in. Lykov flashes A-Q as he folds, reminding the table that he sometimes has a hand, and also that he can lay it down.

12.54pm: Bullying the bully
Max Lykov raises to 70,000, as is his style. Vitaly Tolokonnikov re-raises to 200,000 and Lykov folds. Next hand.

12.51pm: Chips
At all times, you can get the latest counts on the chip count page. In other words:

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

12.50pm: Squeeze
Lucasz Plichta raised to 82,000 under-the-gun and Alexander Dovzhenko called on the button. That was enough to encourage Vadim Markushevski to re-raise to 300,000 from the big blind and the squeeze play was good. Plichta and Dovzhenko folded.

12.40pm: Lykov licked by Dovzhenko
It's folded to Maxim Lykov in the small blind and, as chip leader, he does what he's supposed to and raises to 85,000. Alexander Dovzhenko calls in the big blind, which possibly wasn't part of the plan. The flop comes [ks][4h][5s] and they both check. The turn is the [10c] and Lykov now fancies it, betting 110,000. Call from Dovzhenko. The river was [10s] and Lykov slowed down and checked. Dovzhenko bet 300,000 into a 400,000 pot and Lykov called to make this the biggest pot of the day. Dovzhenko showed [qs][8s] for the rivered flush and took it down.

12.35pm: Smooth transition
The new level starts instantly and we're now playing blinds of 15,000-30,000 with a 3,000 ante. Yep, it's the moment when the big blind becomes the size of a tournament starting stack.

Welcome to the final table of EPT Kyiv. The following eight players will today play down to a winner; there will be a new champion and the first in a CIS country.

Here is some brief biographical information about those players -- get used to it, especially if you're listening to EPT Live, where it will be repeated over and over again before you can remember it by rote. (We share our information.)

Seat 1: Vadim Markushevski, 22, Minsk, Belarus - 1,662,000 chips

Markushevski doesn't consider himself a professional poker player but he has had some pretty astounding results for a "recreational" player. Last year he won close to a million dollars when he came fourth in a 2008 WCOOP event and he followed that up in January this year by coming second in the inaugural PokerStars.net Russian Poker Tour event in St Petersburg in January. Although he still spends most of his time running his business, Markushevski is also reaping rich rewards with his part-time poker hobby.

Seat 2: Lucasz Plichta, 22, Gdansk, Poland - PokerStars FPP qualifier - 731,000 chips

Plichta qualified for EPT Kyiv in a 2,500 frequent player point satellite only two weeks before the event began. Effectively, that means he has free-rolled his way to the best result of his poker career to date. Plichta. who is currently studying economics at Gdansk University, has been playing poker for nearly three years and has already notched up some good online results. His best so far was fourth place in a $650 no limit hold 'em event for which he won around $55,000. Plichta was the only representative of Poland at EPT Kyiv and has now made it to the final eight.

Seat 3: Adrian Schaap, 45, Rotterdam, Holland - 520,000 chips

Schaap, who owns a chain of American grill style restaurants, has been playing recreational poker for five years. He frequently plays on the European Poker Tour and has cashed in two main events so far: in Prague on season four and in Monte Carlo last season. In the past year, he has also taken up playing cash games among top Dutch pros, including Marc Naalden. He is hoping his two daughters will be able to fly out to cheer him on at the final but even if they can't, he has few friends here who will support him, including Raoul Refos. Making the final is Schaap's dream and now he dreams of winning the event, in the process becoming the third consecutive Dutch winner of an EPT after Constant Rijkenberg and Pieter de Korver.

Seat 4: Arthur Simonyan, 43, from Moscow, Russia - 531,000 chips

A businessman from Moscow, Simonyan started playing poker in 2006 and has now turned professional. He only plays live tournaments and specialises in no-limit hold 'em multi-table events. His best result to date was in 2007 when he won $10,000 in a local Moscow event.

Seat 5: Torsten Tent, 31, Korbach, Germany - PokerStars qualifier - 264,000 chips

Tent is a production manager for a large tyre manufacturer in Germany and plays poker for a hobby, where he's recently been enjoying considerable success. He won a World Series package on PokerStars this sumer but unfortunately couldn't find time to get to Las Vegas and he also won his seat for EPT Kyiv online in a $11 rebuy satellite. His favorite game is pot limit Omaha and he usually plays the lower stakes online. "When I'm at home surfing the internet, I'm usually playing poker online at the same time," he said. "There is always space for a table on the desktop. Tent will celebrate his success here in Kyiv with friends from Germany and Austria who also played the Main Event.

Seat 6: Maxim Lykov, 21, Moscow Russia - 2,597,000 chips

Lykov was overnight chip leader on day three and retained the lead for much of the penultimate day's play, until his one-man mission to eliminate the short stacks backfired slightly. He's a professional poker player and specialises in multi-table no limit hold 'em tournaments, both online and offline. Known as "Decay", Lykov has already had considerable success in the internet card-rooms but cemented his reputation as a good live player by coming third in the $5k no limit hold 'em shootout at the World Series this summer. The win netted him $145,000 at his first WSOP.

Seat 7: Alexander Dovzhenko, 45, Kiev, Ukraine - 1,590,000 chips

Dovzhenko is the oldest player at the final table and has a string of results going back many years, reflecting 15 years' experience in the game. Making the final table in Kyiv is his best live result to date although he cashed three times at the World Series this summer and came 56th at EPT San Remo last season for €13,700. The former chess player started his poker career with seven-card stud and it is still his favourite game. Dovzhenko, who plays online as "berserk64", is a close friend of the Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko. Coming up to congratulate his friend, Kravchenko said: "He is a very good player, one of the best in Ukraine. I would say he was a favourite to win this event."

Seat 8: Vitaly Tolokonnikov, 22, Moscow, Russia - 1,019,000 chips

Tolokonnikov started playing poker about three-and-a-half years ago while studying at university. He is now a professional player, dividing his time between playing live and online. His favorite game is Texas hold 'em and the best result of his career to date is making the PokerStars EPT Kyiv final table.

* * * * *

Live updates from day 4, level 23 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 2,000-12,000-24,000.

12.33pm: Last of the level
The last hand of the level starts well then fizzles out. Alexander Dovzhenko made it 60,000 before Vadim Markushevski made it 155,000. The action came back to Dovzhenko who looked serious for a while then folded. Blinds up. -- SB

12.28pm: Lykov firing
Maxim Lykov made it 66,000 pre-flop. Vadim Markushevski called on the button before the blinds folded. The flop came [ad][qc][9c] prompting Lykov to bet 85,000.Too much for Markushevski. - SB

12.22pm: First hand
Lucasz Plichta starts the first hand by raising to 62,000 from under-the-gun which Maxim Lykov called. The flop came [2d][8h][8c] which Plichta bet at, 79,000 total. Lykov thought about it but passed. First hand to Plichta. -- SB

12.20pm: Welcome back
The eight finalists are at the final table, and play is about to begin once Thomas Kremser has completed the introductions. Their profiles will be up shortly, but for now settle back and enjoy the ride.

12.10am: Done for the day
That's it for tonight's poker action. A full report on the events of the day will be published on the blog shortly. In the meantime catch up on the official chip counts going into the final day. -- SB

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

12.05am: Done for the night. Good morning
Michael Meyburg moved all-in but contrary to the recent trend Vitaly Kolokonnikov called showing [ad][10s] to Meyburg's [7d][7c]. It was effectively over on the [qs][10c][js] flop. Meyburg needed a seven but the turn came [5c] and the river [8d]. It sent the German PokerStars qualifier, who qualified for nothing, out in ninth place for €23,000, the final departure for the night. The last eight will return at noon tomorrow and play until one of them becomes the first ever EPT Kyiv champion. -- SB

12am: Big one
A massive pot just played out between two of the biggest stacks. It was a battle of the blinds that got ugly for Max Lykov. He raised from the small blind and Alexander Dovzhenko raised to 87,000 from the big. The flop came [7h][5c][js] and after Lykov checked, Dovzhenko bet 100,000. Lykov called. The turn was the [2c] and Lykov checked again. Dovzhenko bet again, this time 250,000. Lykov called. The river was [10c] and this time they both slowed down and each checked. Dovzhenko showed his hand first -- pocket queens -- and Lykov mucked. The Ukrainian moves a couple of spots nearer to the chip lead again.

11.53pm: Poland all-in
Vadim Markushevski bet pre-flop and Poland's Lucasz Plichta came out with an all-in flourish. Markushevski called with [ad][2d] to Plichta's [qg][qs]. Plichta needed to dodge aces and did just that. A double up for Plichta, up to 739,000. -- SB

11.46pm: Tent knocked over
Torsten Tent made it 65,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov called. Lykov made it 140,000 on a [5h][8s][10c] flop and 232,000 on the [as] river with Tent calling all the way. He made a last bet of 656,000 on the river to make a huge pot. Tent agonised over the decision, eventually calling and showing pocket eights for a set. But Lykov showed queen-jack for a straight. Tent said one of those family unfriendly words and took over the short stack. Lykov up to 3.1million. -- SB

11.38pm: All-in
Michael Meyburg moves all in for 310,000 with predictable results. No callers. -- SB

11.30pm: Simonyan chips up
It's very cagey, but Arthur Simonyan has been loving this. His latest pre-flop reraise of one of the chip leaders brings him up past 600,000, more than he could possibly have hoped when he was but a micro-stack. - HS

11.18pm: Here we go
Michael Meyburg moves all-in for 260,000. Could this be the one? Nope. No takers. -- SB

11.13pm: Lykov takes another nibble out of Schaap
Max Lykov raises to 58,000 pre-flop from early position. Adrian Schaap calls from late. It's just the two of them and they see a flop of [2s][qh][8d]. Both check. The turn is [10c] and Lykov bets 111,000. It's good.

11.10pm: Meyburg moves in
Andrew Meyburg moves all in under-the-gun for his 250,000 stack. Everyone folds.

11pm: Late night
This is our latest night of the week so far, and they've been playing nine handed for more than a full level. As they return, the leader is Max Lykov, from Russia. We still need to lose one more player until we have an official final table.

Don't forget where you can find the chip counts:

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

Max Lykov