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."