After the build up, the early rounds and the long battle that made up the final, not to mention the countless contests to determine who would fly to the Bahamas to represent their country, the new World Cup of Poker champions have been crowned. Germany, led by PokerStars Shooting Star Jan Heitmann, emerged victorious tonight after a 16 hour day in the poker saddle.

After a day of heady competition, a changing leader board and shovels full of good-natured banter, Germany overcame a determined Italian team led by the Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano who finsihed third, and the New Zealanders led by Lee Nelson in second to win the fifth renewal of the event. After a long day the end came after just one hand of heads-up play; Heitmann's Q-8 ultimately over-taking New Zealand's Q-9 to make a flush on the river.

"This has been a great experience, a really great tournament" said Heitmann during the trophy presentation. "Our team played fantastic. We got lucky a bit but overall we played very good poker."

Heitmann and his team collected $100,000 for first place, part of a $290,000 freeroll prize pool added entirely by PokerStars.

The final featured each of the nine teams that qualified for this battle in the Bahamas over many weeks of competition online. Teams came to the final with chip stacks determined by the performance of all their players in five single-table tournaments, and Great Britain, led by the Team PokerStars Pro Vicky Coren, held the lead at the end of the preliminary rounds.

Their final table journey was full of swings. They were hit by ill fortune and then able to mount comebacks, albeit with an even bigger slice of luck. Eventually Team GB finished fifth. It was a similar story for Team USA, aside from their slightly better fourth place finish.

The defending champions, whose line up featured two of last year's victorious outfit - team captain Greg Raymer and internet tournament grandee Shaun Deeb - were frequently pegged back by bad beats when it seemed as though the momentum was flowing in their favour. This roller-coaster kept the packed bleachers in the Bahamas gripped throughout the hours, and they were joined by a worldwide audience watching on EPTLive's unparalleled internet coverage, featuring every hand - including hole cards.

Testament to the competitive nature of this most unique of team poker events was the careful staying power of each team, with several hours passing before the first elimination. There was also the tense mixture of not wanting to let team mates down.

Poker is essentially an individualist pursuit. The sudden change in mentality towards a team approach baffled some, Vicky Coren particularly who folded a hand she admitted she would have moved all in behind had it been her money alone.

"It's unnatural to be concerned for other people's welfare," she said. But she was all too aware, like others around her, that a single mistake would cost not just her but the whole team.

That said the World Cup of Poker lived up to its reputation of being one of the most fun events to play and watch, underpinned by a camaraderie that kept all the participants glued to the action until the end.

No team was beyond tasting success. Germany were ultimately victorious but all teams were in contention, even the ninth place Canadian team, led by Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu, could rightfully blame bad luck (notably jacks) for their demise.

Either way the result was another great World Cup of Poker. Congratulations to all the teams involved, and to Germany for a great achievement.

Watch WCP V: Team Germany wins the WCP V. on PokerStars.tv

Here's a look at the final results

1st - Germany - $100,000
Jan Heitmann (Captain), Georg Geissler, Malte Strothmann, Bastian Wulff, Peter Schmidt.

2nd - New Zealand - $70,000
Lee Nelson (Captain), Nicholas Webb, Richard Grace, Wayne Lo, Jordan Bryant.

3rd - Italy - $50,000
Luca Pagano (Captain), Michele Migliore, Pennisi Omar, Valeriano Bilancetti, Fabrizio Villa.

4th - USA - $30,000
Greg Raymer (Captain), Shaun Deeb, Benjamin Zamani, Jarred Gabin, Bruce Armstrong.

5th - Great Britain - $10,000
Vicky Coren (Captain), Steven Devlin, Laurence Houghton, Derek Morris, Karl Mahrenholz.

6th - Poland - $10,000
Marcin Horecki (Captain), Jerzy Slaby, Pawel Chmiel, Patryk Slusarek, Leszek Krawcynski.

7th - Latvia - $5,000
Krisjanis Jurdzs (Captain), Vjaceslavs Ivanovs, Juris Saicans, Ance Laganovska, Dmitrijs Kurchins.

8th - Mexico - $5,000
JC Alvarado (Captain), David Huber, José Francisco Muñoz Osuna, Antoine Barriere, Jorge Lozano.

9th - Canada - $5,000
Daniel Negreanu (Captain), Blair Maltby, Dennis Hamlyn, Wanda Whitlock, Tammy Bailey.

For a fine comb account of the day you can check back through any of the links below, which as well as details of key moments also explain one of the most heroic tournament structures known to man...

Let the finals begin
We're underway
Happy to be here
Closing in
Two tables to go...
Final table about to start
Final table updates
Play continues in the final

That it for another year on the World Cup of Poker, one of the many side features at this year's PCA. Tomorrow marks the start of the $25,000 High Roller event that should pitch togther some of the world's best players in this unique setting.

Play starts at 12 noon ET. See you then.

Below you'll find regular updates from the final table of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker which you can also see for yourselves, live on EPTLive, with every hand, including hole cards, shown from start to finish. Click refresh for latest updates here as the final progresses and for a recap on the structure of the final check out today's introduction.

3.28am: Germany are the new World Cup of Poker champions, collecting $100,000 for first place. Full report to follow.

3.27am: New Zealand are eliminated in second place for $70,000
On the first heads up hand Germany moved all-in with Qh-8c and were called immediately by New Zealand narrowly ahead with Qc-9c. Heitmann would need help for Germany with none coming on a flop of Ah-Ad-7h. The turn though changed that bringing an 8h that put Germany ahead and even gave them the flush draw, making it with the 9h on the river. A long day finally comes to an end.

3.23am: Italy are eliminated in third place for $50,000
All three players see the flop of 4h-8s-2h. Pagano then made it 16,000 forcing out Grace before Heitmann raised to 16,000 holding 8c-7c. Pagano moved all-in with 8d-5h and was called instantly, outkicked by the German. Neither hand improved and the Italian team were out. The World Cup of Poker goes heads up, with one more hand remaining in the level.

3.20am: Updated chip counts...
New Zealand - 92,500
Germany - 116,500
Italy - 110,000

3.15am: Another all-in
Another double up for Germany, this time through New Zealand, A-T over Q-4. We play on...

3.07am: An all-in
Hardly surprising Germany move all in. This time Heitmann has pocket threes to Pagano's Ad-2c. The board runs Kd-8h-8d-4d-7s which doubles up Heitmann, keeping Germany alive.

3.05am: Uno Capitano
Pagano pushes his stack in, Italy are all-in with Qs-Js. New Zealand pass but Heitmann calls for Germany with red fives. It's a coin flip but not for long. Italy like the Tc-Qc-9c flop and the 4d turn and Kd river see them safely through, crippling Germany to an Italian chorus of "Uno Capitano".

3am: Your 3am chip count...
New Zealand - 165,500
Germany - 82,000
Italy - 71,500

2.55am: A German escape
Heitmann bet 15,000 pre-flop with Ah-7c. Grace in the New Zealand seat moved all in with Ac-Kh and Heitmann called. Germany would get a narrow escape though with the board running Jd-9h-8s-8h-9c for a split pot. A sigh of relief from Heitmann.

2.52am: Picking up where we left off...
Players return with two team captains in Luca Pagano and Jan Heitmann taking their seats. This is level 15 with blinds at 2,500-5,000 with a running ante of 500.

2.40am: End of the level
Italy takes the last pot of the level ahead of a ten minute break.

2.36am: Latest chip counts...
New Zealand - 162,400
Germany - 89,600
Italy - 67,000

2.33am: Team USA eliminated in fourth place for $30,000
The defending champions are eliminated thanks in part to the misery of pocket nines. Deeb pushed all-in with the nines, up against the Ac-8d of New Zealand. Deeb wanted to dodge an ace. He did, but ran headlong into a flop of Q-8-8. Those two eights eliminated Team USA after an unlucky level for Deeb. Three teams remain.

2.30am: Every little helps
Shaun Deeb boosts the Team USA stack by a round of blinds, moving in uncontested.

2.24am: Insta-call
New Zealand move all-in with Kc-6h and are insta-called by USA with pocket nines. It looks like the end of the road for the Kiwis but a king and a six hits the flop, doubling them up and sending them into the lead. Germany take a time out amid the celebrations.

2.12am: New Zealand all-in
New Zealand double up through Team USA. Richard Grace pushed with pocket kings and was called by Shaun Deeb with Q-J. Nothing hit the board to change the fact that New Zealand would double up. We play on.

2.05am: Time out
It's New Zealand's turn to take a minute to discuss tactics.

2.04am: We're back.
Germany take down the blinds in the first pot of the new level.

1.56am: Yet another level ends...
Players switch over once more as the blinds go up to 2,000-4,000 with a 400 ante. The chip counts are as follows...

USA - 107,400
Germany - 115,900
New Zealand - 48,000
Italy - 47,700

1.51am: Trading places
An Italy bet, a New Zealand raise and a Greg Raymer uncontested all-in shuffles the Americans back into second position.

1.48am: Up into second spot
New Zealand go into second place after a push all-in behind a raise and call from Germany and USA.

1.40am: The latest chip counts...
...are fairly close.
Germany - 110,000
USA - 78,500
Italy - 66,000
New Zealand - 64,500

1.34am: Time out
Luca Pagano calls a time out for his Italian team. To the time out zone they go. Germany meanwhile have breached the 100,000 chip barrier on 106,000. Italy decide to make a substitution with Michele Migliori stepping in.

1.31am: Great Britain are eliminated in fifth place for $10,000
It had to happen. Houghton pushed in with Ah-6h and whilst Raymer wanted none of it Strothmann had no hesitation, showing Ad-Jh. An ace hit the flop but not the six the British needed. Four teams remain.

1.22am: Britannia rules the negative waves
Great Britain move all in with As-6c and are called by Germany with A-7. Fortunes shines on them though, bringing high enough cards to split the pot.

On the next hand the British stack is boosted to 26,000 when they move in again with Ad-Qs and are called by New Zealand holding Kc-5s. The flop brings a five but the ace on the river bails out the Brits once more.

"I told him not to get it in with the best of it" quips Coren. They live on.

1.17am: The level ends.
That was the last hand of the level. When play resumes blinds will be 1,500-3,000 with a running 150 ante. Here are the latest chip counts...

USA - 84,800
New Zealand - 79,300
Germany - 75,700
Italy - 69,300
Great Britain - 9,900

1.16am: How the mighty fall
Karl Mahrenholz makes it 6,000 with pocket jacks and Shaun Deeb moves in with Ad-9s. Team USA are covered and it looks like the end for the defending champions. But the flop brings hope, a 9d before the turn brings another, saving Deeb and his team mates. It sends them into first place with 84,800 while the British have less than 10,000 remaining.

1.15am: Pot for Deeb
Italian player Bilancetti makes it 5,200 to go pre-flop with pocket nines. Shaun Deeb pushes all-in with K-Q, 41,000 in total. The Italian takes his time in folding but does so, showing Deeb his hand. Deeb mucks his cards and takes the pot.

1.10am: Latest chip counts...
New Zealand - 79,700
Germany - 78,100
Italy - 74.900
Great Britain - 52,200
USA - 34,100

1am: Team Poland are eliminated in 6th place for $10,000
Poland move all-in with Td-6s and are called by Malte Strothmann of Germany who shows Ah-Qh. A ten hits the flop but an ace hits the turn, ending the dream of a second World Cup title for the Poles. Down to five.

12.50am: For openers
Karl Mahrenholz pushes Shaun Deeb out of a modest sized pot, convincing the American his K-Q was more than his A-J.

12.40am: Players are back
Shaun Deeb steps up for Team USA, facing Karl Mahrenholz, Wayne Lo, Malte Strothmann and Leszek Krawcynski, with blinds at 1,000-2,000 and a 200 running ante.

New Zealand - 76,900
Italy - 63,900
Germany - 60,900
USA - 51,400
Great Britain - 45,700
Poland - 20,200

12.20am: End of the level
The level comes to an end with players permitted a 20 minute break.

12.15am: Team Latvia are eliminated in seventh place for $10,000.
Latvia's luck may have drained dry. The second of three monstrous hands doubled up the German team before a final hand saw Jurdzs move all-in with Th-9d only to be called by Gabin of Team USA with As-Qd. Nothing came on the board to save Latvia who's demolition was complete.

12.10am: Not your average raising hand
Six-seven off-suit isn't typically an all in hand but for the Brits anything goes. After Latvian captain Jurdzs made it 4,000 pre flop with pocket nines Coren moved all-in and was called.

"Think lucky thoughts".

Someone did. The flop came 4s-7s-Ks. The turn a 5d which blew the hand wide open. Coren needed a three, an eight, a seven, a six or a spade. The ace of spades was never so painful for Latvia, saving the Great Britain team.

12.03am: Last orders.
Marcin Horecki raises his arm from the rail and asks for a time out. He leads his team into the time out zone. Strategy? Tactics? Forget it. Vodka all round, a 'tactic' used to great effect in 2006. Happier, they emerge from out of the time out zone and move all in next hand. Good for the blinds.

11.55pm: One for the team?
Vicky Coren makes it 3,800 pre-flop with Ad-Jh and Jarred Gabin of Team USA moves all in with pocket fives. It's another A-J question for the British...

"If this was my own money it would be in so fast the baize would be torn" said Coren. "But I don't want them to be cross.

"Team spirit is unnatural! It's unnatural to be concerned for other people's welfare..."

Coren folded.

11.50pm: Vicky Coren calls a time out for Great Britain.
...then they slope off to the time out zone for 60 seconds of conflab.

11.45pm: Play resumes...
Play resumes with Vicky Coren and Lee Nelson back at the table. The chip counts look like this...

New Zealand - 79,650
Italy - 70,050
Latvia - 67,150
Germany - 30,300
USA - 26,475
Great Britain - 24,600
Poland - 18,775

After two hands Poland add 6,000 to their stack by taking the blinds.

11.35pm: End of another level.
Level 10 ends. Players take a short break before level 11 and blinds of 800-1,600 with a 200 ante.

11.31pm: Damage limitation
Marcin Horecki made it 3,000 pre-flop with As-Kd and Jan Heitmann called holding Ac-Ad. They both checked the flop of 4s-6d-Js for a Qh on the turn. Heitmann bet 3,000 but Horecki was having none of it, passing his hand before any damage could be done.

11.27pm: Up into the top three
A Latvian bet and a British call. Ah-Qs for the bettor, Jd-9d for the caller on a flop of Ad-3d-9h which gives both players a 50 per cent chance of winning the hand. Kurchins, for Latvia, made it 7,500 before Derek Morris of Britain pushed all-in. Kurchens called and needed to miss the 14 outs that would save Morris, twice. He did, doubling up and taking his team into third place.

11.20pm: Rule Britannia
Great Britain may have taken some knocks earlier but the fightback continues with Team GB back up to 62,000 thanks to a king-high straight against Team USA player Benjamin Zamani.

11.11pm: Italy into second
Luca Pagano takes a pot from Jan Heitmann with a pair of nines, tentatively checked on the end and enough to beat Heitmann's pocket fours. Italy currently sit second in chips with 71,450.

11pm: Latest chip counts...
Three team captains play this level with Jan Heitmann, Luca Pagano and Marcin Horecki taking their seats...

New Zealand - 64,250
Italy - 61,750
USA - 49,125
Great Britain - 44,150
Germany - 37,100
Latvia - 36,050
Poland - 30,575

10.55pm: Players take a break
There's a pause in the action as players take a short break. When they return, after tactical discussions and one or two substitutions, the blinds will be 600-1,200 with a 100 ante.

10.52pm: Team Mexico, eliminated in eighth place for $5,000.
In the last hand of the level JC Alvarado, hoping to guide his Mexico team out of the doldrums, finds Kc-Qd and bets 2,550. Britain's Steve Devlin announced all-in armed with two sixes and eventually Alvarado decided to call, heading to the rail for a glass of beer with nothing to lose. At least it was over quick. A six hit the flop making top set for the British who never looked back.

10.48pm: Crunch time for Mexico
JC Alvarado wins the second to last hand uncontested but Mexico are the short stack with 15,650, and blinds increasing in the next level to 600-1,200 with a 100 ante.

10.35pm: Turnaround for the Kiwis
Lee Nelson makes it 2,700 pre-flop with A-K from the cut off. Steve Devlin raises to 7,500 holding A-J on the button. It doesn't take Nelson long to say all-in making it a 43,000 pot, making it 26,000 to call. Would Devlin fold? No, he called.

New Zealand were the all-in team but Great Britain would need a jack. The flop came Td-3h-3c. Nelson started calling for specific safe cards. "Four of clubs" he cried for a turn, but got the 2s. Still no good for the Brits. Now Nelson called for the nine of clubs, and got it, making this defeat seem scripted. New Zealand are catapulted into the lead with 68,850. The British now need some help.

10.24pm: Latest chip counts...
Scores by team with blinds now 500-1,000 with a 100 running ante.

Great Britain - 61,275
Italy - 60,750
Germany - 42,600
USA - 40,725
Latvia - 38,550
New Zealand - 30,675
Poland - 30,225
Mexico - 17,500

10.05pm: End of the level
In the last hand of the level Houghton makes it 2,600 pre-flop with Ah-Js from the small blind. Raymer in the big blind finds pocket nines and re-raises to 7,500. Houghton then moves all-in making this a massive pot that could yet nearly double in size. Raymer took his glasses off, running through his options and reasoning with Houghton. 59,000 sat waiting in the middle.

"Probably a bad lay down" he said before folding his hand.

Players now take a ten minute break.

9.58pm: New leaders
Houghton bets 2,000 pre-flop with Ad-7d which Schmidt calls for Germany with two red fives. Villa wakes up with aces and re-raises to 4,000. He must have thought it was Christmas when Saicans of Latvia re-re-raised armed with pocket queens, to 11,800. After Houghton and Schmidt folded Villa moved all-in making it a 55,000 pot - 26,000 to the Latvian. Was he about to make an unfortunate call or make a great lay down? It was the latter. Italy take the chip lead but Latvia remain alive.

9.50pm: Fossilman in action
Greg Raymer makes it 2,000 pre-flop holding Ac-Kc, which is called by Italy's representative Fabrizio Villa with pocket sixes. The flop comes As-Qd-Qs which both players check. The 7c on the turn precedes a bet by Villa of 2,500 which Raymer, wearing the lizard eyes glasses, calls. The river card came 4c which the Italian bet at, 5,000 which Raymer called for a pot of a little more than 20,000.

9.43pm: A bet too far
Houghton of Great Britain finds 5c-2d and bets 1,050 pre-flop which Team USA captain Greg Raymer, holding 9d-8d, calls for a flop of Js-Tc-As. Houghton makes it 1,050 which Raymer again calls for a 7d on the turn which makes him a straight. Houghton checks before Raymer made it 3,000. Houghton was not ready to bug out though, raising to 8,500 before Raymer moved all-in. Too much for the Brit, who folds.

9.35pm: Latest chip counts.
Blinds have now increased to 400-800 with an ante of 75.

Great Britain - 61,000
Latvia - 52,075
Italy - 48,975
Germany - 41,725
Poland - 33,550
New Zealand - 30,250
USA - 29,800
Mexico - 19,625

9.30pm: Level comes to an end
Karl Mahrenholz makes another pre-flop raise to 1,525 holding As-9d, which is called by JC Alvarado with Ks-Tc and Ance Laganovska of Latvia with Ah-Qd. The flop comes 6c-3c-5h which is checked to Alvarado who makes a bet big enough to force the others out, the last pot of the level.

9.25pm: JC for Mexico
Mexico picks up another pot. JC Alvarado called a Latvian raise with Jd-2s. A simple bet on the 8c-Qs-9d flop was enough to take it down.

9.11pm: Time out
Team USA become the first team to call their time out. This means stepping into the time out zone where they are permitted a supervised conversation. After a quick chat the bell sounds and they resume without any substitutions.

9.10pm: Lo on high
Karl Mahrenholz bets 1,550 with Jc-Tc pre-flop which is called by Armstrong for Team USA with Kh-Qh. Wayne Lo of New Zealand on the other hand has two red aces and raises to 6,600. Mahrenholz asks for a count before folding. Armstrong calls for a flop of 9d-Td-6s. Lo moves all-in for 11,200 and Armstrong doesn't take long to fold.

8.55pm: Another change of scenery
Eight new places take their seats with their countries chip counts as follows...

Mexico - 20,275
Poland - 39,250
Latvia - 44,450
New Zealand - 18,000
Great Britain - 65,775
USA - 37,850
Germany - 46,675
Italy - 44,725

8.49pm: Last hand of the level
Malte Strothmann wins the last hand of the level for Germany, forcing Jarred Gabin from his gutshot straight draw for a pot worth 12,000. All change please, all change...

8.43pm: Jurdzs good for a few grand
Latvian captain Krisjanis Jurdzs has developed a habit of picking up pots after raising. Another few grand heading the Latvian's way.

8.37pm: Sheer British cheek
With 9d-2s Vicky Coren opts to bet pre-flop, 1,100 total. Lozano calls for Mexico, with 9h-8h, as does Slusarek of Poland, holding Th-8d. The flop came 5h-Qs-Qh which was checked to Coren who made it 2,500. Lozano called whilst Slusarek got out. The turn brought an As which was checked to Coren who bet out again, 5,000 which Lozano called. A 2d on the river which Lozano checked. Coren announced two pairs and sheepishly turned over her hand, leaning back and smiling apologetically at her team mates.

"Don't be cross" she said. "What a terrible example to set for my team..."

8.35pm: Latest chip counts...
Great Britain - 64,100
Germany - 44,800
Poland - 43,725
Latvia - 39,275
USA - 38,925
Italy - 37,450
Mexico - 29,900
New Zealand - 18,825

8.29pm: Solid play
Malte Strothmann makes a great decision after Lee Nelson had bet all the way. It's a pot worth more than 33,000 which the German won with a pair of kings to Nelson's ace-high.

8.22pm: British defeat Nelson
Lee Nelson raises pre-flop to 1,200 with Qh-6s but Vicky Coren suspects something, re-raising with Th-9h to 4,000, good for the pot.

8.15pm: Team Canada, eliminated in ninth place for $5,000.
In the first hand back Negreanu makes it 875 with K-Q but Lee Nelson immediately moves all-in with A-K, a total of nearly 28,000. Negreanu ruled out A-K and A-Q, opting to call because of that. What he saw put Canada's hopes at risk. A king hit the flop but not the queen and Canada head to the rail in ninth place.

8.10pm: Tactical explanation
Daniel Negreanu explained how he was happy to make the substitution play now knowing that if he fails he'll at least know it was the correct decision.

8.05pm: A recap of the chips...
Great Britain - 64,825
Poland - 44,850
United States - 39,650
Latvia - 37,800
Italy - 37,175
Mexico - 30,025
Germany - 28,275
New Zealand - 27,800
Canada - 8,600

8pm: Play set to restart
The rotation starts again in level 6 with blinds at 200-400 with a 25 ante. The only difference is that Canada have chosen to make a substitute move, with Daniel Negreanu replacing Tammy Bailey in level 6 as they attempt to try to kick start their struggling fortunes so far today.

Below you'll find regular updates from the final table of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker which you can also see for yourselves, live on EPTLive with every hand, including hole cards, shown from start to finish. Click refresh for latest updates as the final progresses and for a detailed explanation on the structure of the final check out today's introduction.

Latest update 5.36pm ET

5.36pm: Last hand of the level.
Four players see a flop of Ts-Jh-2s. All four players check for an Ad on the turn. Wanda Whitlock, holding black jacks, makes it 1,000. Raymer folds, Barriere called and Houghton folded for Great Britain. The river came a Kh, crushing Canada's hand with a straight for Mexico. Whitlock bet 1,000 and Barriere raised to 3,000 which was ultimately called - jacks costing Canada again.

5.31pm: Poland good for 7k
Pawel Chmiel picks up a pot worth 7,200 with A-Q against Great Britain's Laurence Houghton's pocket threes.

5.25pm: USA all-in
Nicholas Webb of New Zealand makes it 400 pre-flop and Greg Raymer of the USA calls before Antoine Barriere of Mexico re-raises to 1,200 holding Ah-Kh. Only Raymer calls with Ks-7s. The flop came 6s-9c-4s. Raymer checked before Barriere bet 1,200. Raymer called. On the 6d turn Raymer checked again before Barriere made it 2,400 this time. Raymer raised to 6,000 which was called by the Mexican. The Qs on the river made the flush for USA who moves all in. Nothing to do but fold for Barriere.

5.15pm: Pot for the Brits
Dogged determination wins an unwinnable pot for Laurence Houghton of Great Britain against Peter Schmidt of Germany. Houghton was betting out with nothing hoping to dissuade the German from following him and did so. Nearly 5,000 to Great Britain.

5.11pm: Chip counts...
These are the current chip counts, including chips not yet in play...

Great Britain - 49,675
USA - 46,800
Poland - 41,450
Italy - 36,950
Germany - 36,050
Mexico - 33,725
New Zealand - 28,700
Latvia - 25,300
Canada - 20,325

5.06pm: The new line up...
Antoine Barriere - Mexico
Pawel Chmiel - Poland
Juris Saicens - Latvia
Laurence Houghton - Great Britain
Wanda Whitlock-Canada
Greg Raymer - USA
Peter Schmidt - Germany
Villa Fabrizio - Italy

5.05pm: Play resumes
Blinds are now 75-100. Peter Schmidt wins the first pot of the level.

5pm: Laganovska laggingLaganovska takes another hit for Latvia on the last hand of the level.

4.55pm: End in sight
The level is coming to an end. The next round of players are getting ready to take their seats.

4.51pm: Relief for Laganovska
Ance Laganovska makes it 500 pre-flop holding Ac-Kd. Karl Mahrenholz raises to 1,025 with the same hand only his are suited hearts. It's folded back to the Latvian who calls. They see a flop of 9h-3h-Kc. Top pair for both but a dangerous looking flush draw for Great Britain. Laganovska bets 1,500 and Mahrenholz raises to 3,600. Laganovska calls for an ace on the turn. The money was always going in. Laganovska made it 3,000 and suspecting he was free rolling, Mahrenholz moved all in, getting the call. Laganovska saw the outcome and asked for no hearts. A plain looking Qs on the river chopped this one.

4.45pm: First for Armstrong
Bilancetti makes it 500 pre-flop with pocket jacks which Armstrong of the USA calls holding K-Q. They see a flop of Qd-Ts-5h which is checked to Italy who makes it 500. USA calls. The turn card is a nine which both players check before a seven on the river. Armstrong makes it 1,000 for USA which Bilancetti calls, sending the pot to the USA, a first for Armstrong.

4.39pm: Waking up in a 7k pot
Karl Mahrenholz finds himself in a pot worth more than 7,000 with middle pair, folding it in time to save himself more chips with Leszak Krawcynski of Poland holding a flush.

4.30pm: Canada on the rise
Daniel Negreanu tangled with Wayne Lo in a pot, his 9-6 hitting a nine on the flop to ultimately trump Lo's pocket fours.

4.27pm: Good fold.
Munoz of Mexico makes a good fold against Mahrenholz's set of tens, kicking off this second level.

4.25pm: Any minute now
A delay in the action ends and play re-starts...

4.15pm: Reloading
Another chunk of chips arrives for each chip stack with each new player bringing their share with them. Blinds are up to 50-100 and the new line up looks like this...

Jose Munoz - Mexico
Leszak Krawcynski - Poland
Ance Laganovska - Latvia
Wayne Lo - New Zealand
Karl Mahrenholz - Great Britain
Daniel Negreanu - Canada
Bruce Armstrong - USA
Bastian Wulff - Germany
Valeriano Bilanetti - Italy

4pm: Players take a break
Play pauses for a short break while the new players are wired up and take their seats at the final table.

3.59pm: Huge hand
A scary hand develops started by Vicky Coren with pocket aces who makes it 150 pre-flop. Tammy Bailey of Canada calls with pocket jacks. Strothmann of Germany does to with a jack and Omar of Italy does the same with K-Q.

The flop seems to hit everything... J-9-T.

Coren makes it 1,200 which is called by Bailey and Omar. The four on the turn is checked to Bailey who bets 1,500 before Omar raises to 3,000. Coren folds her aces leaving them to it. Bailey calls but needs the board to pair to avoid being crushed by Omar's straight. It doesn't come and when he bets all in on the river Bailey calls, ending her World Cup.

At the end of the hand the level ends, to Italian cheers. Next up for Canada though will be their captain, Daniel Negreanu.

3.55pm: No lay down for Latvia
Five minutes of the level left to play before the players are replaced. Latvia may regret that as their captain Jurdzs has begun picking up a few pots.

3.52pm: Again with the fives
Malthe Strothmann finds pocket fives again and makes it 150 pre-flop. Krisjanis Jurdzs of Latvia re-raises with 5-4 and it's folded back to Germany. Strothmann folds this time, giving Latvia the pot.

3.50pm: Germany calling?
Another pot for Great Britain thanks to Coren's betting with 9-6 on a nine high flop. Strothmann thought about calling for Germany but decided no.

3.42pm: Big pot for Poland
Pennisi Omar of Italy runs into trouble in the form of Patryk Slusarek's pocket fours. The Italian had an ace and must have liked how things were running when the flop and turn brought two more. But Poland had flopped a set and the two aces gave Slusarek a full house. Poland up to 8,500.

3.32pm: The first level players
Jorge Lozcano - Mexico - 8,200
Patryk Slusarek - Poland - 7,400
Krisjanis Jurdzs - Latvia (Captain) - 5,400
Lee Nelson - New Zealand (Captain) - 5,800
Vicky Coren - Great Britain (Captain) - 10,000
Tammy Bailey - Canada - 5,000
Jarred Gabin - USA - 9,000
Malthe Strothmann - Germany - 6,200
Pennisi Omar - Italy - 6,800

3.29pm: First hand
With blinds at 25-50, Malthe Strothmann bets 150 pre-flop for Germany, flopping a set on a board of... 5c-9h-2h

Coren calls with K-Q but Lozano raises to 2,000. Germany pushes all in, sending hope and fear through the German ranks. It's 4,050 more. Lozano calls with pocket tens. Tens and a backdoor flush would save Mexico. The turn is a 5d giving Germany quads, doubling up Strothmann. Not a bad start.

3.25pm: Order of battle
Team captains submitted their rosters before play began. Three team captains will play first. Vicky Coren of Great Britain, Lee Nelson of New Zealand and JC Alvarado of Mexico.

3.22pm: What the..?
In a moment of unscheduled fanfare the New Zealand team perform a traditional Haka, more commonly seen performed by the All Blacks rugby team around the world and here strung together by three Kiwi poker players not ashamed to show a bit of heritage. Meant to intimidate this one entertains. A fine turn though.

3.19pm: Opening ceremony
The teams march into the Imperial ballroom, Olympic style, to start the final, draped in flags, led by the team captains as the PCA plays out either side of them.

2pm: We're nearly set...
Players are gathering around the feature table in team formation. The action will begin at 2.30pm ET but due to issues of fairness a time delay of one hour will be in effect on the broadcast. Updates should appear here from 3.30pm ET.

Players are enjoying a break before the final gets underway. From the five tables top points went to Italy, Poland, Mexico, Great Britain and USA winning tables. But there remains everything to play for with Canadian captain Daniel Negreanu, his team in last place, the most buoyant and optimistic. Perhaps sensing there's nothing to lose.

Here's how they stand...

1st - Great Britain - 45 points (50,000 starting stack)
2nd - USA - 37 points (45,000 starting stack)
3rd - Mexico - 37 points (41,000 starting stack)
4th - Poland - 35 points (37,000 starting stack)
5th - Italy - 31 points (34,000 starting stack)
6th - Germany - 30 points (31,000 starting stack)
7th - New Zealand - 26 points (29,000 starting stack)
8th - Latvia - 22 points (27,000 starting stack)
9th - Canada - 12 points (25,000 starting stack)

As detailed at length in an earlier post the teams will divide their starting stacks by five, a share for each player, who will take their turn as each 20 minute level passes. It's also worth remembering that you can follow every hand, seeing all the hole cards, on EPTLive which starts any minute now...

Great Britain captain Vicky Coren sent Malthe Strothmann to the rail with ace-king, helping her stack sour to more than 6,000. At her table is Lee Nelson, still in contention and supported by his team mates cheering his every play.

Then Italian player Valeriano Bilancetti moved all-in, called by Coren who apologetically turned over a pair of kings. Even more apologetically Bilancetti turned over his aces, getting a cheer from the crowd. The board ran out 5-J-T-A... prompting Coren to yell "Queen!" She got one on the river - more cheers from the rail and the Italian exited his table in fourth place.

On the table alongside Jerzy Slaby wins his heat for Poland, good for 15 points, leaving attention on Coren and Nelson who go heads up when the Mexican player is eliminated.

"Let's see who cares about their country the most" quipped Coren. "And let me point something out... I was born in mine" Bring it on!"

The good natured scrap didn't last too long. Coren bet big with J-6 and Nelson called with K-8.

"I haven't got much" confessed Coren.

"I didn't think you had" replied Nelson, before watching a jack hit the turn.

"Never in doubt!" claimed Coren, winning her table and 15 points for Great Britain. Nelson picks up second place, worth 12 points, for New Zealand.

***

Stop press: All the tables are now completed, with Team USA, Mexico and Poland leading going into the final. We'll have the official results when they're made available by tournament staff.

"That's how we do it!"

This was Daniel Negreanu railing a teammate who doubled up with K-J, hitting a king on the flop and turn. Negreanu made it sound easy, something his buddy at the table was having trouble believing.

"Yeah, sure!"

The eliminations are starting to happen. Negreanu himself is out, leaving everyone else at his table, including Greg Raymer for the USA, in the points. New Zealand's Lee Nelson just sent Poland's Patryk "Rambo" Slusarek to the rail, leaving seven on his table. It would have been six had Vicky Coren not got lucky on an all-spade board to split her all-in pot.

One onlooker pointed out one interesting fact about the World Cup of Poker. Players are eliminated but stick around to watch their team mates. It seems unnatural in a game depending on the individual but people are generally having a good time, regardless of defeat.

More points are being scored as we write, with eliminations leaving others in the points. It shouldn't be long before the final scores are in.

The closing stages of the World Cup of Poker started this morning. No cards were dealt but team uniforms and patience were required for the pre-tournament photo shoot, each team marching on stage in turn with the table draped in the relevant national colours, flashing their best smile before an afternoon off ahead of the real action tomorrow.

After weeks of international online poker, played out between each nation's tournament leader board finest, the action now switches to the live poker world for the fifth incarnation of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker, here in the Bahamas, with a one day marathon slog that will leave just one team - our new champions.

Barcelona has been the home of the World Cup in all of its previous four years, but if you're looking to make an upgrade then only the Bahamas fits the bill. That's not the only change. This year there'll be a few more twists in the plot. Not only will the final table structure, copied from notes originally written by Franz Kafka, provide a dose of mind bending originality to keep your attention all the way through, but every hand will be shown, hole cards and all, during the live broadcast on EPTLive, which will see one team walk away with $100,000.

So who are the players flying the flags of home?

Poland - Jerzy Slaby, Pawel Chmiel, Patryk Slusarek and Leszek Krawcynski.
USA - Shaun Deeb, Benjamin Zamani, Jarred Gabin and Bruce Armstrong.
Canada - Blair Maltby, Dennis Hamlyn, Wanda Whitlock and Tammy Bailey.
Latvia - Vjaceslavs Ivanovs, Juris Saicans, Ance Laganovska and Dmitrijs Kurchins.
Mexico - David Harold Huber, José Francisco Muñoz Osuna, Antoine Barriere and Jorge Lozano.
Italy - Michele Migliore, Pennisi Omar, Valeriano Bilancetti and Villa Gerardo Fabrizio.
Great Britain - Steven Devlin, Laurence Houghton, Derek Morris and Sean Joseph Flaherty.
New Zealand - Nicholas Webb, Richard Grace, Wayne Lo and Jordan Bryant
Germany - Georg Geissler, Bastian Wulff, Peter Schmidt and Malte Strothmann.

Just 24 hours ago these guys and gals were just usernames, bundles of letters, numbers and those things you need to press SHIFT to find, and each unknown to the other. Today they're names, people who are now busy forming new friendships and plotting a ruthless assault on team poker's greatest prize.

So with the photos done there was only one more thing to do, the matter of introducing the Team PokerStars Pros tasked with helping steer their nation to victory.

For Team USA that job goes to World Cup regular Greg Raymer who, like team mate shaundeeb, knows what it's like to hold aloft team poker's greatest prize, doing so last year. Vicky Coren does the same job for the British team, Luca Pagano for Italy, Daniel Negreanu for Canada, Lee Nelson for New Zealand, Daniel Negreanu for Canada, Jan Heitmann for Germany and Marcin Horecki for Poland.

If you're wondering who steps in for Latvia well, you were in good company this morning. With none of the PokerStars stable boasting any Latvian connections Krisjanis Jurdzs will fill the role. JC Alvarado does the same for his native Mexico.

Those are the details. If you're already in the mood, want to find out what it's all about or re-live Team USA's victory last year, you can watch all the heats on PokerStars.tv. while this year's version starts at 10am ET tomorrow. The PokerStars blog will be firing away from start to finish with all the intricacies on how the tournament works explained in full.
Until then it's time to get partisan, grab a flag, look up any lost Latvian roots and adopt a country to call your own. See you tomorrow.

Team Poland has been here before. Led by Philip Hilm, Poland took down the 2006 World Cup of Poker at the live finals in Barcelona, defeating the Tom McEvoy-captained Team USA for the title. Two years later, they're back after overcoming challenges from Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Turkey to capture the Europe II Divisional title and stamp their ticket to the Bahamas. Freeroll qualifiers BartekPL and morderbest will join two top finishers on the Polish Tournament Leaderboard on the island of Atlantis to see if history can indeed repeat itself.

Team Poland's Borys313 is an accomplished and prolific Omaha 8 or better cash game player who also plays a high volume of SNGs. He is, quite simply a VPP-earning machine, playing up to 24 tables at a time as he chases Supernova Elite status. Borys313 made his first deposit on PokerStars in late 2005, putting $50 into his account and grinding out a bankroll in the $0.10/$0.25 O8 ring games. By March 2008 he was regularly sitting at the $10/$20 PLO8 and the $75/$150 limit O8 tables. Perhaps fearless to a fault, Borys313 once, as legend has it, bet half his bankroll on a triple-barrel bluff in a live Omaha game. Luckily for him, his opponent tanked and folded! After enduring a number of large swings by playing at higher limits, Borys313 decided to mellow out a bit and can now be found mostly at the $5/$10 PLO8 tables or playing heads-up SNGs.

Pawel "kAmIkAdZeEe" Chimmel's TLB status earned him a spot on Team Poland. Originally from the small town of Tomaszow Lubelski, Chimmel now lives in Warsaw where he shares a flat with his girlfriend and his brother. Poker has been a huge part of his life for the last 4-5 years. With pot-limit Omaha as his game of choice, Chimmel ground his way up through the limits, going from micro-stakes to "very high stakes." He is also a seasoned live tournament player, having played in a number of EPT events along with the WSOP Main Event.

Of poker in Poland, Chimmel tells us, "The market is growing and we are expecting it to boom, especially after the success of Marcin Horecki." Horecki joined Team PokerStars Pro earlier this year.

Will it be Poland who stands in the way of an American repeat? They will if Chimmel has anything to say about it.

"The Polish team did win it couple of years ago, so the expectations are high, but we will want to show the world that it wasn't a fluke."

Team New Zealand had to, quite literally, top the rest of the world to win their way into the World Cup of Poker finals. Competing in the "Rest of the World" division, the Kiwis topped teams from Armenia, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, the Philippines, South Africa, and Taiwan to take the division title and move on to the live finale in the Bahamas.

This year marks the first time New Zealand has made a trip to the World Cup finals and representing the island nation are a varied bunch including a poker pro, a banker, a photographer, and an economics student.

Nick "bismillahno" Webb is a World Cup of Poker veteran, having captained Team New Zealand in 2006. Now a college graduate and an interest rate trader, Webb began playing poker while he was working as a blackjack dealer back in 2004. He discovered PokerStars a short time later and made a small deposit. Webb was one of the lucky few who would never have to reload, having parlayed those few initial dollars into a full-fledged bankroll. Concentrating on multi-table tournaments, Webb topped the New Zealand TLB in 2006 and 2007, earning him a spot on his country's World Cup team.

Winning the World Cup of Poker would have a "major stoke factor" for Webb. "It would...be very nice to call myself a world champion. We're a small country that tends to punch above its weight in a number of sporting areas; I'd love to carry on that tradition," he told us.

Richard "rjmgrace" Grace may hail from New Zealand, but he's currently hanging his hat in London on an extended European holiday with his wife. A top Magic: the Gathering player, Grace recently transitioned into poker and has been playing professionally for the last nine months. Grace is also the most experienced live player on Team New Zealand, having played in the World Series of Poker for the last four years.

A huge fan of the "team" tournament format, Grace hopes that the World Cup of Poker will get more players on board with it. "It's just more exciting for everyone involved, and makes for much more interesting viewing and playing, and getting people away from the selfish nature of tournaments would be cool. Imagine a five-person team format at the WSOP with a $50k buy-in? That would be awesome!" he said.

Jordan "Jubinator" Bryant played in the New Zealand national qualifiers not expecting anything to happen, but once he found himself among the final 25 players, he finally believed that he could actually make the top 9 and move on to the next round. Indeed he did, and ended up with one of the two spots for freeroll qualifiers on Team New Zealand. Bryant recently finished his second year at Victoria University of Wellington where he is studying economics and finance. He has been playing on PokerStars for about two years, primarily $3/$6 limit hold'em and $0.25/$0.50 no-limit hold'em.

Fellow Wellington resident Wayne "El Wayneo" Lo also qualified for the World Cup via freerolls. The 25-year old photographer has played poker for 18 months and is looking forward to picking up some tips from the Team PokerStars Pros while in the Bahamas.

"The idea of representing your own country is exciting itself, but I think the most exciting thing is playing with pros and having the opportunity to learn from the very best" Lo related.

Lo also hopes that a win by New Zealand in the World Cup will bring more Kiwis to the poker tables. "I pray that a win in the World Cup would have a Moneymaker effect and attract more New Zealanders to the game," he said.

"I'm just going to take this opportunity to relax and enjoy the Carribean all thanks to
PokerStars. The cards dictate the outcome so I will just be playing my best and (will) try not to let my teammates down."

Just a little more than four weeks ago, the Europe III Divisional Finals ended in a tie, with Team Latvia and Team Spain both putting up 43 points each. The decision would lie with a tiebreaker, a winner-take all heads-up match played by one member from each team.

It was Riga, Latvia's Partorg who was selected by his teammates to play that final match and after a marathon 152-hand match against Spain's VARICO, he claimed victory and secured Latvia's first-ever berth in the World Cup of Poker finals.

Along with Partorg, two amateurs who secured their spots on the team through hard-fought freeroll play and one of Latvia's top live tournament players will all board a plane to the Bahamas, leaving behind the frozen landscape of their home along the Baltic. Could this team of upstarts on their first trip to the finals topple World Cup veterans like the United States, Poland and Germany?

Hailing from the capital city of Riga, Partorg earned his place on the team by climbing to the top of the Latvian Tournament Leaderboard. In 2008 alone, the 34-year old won three tournaments outright on PokerStars across a variety of games including pot-limit Omaha, pot-limit Omaha 8 or better and no-limit hold'em. Among his dozens of final tables were deep finishes in a number of large-field NLHE events including the $109 Rebuy, the $22k Guaranteed, and the $32k guaranteed, all for solid four-figure scores.

Juris Sacains received a special invitation from PokerStars to represent Latvia in the World Cup of Poker. A prolific live player, Riga's Casino Olympic is practically a second home to him and he has a lengthy resume of cashes in the no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha tournaments he plays there several times a month. The 44-year old has been playing for two years but has kept his day job in the car tire business, preferring, like many Latvians, to play poker solely for enjoyment.

Like her screen name indicates, Ance "missjazz83" Laganovska has a passion for jazz and hopes that a successful finish in the World Cup of Poker could give her more financial freedom to pursue writing and performing her own songs. Like the fourth and final member of Team Latvia, BuTut?, Laganovska won her way in on a freeroll. Also apparently born with no shortage of brain cells, the 24-year old also has a master's degree in Information Technology and currently pays the bills by working as a programming engineer at an electronics factory.

Laganovska started playing online 2-3 years ago and met some fellow Latvian players who organized a regular cash game in her hometown. While she credits online poker with developing her skills, Laganovska prefers the thrill of live play and can't wait to hit the felt in the Bahamas.

"I have seen such things only on TV so I really would like to be there and be a part of it," she related excitedly.

Fellow freeroll winner BuTut? is a 21 year old player for Riga who has been playing for about two and half years.

"I'm proud of representing my country in such a big tournament!" he said.