Every team needs a captain and why should Team PokerStars Pro be any different? The details are still under wraps about the PokerStars All-Star Weekend, a new online team competition debuting next year, but to settle the captain's job, Team PokerStars Pro decided to do it as only poker players know how--they played for it. All 29 members of the team were on hand Sunday afternoon to go for the title, with the added bonus of a $30,000 prize pool that would be divvied up among the top three finishers' favorite charities. This being a true pro's match, the 8-game format was used, the rotation encompassing 2-7 triple draw, limit hold'em, Omaha hi/lo, razz, stud, stud hi/lo, no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha.

The first hour saw five players exit including Greg Raymer, Tom McEvoy, Andre Akkari, Humberto Brenes and EPT creator John Duthie, who confessed to drinking "a bit too much mulled wine" as he railed the action. The table talk between the pros was lighthearted and often hilarious throughout the tournament, notably when Isabelle Mercier and Bill Chen attempted to recruit Victor Ramdin to the practice of Bikram yoga.

"What is bikram is that all u can eat buffet?" quipped Ramdin.

The field shrunk to 14 after the second hour and only thirty minutes later we arrived at our six-handed final table after Daniel Negreanu eliminated Alex Kravchenko in 7th place on a pot-limit Omaha hand. Here's how the chip counts looked as the final table got under way:

Seat 1: ChadBrownPRO (6,820 in chips)
Seat 2: RaiNKhAN (4,092 in chips)
Seat 3: Bill Chen (2,984 in chips)
Seat 4: Money800 (17,739 in chips)
Seat 5: VictorRamdin (19,500 in chips)
Seat 6: KidPoker (6,865 in chips)

Bill Chen was eliminated from the tournament on the first hand of final table play. In a hand of 2-7 triple draw vs. Chad Brown, Chen bricked on the third draw, ending up with A-8-7-5-2 against Brown's 8-7-6-3-2 to send him to the rail in 6th place. Next to fall was Brown himself, also on a triple draw hand. Brown was all in before the third draw against Victor Ramdin, who stood pat while Brown drew one. Ramdin's 7-6-5-4-2 crushed Brown's 9-8-7-4-2 and he was out in 5th place.

Triple draw would also spell the end of Hevad "Rain" Khan, who got in all in on the second draw against Victor Ramdin. Once again, Ramdin made a monster 7-6 low, besting Khan's T-9 and the "Bulldozer" drove off in 4th place. With Khan's elimination, Moneymaker, Ramdin and Negreanu were all in the money, guaranteed a payday for their charities.

Continuing on his rampage, Victor Ramdin also took out 3rd-place finisher Chris Moneymaker. Playing limit hold'em, Moneymaker called Ramdin's button raise from the big blind and they saw a flop of Kc-8s-5s. Both players checked to the turn, which fell the 6h. Moneymaker led out, Ramdin raised, Moneymaker moved in the last of his chips and Ramdin called, turning up As-Ks for top pair top kicker to Moneymaker's Kh-7d. The river was the 5h, not the four, seven or nine Moneymaker was hoping for and Ramdin took down the pot as Moneymaker hit the rail. The 2003 WSOP Champion's efforts today earned $5,000 for the charity of his choice.

Moneymaker's elimination left Victor Ramdin and Daniel Negreanu to duke it out to see who would become team captain. Here's what their chip counts looked like as they began heads-up play:

Seat 5: VictorRamdin (32,972 in chips)
Seat 6: KidPoker (25,028 in chips)

Negreanu put Ramdin on the ropes early, whittling his stack all the way down to 2,772 in chips at one point before Ramdin stormed back, winning or splitting 11 out of the next 12 pots and evening back out their chip counts. Their final hand came in stud hi, where Ramdin started off with buried eights and improved to queens up by the river after a raising war with Negreanu. Though Negreanu had made a pair of sevens on fifth street with running flush and straight possibilities as well, he couldn't improve and Ramdin's two pair held up to win him the Team PokerStars Pro Championship and $15,000 to his charity. For his stellar play, Negreanu earned $10,000 for his charity.

Congratulations to a very worthy champion and Team PokerStars Pro's new team captain, Victor Ramdin! And don't forget -- later this week, you will be able to watch the whole match on replay with all the players' hole cards exposed...stay tuned.

PokerStars bloggers Change100 and Johnny Kampis will be live blogging the whole of the Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match. Click refresh to see the latest updates. This match will be an 8-game mixed contest with 29 players. The top three finishers will be awarded money for charity. The winner will be declared Team PokerStars Pro captain.

5:00pm -- That's a wrap!

Congratulations again to Victor Ramdin, who proved himself to be the pro of pros today as he defeated a 29-strong field, comprised entirely of his fellow members of Team PokerStars Pro. Many of the Team Pros have now headed over to play the Sunday Million, which, in honor of World Record Week, boasts a 16,260 player field and a monster prize pool of $3,252,000!

Stay tuned for continuing coverage as World Record Week makes history.

4:58pm -- Victor Ramdin wins Team PokerStars Pro Championship! Daniel Negreanu eliminated in 2nd place

After a protracted battle in which he got down nearly to the felt, Victor Ramdin has defeated Daniel Negreanu heads-up to win the tournament.

On the final hand of stud, Ramdin started with two eights in the hole, and improved to queens up by seventh after a raising war with Negreanu. Though KidPoker caught a pair of sevens on fifth with running flush and straight possibilities, Negreanu could not improve and two pair ruled the day and won the event.

Congratulations to Victor Ramdin, Team PokerStars Pro's newly anointed team captain! He also earns $15,000 for the charity of his choice. Negreanu's charity will also receive $10,000 for his efforts.

4:47pm -- Negreanu puts Ramdin on the ropes, Ramdin resurges

Daniel Negreanu had Victor Ramdin whittled all the way down to 2,772 chips to his 55,228 but Ramdin has staged an amazing comeback, winning or splitting 11 out of the 12 pots that followed. Ramdin is now back up to 24,712 while Negreanu sits with 33,288.

4:38pm -- Heads-up play commences

Here's how the chip counts look as heads-up play gets underway between Victor Ramdin and Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu:

Victor Ramdin: 32,972
Daniel Negreanu: 25,028

4:37pm - Chris Moneymaker eliminated in 3rd place

Victor Ramdin raised to 2,000 from the button playing limit hold'em. Moneymaker called from the big blind after Negreanu folded his small blind. Both players checked the Kc-8s-5s flop. Moneymaker led out for 2,000 after the 6d hit the turn and Ramdin raised to 4,000. Moneymaker put in his last 496 and revealed Kh-7d. Ramdin held As-Ks for top pair top kicker and the nut flush draw. The river was the 5h and Moneymaker finished in third, leaving Ramdin to duke it out with Daniel Negreanu for the title. Not all is lost, though. The charity of Moneymaker's choice will receive $5,000 for his play today.

4:34pm -- Hevad "Rain" Khan eliminated in 4th place

Hevad Khan played his last hand on the 2-7 triple draw round, getting the remainder of his chips in after the second draw. Khan made a T-9 low but it was crushed by Victor Ramdin's 7-6 low, eliminating the "bulldozer" from the tournament.

4:33pm -- Chad Brown goes down in 5th

Playing 2-7 triple draw with 1,000/2,000 stakes, Chad Brown got all in against Victor Ramdin after the third draw. Before the third draw Ramdin stood pat and Brown drew one. He called for his last 944 and showed 9-8-7-4-2, but could not beat the monster hand of 7-6-5-4-2 held by Ramdin, who is now up to 21,268.

John Duthie, watching from the rail while apparently enjoying some mulled wine, couldn't resist a quip about Brown's bulging biceps.

John Duthie said, "well played Chad. Back to the bench presses."
ChadBrownPRO said, "lol. that was the problem."

4:28pm -- The Chris Moneymaker comeback

The game was PLO and Daniel Negreanu started off the action with a min-raise to 800 from the button. Chris Moneymaker reraised to 1,800 and Negreanu called the 1,000 balance. The flop was Qh-3h-3c. Moneymaker bet 1,600, about half of his remaining stack. Negreanu moved him all in and Moneymaker called, turning over Qs-8s-5d-3d for a flopped boat to Negreanu's As-Jd-Td-3s for trips. The turn was the Jc, also giving Negreanu a boat, but it couldn't sink Moneymaker's queens full. The river was the 5c and the 2003 WSOP champion dragged the pot, doubling his stack to 12,196 as Greg Raymer cheered on his comeback from the rail.

4:20pm -- Hevad Khan doubles through Victor Ramdin

We promised you action with this NLHE round and our Team Pros delivered. After Victor Ramdin opened for 1,200 from the cutoff, Hevad Khan moved all in for 3,404 from the big blind and Ramdin made the call, turning up As-7c to Khan's Kc-Qc. A queen hit the flop, however, and though Ramdin turned a pair when a 7 came off, he couldn't hit an ace on the river and Khan got a much-needed double up to 7,258.

4:19pm -- Moneymaker survives

Chris Moneymaker shoved all-in for 2,124 with Ad-5c and ran into the Ac-Kh of Daniel Negreanu in the small blind, but Moneymaker flopped a five to win the hand and move up to 4,795.

4:13pm -- Break it down!

Here are the chip counts for our five remaining players at the third break. Victor Ramdin continues to maintain a commanding lead.

1. Victor Ramdin 27,578
2. Daniel Negreanu 15,000
3. Chad Brown 9,544
4. Hevad Khan 3,004
5. Chris Moneymaker 2,874

When they return from break, the game will be no-limit hold'em with 200/400 blinds and a 50 ante, which should inject some serious action into the proceedings.

4:10pm - Cream rises

John Duthie is observing the final table and recently typed into the chat box: "I see that the cream has risen to the top."

Responded KidPoker: and the riff raff ended on the bottom? [; )]

3:59pm -- Ramdin owns final table so far

Victor Ramdin has managed to build his stack up to 24,400 while his opponents all hold between 7,000 and 10,000 chips.

3:39pm - Bill Chen first out at final table

Bill Chen led out betting most of the way on his final hand of 2-7 triple draw, but Chad Brown outdrew him in a heads-up pot. Chen ended up with A-8-7-5-2 against the 8-7-6-3-2 of Brown. Chen left the tournament in 6th place while Brown moved up to 9,604.

3:35pm -- We have a final table!

Victor Ramdin, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Chad Brown, Hevad Khan and Bill Chen are your final six! Here's how they stack up as the final table gets underway:

3:34pm -- Kravchenko KOed in 7th place

The majority of Alex Kravchenko's remaining chips went in the middle before the flop after Daniel Negreanu opened a PLO hand with a raise to 300. Kravchenko re-potted to 1,050 and Negreanu called. The flop came down Kh-3s-Kd and Kravchenko's last 561 sailed into the middle. Negreanu made the call. The turn was the 4h, the river was the Ad and Negreanu's Ah-7h-5d-4d made two pair, aces and kings to beat out Kravchenko's Qh-Qc-9d-7s to win the pot and eliminate the Russian sensation.

With Kravchenko's elimination, we've reached our final table of six.

3:34pm - Goral leaves in eighth

Marcin "Goral" Horecki got the rest of his 1,600 chips into the pot pre-flop in good shape against Victor Ramdin on a PLO hand, but it was not to be. The Ah-Kh-Js-Jd of Horecki was bested by the Ks-Ts-6s-7c after the board came 9d-Qc-8c-4s-5d. Ramdin is steamrolling the competition with a stack of 19,650.

3:30 pm - Dario Minieri eliminated in 9th place

Dario Minieri made his last stand, moving all in pre-flop with As-7c in a no-limit hold'em pot and found his hand dominated by Victor Ramdin's Ad-8c. No help for the young Italian on the Qd-9h-6c-4s-9d board and Ramdin added even more to his growing stack, which now sits at the 18,445 mark, good for the chip lead.

3:29pm - Gomes goes home in 10th

Playing no-limit hold'em, Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes shoved his 1,800 stack all-in from the small blind and Chad Brown called from the big blind. Brown was a 2-to-1 favorite with Qh-Kc versus 8h-7s and the board ran out Qs-2h-6c-6h-9c to give him a 8,265 stack and send Gomes to the rail.

3:26pm - NoMercy for 11th place Isabelle

There was no luck for Isabelle Mercier when she got it all in pre-flop in NLHE with pocket kings against the A-K of Victor Ramdin and the flop came A-6-9. She could not catch the case king and Ramdin was up to a commanding 17,351 after the hand.

3:18pm -- Exclusive exits in 12th

More stud carnage--after being crippled by Chris Moneymaker's straight two hands earlier, Noah "Exclusive" Boeken was eliminated when he got it all in with Q-J-8 versus the J-4-2 of Moneymaker. The 2003 world champion managed to catch two deuces and a four to make a full house and was up to 10,500 after the hand, challenging Victor Ramdin for the chip lead.

3:14 pm -- Lee Nelson eliminated in 13th place

Lee Nelson's last hand in the tournament would also be a stud hand. Though he started with two jacks in the hole, Alexandre Gomes caught up to him by the river making a queen-high flush to send the Kiwi to the rail.

With 12 players remaining, we're now down to two tables.

3:12pm -- Seven-card stud spells the end for Steve Paul-Ambrose

Locking horns with Bill Chen in a stud hi pot, Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose bet the last of his chips on sixth street and earned a call from Chen. Paul-Ambrose couldn't manage more than a pair of eights by the river and Chen took down the pot with aces up, sending the 2006 PCA champion home in 14th place.

3:10pm -- Chip counts at second break

More than half the field is gone now after two hours and we are about to play 250/500 Stud with a 50 ante. Here are how things stack up:

1. Victor Ramdin 12,394
2. Chad Brown 7,976
3. Noah Boeken 5,672
4. Bill Chen 4,834
5. Chris Moneymaker 4,687
6. Daniel Negreanu 3,964
7. Isabelle Mercier 3,767
8. Alexandre Gomes 3,560
9. Alex Kravchenko 2,388
10. Dario Minieri 2,142
11. Martin Horecki 2,110
12. Lee Nelson 1,800
13. Steve Paul-Ambrose 1,552
14. Hevad Khan 1,154

3:06pm -- Negreanu giving razz lessons

After watching his tablemate Dario Minieir put in a third street reraise with a 9 showing in razz, Daniel Negreanu offered his fellow Team Pro a bit of a lowball lesson.

KidPoker said, "wjy re-raise with a 9 my friend?"
Dariominieri said, "cuz u had any 2 and i had 2 very low cards+ is it wrong"
KidPoker said, "if the 9 is in the hole its fine but not if its showing"
Dariominieri said, "mmm ok"
Dariominieri said, "thx a lot"
KidPoker said, "you cstch one bad card on 4 or 5 and you're dead
William said, "just wait for 2-7 dario"
William said, ":p"

2:59pm -- Two pair no good for Katja Thater; out in 15th

Now playing Omaha hi/lo with 100/200 stakes, Katja Thater raised it to 400 from the button and Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes called from the big blind. After a flop of Qh-4s-6h, he checked and she bet 200. He raised and she called. He led out for 400 after the As hit the turn and Thater moved all-in for 729. The hands were Ad-4d-6s-8c for her and 2s-5d-7s-3c, giving Thater two pair, but providing Gomes with the nut low and wraparound straight draw. The straight got there when the 2h hit the river and Gomes was up to 6,855 in chips.

2:56pm - William Thorson out in 16th

Playing limit hold'em, William Thorson got his 642 stack into the pot pre-flop from the cutoff with Qs-3s against the Ah-Td of Alex Kravchenko. The board ran out 3h-8d-7d-6h-9c to give the Russian pro the straight and move him up to 4,648 in chips.

2:54 pm -- Pagano doubles through Gomes, then eliminated by Nelson in 17th place

EPT player of the year Luca Pagano has had a bit of a rough go of it this afternoon, but was just able to double through Alexandre Gomes to survive for a few more hands. Playing limit hold'em, Pagano jammed the pot pre-flop with J-J and Gomes called him with A-9. The fish hooks held up and Pagano doubled up to nearly 1,000.

Only two hands later he got it all in again, his Ad-Ks dominating Lee Nelson's As-7c. Unfortunately for Pagano, the board ran out Ts-6s-5s-2s-7d, and Nelson made an ace-high flush on the turn, besting Pagano's king-high flush and eliminating the Italian in 17th place.

2:53pm - LadyMaverick exits in 18th

Playing limit hold'em, Victor Ramdin raised Vanessa Rousso's big blind to 320. She called and check-raised Ramdin on a flop of Ts-Kc-3s. Ramdin called and then the two got into a raising war after the 2h hit the turn, putting Rousso all-in. The hands were Ks-7s for Rousso for a pair of kings and flush draw, while Ramdin was ahead with pocket aces. The river bricked off with the 5d and Rousso was out. Ramdin was up to 6,454 following this hand.

2:44 pm -- Love is in the air

With Barry Greenstein's elimination in 19th place, another table was broken and Dario Minieri was shuffled over to Table 5, where his girlfriend and fellow Team Pro Isabelle Mercier is playing. Mercier just nearly doubled her stack, taking down a 2,100 chip pot in 2-7 triple draw and now leads her man in the chip count with 4,100 to his 2,800.

One other Team PokerStars Pro couple remains in the hunt for the title, though they haven't had to square off on the same table yet-- Chad Brown and his fiance Vanessa Rousso.

2:42pm - Barry Greenstein wakes up in time to finish in 19th

Barry "barryg1" Greenstein finally made an entrance and found himself with 85 chips.

Said Greenstein: just woke up

Replied KidPoker: you don't seriously think you can spot the field this much

Greenstein was eliminated two hands after appearing when he got it all-in on a PLO hand with Ah-9d-6s-4s against the As-Kc-Qc-Jh of Lee Nelson. The board came 7d-5s-Tc-2s-Qh to knock Greenstein out. Nelson had 2,588 after the hand and we are down to three tables.

2:34 pm -- No sugar for 20th place Hachem

Joe Hachem limped into a NLHE pot pre-flop and was joined by potential Bikram yoga recruit Victor Ramdin, who completed the small blind. William Thorson checked his option in the big blind. The flop came down Ks-Jc-8s. Ramdin and Thorson checked it over to Hachem, who bet 120. Ramdin called and Thorson got out of the way. When the Qh fell on the turn, Ramdin checked it again, Hachem bet 360, and Ramdin shoved all in for his remaining 1,123. Hachem called all in, Ramdin having him slightly covered. The 2d on the river changed nothing, and Hachem turned over a set of kings, only to see the bad news when Ramdin shows 9c-Th for the straight. No sugar for everyone's favorite Aussie as he exited in 20th place.

2:33pm -- Vicky Coren finishes in 21st place

Playing no-limit hold'em, Vicky Coren shoved the rest of her 443 stack in from the button with Tc-Jc and Lee Nelson called from the big blind with Kh-5h. The board was a tease for Coren as it ran out 9h-Ts-6c-4h-Qh, giving her flopped top pair but providing a running flush for Nelson. After the hand, he was up to 2,773.

2:26 pm - Raymond Rahme eliminated in 22nd place

Playing seven-card stud hi/lo, Raymond Rahme got the rest of his chips in on third street showing the 6h vs. Joe Hachem, who had the Qd up. Rahme's starting hand of 6d-9c-6h was behind Hachen's Qd-9d-9s and he'd need some serious help to improve. Rahme only caught blanks, though, while Hachem made aces and nines by the river. With neither player making a low, Hachem scooped the lot and sent Rahme to the virtual rail.

2:21pm -- Gavin Griffin gone in 23rd place

Playing seven-card stud, Gavin Griffin raised on third with the As showing and only Noah "Exclusive" Boeken called, showing the 5c. Griffin led out on fourth after catching the 5h and Boeken called with the 3s. Boeken checked his option after pairing the 3 on fifth and Griffin bet. Boeken then check-raised and Griffin called.

Boeken bet out on the last two streets and Griffin called all-in. Boeken showed trip threes while Griffin could only manage two pair -- fives and fours. Griffin was eliminated in 23rd place and Boeken was up to 5,719.

2:20 pm -- Team YogaStars?

Bill Chen just popped into the chat box on Table 5, where Isabelle Mercier and Victor Ramdin are seated. The two are avid practicioners of a particularly torturous brand of yoga called Bikram, which is done in a room heated to a toasty 105 degrees. Mercier got Chen hooked on the practice over the WSOP and they just may have a new recruit in Ramdin. Check out their chat, and Victor-- get ready to sweat!

Bill Chen said, "hey guys, isa"
NoMercy said, "whats up bikram yoga partner?"
NoMercy said, ":)"
VictorRamdin said, "can i join the bikram party"
NoMercy said, "FOR SURE"
NoMercy said, "cant wait"
VictorRamdin said, "what is bikram is that all u can eat buffet"
VictorRamdin said, "lolol"
NoMercy said, "you gonna love it"
NoMercy said, "Bill and I were going to win the wsop main event thanks to bikram"

2:10 pm -- ElkY out in 24th

Chris Moneymaker raised to 160 from the cutoff in Omaha hi/lo and Bertrand "ElkY" Gospellier put in his last 176 from the button. Noah "Exclusive" Boeken also called from the small blind and the three players saw a flop of 4s-Ts-7d.

Boeken check-raised Moneymaker's bet after the flop and also after the 8h hit the turn. After the 8c fell on the river, Boeken bet out and Moneymaker raised. Boeken called and showed 5h-6h-Jd-7c for a straight and Moneymaker held As-Ac-Kc-2h for aces up and nut low.

ElkY mucked, while Boeken and Moneymaker were up to 3,199 and 3,539 after the hand respectively.

2:02pm -- Chip leaders at the break

We are an hour in and about to play Omaha hi/lo with 80/160 stakes after the break. Of the 24 players remaining here are the top 10:

1. Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu 4,651
2. Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes 4,016
3. Alex Kravchenko 3,504
4. Chris "Money800" Moneymaker 3,431
5. Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 3,415
6. Noah "Exclusive" Boeken 3,171
7. Bill Chen 3,148
8. Dario Minieri 3,046
9. Hevad "RaiNKhAN" Khan 2,980
10. William Thorson 2,890

1:54pm -- FossilMan out in 25th

Greg "FossilMan" Raymer was eliminated in 25th place when his 9-8-7-6-2 low in triple draw couldn't best the 8-5-4-3-2 of Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu. Negreanu was up to 4,800 after the hand.

1:52 pm -- Tom McEvoy eliminated in 26th place

The first level of pot-limit Omaha was unkind to 1983 WSOP Main Event champion McEvoy, as his stack was decimated on a three-way hand where his top two pair fell to Chad Brown's Broadway straight. Left with only about 300 in chips, he got it all in a few hands later in 2-7 triple draw, but ran into Marcin "Goral" Horecki's wheel to hit the rail in 26th place.

1:51 pm - Andre Akkari eliminated in 27th place

Down to only 375 in chips, Andre Akkari called William Thorson's opening raise in a 2-7 triple draw hand and each player took one card. Thorson check-called Akkari's bet and drew one card on the second draw while Akkari rapped pat. Thorson check-called another bet and drew one card again on the final draw. Thorson checked, Akkari bet his last 15 chips and Thorson called. Thorson's T-5-4-3-2 bested Akkari's T-8-7-6-4 and the Brazilian became the second Team PokerStars Pro eliminated from this event.

After the hand, Thorson was up to 3,940.

1:49 pm -- Humberto Brenes eliminated in 28th place

Chris Moneymaker raised it to 90 preflop playing PLO and Brenes made it 285 from the big blind. Moneymaker called and the two saw a flop of 9c-3c-6c.

Brenes led out for 585 and Moneymaker put him all-in for 352 more. The hands were Ah-Ac-Qh-9s for Brenes and As-th-8s-7s for Moneymaker, giving him a 16-out straight draw. The 5c on the turn gave Moneymaker the hand and a 3,079 chip count as the Costa Rican "chark" headed to the rail.

1:47pm -- John Duthie eliminated in 29th place

John Duthie became short-stacked early on and made his last stand on a pot-limit Omaha hand vs. Lee Nelson and Vanessa Rousso. Duthie made it 105 to go pre-flop, Nelson called from the button and Rousso called from the big blind. Rousso checked the Tc-3d-2d flop, Duthie moved all in for his last 298, Nelson called and Rousso folded.

Duthie turned up Kh-Qc-Js-Th for top pair to Nelson's Qd-Jd-9s-5s for the flush draw. The 7d on the turn filled Nelson's flush and the meaningless 2c hit the river, giving Nelson the hand and eliminating the EPT creator in 29th place.

1:44pm -- Paging Barry Greenstein

Three of the four players initially sitting out at Table 2 are now in the game -- Greg Raymer, Ray Rahme and Joe Hachem -- but there is still no sighting of barryg1.

1:30pm -- First half hour chip update

After the first 30 minutes of play, Daniel Negreanu is the chipleader with 4,000 while John Duthie is currently last with 900.

KidPoker has certainly been helped by his table draw that includes the four players who were initially sitting out (Raymer has finally arrived).

Bil Chen popped over to observe long enough to type: ok, I see why you are r00ling daniel

<b1:21pm -- Helps to know the game

Chris "Money800" Moneymaker just got heavily involved in a hand against Noah "Exclusive" Boeken before realizing he wasn't playing what he thought he was playing.

Money800: shoot this is razz

Moneymaker showed down two pair and Boeken took the pot with 8-5-4-2-A to move up to 2,702.

1:17pm -- Ace-deuce comes through for Chen

Noah "Exclusive" Boeken, Gavin Griffin and Bill Chen saw a flop of 2c-Jh-2d for four bets in Omaha Hi-Lo. The action slowed down at this point with Griffin calling Chen down after a turn and river of 8c-7c.

Chen showed As-2s-3d-7d for a full house and nut low to scoop the 855 pot. He is now at 2,050 chips

1:09pm -- The sitting out table

Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu and Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose are having a field day at Table 2. That's because Ray Rahme, Joe Hachem, Greg "FossilMan" Raymer and Barry "barryg1" Greenstein are all sitting out.

Quipped Ambrose, "easy game."

1:05pm -- ElkY holding up the show

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier is acting slowly at his table, which prompted this exchange:

Exclusive: elky stop playin 20 screens

GavinGriffin: he's playing starcraft too

ElkY: im in exuma island [:(]

ElkY: not very good connection here

1:08 p.m.-- What's at stake

Today's Team PokerStars Pro championship match will not only determine who will captain the team (which will play a significant role in a future promotion) but will divide up the $30,000 prize pool among the winners' favorite charities. $15,000 will be donated on behalf of the champion, $10,000 for the second-place finisher and $5,000 for third.

1:00p.m. -- Off and running

Our 29 Team PokerStars Pros are settling in to play in today's eight-game Pro Championship Match. The games will be played in this order: Limit Triple Draw 2-7, Limit Hold'em, Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Limit Razz, Limit Stud, Limit Stud Hi-Lo, No Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha. We may not see any eliminations until we get to the seventh level. At that point all bets are off.

Cards are in the air... or rather, on the screen!

12:54pm--Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match set to begin

Join us here for live coverage of the Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match at 1pm ET.