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* 6 of 605 players remaining

7pm: End of day confirmed counts

Here’s how the final six line up:

Dzmitry Urbanovich – 5,125,000
Patrick Clarke – 4,300,000
Kuljinder Sidhu – 3,260,000
Gilles Bernies – 2,735,000
Iliodoros Kamatakis – 1,965,000
Rhys Jones – 740,000

Urbanovich, huh. He’s something else. — HS

6:50pm: Meylan departs in seventh; day done
Level 27 – Blinds 25,000-50,000 (ante 5,000)

Alexandre Meylan is out! We are down to our final six players, and that’s the end of the day.

In what proved to be the final hand, Meylan opened to 110,000 from under the gun but Patrick Clarke three-bet to 275,000 from one seat to his left. Everyone else folded and Meylan, despite a stack of only 845,000, opted to call.

They then saw a flop of A♦ K♦ 5♠ and, after double checking his cards, Meylan shoved for that 845,000. Clarke called.

Meylan had a massive draw with his Q♦ J♦ . But Clarke was, at this stage, ahead. He had A♥ Q♣ .

The 3♥ was not one of Meylan’s outs. And neither was the 7â™  . That sent Meylan home in seventh, taking €88,300 with him.

Tomorrow, everyone is guaranteed a six-figure payday, with the winner earning €561,900.

Stacks to come, then a full wrap up. Stick around a few minutes. — HS

6:40pm: This must be a misprint
Level 27 – Blinds 25,000-50,000 (ante 5,000)

Dzmitry Urbanovich raised to 100,000 from early position and — wait, what? — Iliodoros Kamatakis three-bet. And — wait, what? — Urbanovich folded. — HS

6:35pm:Yet more for Urbanovich
Level 27 – Blinds 25,000-50,000 (ante 5,000)

There is no stopping Dzmitry Urbanovich, who now has a big stack and it therefore a total menace. Rhys Jones was the latest to get into bother, but got out relatively lightly when you think about it.

Jones opened to 110,000 from early position and Urbanovich three-bet from the cutoff, making it 245,000. Jones called and they saw a flop of 7♥ 2♣ 2♠ . Jones checked, Urbanovic bet 115,000 and Jones folded.

Urbanovich moves beyond 5 million. — HS

6:30pm: Urbanovich takes over at the top
Level 27 – Blinds 25,000-50,000 (ante 5,000)

Dzmitry Urbanovich and Gilles Bernies just played out a hand that look innocuous at the start – being played out of the blinds – but turned decisive by the river card.

On a board already showing K♠ [kt]10♣ 5♣ Bernies bet 80,000 which Urbanovich insta-raised to 200,000. Bernies called.

On the 2♣ river card Bernies tanked for a while, then bet, 325,000. Again Urbanovich didn’t need long and lumped in a raise to 825,000 in a carefree manner. That put the pressure back on Bernies who eventually called, wincing when Urbanovich turned over K♥ 2♦ for a rivered full house.

Urbanovich is now the tournament chip leader for the first time. – SB

6:20pm: Move over world, here comes Dzmitry Urbanovich
Level 27 – Blinds 25,000-50,000 (ante 5,000)

No sooner had I tweeted that Dzmitry Urbanovich was coming alive in this tournament than the irrepressible Pole found a pre-flop four bet and got involved in a huge hand against Patrick Clarke. It ended with Urbanovich moving close to 3.5 million, which is second overall.

NEIL6405_EPT12DUB_Dzmitry_Urbanovich_Neil Stoddart.jpg

The irrepressible Dzmitry Urbanovich
 

Urbanovich opened to 115,000 from under the gun and Clarke three-bet to 265,000 from the hijack. Action folded back to Urbanovich and he moved 590,000 over the line.

Clarke just called, which meant they saw a flop of 5â™  A♦ 6♦ and Urbanovich checked. Clarke bet 425,000–a small bet into a pot of around 1.3 million already–and Urbanovich called.

Things slowed on the 9♠ turn and the 7♣ river, both of which were checked through. Urbanovich turned over A♣ J♦ and Clarke mucked.

That takes Urbanovich over Clarke (3.01 million) in the counts, which should spell trouble for the rest of this table. — HS

6:15pm: Meylan all in
Level 27 – Blinds 25,000-50,000 (ante 5,000)

Short stack Alex Meylan moved all in for 715,000 behind a bet from Gilles Bernies. The action was folded back to Bernies who agonised a little before calling.

Meylan K♦ K♠
Bernies 5♦ 5♥

The board ran out Q♦ 2♥ 8♥ Q♠ 4♣

Bernies winced when the four landed, Meylan doubled up to around 1.6 million. – SB

5:50pm: Another break
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

Off they go for another break with seven players remaining. One more, and we’re done for the day.

Here are the stacks, and their BB value for when we return for Level 27. Blinds will be 25,000-50,000 (5,000 ante) when they return.

Gilles Bernies – 4.7 million (94 BBs)
Patrick Clarke – 4.04 million (80 BBs)
Kuljinder Sidhu – 3.275 million (65 BBs)
Dzmitry Urbanovich – 2,380,000 (47 BBs)
Iliodoros Kamatakis – 2,015,000 (40 BBs)
Rhys Jones – 995,000 (19 BBs)
Alexandre Meylan – 720,000 (14 BBs)

5:40pm: Urbanovich makes a million
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

Dzmitry Urbanovich is at his high point of the day after getting maximum value from Rhys Jones.

In a battle of the chewed sweatshirt hoods, Jones and Urbanovich went to a flop of J♣ J♥ 6♦ . (Pre-flop: Jones raised to 90,000 from the cutoff and Urbanovich called from the button.)

Jones ceded the betting lead to Urbanovich on the flop, but check-called Urbanovich’s bet of 100,000. They went to the 5â™  turn. Jones checked again, Urbanovich bet 225,000 and Jones called again.

They then saw the 4♠ on the river and went through this pattern for one more iteration. Check from Jones and a bet of 225,000 from Urbanovich. Jones tank-called, but then solemnly mucked when Urbanovich showed A♥ J♠ .

Urbanovich now has about 2.5 million. Jones is down to 1.005 million. — HS

5:35pm: Urbanovich heads upward again
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

After losing that big pot to Gilles Bernies, Dzmitry Urbanovich hopped back in the saddle for a joust with Iliodoros Kamatakis. It started slowly, with Urbanovich merely defending his big blind from Kamatakis’s open to 90,000. That took them to a flop of Q♥ 7♥ 6♦ .

Urbanovich checked, but called Kamatakis’s bet of 150,000. They both checked the 6â™  turn and then Urbanovich led 155,000 after the 3♦ river and Kamatakis folded. — HS

5:30pm: Urbanovich wastes no time
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

Gilles Bernies just moved up to 4.75 million in a hand against Dzmitry Urbanovich.

Urbanovich bet pre-flop which Bernies called. Ultimately there would be around 500,000 in the pot by the river card, with the board reading 7â™  9♣ 10â™  10♥ 8♥ . Bernies checked to Urbanovich who wasted no time in betting 185,000. In response Bernies moved all in for 4.1 million, easily covering Urbanovich who wasted no time again – this time in folding. – SB

5:15pm: Another long one
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

Rhys Jones, Kuljinder Sidhu and Gilles Bernies have got previous. They played a super long hand earlier (see 4:45pm update), and seemed keen to replicate it just now.

In this one, Sidhu opened from early position, making it 100,000 to play, and Jones called from the cutoff. Bernies also called from the button.

The three of them saw a flop of 5♥ 8♣ A♥ and this time Sidhu continued for 170,000. Jones folded, but Bernies stuck around.

The Q♥ fell on the turn and Sidhu bet again, this time 410,000. After a minute or so, Bernies let it go. — HS

5:05pm: Split pot?
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

There’s a slow pace to the action at the final table. Like in this hand, which took several minutes to play.

Patrick Clarke opened form the hijack for 90,000. He got a caller in Gilles Bernies in the big blind for a flop of 8♦ K♣ 8♣ .
Clarke followed that up with a bet of 130,000, which Bernies called. On the turn card 3♣ both players checked, and watched the Q♣ land on the turn.

This would prove a significant card, being a fourth club. Bernies bet this time, making it 330,000. Clarke called and both players showed ace-queen, but crucially Clarke had a club, winning the hand. – SB

4:54pm: Banic banished in eighth, wins €60,750
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

Ivan Banic, with 525,000 in his stack, was sick being the short-stack with so much fun going on among the biggies. He was under the gun and shoved. Iliadoros Kamatakis, only one seat to his left, took a long while to ponder what to do and eventually opted to call, from a stack of about 1.6 million.

ivan_banic_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Ivan Banic eyes the big stack of Gilles Bernies
 

The flat call seemed to be a warning flag to the rest of the table, and they duly got out the way. That left the two of them to it, and, yes, Kamatakis had found a monster. His Kâ™  K♣ was far bigger than Banic’s A♦ 8♦ .

ivan_banic_iliodoros_kamatakis_ept12_dublin.jpg

Ivan Banic out
 

Of course, he could hit his ace. But he didn’t. It was blank all the way and Banic is banished, winning €60,750 for eighth. — HS

iliodoros_kamatakis_ept12_day5.jpg

Iliodoros Kamatakis
 

4:45pm: Bernies wins big
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

A big hand that took 15 minutes to play and which puts Gilles Bernies back into the lead.

Kuljinder Sidhu opened for 85,000 from middle position before Rhys Jones called from the button. Bernies was in the small blind and called for a Q♥ 6♦ 2♥ flop.

Sidhu checked to Jones who bet 160,000. Bernies decided to raise, making it 390,000 which Sidhu called. Jones did too.

With 1.5 million in the middle now the turn came 8♥ , which was checked three ways for a K♦ river. The action was checked to Jones who paused, then bet 575,000. Bernies, his chest moving up and down as he took big breaths, went to his chips and looked like he was preparing a call, but instead he raised to 1.6 million. That forced a fold from Sidhu while Jones was left grinning. He passed, conceding the post to Bernies, who is now on 5.1 million. – SB

4:30pm: Petrov punished by Jones
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

Mikail Petrov came to the unofficial final table with the short stack and he has just seen it added to Rhys Jones’s pile. Jones has 3.5 million now, but Petrov is heading to the cash-outs table looking for €47,830.

In what would turn out to be Petrov’s last hand, action folded to his small blind and he shoved for about 600,000. Rhys Jones, the only man still with cards, looked at them and saw enough to call instantly.

Petrov: A♥ 6♥
Jones: A♣ J♥

What looked bleak got even more grim for Petrov. The flop came 8â™  Kâ™  J♦ and, needing running sixes to survive, Petrov was drawing dead by the 9â™  turn. The 2♦ river was inconsequential. — HS

4:25pm: Clarke goes from fourth to first
Level 26 – Blinds 20,000-40,000 (ante 5,000)

A big hand between Patrick Clarke and Kuljinder Sidhu takes Clarke into the chip lead.

Gilles Bernies opened for 90,000 in early position which Clarke called from the hijack. Sidhu was waiting with the three-bet in the cut off, making it 225,000. That forced Bernies to fold but Clarke came out with the 4-bet of 675,000. Sidhu tanked for a while, then called to see a flop.
9♦ 8♣ 5♠

What drama there had been pre-flop was short lived post flop. Clarke, who began the hand fourth in chips, bet 725,000. Sidhu wasted no time in folding. Clarke up to 3.8 million. – SB

4pm: Counts at the break
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Gilles Bernies: 3,681,000
Kuljinder Sidhu: 3,486,000
Patrick Clarke: 2,926,000
Rhys Jones: 2,758,000
Iliodoros Kamatakis: 1,527,000
Dzmitry Urbanovic: 1,511,000
Alexandre Meylan: 999,000
Mikhail Petrov: 671,000
Ivan Banic: 562,000

They’ll be back in action at about 4.15pm GMT. — HS

3:58pm: Kamatakis pinches last hand before break
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

On the last hand before the break, Rhys Jones raised to 67,000 from early position and Iliodoros Kamatakis called from the big blind. They both checked the flop of Q♦ 6♣ J♠ but then Kamatakis bet 80,000 at the 3♠ turn. Jones called.

The K♥ fell on the river and Kamatakis counted out a bet of 240,000. That was enough for Jones. He folded and they’ll all go on a break now. — HS

3:50pm: A hand for crossword lovers
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Dzmitry Urbanovich raised to 65,000 and Ivan Banic, whose name (crossword fans) is hidden inside Urbanovich’s, called from the big blind. The flop came 10♥ 5♦ 2â™  and Banic check-folded to Urbanovich’s bet. I’m only writing this hand because I like the fact that Banic’s name can be found inside Urbanovich’s. — HS

3:46pm: Urbanovich continues to climb
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Dzmitry Urbanovich continues to be the most active player and has built his stack up to 1.45 million. In the latest hand, he defended his big blind to an open raise from Iliodoros Kamatakis.

Both players checked the flop of 8♦ 8♥ J♥ and then Urbanovich bet 70,000 at the Qâ™  turn. On the river, which was the 3♣ , Urbanovich bet 175,000 and took it down. — HS

3:36pm: Petrov pushes
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

The shortest stack on the table is in front of Mikail Petrov, but he just shoved it over the line and watched it grow a little. Patrick Clarke opened to 65,000; Petrov pushed for 568,000 (about 19 big blinds) and Clarke folded. — HS

mikhail_petrov_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Mikhail Petrov
 

3:32pm: Sidhu three-betting
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Rhys Jones opened from UTG+1, making it 67,000 to play. Kuljinder Sidhu three-bet to 235,000 from the button and that won the battle of the Brits. — HS

kuljinder_sidhu_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Kuljinder Sidhu
 

3:30pm: Another small pot for Urbanovich
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Dzmitry Urbanovich raised to 65,000 and picked up callers from both blinds. Those seats were occupied by Kuljinder Sidhu and Ivan Banic. The flop brought the J♥ 5♦ 5♥ and after both blinds checked, Urbanovich’s bet was barely on the felt before both opponents folded. — HS

3:20pm: Urbanovich finds his range
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

After, by his standards, a slow start to today, Dzmitry Urbanovich is now trying to build his stack up. He just picked up two small pots, including one from Patrick Clarke, when he bet at a flop of A♣ 5â™  2♦ and Clarke folded. — HS

3:10pm: Final nine counts
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Here’s how they line up around the last table in the room:

Gilles Bernies, Germany, 3,757,000 (seat 1)
Kuljinder Sidhu, United Kingdom, 3,376,000 (seat 5)
Patrick Clarke, Ireland, 3,241,000 (seat 4)
Rhys Jones, United Kingdom, 2,516,000 (seat 9)
Iliodoros Kamatakis, Greece, 1,579,000 (seat 7)
Alexandre Meylan, Switzerland, 1,149,000 (seat 3)
Dzmitry Urbanovich, Poland, 891,000 (seat 2)
Ivan Banic, Croatia, 782,000 (seat 6)
Mikhail Petrov, Russia, 630,000 (seat 8)

The idea is to play to six. — HS

2:45pm: Who’s bringing what
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

The five players from the outer table will now come under the studio lights. Here’s what they are bringing with them:

Gilles Bernies: 3.7 million
Patrick Clarke: 3.25 million
Iliodoros Kamatakis: 1.58 million
Dzmitry Urbanovich: 891,000
Alexandre Meylan: 790,000

2:50pm: Down to nine after Mateos busts
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

We’re down to nine players after Adrian Mateos was eliminated by Rhys Jones.

On a flop of 6♦ 7♠ 9♣ Jones checked to Mateos who bet. Soon enough there were all-ins called and cards on their backs.

Mateos 7♣ 7♦
Jones 9♥ 8♣

Mateos was ahead with the set but Jones had the straight draw. Nothing changed for Jones on the 2♣ turn, but everything did on the 5♥ river card, sending Mateos, the only remaining former EPT winner, out in 10th place for €39,320.

adrian_mateos_ept12_dublin_finger.jpg

How many EPT Main Events have you won, Adrian?
 

There will now be a redraw among the final nine for seats at the feature table. – SB

2:45pm: Jones doubles through Banic
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

After Kuljinder Sidhu opened for 64,000, Ivan Banic called from the cutoff. With the action on Rhys Jones he re-raised to 200,000. Sidhu got out of the way but Banic then moved all in, which Jones called all in.

Jones A♥ A♦
Banic Q♥ Q♦

rhys_jones_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Rhys Jones
 

The board ran A♣ Q♣ 10♣ 5♥ 5♦ to leave Banic with 844,000 while Jones moves up to around 1.7 million. – SB

2:35pm: Pre-final slowdown
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

The two shortest stacks in the tournament are both on the feature table, which is making for some cagey play on the outer table. I think players there would rather allow one of the shorties to bust before pulling moves of their own when the field is condensed to one table.

Two small pots played out, however:

Gilles Bernies opened to 70,000 from early position and Dzmitry Urbanovich, in the big blind, was the only player who joined in. Those two saw a flop of 2♦ 8♠ 3♦ , which Urbanovich checked. Bernies bet 80,000 and Urbanovich called.

The 4♦ came on the turn, and this time Urbanovich check-mucked when Bernies continued with a bet of 190,000.

8G2A7927_EPT12DUB_Dzmitry_Urbanovich_Neil Stoddart.jpg

Dzmitry Urbanovich
 

Not long afterwards, Patrick Clarke and Alexandre Meylan got involved from the blinds. Clarke limped pre-flop from the small blind and Meylan checked his option, taking them to a flop of 6♠ A♣ 2♦ .

Clarke bet 55,000 and Meylan called, bringing the 5â™  on the turn. Clarke checked, Meylan checked, taking them to the 9♦ on the river. Clarke checked again but folded after Meylan’s 80,000 bet. — HS

alexandre_meylan_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Alexandre Meylan
 

2:30pm: Banic close to average
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Ivan Banic just increased his stack to 1.6 million (just shy of the 1.8 million average) in a hand against Adrian Mateos that reached the river. Banic flopped a set, and by the river had made a full house that promoted Mateos to muck. – SB

2:20pm: Goulder gone
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Alex Goulder’s Main Event just ended in 11th place. After Kuljinder Sidhu bet, Goulder moved in for 1,015,000 with A♦ K♦ and when Sidhu called with J♦ Jâ™  he had a race on his hands.

alex_goulder_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Alex Goulder
 

It was all over pretty soon, the board running J♥ 6♦ 7♥ 5â™  9♥ . Goulder collects €39,320. Sidhu close to the lead now with 3,300,000. – SB

alex_goulder_ept12_dublin_day5_out.jpg

2:15pm: Ruzzi run out of town
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Matias Ruzzi departs in 12th place after moving all in with Q♣ 7♣ . Ivan Banic called with A♣ 8♣ and had the had won when an ace hit the turn. Ruzzi collects €32,870. – SB

matias_ruzzi_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Matias Ruzzi: 12th
 

2:10pm: Clarke with the flop-shove
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

Patrick Clarke just muscled Mikail Petrov out of a pot, shoving on the flop. Clarke opened to 65,000 from middle-position and Petrov three bet to 174,000. Clarke called. (It was only those two involved.)

The board came 7♣ 3♥ 4♥ and Clarke checked. Petrov took a while to think about his bet, but eventually put 158,000 into the middle. Clarke quickly moved all in, covering Petrov easily, and Petrov quickly folded. — HS

2pm: Back to it
Level 25 – Blinds 15,000-30,000 (ante 4,000)

As we all know, Twitch is the future of TV. (You know that, right?) Countless poker fans around the world are currently streaming the EPT Live pictures from Dublin — and one of them belongs to a player still involved. If you’re a big fan of Greek poker, and Iliodoros Kamatakis in particular, you can catch the action over on his channel (it’s Ilios72) and chat away in Greek.

Anyhow, you can of course also watch the action right here on PokerStars Blog.

Play is under way again. — HS

1:40pm: Break time
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

They’re heading to the break. Here are the approximate counts on the outer table:

Gilles Bernies – 3.438 million
Patrick Clarke – 2.85 million
Iliodoros Kamatakis – 1.762 million
David Meylan – 1.247 million
Dzmitry Urbanovich – 1.084 million
Mikail Petrov – 877,000

And the feature table:

Kuljinder Sidhu, 2.137 million
Matias Ruzzi, 350,000
Ivan Banic, 828,000
Rhys Jones, 1.163 million
Adrian Mateos, 1.503 million
Alex Goulder, 879,000

gilles_bernies_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Gilles Bernies: Chip-leader
 

1:35pm: Five-bet shove
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

A little bit of drama to end the level on the feature table. Rhys Jones opened to 55,000 from early position which Adrian Mateos raised to 135,000 from the cutoff. Jones then four-bet 365,000. Mateos paused before replying with a five-bet shove. Jones quickly folded. – SB

adrian_mateos_ept12_dublin_day5.jpg

Adrian Mateos
 

1:25pm: Small ball
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

We’re in a bit of a lull. All things are relative, of course, but having shifted the short stacks, the big stacks are now keeping the pots small.

Gilles Bernies won a pot from Dzmitry Urbanovich after opening to 60,000 from UTG+1 and picking up Urbanovich as the only caller in the big blind. Urbanovich checked the 7â™  6♣ 5â™  flop but called Bernies’s 60,000 bet. They both, however, checked the 10♣ turn and 6♥ river and Bernies’s Kâ™  Jâ™  was still better than Urbanovich’s K♦ 9♥ . This pot ended with Iliodoros Kamatakis asking Urbanovich to turn his music down which was, according to the Greek player, bleeding out of his headphones. Urbanovich obliged.

dzmitry_urbanovich_iliodoros_kamatakis_ept12_dublin.jpg

Dzmitry Urbanovich and Iliodoros Kamatakis
 

Patrick Clarke then won the next hand from the aforementioned Kamatakis. Clarke opened to 50,000 and Kamatakis defended his big blind. The flop came 7♣ 8♦ 7â™  and Kamatakis check-called Clarke’s bet of 65,000.

The K♣ came on the turn and Kamatakis this time check-folded after Clarke bet 135,000.

They’re coming up to the first break of the day. — HS

1:15pm: Double up for Mateos
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Adrian Mateos doubles up to a little more than a million with pocket queens. Rhys Jones was in the pot with him holding pocket fives. Mateos was never in trouble on a board of 9♦ 9♥ 8â™  Kâ™  10♥ . Jones still has 1.3 million. – SB

1:10pm: A good one for Kamatakis
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Iliodoros Kamatakis has opened a handful of pots today, but I haven’t seen him play one to showdown — nor, for that matter, win one. Until now. I still haven’t seen him go to showdown, but he just picked up a tidy handful of chips through some pre-flop aggression.

Dzmitry Urbanovich opened the pot, making it 55,000 from the button. Kamatakis three-bet from the small blind, making it 160,000, but then Gilles Bernies four-bet from the big blind, putting 320,000 over the line.

Urbanovich was more interested in his phone by this point, so quickly folded and resumed browsing. But Kamatakis had his eyes on those chips. He announced that he was all in, a five-bet of 1.398 million.

Cameras swarmed and Kamatakis smiled into them. “A good one?” he asked our photographer. Bernies, in the tank, thought he was asking about the nature of the hands in play, then apologised to the rest of the table for taking a while over his decision.

Eventually Bernies folded and Kamatakis gleefully showed the 5â™  to the table. Ever the showman, his entertaining event continues. He has 1.8 million. — HS

1:05pm: Outer counts
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Ivan Banic is coming over to the feature table, bringing 1.15 million chips with him, approximately. That will leave the outer table looking like this:

Seat 1 – Dzmitry Urbanovich: 1.3 million
Seat 2 – Iliodoros Kamatakis: 1.15 million
Seat 3 – empty
Seat 4 – Gilles Bernies: 3.75 million
Seat 5 – empty
Seat 6 – Patrick Clarke: 2.85 million
Seat 7 – Mikhail Petrov: 780,000
Seat 8 – David Meylan: 1.3 million

1pm: Sidhu sends MacNamara to the rail
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Tomas MacNamara becomes our 13th place finisher. He moved all in with Q♣ J♣ and after an extended period of though Kuljinder Sidhu called with A♥ J♦ . It would be all over on the flop for MacNamara, with the board coming A♠ 7♠ 2♥ 3♦ K♣ .

MacNamara leaves with €32,870. Sidhu is up to 1.9 million. — SB

12:55pm: Barrel from Bernies gets the job done
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Picking up action from the turn here. The four exposed cards read 7♥ 3♦ 6♦ J♦ and David Meylan bet 80,000. Gilles Bernies, his only opponent at this stage (Bernies would have been in the hijack pre-flop; Meylan in the big blind) raised to 205,000. Meylan called.

The 9♦ completed the board — and also Meylan’s participation. He checked and then instantly mucked when Bernies bet 400,000. — HS

12:52pm: AA vs KK
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

A big double up for Matias Ruzzi who got his chips in with Kâ™  K♣ only to get a call from Adrian Mateos with Aâ™  A♥ . Ruzzi’s pain didn’t last long, with the king first out on the K♥ 3♣ 7♦ flop. The Q♦ and 5♣ followed, doubling Ruzzi to around 250,000. – SB

12:50pm: Clarke straightens out Petrov
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

There’s not an enormous amount of pre-flop aggression on the outer table, which is allowing lesser hands to get there through a flop, turn and river. Patrick Clarke just profited in that manner — although might have made more.

Iliodoros Kamatakis opened the pot again, making it 53,000 from the hijack. Both Clarke and Mikhail Petrov called from small and big blind, respectively. The three saw a flop of 5♥ 9♦ 8♦ fall. All checked.

The 7♥ came on the turn and, after Kamatakis checked, Clarke bet 130,000. Petrov called but Kamatakis folded.

The river was the 3♦ and both players checked. Clarke turned over J♥ 10♥ for a winning straight. — HS

12:45pm: Mateos making moves
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Mateos up to around 700,000 after forcing a fold from Matias Ruzzi, who tanked to a Mateos shove on a 4â™  9â™  K♦ 4♦ board. – SB

12:40pm: Banic makes the filth-limp pay
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Ivan Banic has Gilles Bernies to his immediate left, which is not exactly where you want him. But he just made a filthy hand and a passive strategy pay dividends in a battle of the blinds.

Action folded to Banic in the small blind, and he limped. Bernies checked his option. That took them to a flop of K♦ A♥ 6♣ . Check, check. The 6♦ on the turn sprung Banic into action. He bet 45,000 and Bernies came along.

The river was the A♦ and Banic barrelled again, this time for 115,000. Bernies thought for a moment, but called. Banic showed his neighbour the 6â™  8♦ and the trash had become a full house by the end. Bernies mucked. — HS

12:35pm: Urbanovich makes himself at home in new surroundings
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Just before Frank Williams was eliminated from the feature table, Dzmitry Urbanovich was summoned to the outer table to balance up. The first two men out went from there, so it was momentarily wonky.

Urbanovich won the first hand he played, which actually began as he was still taking chips out of their rack.

Iliodoros Kamatakis opened the pot, making it 53,000 to play from under the gun. Patrick Clarke called in the cutoff and Urbanovich called from the big blind.

The flop fell 6♣ 8♦ Kâ™  and all three players checked. No one was really interested in the Qâ™  turn either. They checked again. But Urbanovich bet 120,000 at the 2♥ river and got folds from both opponents, Kamatakis instantly and Clarke after a minute’s thought.

Clarke has about 2.6 million in his stack now. Bernies is still table captain and has about 3.3 million.– HS

12:30pm: Williams all in and out
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Frank Williams is out in 14th place. He shoved for just short of 300,000 with 10♥ 10♦ and got a call from Kuljinder Sidhu who had found A♠ A♣ . It was one of the easier decisions Sidhu will have today.

The board ran 8♣ 5♣ 4â™  J♦ Q♣ to send Williams to the rail, earning €28,760. – SB

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The end of the road for Frank Williams
 

12:25pm: Gong sounds for Gong, gone in 15th
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

When the tournament chip leader is dealt aces and you’re a short-stack, you better hope you don’t get a hand that you can shove with. Unfortunately for Jiachen Gong, that is precisely what happened, and the gong has now sounded for our man from Canada.

Gilles Bernies, the aforementioned chip leader, opened from the cutoff to 55,000. Gong looked down at 6♣ 6♦ and moved all in for what was about 400,000 and change.

The blinds folded and Bernies quickly checked his cards to assure himself he hadn’t been seeing things and then, aces established, called. It was Aâ™  A♥ to be precise.

They span through a flop, turn and river. But none of the 8♣ 10♦ 3♣ Q♣ 5♥ helped Gong and he heads out in 15th, taking €28,760. — HS

12:20pm: Bernies back in action
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

The very last hand of yesterday’s action resulted in Patrick Clarke taking the chip lead from Gilles Bernies. But Bernies now has it back after a clash of the two biggest stacks in the room.

Clarke opened to 55,000 from early position and Bernies called from the big blind. Everyone else shrewdly got out of the way in the meantime. They saw a flop of A♣ 2♣ 10♣ , which Bernies checked, leading to a bet of 80,000 from Clarke.

The 6♥ came on the turn, which they both checked, and then they saw a river of 9♥ . Bernies, chest heaving as it always is, bet 230,000 and after a little while, Clarke folded.

That’s about 160,000 heading to Bernies’ stack, which is enough to put him top of the leader board. — HS

12:15pm: Second feature table shove
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Frank Williams moves all in on the feature table. Williams is the short stack with around 250,000 so it was hardly a surprise, but this time at least he got no takers. – SB

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Frank Williams: No takers this time
 

12:10pm: First feature table shove
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Early shove on the feature table from Rhys Jones. He opened for 55,000 in the hijack which Tomas MacNamara raised to 130,000 from the button. Jones paused, then shoved, forcing MacNamara to fold. – SB

12:08pm: First hand, man down
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

Christopher Kruk’s Day 5 lasted precisely one hand. He is now out. Action folded to Alexandre Meylan on the button and he opened to 50,000. Kruk, who had 450,000 at the start of play, moved all in and Meylan wanted a count and then a moment before calling.

He was right to make the call. He had A♣ Q♣ . Kruk had A♥ 7â™  . The board ran 9♣ J♥ 6♦ J♦ K♥ and that was enough to send Kruk to the payouts desk. He’ll get €25,820. — HS

11:58 am: Bags torn
Level 24 – Blinds 12,000-24,000 (ante 3,000)

The bags have been torn open and play will be under way any minute now. — HS

11:30 am: To lose ten players

That’s the plan for today: to lose ten players. And then we will bag up and prepare for tomorrow. That’s the long game, but there will be many twists and turns along the way.

When play gets ten-handed, they will be split across two five-handed tables. And then when it goes nine-handed, they will convene around a single table. At eight-handed, we’ll have an “official” final table. But play will continue either for five levels or until six players are left, whichever is soonest.

Got that? It’s easy really. Just stick with us and watch it play out all the way.

Before that, read yesterday’s day-end report and look at the official chip counts. — HS

NEIL5993_EPT12DUB_Trophy_Neil Stoddart.jpg

Take a look at the official website of the EPT, with tournament schedule, news, results and accommodation details for the rest of the season.

Also all the schedule information is on the EPT App, which is available on both Android or IOS.

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the EPT12 Dublin Main Event: Stephen “Five Pints” Bartley and Howard “Five Pints” Swains. Don’t worry. We’ve been doing this a long time. Photography by Neil Stoddart. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog.

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