SPT Grande Finale Grande Success

"Vamos!". Not only the Spanish players are shouting this trademark fistpump yell, but the international audience seemed to have joined in on this local traditon. A typical moment for the SPT Grande Finale. Four days of competitive and respectful poker in a friendly ambiance have made this SPT final a great success. Although the languages and cultures at the table are different, all the players speak the same passion: poker. This last stop of the 2009 SPT season has really been a "Grande Finale" to an exciting SPT season.

Vamos!

Steven van Zadelhoff, Everest Poker Team Pro and winner of the SPT final 2009!!

Livestream final table SPT 2009

Day 4 SPT final

17:00
Final table starts
The players were introduced by the tournament director. Good luck to all of them! Cesar Ordonez was the short stack but he managed to win the first hand and doubled.

17:45
Jerome Lubet doubles up
Steven van Zadelhoff opens KQ and Jerome Lubet finds AK and pushed allin, Steven calls and the flop shows 6 9 A turn J river 2.

17:50
Steven van Zadelhoff vs Ismael Arribas
Ismael moves allin with A9 and Steven decides to call with A2
934 turn 6 river4
Ismael wins the 220k pot.

18:00
Germany vs Spain
Reiner Klar moves allin with AJ Cesar Ordonez calls and shows 77

943 turn 8 river J

Double up for Germany!

18:30
Daniel takes it down
Daniel Ventura calls the allin of Ismael Arribas. Ismael shows A8, Daniel shows JJ

flop Q36 turn 6 river K

18:45
AK vs AK
Rainer Klar and Ismael Arribas are allin en they both show AKo. On the flop, Thomas Kremser already announces that this will be a split pot, because of the three different suits.

19:05
First player out...
And it's the Spanish player Ismael Arribas. Arribas was holding KJ against Rob Sherwoods 66. Flop 577 turn 2 river Q

The 8 remaining players will play 15 more minutes before they go on a short break. After the break they will play level 22 with 10k/20k blinds and a 2000 ante.

19:20
Another Spanish player is busted
Cesar Ordonez moves allin with T8 and Reiner Klar calls with JJ in the small blind. No help for the Spanish player, flop 268, turn 4, river Q.

20:00
Jerome Lubet out
Flop KTQ on the turn both players move allin, Lubet shows K9o, Sherwood shows AA, the river is a 5 and we lost our French player Lubet.

20:20
Spanish double up
The spanish player Carlos Martin just doubled, his AA was good against the KQ of his opponent Rob Sherwood.

Dinner break
The players will go on dinner break now, after the break they play the next level; blinds 12k/24k with a 3k ante.

22:50
Chipcounts
Steven van Zadelhoff 747k
Tatu Menpaa 427k
Rainer Klar 370k
Daniel Ventura 530k
Carlos Martin 394k
Rob Sherwood 250k

Carlos Martin

23:20
Steven and Carlos both allin
And they both show AKo. Flop Q89 turn 4 river T and it's a split pot.

Germany vs France
Rainer Klar moves allin with AJo, Rob Sherwood calls with AQo.
The windowcard is a J but the other two flop cards are a A and a Q, turn is 2 river a 3. We lose our friend from Germany; Rainer Klar.

23:50
Steven van Zadelhoff allin
Steven opens and Rob moves allin, Steven calls and the flop is 397 turn 5 and river 3. The Dutch EVP Team player wins a pot of 400k.

Steven van Zadelhoff

23:55
Carlos Martin out
Carlos moves allin with K8o and Steven makes a fast call with AK. Flop: AJ2 Turn: T River: 3
Carlos wins 24.000 euro.

00:00
Pocket aces
And we lose another player; Daniel Venturas A9s vs Tatu Maenfaas AA; The board; 26T8K doesn't improve Daniels hand and the Spanish player wins 30.000 euro.

00:15
Level 25
With the last three players, we're about to start the next level. Blinds will be 20k/40k with a 4k ante.

00:45
Allin!
Rob Sherwood A9o against Steven van Zadelhoffs A2o
The board reads JT778 and Rob doubles up.

00:50
Stevens Set
Steven and Tatu are allin; we see 77 for Steven and Tatu plays JJ. Stevens flops a set on the 769 flop, de turn and river bring two tens. Tatu, our Finnish player, wins 39.000 euro.

01:10
Steven van Zadelhoff wins the tournament
Steven van Zadelhoff wins the Grand Final 2009. He called the allin of his opponent Rob Sherwood with a toppair and straightdraw. The turn and river didn't change anything and Rob Sherwood is the runner up for 53.000 dollar. Steven will go back to the Netherlands with 100.000 and the title. Good game!

Chipcount after day 3

Steven van Zadelhoff - 971.000
Tatu Menpaa - 610.000
Jerome Lubet - 344.000
Rob Sherwood - 269.000
Rainer Klaer - 241.000
Ismael Arribas - 126.000
Daniel Ventura - 121.000
Carlos Martin - 119.000
Cesar Ordonez - 111.000

Day 3 Spanish Poker Tour

The 36 remaining players just started their third day of the Spanish Poker Tour final. We will play till we have 9 players, we see them tomorrow at the final table.

Level 13, 1500-3000 blinds with a 300 ante. The average stack is 80.8k.

Payouts (in euro):
1 100.000
2 53.000
3 39.000
4 30.000
5 24.000
6 18.000
7 15.000
8 12.000
9 9000

We see two Everest Poker Team members on the feature table; Steven van Zadelhoff (the Netherlands) and Cristiano Blanco (Italy).

18:08
Clash EVP players
Fabrice Soulier is out. He was playing KJo in the blinds, the cutoff, Steven van Zadelhoff, raised, Soulier decided to go allin, Steven called and showed KK. No help for our new French team player Soulier. Steven is chipleader, playing 270k

18:45
We will play two more levels before the dinner break. 24 players remaining with an average stack of 121k. We are in level 15, blinds 2000-4000 with an 400 ante.

19:45
Pablo Ubierna is still in the tournament and is coming back. He pushed allin three times and now he's playing 74k. With 20 players left, it's getting more and more exciting here in the Gran Casino Costa Meloneras.

22:30
The players are back from their dinner break and start playing again. With 16 remaining players the average stack is 181k, we play level 17 and will continue playing until the final table. Steven van Zadelhoff, the Dutch Everest Poker Team member plays 300k.

23:30
Pablo out
He got crippled when he was facing AA and 66 with his QQ. After that, he moved allin with A9, Bart Wetsteijn called him with TT and there was no help for Pablo Ubierna.

00:30
Steven is on a roll
Steven van Zadelhoff is in control. He's the man at his table at the moment and his stack is growing; 520k.

01:10
Yori Epskamp 11th
Steven van Zadelhoff bets his TT, Yori Epskamp moves allin and the board doesn't improve his hand. We are now officially on the bubble. Playing level 19 with blinds 5000-10.000 and a 1k ante.

01:30
Final table!
Mikael Johansson bubbles; he walks into the trips 5's of his opponent. We now have 9 players and we will continue playing tomorrow at 17:00.

SPT Grand Finale — Day 2 Chip Counts

Ismael Arribas 164.000
Yori Epskamp 162.800
Steven van Zadelhoff 155.000
Cesar Ordonez 148.500
Daniel Ventura 140.100
Roy Brindley 118.000
Jens Schmieg 105.500
Roman Despres 104.200
Thibault Delaye 101.800
Rob Sherwood 98.700
Odd Hansen 98.500
Antony Haddad 97.800
Bart Wetsteijn 96.000
Carlos Martín 95.500
Rainier Kiar 87.500
Pablo Ubierna 80.900
Mikael Johansson 77.500
Olivier Bretheau 76.800
Santi Torres 74.100
Antonio Oliván 73.800
Nicolas Ghirardi 66.000
Marco DiRocco 61.600
Cristiano Blanco 59.500
Jochum Weenink 58.400
Tommy Kwakkenbos 57.000
Daniel Gomez 56.100
Fabrice Soulier 53.700
Poolt 51.800
Guillaume Valon 51.600
Rob Mulder 47.000
Tatu Menpaa 47.000
Peter van der Valk 44.100
Jacob van Wijk 30.400
Tobias Bredberg 29.700
Jerome Lubet 25.000
Ghaouti Machou 17.500

Day 2 SPT Final Gran Canaria

We just started the second day of the Spanish Poker Tour Final 2009. There are 83 players left and we start the day with level 7, blinds 300-600 ante 75.

Due to the reseating, everybody is facing new opponents. Table 8 will be the feature table, with Everest Poker Team player Maria Maceiras from Spain! We wish the players all the best!

17:30
Chipcount Everest Poker Team players

Cristiano Blanco 61k
Catarina Santos 58k
Steven van Zadelhoff 32k
Maria Maceiras- 42k
Voitta Rintala - out
Antoine Saout - out

18:30
Break
The 67 remaining players will go on a short break soon. With an average stack of 43.432, most players still have a decent stack. After the break another table will be the feature table.

19:10
The players are back from the break and we see the Dutch Everest Poker player and formal free fighter Steven van Zadelhoff at the feature table.

20:10
Pics

Catarina Santos

Cristiano Blanco

Fabrice Soulier

Maria Maceiras

Steven van Zadelhoff

20:40
Dinner break
51 players will have their dinner break in a couple of minutes. After the break, they will start with level 11, blinds 800-1600, ante 200. The average stack is 57k.

22:45
Table Cristiano Blanco; feature table!
Cristiano Blancos table is the last feature table of this day. We're going to play two more levels with 46 players.

Chipcounts Everest players
Steven van Zadelhoff 93k
Maria Maceiras 33k
Fabrice Soulier 65k
Cristiano Blanco 59k
Catarina Santos 40k

3x a set!
We lost Maria in an amazing hand. Maria plays 55 and on a 6725 flop, Maria and another player went allin, Fabrice folds his pocket 22 and the Marias opponent shows 66. No help for Maria and we lost our Everest Poker player from Spain.

23:45
Catarina out
With 15 big blinds left, she decided to push her pocket sevens allin, her opponent found JJ and called her. Best hand wins and we will not welcome Catarina Santos at the table tomorrow...

00:20
Last four hands
Thomas Kremser just announced the last four hands for this day. The 36 remaining players will redraw again and start tomorrow at 16:00. The average stack now is 80.833.

Last level today

We are playing the last level of the day. The blinds are 200-400 with an ante of 50. 87 players remaining and the average stack is 33.448.

Day 2 will start at 16:00. The players will face new opponents due to a redraw at the start of the day. The feature table is broadcasted live, you can find the link on the EVP blog tomorrow.

Dinnerbreak!

92 players will go on dinnerbreak in a couple of minutes. We started the day with 97 entries. After the dinnerbreak, level 5 starts with blinds 150-300 and an ante of 25.

Payouts (in euro):
1 100.000
2 53.000
3 39.000
4 30.000
5 24.000
6 18.000
7 15.000
8 12.000
9 9000

We'll be back in 90 minutes!

Everest Poker Team pros during the SPT final

Chipcounts and pictures of our Everest Poker Team players:

Maria Maceiras (Spain) 32k

Voitta Rintala (Finland) 14k

Steven van Zadelhoff (the Netherlands) 33k

Antoine Saout (France) 30k

Cristiano Blanco (Italy) 54k

Players on break

All players are still in the tournament, that's not a real surprise looking at the structure. We will have a break now and after that, level 3 with blinds 100-200 starts.

Tomorrow the TV table will be televised, so stay tuned and watch your favorite Everest Poker Players while they play their best poker!

A lot of Everest Poker Team members are playing the SPT final, we will give an update about them after the break.

Gran Canaria is ready for the SPT final!

The Spanish Poker Tour final is about to start. The structure of the tournament is great with a start stack of 30.000 points and one hour levels, so we will see some real poker the next four days. At the moment, the players are taking their seats. Not only Spanish players will play this final, also Swedish, Dutch, German, Italian, French, Portuguese and even people from Brazil made the trip to the beautiful Gran Casino Costa Meloneras. Good luck to everybody, we just heard Thomas Kremser saying the magic words; ‘Shuffle up and deal!’.

MVP freeroll Gran Canaria

The Spanish Poker Tour starts today with a Most Valuable Players Freeroll opened to the different players that finished in the money during the different stops of the SPT.

This 20 players are fighting to try to win a part of the 22,000€ of prizepool. Among them we have our November Nine, Antoine Saout, who is very well positioned to confirm his poker skills after an excellent 3rd position in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker.

After four hours of intensive poker, we are in the final table with the last 8 remaining players.

Cada Outdraws Saout Again to Eliminate Him!

On the 276th hand of the day, during three handed play, Cada has the button. He opens the pot to $2.5 million. Antoine moves all-in over the top for near $40 million in chips. Moon folds his big blind, and Cada makes the call. Antoine is now in danger of being eliminated if his hand doesn't hold up.

Fittingly enough for a major poker event, this huge hand will come down to the most classic of match ups, a coin-flip hand:

Showdown:
Cada: As-Ks
Saout: 8s-8h

Cada's crowd was screaming for "Aces" while Saout's Section was cheering in French.

The flop comes down...5h-4s-5c...and the crowd is silent as they await the turn card...

Turn: 10d...still safe, and both sides seem equally nervous.

The river slowly turns....it's the King of Clubs! Antoine finishes in 3rd place and leaves Moon and Cada for Monday's heads up match for the first place prize and the bracelet. Antoine loses his second monster pot against Cada going in as a favorite to win the hand! Heartbreaking!

Antoine officially earns $3,479,670 for his remarkable efforts here in the Main Event, and takes a new found appreciation for poker in his home country of France! He can rest at least a little bit easier knowing that he's done France and Team Everest Poker proud!

Antoine Takes Brutal Outdraw!

The first hand back from an impromtu break after Buchman's elimination, we already get a monster hand!

Joe Cada started the fire with a bet of $2,550,000 from the small blind. Antoine quickly announced re-raise, and made it $7.3 million to go from the big blind. Cada answered back with an all-in, that Antoine called instantly!

Showdown:
Cada: 2c-2s
Saout: Qh-Qs

Flop: 7 of spades....2 of diamonds....9 of spades!!!

Cada has outdrawn the mighty Queens of Antoine!

The rest of the board is a non-helpful 3h-6s, and Cada and Antoine have now effectively switched stacks!

Updated Chip Counts:

Joseph Cada - 78,600,000
Darvin Moon - 75,775,000
Antoine Saout - 41,425,000

Updated Chip Counts

Updated Chip Counts:

Antoine Saout - 80,650,000
Darvin Moon - 75,925,000
Joseph Cada - 39,225,000

Buchman Busted! 3 Players Remain

Darvin Moon has the button and makes it $3 million to go. Buchman moves all in from the small blind. Moon shrugs, announces call.

Moon Shrugs Off A Potentially Life-Changing Call!

Showdown:
Buchman: Ad-5c
Moon: Kd-Jd

Flop: 2c-9h-Qc, nothing changed, except Moon picked up an inside straight draw.

Turn: Kh!

Moon outdraws Buchman and Buchman is now on the ropes!

River: 5h and Buchman is Busted!

Buchman performs the walk of shame!

Buchman will take home $2,502,890 for 4th place, while we await the final 3 participants to get back in action.

Moon offers some parting words for Buchman

Darvin Moon now has approximately $76 million.

Antoine Wins Biggest Tournament Pot Yet!

As the fans settled in and tried to keep warm in a cold and quiet theater, you got the feeling that a big moment would soon take place. Sure enough, that feeling did not disappoint, when a massive pot developed between Antoine and Buchman!

It all started when Eric Buchman made it $2.5 million on the button, and Antoine Saout announces a re-raise from the big blind. Antoine cut out and then put in a re-raise totaling $9 million. Buchman reacted fast by moving all-in over the top for an additional $22 million.

Buchman sends it in!

Antoine was visibly in deep, deep thought...and it appeared likely that he had a major hand, but not one he necessarily wanted to send all in just yet. After the longest thinking period we have seen in the tournament, Antoine verbally announced "I call." The stacks were close, but it would ultimately be Antoine who was all-in for his tournament life!

Tournament Officials verify the all-in of Antoine.

Showdown:
Buchman: Ah-Qc
Saout: Ad-Kc

The flop comes 10h-7c-Kd, and the sea of blue soccer jerseys goes absolutely crazy with applause for their Frenchman!

Saout Section Erupts!

The turn pairs the board with the Kh, changing nothing, but the crowd is feeling the moment and erupts even louder into cheers!

Once the 6d hits the river, a hug fest coupled with numerous high fives all around from the Saout Section, and we now have a runaway chip leader in Saout!!!

With that pot Antoine has taken the poker elevator right to the top, stacked at $89,200,000, while Eric Buchman is left with just $9,800,000.

Antoine Tangles With Moon

Antoine sits deep in thought about the proper play against Moon

Moon raises it up to $2 million under the gun and Eric Buchman calls in position. Joe Cada folds in the small blind, and Antoine makes the call. We will see our first major 3-way pot.

Flop: Ac-7d-10d.

Antoine checks, Moon checks and Buchman bets $3 million.

Antoine smooth calls, and Moon moves it all-in over the top. Buchman folds in quick and easy fashion, and Antoine begins to stare down Darvin Moon. Antoine is taking his time with this one, and 5 minutes or so later, Antoine decides to let it pass.

This big pot actually propelled Moon slightly ahead of Antoine again, with 55,275,000 chips. Antoine is still stacked comfortably at $53,450,000.

Antoine's Antics

Antoine In His Signature pose

Buchman raises in position pre-flop to $2 million. Antoine calls out of the big blind.

Flop: Qh-Jd-3s

Antoine checks, Buchman bets $3 million. Antoine says the price is going up, and check-raises to 9,025,000. Buchman looks a bit disappointed, but immediately elects to fold.

Antoine is not afraid to use maximum pressure to win pots, which is why he is becoming an exciting player to watch and root for at this final table.

The "Buck" Stops Here!

To The Moon

Darvin Moon makes it $2 million in middle position, and Buchman makes the call from the button.

We see a Kh-Qh-4s flop.

Moon checks, and Buchman fires $3 million into the pot. Moon calls fast, and we go to the turn:

Turn: 9c

Moon checks, Buchman checks.

River: 10s

Moon bets out $5 million, and Buchman doesnt take to long to think as he folds his hand, sending Moon over a healthy pot.

Antoine Eliminates Jeff Shulman!

Antoine Hits His Personal "November Nine," Leaving "Happy" Shulman With A Sad Goodbye

Antoine makes a huge pre-flop raise to $5.4 million from the small blind to let short stacked Jeff Shulman know that he is calling if Jeff shoves. Sure enough, Shulman quickly moves all-in for an additional $200,000 on top, committing his final 5,600,000 chips to the hand. Antoine adds the small additional chips and we have an all-in life or death moment for Shulman.

Showdown
Saout: Ac-9s
Shulman: 7c-7h

The board comes hitting Antoine almost instantly as the flop brings a 9!

Board: 10s-9d-6s-Qc-4s

After some battles for the chip lead have taken place between Eric Buchman and Saout, Antoine is back in the driver's seat with $62,925,000!

Updated Chip Counts

Updated Chip Counts

Antoine Saout - 54,750,000
Eric Buchman - 50,400,000
Joseph Cada - 44,750,000
Darvin Moon - 31,950,000
Jeff Shulman - 12,925,000

Antoine Picks Up Another Pot

Antoine Eyes His Competition

The man of the hour Joe Cada opens to $2.1 million from the small blind, and never one to give up during a battle of the blinds, Antoine makes the call from the big blind.

Flop: 5s-Jd-9c

Cada checks, Antoine says $3million looks like a good bet, and Cada quickly rleases his hand sending a pot over to Antoine.

Antoine Attempts An Elimination

Antoine's signature Final Table Pose

Shulman moves in for his last $6,250,000 chips and Antoine calls without much deliberation from the big blind:

Showdown:
Shulman: Ad-5s
Saout: Kd-Qc

Board: Jd-Ac-4c-5d-4s

Antoine gives Shulman a few chips in the process of trying to remove a player from the table.

Cada Doubles...Twice! Part 2

Two is always better than one!

Just 4 hands after doubling through Jeff Shulman, Moon opens for $2 million on the button. With a perfect squeeze play opportunity, Joe Cada, from the big blind, re-raises to $5.6 million. Moon instantly moves all-in, and Cada calls even quicker!

Cada proudly turns over the weapons of mass destruction, Ad-Ah while Moon turns over a ...surprising, Ks-9c?

The board runs out a slightly scary manageable 6s-9h-3s-4h-4d, meaning Cada will double once more.

Here is how his stack looks after his second double up within a handful of hands:
Cada: $45.225 million
Moon: $39.45 million

Cada Doubles...Twice! Part 1

Cada has good reason to smile!

Jeff Shulman is under the gun and ups the price of play to $1.75 million. Action passes around to Cada in the small blind, who moves all in for $10.8 million. Shulman calls quickly with Jc-Jd. He is up against the 3c-3h of Cada.

Board 8h...4h...3d!!!

Cada has run good ever since he was short stacked below $3 million.

Turn: 7s

River: Qh

Updated Chip Counts:

Shulman - $7,525,000 million
Cada - $22,575,000 million

"Begs" Goes Down, New Chipleader!

"Begs" Is Out

Steve Begleiter opens under the gun to $1.6 million. Action folds to Darvin Moon in the big blind and he swiftly announces "all-in." Begleiter calls quickly and jumps up to see if his hand is best!

Showdown:

Moon: Ac-Qh
Begleiter: Qs-Qd

Begleiter is the only player officially "all-in" at $23.25 million since Darvin has him covered.

Flop: 7s-4d-8s

Turn: 3d

And then...

River: Ad!!

Darvin's A-Q strikes twice as it has now been the downfall of both Phil Ivey and Steve Begleiter!

Moon has once again reclaimed the chip lead with $63.9 million in chips.

Ivey Busts, Hush Falls Over The Crowd

An Apple A Day Won't Keep The Bad Beats Away

The poker world just shed a collective tear, as the remaining November Niner's let out a collective sigh of relief as Phil Ivey was eliminated!

He fought hard as the short stack through the last level, but things seemed gloom as he lost small pots and slowly his stack faded below the 10-big-blind area.

Here's how Phil's final hand went down:

Phil Ivey moves all-in under the gun, Action folds over to Darvin Moon in the big blind, who calls quickly.

Showdown:
Moon: Ad-Qs
Ivey: Ac-Ks

Ivey chews on an apple as the entire crowd minus a few Darvin Moon fans erupts into chants of "Ivey! Ivey! Ivey!".

The flop took the breath out of everyone in the theater as it comes Qd-6c-6s, handing the lead over to Moon. The crowd is heard at varying volumes begging for a king, but the Turn 3c and River 5c changes nothing, and Ivey's eliminated in a disappointing 7th place.

Ivey will earn $1,404,014 for his strong efforts, as Darvin regains his chip-lead sitting at $39,325,500.

Updated Chip Counts

Updated Chip Counts

We've got a new chip leader!

Antoine Saout - 52,775,000
Eric Buchman - 48,125,000
Darvin Moon - 37,150,000
Steven Begleiter - 18,475,000
Joseph Cada - 18,300,000
Jeff Shulman - 12,650,000
Phil Ivey - 8,075,000

Vive La France!

Antoine seeks out the "poker gods" for a heart

Steve Begleiter raises to 1.5 million. Antoine, out of the small blind, makes it $4.5 million to go. Begleiter calls.

Flop: 8h-3c-9h

Antoine checks, and "Begs" bets out $6.3 million into Antoine. Antoine almost immediately re-raises all-in, and "Begs" sinks into his chair!

After a long...long...time, "Begs" makes the call, and looks even sicker as the hands are turned over:

Begleiter: 8c-7c
Saout: Ah-Kh

"Begs" has made the "right" call in terms of holding a pair versus a draw, but with all outs that Antoine has, he is technically the percentage favorite.

Turn: 10h

The Quiet Assassin Antoine Saout has "Begs" drawing dead and is the new recipient of around $22 million chips!!!

New counts:

Antoine Saout - 52.7 million
Steve Begleiter - 18.4 million

Antoine's Supporters Erupt As He Doubles Up!

Updated Chip Counts

Updated Chip Counts

Steven Begleiter - 47,450,000
Eric Buchman - 46,100,000
Darvin Moon - 37,150,000
Antoine Saout - 27,425,000
Jeff Shulman - 15,600,000
Joseph Cada - 11,450,000
Phil Ivey - 10,375,000

Phil Ivey Loses A Key Pot

Ivey takes a hit

Phil Ivey opens for $1.25 million from middle position. Small Blind, and short stacked Joe Cada moves all in over the top of Ivey for roughly $5.8 million.

Ivey thinks for a long time, nearly 5 minutes, before putting Cada at risk with a call.

Showdown:
Ivey: As-8c
Cada: 4h-4d

Cada looks genuinely concerned, while Ivey is well, Ivey, and shows little emotion.

Board: 2d-10s-3h-9c-7h

Ivey losing this put moves him to the shortest stack at the table with a little over $10 million, while Cada has battled back from the extremely short stack to hold nearly $13 million in chips.

Though are hearts here at Everest Poker are strongly with Antoine Saout, you can't help but want Ivey to remain at this table as well. We will keep you updated on how things progress as the next blind level approaches.

Cada Celebrates as his 4's hold up!

Nada For Cada Leaves Him Short Stacked

Cada Ponders A Big Call

Joe Cada opened a pot to $1.25 million, followed by an all-in from Jeff Shulman for a little over $7 million.

Cada went deep into the tank for what seemed like forever before finally deciding to call Shulmans all in bet.

When the cards turned over however, Cada thought long and thought wrong, because his Ad-Js was second best to the As-Kh of Shulman.

Cada's cheering section went wild screaming for a Jack but as the board ran out:

Board: 3h-10s-9c-Qd-4d

Shulman doubles up, while Cada drops to $2,275,000.

UPDATE:

Joe has now moved all in 3 times since his big loss to Shulman, and won two of the three pots uncontested, and one via a double up through Eric Buchman. Cada is still short, but fighting for his tournament life.

Round 1: Ivey v Saout

Round 1: Who Won?

A little known fact about Team Everest Pro Antoine Saout's journey to this final table is that he spent most of the final days in July leading up to the final table playing at the same table as one, Phil Ivey! Does this give him a competitive advantage over the rest of the table possibly knowing perennial fan favorite Phil Ivey's game better than the other November Nine, I don't know...probably not! But what it does tell us is his comfort level of playing with Ivey has to be at least a notch above the other final tablists, and we might have seen our first glimpse of it moments ago when they finally went toe to toe in a pot. here's what happened:

Phil Ivey raises to $1,250,000 under the gun before Antoine re-raises to $4,050,000. Ivey gives Antoine the "Ivey Stare" before folding and giving up the pot to Antoine to a roar of cheers from the crowd.

This was the first time all day that someone has played back at Ivey, and that means that Round 1 of the Antoine Ivey war went to the Fiery Frenchman!

We will now take a 2-hour dinner break, and here is the breakdown of the chip counts as we head off to break:

Darvin Moon: 41,250,000
Phil Ivey: 14,900,000
Steve Begleiter: 38,100,000
Eric Buchman: 54,725,000
Joe Cada: 10,700,000
Antoine Saout: 28,725,000
Jeff Shulman: 7,175,000

Antoine's Relentless Re-Raising

The Face Of A Future WSOP Main Event Winner?

Antoine has shown an ability today to be overly patient, and yet overly aggressive, all in the right spots at the right times. Antoine started this action by betting out $1.35 million. Jeff "Happy" Shulman followed that bet with a raise to $4 million,which made everyone else on the path back to Antoine fold.

Antoine, ever emotionless at the table, paused, then announced he was all-in for a total of $21,125,000. Antoine, having Shulman covered, then got to sit back and wait for Shulman to make his decision.

Shulman thought, then folded within a couple of minutes, and Antoine picked up another pot, propelling his stack to near $26 million.

"Happy" looks sad after losing this one.

"Begs" Bags Some Chips From The Moon

"Begs" stack is soaring!

Darvin Moon raises to $1,300,000 under the gun and "Begs" takes his time before cutting out a re-raise to $3,900,000. Moon doesn't take too long before making the call, which gives us one of our most expensive flops of the day.

Flop: 3s-4s-2d.

Moon checks, and Begleiter bets out a massive mountain which turns out to equal $5,350,000 in chips. Moon, after appearing to nearly decide to fold his hand,check raises "Begs" to $15,000,000!!!!

"Begs" looks shocked, but settles in and goes deep into the tank for what seems like 5 minuts or more. He then announces all-in, and Darvin shoots back in his chair like he was struck by the poker gods!

After much consideration, and finding out that the re-raise is a mere $6 million more, MOON MUCKS HIS HAND!!!!!

And that gives our WSOP Main Event a new chip leader for the first time since July 15!!!!

Begleiter is up to 44,750,000, trailing Eric Buchman (51,575,000) by a mere $7 million in chips!!!!

A Stunned Darvin Moon Copes With The Loss Of His Chips

Antoine Takes Another Pot

The Quiet Assassin

Battle of the blinds:

Antoine completes from the small blind and Jeff Shulman, who has been relatively non-existent thus far at the final table, is in the big blind. Shulman elects to raise to $1,625,000, and Antoine calls.

Flop: 5d-10c-Qc

Antoine checks, Shulman checks.

Turn: 10h

Antoine leads out with a bet of $1,150,000. Shulman gives it some serious thought, but then folds his hand, sending more chips over to the Quiet Assassin Saout!

Wow! Crazy Elimination=Kevin Schaffel

Ouch!

Kevin Schaffel makes a raise to 1,250,000 from middle position and Steve Begleiter calls in position. Eric Buchman applies massive pressure with a re-raise to $5.75 million. When is gets back to Schaffel, he moves all-in over the top for $17 million. Begleiter gets out of the way and Buchman goes into the tank. When he finally calls, the hand he thought of folding means he had a great read on the situation, as he is in trouble:

Showdown
Schaffel: Ah-Ac
Buchman: Kh-Kc

Buchman's sixth sense seems to have been right, except he wasn't reading the future, he was only reading "Begs." Buchman liked what the future held however, as the flop brought a Schaffel-heartbreaking:

Flop: Qs-Jh-Ks!!!

This flop got everyone in the crowd on their feet, since although Kevin Schaffel experienced the ultimate in bad beats, any ace or 10 would put him right back into the drivers seat. That was of course...until the even deadlier turn card:

Turn: Kd!!!

And just like that, Kevin Schaffel's WSOP is over!

Kevin finishes in 8th place for a cool $1,300,231.

It's a painful way to go out, but it creates an interesting development as Buchman now sits on $52 million which is ever-so-close to Darvin Moon's chip-leading $58 million.

And let's not forget about Team Everest's Own Antoine Saout, who is sitting in a comfortable yet strike-able 4th place.

9th Place Finisher - James Akenhead

James Akenhead, 9th Place

Akenhead, who has experienced more up and downs than any other player at the table thus far, moves all-in for $4.5 million. Ivey folds which brings us to Schaffel who calls fairly quickly. As everyone folds, we get a look at the showdown hands:

Akenhead:3d-3c
Schaffel: 9s-9h

Board: 10c-2c-7h-2s-9d

No help for Akenhead, ans he is the unfortunate first elimination, who leaves with the same prize money he came to the table with. The bright side however for Akenhead, is that still makes him a WSOP Millionaire with $1,263,602 for finishing in 9th place.

Moon Rising, Again

As the Sun sets outside, Moon rises inside

Joe Cada follows the old adage, if at first you don't succeed, try try again...and Once again opens the action with a $1 million bet.

Darvin Moon is the caller this time, as he peels a flop from the big blind.

Flop: 4c-8c-9d

Moon checks, Cada checks.

Turn: Ad

Moon Checks, Cada bets $1.4 million. Moon Calls.

River: 4s

Moon leads out with a strong $2.5 million bet into Cada. Cada, after some pondering, makes it $5.5 million to go. Moon snap calls and turns up the Ac-10d, and two pair (Aces and Fours) is good as Cada hands sails into the muck.

Moon up to $59.5 million, while Cada slips to $6.75 million.

Antoine Moving His New Chips Around

Antoine Finding His Stride

Antoine has decided not to let the fact thathe just got his new chips stop him from moving them around. Only three hands back from break, here's what happened:

Joe Cada starts the action with a bet of $1 million.

Antoine, undeterred by Cada's opening bet, Re-raises it up to $4,000,000. Cada can't take the heat, and Saout adds to his fast growing collection of multi-colored chips!

Updated Chip Counts

Nervous Saout Supporters Look On As Antoine Calls All-In!

Here's a look at the stacks while we wait to resume the action:

Updated Chip Counts

Darvin Moon - 49,495,000
Eric Buchman - 35,135,000
Steven Begleiter - 24,820,000
Antoine Saout - 21,960,000
Joseph Cada - 16,635,000
Jeff Shulman - 14,780,000
James Akenhead - 12,515,000
Phil Ivey - 10,565,000
Kevin Schaffel - 8,960,000

Antoine Doubles!!!

Antoine Stands At Attention To Await His Fate

The dust hasn't even settled on the previous hand where Akenhead doubled up, and Antoine decided that he wanted to steal back the spotlight! Antoine opens the next pot with a bet of $750,000 from the cutoff. Darvin Moon, who's been quite up to this point, makes the call out of the blinds.

Flop: Ks-Jh-2c

Darvin Moon bets right out into raiser Saout for a healthy bet of 2.3 million. Antoine wastes little time before raising the price of poker to $6.75 million. Moon thinks for a bit befre declaring that he is all-in. Antoine nearly beatshim into the pot with a call, and we now have our second all-in in a row and first for Team Everest.

Showdown:
Darvin Moon: Ah-4d
Antoine Saout: Js-2h

Antoine has bottom two pair, up against the Ace-high of Moon, which immediately sends the "Sa-ooooooooooo-ut" section of fans into a roar of positive cheers and shouts of "Hold!"

Turn: 3d

Poker is never easy, and the turn card brings a seemingly drawing dead Darvin Moon a sign of life. Any five now gives us our first elimination and sends Antoine back to France with the same prize money he showed up with today!

River: 2s

Antoine's mighty J-2 holds strong and increases his stack to a dangerous $22 million in chips!

As the big stack Moon drops to $49.5 and Antoine surges, we go to a quick break in action.

Akenhead Saved The Queen...For The River

Akenhead Hits Well-Timed Rivercard

James Akenhead open-shoved all in from early position, for 4,015,000 total. Steven "Begs" Begleiter went into the tank for a while before announcing call.

Strangely enough after the tight play overall thus far, the tables most active player Eric Buchman then announced a big re-raise to 12,000,000!

After "Begs" agonized over this decision for quite some time, he decided to let the other two players battle it out, giving us our first all-in showdown of the day.

Akenhead: Kc-Qh
Buchman: Ah-Ks

Flop: 2s-3s-Jd

Turn: Kh

The entire section of Akenhead supporters up in the VIP Family and Friends seating area is now on their feet with some etching ever so close to the table to catch the first glimpse of the river card that will seal their man Akenhead's fate!

River: Qs!!

The crowd erupts with appluase for the crazy rivercard, saving Akenhead's elimination for another day, and as he breaths a sigh of relief, fans rush the stage to hug their spared poker hero!

Akenhead now has a playable $12,855,000 in chips, while Buchman find himself almost back where he started the day at $35,175,000.

Eric Buchman Moving Up

Buchman's Big Gain

Of all the players at the Final Table here today, Eric Buchman has by far been the most active.

This aggression has been rewarded handsomely thus far, as Buchman arrived here to play today with $34,800,000 and has in two levels already increased his lead to $40,630,000

Let's see if he can continue to move up without hitting a road block from any of the other players.

Aggressive Antoine Takes Center Stage

Antoine finds his groove

Out of the past five hands, Antoine has either bet or re-raised putting ultimate pressure on his opponents. He isn't being picky either, as he has now played a pot with Joe Cada, Eric Buchman and now Kevin Schaffel during his streak of aggressive play:

Kevin Schaffel's opens for 750,000. Team Everest Poker Pro Antoine Saout, continues to let the table know that he is not afraid to play a pot, re-raises to 2.75 million. Schaffel thinks for close to a minute before giving up and letting go of his hand. Antoine's fans let out a deafening cheer for their favorite November Niner, as we move on to the next hand.

One Hand Later....

Antoine Immediately Gains Back Ground

Just moments after losing nearly 2 million in chips:

Antoine is on the button. Eric Buchman makes it 800,000 two from the button. Saout doesn't take long to move all-in over the top of Buchman. After the blinds fold, Buchman almost immediately releases his hand, sending some chips back in the direction of the aggressive Saout.

Antoine Loses A Few

Antoine Loses a Bit of Ground

Joe Cada makes it 750,000 to go on the button. Antoine calls out of the small blind. Big Blind folds and we see a flop:

Flop: 5s-6c-8s

Antoine bets 1,000,000.

Cada pauses breifly before throwing out a call.

Turn: Qs

Antoine checks, Cada bets 1,475,000, and Saout thinks for a couple minutes. After Saouts deliberation, he folds and sends the pot over to Cada.

Players Return from Break

Play has just resumed after a 20-minute break in the action.

Here is a look at the updated chip counts:

Darvin Moon: 61,535,000
James Akenhead: 3,445,000
Phil Ivey: 10,035,000
Kevin Schaffel: 10,890,000
Steve Begleiter: 31,175,000
Eric Buchman: 39,820,000
Joe Cada: 11,835,000
Antoine Saout: 10,620,000
Jeff Shulman: 15,510,000

Phil Ivey Puts The Poker World On Edge

Phil Ivey

Jeff Shulman in Seat 9 raises to 1,250,000.

Phil Ivey pauses, gives Shulman his signature ice-cold stare before moving all-in with a re-raise. The entire crowd let out a collective yet faint gasp and then we heard nothing but silence from the media box down to the table as Joe Cada, a few seats down, took his time deciding what to do.

After Cada requests a count, the dealer puts Ivey's stack at 8,655,000. Cada finally folds, as does Shulman and Phil Ivey excites the crowd by taking down a nice pot.

Phil's currently stacked at $10,175,000.

Hand #16 Antoine Puts On The Pressure

Eric Buchman opens the pot to 800,000. Antoine Saout moves all in for 7,710,000 from the small blind, and without much consideration Buchman folds and sends the brazen Saout his first pot of the day!

Antoine's Fan Support

Antoine Makes His Walk Towards The Final Table

With Antoine's fan support well over 100 strong today thanks to Everest Poker, looking into the stands you will find a sea of blue futbol jerseys complete with the French flag and "Saout" on the back!

Of the creative chants heard thus far from the capacity crowd in the Penn and Teller Theatre, the announcer noted his favorite was "Sa-oooooooooooooooo-ut" which can be heard around the arena whenever the announcer mentions Antoine's name!

Play has been tight thus far, as we have only seen one flop (which did involve Antoine), but play will sure to pick up now that the blinds have just been raised to $150,000/$300,000 with a $40,000 ante.

It's Go Time!

Antoine Saout Media Day Interview

The pandemonium inside the Penn and Teller Theater would likely remind most people of a World Series of Baseball Game 7 or a World Cup in Soccer. However, the excitement that has fans wrapped around nearly the entire length of the Rio Casino hallway, even though the Penn and Teller Theater is already filled to maximum capacity, is the World Series of Poker!

As the players re-stack their seats at the table that will ultimately decide their fate in the Main Event today, lets take a look at the breakdown of where the players are seated today, as well as where their chips left off in the Main Event on that unforgettable day July 15, 2009 at 10:59PM:

Starting Field: 6,494
Total Final Table Prize Pool: $27,220,989
First Place Money: 8,547,042
Guaranteed Cash: $1,263,602

Seating Assignments and Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Darvin Moon (58,930,000)
Seat 2: James Akenhead (6,800,000)
Seat 3: Phil Ivey (9,765,000)
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel (12,390,000)
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter (29,885,000)
Seat 6: Eric Buchman (34,800,000)
Seat 7: Joseph Cada (13,215,000)
Seat 8: Antoine Saout (9,500,000)
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman (19,580,000)

Now of course we will be bringing you all the action here today, with a special focus on our own Team Everest Poker Pro Antoine Saout! Antoine has been in Las Vegas vacationing with friends since late October, and while he calls Saint Martin Des Champs, France his home, he is excited to make the WSOP Main Event Final Table his home for the next 72 hours or so, long enough to get heads up and take down the first place prize.

Stay Tuned as the tournament director announces all the Final Table participants and prepares to have a special guest announce "Shuffle Up and Deal!"

Antoine's Party at the Obama Suite

We're with Antoine, the International press, 500k winners and few lucky Everest Poker guests in the Forum Tower Penthouse of the Ceasars Palace, also called the Obama Suite. The US President stayed here in May so this is arguably the best room in Vegas...
We have marble pillars, fountains, several bedrooms, a piano, a terrace and a supremely posh living room. The party will start soon and we'll toast good luck to Antoine before the Big Day.
And if Antoine leaves the party early.... well... we'll understand why.

The action tomorrow will start at 12am Vegas time. We will keep you updated through this blog so stay tuned!

Tomorrow: "rendez-vous" with poker history

Lights, camera, action! The Penn & Teller Theatre is almost ready to welcome the November Niners. Tomorrow is the big day for all of them, including our own Antoine Saout.

Thanks to Everest Poker over 100 people flew from France to Vegas to support and cheer Antoine. We're not going to be simply railbirds this time: our French corner in the Penn & Teller Theatre will display some colourful action. Special Everest Poker Final Table gear will be made available for all supporters. It's one of a kind of occasion: it's by far the best accomplishment in the WSOP Main Event by a French player in recent years. There's plenty of reasons to cheer. And we're ready to witness a turning page in the poker history.