Kristian Aksnes wins the Betsson Estoril LIVE (€113,900)

It's been a long, but rewarding week, and one in which 339 gave us blood and guts in order to win the first ever Bettson Estoril LIVE. But in the end, only one man could reign supreme, and that plucky survivor was economics student Kristian Aksnes of Norway.

In what was a dogged final table in which any of the final nine players could have snatched gold, it was the two chip leaders from the end of day one who reached the heads-up encounter, with 20-year old poker professional Andre Santos the penultimate man standing. But, after a brief battle, Aksnes finally triumphed over the hometown hero to lap up the €113,900 in prize money and the coveted title.

Congratulations to Aksnes who is sure to be the envy of all his friends, and the focus of many a girls' attention back in Norway. Finally, a big thank you to the Casino Estoril for hosting a smashing event, as well as tournament sponsors and organisers Betsson who undeniably excelled in what I believe is their first outing onto the live tournament scene.

So, from Homer and myself, stick a fork in us... we're done.

Andre Santos Eliminated In 2nd Place (€80,620)

Crippled after that last hand, Kristian Aksnes applied the pressure by setting his opponent all-in preflop at the start of the 60,000/120,000 level. Santos only had about 550k at this point and duly called with J♥ 9♦, behind but live against Aknses' A♥ T♣

The flop helped neither player coming K♣ 6♠ 7♥ but the turn was the Q♠. Now Santos needed a Ten or Nine to survive but the river was the J♠, the Portuguese player had made a pair but it was too late as Aksnes had rivered the nut straight to win Betsson Estoril Live, a fitting end to the tournament.

Nevertheless, the player from Portugal can be proud of his 2nd place finish which has bagged him €80,620.

Asknes Takes a Commanding Lead

On the last hand of the 40,000/80,000 level, Kristian Aksnes limped on the button and Andre Santos checked his option on the big blind. On the 8h-9s-7c flop, Santos checked, Aksnes bet 100,000 and Santos called. An Ah turn triggered another check-call from Santos, this time to the tune of 320,000. On the 4s river, Santos check-called for the third consecutive time, the bet on this occasion being a whopping 1,000,000.

With the pot size hovering around the 3,000,000 mark the cards hit the felt:

Aksnes = 6h-5s for the flopped straight
Santos = Ac-7s for turned two pair

And with that triumph, Aksnes is just a gnat's pubic hair away from snatching gold.

Last Five Hands

Counts were around even prior to the following five hands:

(1) Kristian Aksnes taok it down with a button raise to 220,000.

(2) Andre Santos raised to 160,000; Aksnes folded.

(3) Aksnes limped, Santos checked and we saw a 2d-Td-6s flop. Santos won with a bet of 110,000.

(4) Santos raised to 160,000 preflop, Aksnes announced raise and Santos immediately folded.

(5) Aksnes raised to 220,000 on the button, Santos reraised to 570, Aksnes pushed and Santos folded.

First Few Hands HU

Andre Santos raises to 200k and Kristian Aksnes calls.

They check an A-3-9-5-2 board to the river where Santos bets 220k after Aksnes check. The Norwegian makes the call but quickly folds when Santos shows 4-3.

Kristian Aksnes raises to 240k. Andre Santos calls but folds when Aksnes continuation bets a Q♦ 5♣ 4♣ for 350k.

Santos raises to 160k from the small blind. Aksnes folds.

And Here's What They're Playing For...

Yes, it's the most expensive dish you'll ever serve your vegetables from.

There's 22 minutes left of 40k/80k before we move on to 60k/120k, expect the action to be fast and furious.

And while we are all waiting, he's a little info about our remaining two players:

Kristian Aksnes

Early pace setter Kristian is 23 years old and from Lillehammer in Norway. He currently studies economics at university and has been playing live poker for five years, but still regards himself as an amateur. He focuses a lot of his attention online where he specialises in tournaments and Omaha cash games. His best result so far was in 2008 when he won the £300+20 buy-in event at the Norwegian Poker Championships at Dusk Till Dawn. As an aggressive, all-or-nothing type of player, Kristian expects to either bust out early or finish in the top three.

Andre Santos

20-year old André old is a local boy here in Lisbon and has been heavily supported throughout. As a professional poker player, André has played in a number of tournaments, including the EPT circuit. Sadly, he is yet to prosper in those events, so will be keen to impress in today's final and take home a nice payday. As well as poker, André also enjoys playing sports and watching movies.

Heads Up Chip Counts

Kristian Aksnes -- 2,700,000
Andre Santos -- 2,400,000

Kristian Tolvhed Eliminated in 3rd Place (€56,950)

Exits are like buses. No, not long, grubby and boasting an inch of urine, but rather in the sense that you wait all day for one, and then two come along at once. In this case, I was still penning the exit for the fourth place finisher, when I was forced to leap from my seat like an epileptic salmon to news of another departure.

This time the unfortunate man was Sweden's Kristian Tolvhed, all in and in need of assistance with Jh-7h versus the Ad-9s of Andre Santos. The Poker Gods teased with a 2s-Kh-4h flop, but ultimately failed to deliver on the 6s turn and Ts river.

With the Swede gone, we are now down to our final two warriors, with the conclusion of this week's Betsson Estoril LIVE poker bonanza potentially just one hand away.


Kristian is 32 years old and lives in Lund in Sweden with his girlfriend. He's currently a full-time teacher and this is only his second time playing a big live poker tournament, the first being when he played EPT Copenhagen last year. He loves sports and plays a lot of tennis and floorball to keep fit.

Unlikely Chop

It's passed to Kristian Tolvhed in the small blind and he moves all-in. Kristian Aksnes gets the exact count - 544k to be precise before thinking about calling. It's clear that he has junk but just wonders if he's priced in.

Eventually though he calls!

Aksnes: T♣ 5♣
Tolvhed: A surprisingly dominating J♣ 5♦

Board: A♣ Q♥ 2♠ 5♠ K♥

And for a moment, it looks as though Tolvhed has doubled up, even Aksnes thinks so and begins counting out the chips, but he's stopped in his tracks. The King on the river renders Tolvhed's Jack kicker as useless, and the two players chop the pot.

Henri Kettunen Eliminated in 4th Place (€41,760)

After a seemingly endless period of slumber, the table suddenly awoke to the sound of an all-in Henri Kettunen the man with his tournament life on the line with Ks-Qd versus Andre Santos' As-5s. The pair on the Ts-5h-9d flop was virtually irrelevant barr another five rearing its head, and although he had outs to a straight, no such luck emerged for Kettunen as the turn and river came 6h and 4d respectively.

A brief nod of the head and Kettunen was gone. As the hometown hero, however, Santos received a raptuous cheer from his supporters in the crowd.

And then there were three.


A keen ice hockey enthusiast, Henri is 23 years old and derives from the town of Lieksa in Finland. Unlike most young poker whizzes, he has a job, but enjoys playing poker whenever the opportunity presents itself. Henri is the quiet, silent type who didn't wish to discuss any of his poker merits to date, but did reveal that he bought into today's main event directly. Apart from a few minor quibbles, Henri has thoroughly enjoyed the Betsson Estoril LIVE and should be a likely participant in next year's event.

Slow Progress

Play is slower than a slug in treacle at the moment with most hands coming to an end preflop. There are certainly a few tired faces out there though.

Four-Way Raised Pot

A 150k raise UTG from Kristian Tolvhed is met with calls by Henri Kettunen on the button, Kristian Aksnes in the small blind and even Andre Santos in the big blind.

The Q♠ 8♠ 7♣ flop is checked around before Aksnes bets 450k on the T♣ turn. It's passed to Kettunen on the button who looks pained and asked Aksnes if he has "A strong ten?"

Aksnes agrees to show and Kettunen passes. Aksnes shows the very powerful Q♣ J♣. It looks as though Kettunen folded a Ten.

Battle of the Blinds

Kristian Aksnes made it 150,000 from the small blind and Andre Santos called in the big. Both players checked the 7d-Jh-2h, Aksnes taking the pot with a bet of 240,000 on the 8d turn.

Kris Kross While Kris Kollects

Kristian Aksnes raises to 150k from the CO/UTG. Kristian Tolvhed makes the call in the small blind and Henri Kettunen calls in the big blind.

J♥ T♠ 9♣

All three players check.

Q♣

Tolvhed checks, Kettunen bets 150k and Aksnes calls. Tolvhed looks miserable and folds.

4♥

Check, check.

Tolvhed turns over J♥ T♠ which is good as Kettunen quickly folds. Kristian Tolvhed pipes up, saying to Aksnes, "I had the same hand as you."

Play Recommences

After a brief 10 minute break, the players have returned to a new blind level of 30,000 and 60,000 with a running ante of 5,000. This should sort the men out from the boys.

Short Break

Chip Counts:

Kristian Tolvhed -- 1,259,000
Henri Kettunen -- 1,215,000
Kristian Aknes -- 1,644,000
Andre Santos -- 928,000

Tolvhed Doubles Through

Current chip daddy, Kristian Aksnes raised it up to 140,000 preflop, Kristian Tolvhed announced all in and Aksens quickly called.

Aksnes = As-Qs
Tolvhed = Kd-9c

Board = 3h-Ts-9d-Ks-6c

Estimated Chip Counts

Kristian Tolvhed -- 500,000
Henri Kettunen -- 1,340,000
Kristian Aksnes -- 2,395,000
Andre Santos -- 850,000

Johan Abramsson Eliminated In 5th Place (€32,270)

Some exits are inevitable, some are just well...like a brutal kick to the gonads. They HURT.

Johan Abramsson will be someone soaking said parts in ice tonight after a nasty exit that has cemented Kristian Aknes chip lead. Abramsson moved in over the top of Aknes' cut-off raise, leaving the Norwegian to eventually make a priced-in call with the underwhelming 6♣ 2♠ but with one overcard to Abramsson's 5♣ 5♦.

The Poker Gods are Norway fans today though; the board ran out 9♦ 7♦ 4♠ K♥ 6♦ and we're down to just four players.

Johan Abramsson is 29 years old and lives with his with his family in Vilhelmina in Northern Sweden. This is his first live experience of a poker tournament, having qualified for $5 in a Betsson sattellite. His main interests include hunting, alpine skiing and looking after his 5-year old son.

Check Mate; Pavel Novak Eliminated in 6th Place (€25,150)

Pavel Novak, whose chips have been in and out more than the hokey-cokey, pushed all in UTG for around 330,000, but this time was looked up by Aksnes in the small blind. As Novak flipped Ad-6d, Aksnes apologised for stalling, but highlighted that there was still a player behind him. Of course, he tabled a monster... Ac-Ah.

The flop was as unforgiving as the preflop predicament, the 2h-Tc-3s leaving the Pole in search of a runner runner miracle. Curiously, it was the 6s turn that triggered Novak to rise from his seat, his lack of confidence ultimately justified by the 7d river.

Pavel is a 22 year-old Polish player from Wroclaw. He's a logisitics student there, dealing with various things such as transportation. He's been playing both live and online for about three to four years, and this is his first major final table. He prefers cash games to tournaments ,though after this event, all that could change! In his spare time, he is a big chess player, enjoying especially all the mathematics and calculations that are involved in another such tactical game.

Updated Chip Counts

Kristian Tolvhed -- 450,000
Johan Abramsson -- 625,000
Henri Kettunen -- 1,335,000
Kristian Aksnes -- 1,410,000
Andre Santos -- 740,000
Pavel Novak -- 340,000

Running Out Of Steen...Yngve Steen Eliminated In 7th Place (€18,980)

Having been knocked down by losing that pot to Aknes. Steen began looking for spots and pushed three hands in a row, the first two times he picked up the blinds and antes but the third time he moved in from UTG with 8♦ 8♣ only for Henri Kettunen to make the call in the small blind with Q♥ Q♣

The flop was a clinical 9♠ Q♠ 9♦ meaning that Steen needed running Eights to win or running Nines for a split. But inevitably, this didn't happen with the board finishing out K♦ and 6♥

Current chip leader at the start of the day, Yngve is a high school student currently living in Bergen, Norway. He loves to play poker during his spare time, predominantly online tournaments and cash games where he dabbles in both Omaha and no limit Hold'em. At just 18 years of age, he doesn't have too many claims to fame, but can boast a cash in a recent Asian Poker Tour event where he took home approximately $6,000. A strong, confident player, Yngve says he'll be very disappointed if he doesn't go on to win the €113,900 first prize.

Clock Check

Round = 24
Blinds = 25,000/50,000
Ante = 4,000
Players = 7 of 339
Average Stack = 726,428
Chips in Play = 5,085,000
Time Remaining = 35 mins
Next Level = 30,000/60,000 (5,000)

Three Consecutive Pushes

Polish student Pavel Novak has just pushed all in three consecutive times starting from the cut-off. On all three occasions he picked up the blinds and antes uncontested, Yngve in particular showing his frustration as he looked down at rags in the big blind.

With the blinds at 25,000 and 50,000 with a running ante of 4,000, that's almost 300,000 Novak picked up without even having to see a flop.

Rockets All Over The Place

Kristian Aknes raises but forgets it's now 20k/40k blinds and has to make it 80k. Andre Santos just calls on the button and it's passed to Kristian Tolvhed in the big blind who moves all-in for a total of 449k. Aknes quickly folds but Santos calls and shows A♥ A♣! It's the second time he's cold-called with Aces today and he's sprung the trap perfectly once more...

Except Tolvhed flips A♠ A♦! We are looking at the probability of a split pot until the board comes 9♠ 3♥ K♥ Q♥ and Santos is freerolling...but the river is the K♣ as Tolvhed sighs with relief and they chop the pot.

Aksnes & You Shall Receive

In a swift battle of the blinds confrontation, all the chips flew in with Kristian Aksnes (small blind) in dominant shape with Ks-Kc versus the Kd-Qh of Yngve Steen. The 2s-Jh-7s-7h-2c board changed nothing, giving Aksnes a timely double through and dragging the once chip leader right back down to 300,000.

Helder Rodrigues Eliminated In 8th Place (€14,240)

With the action folded round, Helder Rodrigues raised from the button and Johan Abramsson defended his big blind. On the Ts-Ad-5s flop, Abramsson check-raised Rodrigues bet of 80,000 all-in, and Rodrigues insta-called.

Rodrigues = Ah-Qd
Abramsson = Ac-5d

Turn = As
River = 8c

Aramsson raises his arms in triumph as Rodrigues exits to a nice ripple of applause.

But Rodrigues actually had 8,000 chips behind and had to come back to the table. He put them in the next hand and Kristian Tolvhed raised to 110,000 behind him, getting the blinds to fold. Protection for Rodrigues but he was dominated holding Qd-8s to Tolvhed's Qh-Jd which won out on a Ad-7d-9h-Ts-5d board.


The veteran of today's final, Helder is 56-years old and resides in Lisbon, Portugal. As a poker professional, he is no stranger to these shores, having become a regular player here at Europe's largest casino, Casino Estoril. A clear fan favourite with the rail, Helder will be keen to utilise his experience advantage and make sure that the trophy remains here in Lisbon.

Seven players remain.

We Continue...

We're just restarting now with blinds 20,000/40,000 with a 3,000 ante.

Kristian Tolvhed -- 523,000
Johan Abramsson -- 320,000
Henri Kettunen -- 1,090,000
Kristian Aksnes -- 741,000
Yngve Steen -- 1,130,000
Andre Santos -- 550,000
Pavel Novak -- 230,000
Heldur Rodrigues -- 347,000

Filipe Monteiro Eliminated In 9th Place (€10,440)

Andre Santos raised in the small blind and Filipe Monteiro moved in on the big blind. A quick call

Santos: K♣ K♥

Monteiro: 5♣ 5♦

8♣ 7♥ 3♥ Q♦ 3♣

Monteiro is out in 9th place.

Portuguese Filipe is a 22 year old student from Porto. He studies Economics, which should provide him with a slight advantage when it comes to the mathematical side of poker, and handling any monies he might win. Filipe is yet to play abroad, but has partaken in local live events, reaching the money on two occasions. His game of choice is Hold'em, with his attention mainly focused on online cash games.

We're now on a one hour dinner break.

Steen-rollered

On the river of a Q♠ A♦ J♦ A♥ 6♣, Yngve Steen cheks to Henri Kettunen who bets 150k. The Norwegian makes the call but mucks when the A&clubs 5&clubs.

Helder Rodrigues raises to 110k and Kristian Aknes makes it 310k from the button getting his older opponent to fold.

A-Rod!

Angve Steen raises to 75k from midposition and Helder Rodrigues raises all-in from the button for 145k more. Call.

Steen: K♦ J♠

Rodrigues: J♥ J♦

The board is 7♥ 3♥ 5♥ 5♦ Q♥ and Rodrigues doubles up to over 450k.

Seat 9: Helder Rodrigues (Portugal) -- 222,000

Seat 8: Pavel Novak (Poland) -- 291,000

Seat 7: Filipe Monteiro (Portugal) -- 161,000

Seat 6: André Santos (Portugal) -- 420,000

Seat 5: Yngve Steen (Norway) -- 1,510,000

Seat 4: Kristian Aksnes (Norway) -- 700,000

Seat 3: Henri Kettunen (Finland) -- 742,000

Seat 2: Johan Abramsson (Sweden) -- 393,000

Seat 1: Kristian Tolvhed (Sweden) -- 639,000

Final Table Chip Counts

Seat 1: Kristian Tolvhed (Sweden) -- 639,000
Seat 2: Johan Abramsson (Sweden) -- 393,000
Seat 3: Henri Kettunen (Finland) -- 742,000
Seat 4: Kristian Aksnes (Norway) -- 700,000
Seat 5: Yngve Steen (Norway) -- 1,510,000
Seat 6: André Santos (Portugal) -- 420,000
Seat 7: Filipe Monteiro (Portugal) -- 161,000
Seat 8: Pavel Novak (Poland) -- 291,000
Seat 9: Helder Rodrigues (Portugal) -- 222,000

Kostner Dances With Final Table

But sadly he's missed out. Attempting to be Prince Of Thieves, he moved in on the button with 9-2 but Johan Abramsson was playing sheriff and called him with A-J. The board came out blanks but the Upside of Anger is that he'll go home with €7,120.

We now have a final table!

Nuno Gone-O

Blinds are now 15000/30000 with a 2000 ante.

Tough break for Nuno Coelho, he pushed UTG for 124k and it was passed to Pavel Novak in the big blind who thought for quite a long time with his 120k stack. Surprising, given he was holding 6-6 and was getting better than 2-1 on the call, but the Polish player made the call and Coelho flipped A-7. A K-9-K-5-3 board won the pot leaving Novak high and dry and Coelho was left with about 7k

These last few chips went in the next hand with 9-9 but Yngve Steen was holding J-J which survived a Nineless board to leave us with 10 remaining.

Kristian Has Faith

After a period of inactivity, we suddenly encountered a showdown on the outer table. With Pavel Novak making it 75,000 from UTG, the action folded around to Kristian Tolvhed who pushed all in for 215,000. After a brief pause, Novak shrugged his shoulders, announced call and tossed Ah-Ks onto the felt, all with the casual nonchalance of someone playing a play-money STT. Tolvhed turned over 9s-9c, and we had ourselves a coinflip.

Although the turn of a 6h-4d-Qh-Tc board added four addittional outs, none of them emerged as the river came the 8d to give Tolvhed the pot. Whilst Novak drops to a dangerous 125,000 in chips, Tolvhed, who has been up and down like a kangaroo on a trampoline, is now back around the 500,000 mark.

The Fast & the Furious...

... is not a term we'd use to describe the surviving players. Each play is being deliberated over immensley, thus suggesting we could be in for the long haul. It's understandable though, because there's a lot of money up for grabs and everyone wants to assure themselves a spot on that final table.

Johan Abramsson Pushes

Henri Kettunen and Johan Abramsson saw a 3c-Ts-Kc flop in the small and big blind respectively. Kettunen led for 68,000, but Abramsson reraised all in. Kettunen folded.

Rare Limped Pot

Henri Kettunen limps in the small blind and Johan Abramsson checks his option. The flop comes K♦ 8♥ 5♥ and Kettunen quickly leads out for 24k. Abramsson makes the call and Kettunen checks the A&diams on the turn to his opponent, who bets 53k. We descend into one of those "I'm the only who really has the Ace" situations as Kettunen reraises to 158k and Abramsson, looking displeased folds.

Kettunen can't help but show him 7♣ 6♠ for a well-played semi-bluff that wins him a decent pot at this stage.

Held Down

A couple of topsy turvy hands involving Kritian Tolvhed and Helder Rodrigues. First Tolvhed raised to 70k with only 160k behind but folded to Helder Rodrigues' push. Next hand and Tolvhed raises once more, this time to just 60k and again Rodrigues calls.

The flop is 9♥ T♠ 9♣ and the Swede shrugs and moves his remaining 100k in. Rodgrigues sees the size of the pot and elects to call with A♥ 3♥, really needing to spike an Ace because Tolvhed is holding K♣ K♥. No luck for the Portuguese gent and Tolvehed is back up to almost 350k. Rodrigues, who had earlier doubled back up, is short once more.

Henri The Shark Makes Finn Soup

Henri Kettunen continues to increase his chip stack, he's just eliminated fellow Finn Timo Laurila with Q-J vs J-9. A Jack on the river gave both a pair but Kettunen's Queen kicker played.

Timo Laurila receives €7,120 for his 12th place finish. 11 players left.

I Need a Hero

Just back from the break, Yngve Steen raised it up to 57,000 from UTG and Kristian Tolvhed made the call from the big blind. On the 7h-9c-2s flop, Tolvhed checked, Steen bet 67,000 and Tolvhed flat-called. A 4s turn saw both players check, only for Tolvhed to come out firing on the Qs river for 140,000.

After a minute or two in the think tank, Steen slid 140,000 across the felt, and was met by a most welcome tap of the felt. Caught red-handed, Tolvhed showed Jh-Td for just jack high, whilst Steen showcased a splendid hero call by tabling 8c-7s for third pair.

Tolvhed down to 175,000, whilst Steen marches on.

(Christina) Aguilar Can't Produce Genie In A Bottle

Andre Aguilar moved all-in for about 55k from UTG. It got passed to Helder Rodrigues in the small blind who called the additional 43k but surprisingly Filipe Monteiro folded for 31k in the big blind despite the generous odds.

Aguilar, who had moved in blind, flipped T♦ 6♣ and Rodrigues turned over Q♦ 8♦. The board ran out 9♦ 3♣ J♣ 8♠ K♦

Aguilar is out in 13th place.

Prior to the Break

On the outer table, we witnessed some minor action on the final two hands prior to the break. With Kristian Tolvhed making it 59,000 from the button, Yngve Steen asked for a count before reraising to 175,000 from the small blind. Tolvhed folded. On the next hand, the action passed around to Pavel Novak who raised to 45,000 from the small blind. The Pole then folded to a reraise to circa 100,000 from Helder Rodrigues in the big blind, albeit after a dwell.

Santos In Control

On the feature table Andre Santos seems to have taken over the show a bit. First he called a UTG raise from Timo Laurila and bet a 3♣ A♠ 5♥ flop when it was checked to him to take it down and the next hand he reraised Kristian Aknes' 52k preflop raise from the button to about 135k getting the Norwegian to fold.

We're now on a short break and when we return the blinds will be 12000/24000 with a 2000 ante. 13 players still remain.

Novak-aine For The Soul

Pavel Novak has doubled through Helder Rodrigues after they saw a T♣ 7♠ 4♦ flop. Novak bet and Rodrigues moved in with the Pole quickly calling with Q♠ T♠ against Rodrigues' 7♣ 6♣. A Q♥ on the turn left the Portuguese player with just two outs which he then missed on the 3&spades river.

Rodrigues looks to be our shortest stack now and will need to double up quickly.

Chip Counts - Feature Table

Seat 1: André Santos -- 270,000
Seat 3: Nuno Coelho -- 190,000
Seat 4: Stefan Kostner -- 255,000
Seat 5: Henri Kettunen -- 600,000
Seat 6: Timo Laurila -- 210,000
Seat 7: Johan Abramsson -- 175,000
Seat 9: Kristian Aksnes -- 360,000

Steen Train

Yngve Steenis is playing his big stack aggressively. He just raised three consecutive hands preflop in the small blind, button and cut-off. On each occasion, he lapped up the blinds and antes uncontested.

Mont Filipe

Filipe Monteiro raises to 55k from the cutoff. Merianda Fullenbach calls all-in for 40k from the small blind and Kristian Tolvhed makes the call from the big blind and we have a side pot.

Q♣ 8♠ 7♠

Checked to Monteiro who bets about 100k. Tolvhed asks how much he has left but then quickly folds when Monteiro says, "About 80k or so."

Monteiro turns over K♣ Q♥ ahead of Fullenbach's J♠ J♦, the turn is the 5♠ and suddenly their is a ray of light for the German woman as she picks up the flush draw and cries for a spade. But the river is the 8♦ and Merianda Fullenbach goes out in 14th place winning €4,750.

Odds & Sods

Pavel Novak button raised to 42,000 and Filipe Monteiro called in the big blind. Novak then took down the pot with a bet of 50,000 on the Th-7s-3c flop.

A few hands later, Monteiro picked up the blinds with a standard preflop raise. He showed pocket nines.

Yngve Steen raised it up to 42,000 preflop on Merianda Füllenbach's big blind. Short-stacked, Füllenbach wanted to wait to see if anyone was eliminated on the big hand occurring simultaneously on the feature table, but Steen called the clock. Eventually, she folded. "If nobody had been knocked out, I would have given it a go," she added.

Henri Jacks It Up

Acacio Rocha pushed his short stack into the middle and Henri Kettunen moved all-in behind, only to find short-stacked Mikal Blomlie also push it all in the middle as well.

Rocha: K♥ T♦
Kettunen: J♣ J♥
Blomlie: A♠ K♠

The flop brought something for everyone coming J♠ A♦ 6♣. Kettunen flopped a set meaning Rocha needed a Queen and Blomlie needed running cards to win. But the turn was the J♦ giving Kettunen quads and meaning the 7&clubs was as meaningless as it looked. Kettunen had both other players covered leaving us with 14 left.

Chip Counts - Outer Table

Seat 1: Merianda Füllenbach -- 105,000
Seat 2: Johan Abramsson -- 185,000
Seat 3: Kristian Tolvhed -- 525,000
Seat 4: Yngve Steen -- 885,000
Seat 5: Pavel Novak -- 215,000
Seat 6: Helder Rodrigues -- 360,000
Seat 7: Filipe Monteiro -- 240,000
Seat 8: André Aguilar -- 180,000

Lasse Come Home!

"Woof woof!"

"What's that Lasse? You're out of the tournament?"

"Woof, woof, growl."

"What happened?"

"Woof, woof. Bark. Growl."

"You mean to say you raised from the button with T-9 and Andre Santos in the big blind just flat-called with Aces and you pushed all-in on a Q-9-5 flop after he checked and he quickly called and you didn't improve?"

"Woof."

Lasse Lien is out in 17th place winning €3,320.

Aguilar Gets Some Back

Andre Aguilar has doubled back up through Kristian Tolvhed. The latter on a seemingly good run, raised to 45k in early position with Aguilar moving in for 83k total. Auto-call from Tolvhed with K♠ J♣ against Aguilar's A♦ Q♥. But the board ran out A♣ Q♠ 7♥ 5♦ 7♦ putting Aguilar just shy of 200k.

Kristian Tolvhed Doubles Through

Merianda Füllenbach raised to 40,000 from UTG, and Kristian Tolvhed called. On a 8c-Ah-4h flop, Füllenbach continue bet for 60,000. After a brief pause, Tolvhed declared himself all-in.

"Count," requested Füllenbach. "278,000," came the reply.

After a deep breath, Füllenbach announced call, rose abruptly from her seat and flipped Ad-Js onto the table. Tolvhed had her pipped with As-Qc.

A 7d turn and 6c river leaves Füllenbach with 125,000. Here she is during cheerier times; now she's about as happy as a eskimo in the desert.

Tolvhed Doubles Through Aguilar

Andre Aguilar raises up up in midposition and Kristian Tolvhed moves all-in from the cutoff. Call

Aguilar: A♥ Q♦
Tolvhed: T♠ T♦

Ladies and Gentlemen, we're off to the races.

K♦ 6♠ 4♣ T♥ 2♠

Tolvhed's set on the turn propels him up to about 300k while Aguilar is left with about 80k.

Coelho Makes His Move

The clock has now been reduced to 45 minutes per level, and the change seems to be having an effect as players are wasting little time in getting their chips into the middle. On the last hand, Nuno Coelho pushed over the top of Kristian Aksnes's opening raise of 43,000. Aksnes paused momentarily before folding.

On The Outer Table

Kristian Tolvhed pushed all-in in the first and third hands to win the blinds and antes. In between, Yngve Steen raised UTG to 39k to take Tolvhed's big blind. Merianda Fullenbach then raised from the hijack to 57k to win the blinds and antes, not surprisingly it's all a bit cautious so far.

No Messing Around

On the very first hand of the feature table, Henri Kettunen pushed all in to pick up the blinds uncontested.

On the second hand, Lasse Lien echoed those sentiments, moving all in himself. Again, no callers.

Cashed So Far

The following players were close, but no cigar:

18th Göran Larsson -- €3,320
19th Jimmy Sidén -- €2,380
20th Gabor Szamosi -- €2,380
21st Petre Andersson -- €2,380
22nd Juuso Oksanen -- €2,380
23rd Joáo Arruda -- €2,380
24th Nuno Canossa -- €2,380
25th Marcus Vretling Pistelli -- €2,380
26th Moser Gerhard -- €2,380
27th Meike Busch -- €2,380
28th Valtteri Merikallo -- €1,900
29th Paul Mortensen -- €1,900
30th Thorkell Thordarsson -- €1,900
31st Jussi Lind -- €1,900
32nd Tuomos Impivarra -- €1,900
33rd Pedro Ruben Dias -- €1,900
34th Jorge Jesus Almeida -- €1,900

Prize Structure

A reminder of the goodies on offer. All prizes are down as Euros, unless of course the chip leader's girlfriend is watching, in which case its Zimbabwean dollars.

1st €113,900
2nd €80,680
3rd €56,950
4th €41,760
5th €32,270
6th €25,150
7th €18,980
8th €14,240
9th €10,440
10th €7,120
11th €7,120
12th €7,120
13th €4,750
14th €4,750
15th €4,750
16th €3,320
17th €3,320
18th €3,320
19th €2,380
20th €2,380
21st €2,380
22nd €2,380
23rd €2,380
24th €2,380
25th €2,380
26th €2,380
27th €2,380
28th €1,900
29th €1,900
30th €1,900
31st €1,900
32nd €1,900
33rd €1,900
34th €1,900
total = €474,660

Final Day

Welcome back to the final day of this Betsson Estoril Live main event. The official chip counts and seating plan are as follows:

Table 1...

Seat 1: André Santos -- 329,000
Seat 2: Acacio Rocha -- 117,000
Seat 3: Nuno Coelho -- 242,000
Seat 4: Stefan Kostner -- 389,000
Seat 5: Henri Kettunen -- 99,000
Seat 6: Timo Laurila -- 203,000
Seat 7: Lasse Lien -- 187,000
Seat 8: Mikal Blomlie -- 167,000
Seat 9: Kristian Aksnes -- 518,000

Table 2...

Seat 1: Merianda Füllenbach -- 426,000
Seat 2: Johan Abramsson -- 258,000
Seat 3: Kristian Tolvhed -- 109,000
Seat 4: Yngve Steen -- 895,000
Seat 5: Pavel Novak -- 276,000
Seat 6: Helder Rodrigues -- 406,000
Seat 7: Filipe Monteiro -- 223,000
Seat 8: André Aguilar -- 251,000

Final Chip Counts.

Acacio Rocha -- 117k
Johan Abramsson -- 258k
Kristian Tolvhed -- 109k
Kristian Aknes -- 518k
Andre Santos -- 329k
Filipe Monteiro -- 223k
Timo Laurila -- 203k
Andre Aguilar -- 251k
Stefan Kostner -- 389k
Nuno Coehlo -- 242k
Mikal Blomlie -- 167k
Pavel Novak -- 276k
Merianda Füllenbach -- 426k
Helder Rodrigues -- 406k
Lasse Lien -- 187k
Henri Kettunen -- 99k
Yngve Steen -- 895k

Chip Counts Of the €200 Side Event - In Seat Order (Final Tomorrow):

Sefil Altun -- 77.2k
Henrik Tollefsen -- 86.4k
Sigurdur Dan Heimisson -- 51.6k
Lino Cunha -- 73.4k
Mika Koskivirta -- 39.6k
Dhimant Radia -- 205.1k
Martin Hansen -- 123.4k
Marcus Jansson -- 72.9k
Bruno Viera -- 99.9k

This is the End

As Jim Morrison once sang, although about something rather more profound than a poker tournament, this is the end. But fear not poker fans, as your intrepid update team will be returning tomorrow to bring you all the action from the final two tables of the Betsson Estoril LIVE.

With 18 levels in the bag, 17 players remain, but by the end of tomorrow we hope to crown a winner and the lucky recipient of €113,900. Who will it be? Make you sure join us at 4pm sharp to find out.

Petra-fried

Having survived the best part of two days, Petra Anderssen has finally bitten the dust and departs in the final level of the day. With the blinds at 6,000 and 12,000 with a running ante of 1,000, Anderssen made her move with Jc-Th and confidently counted out 73,000 as she placed them across the line.

Nuno Coelho, however, was less meticulous, simply announcing all-in as the action reached him. With the blinds side-stepping out of the way, it was showdown time, Anderssen in dire need of divine intervention against the Portugese's Qd-Qs.

The 3h-3s-9s flop was of little interest, and even though the Ks offered a glimmer of hope, it soon evaporated on the 7d river. A plucky performance from Andersen, but alas, she just missed out on the final day.

Full Steen Ahead!

Yngve Steen has eliminated Gabor Zsamosi in a succession of pots culminating in a T-T vs A-7 showdown that Steen won to make him a monstrous chip lead with over 700k.

Somehow, despite being knocked down to 27k, Mikal Blomlie is not out. He just pushed in blind UTG and got a call from Nuno Coelho. It was 8c 4c for Blomlie against Coelho's 3s 3d but Blomie hit the board so well, he'd have defeated most hands after it came 2c 4s Qc Tc As!

One player who has gone is Jimmy Sidén who suffered a horrible cooler. He was all-in blind on blind with Q♥ 6♥ on a 9♥ 6♦ 5♥ Q♣ board. A powerhouse of a hand for sure, but Stefan Kostner flipped Q♠ 9♦ for a higher two pair which held on the 2♠ river to leave us with just 17 players left as play came to a close.

Mikal Blomlie Felted

Disaster strikes for Mikal Blomlie, as he is felted in the most gut-wrenching of circumstances. Having made a standard button raise with Tc-Td, Blomie called Pavel Novak's push from the big blind, only to find he had caught his man red-handed with a paltry Qc-8h. However, no rewards were reeped as the Poker Gods dished out a second lady on a Ac-Qh-5s flop, the 6h turn and 7h river completing the ery cruelest of beats. Although he seemed eager to leave, Blomlie was in fact still in, albeit with a rather scant 12,000. Gotta love tournament poker.

Gabor Zsamosi Survives

Gabor Zsamosi pushed all in preflop with Ah-4s, and found a caller in Helder Rodrigues who tabled Ad-7d. Following a 9c-6h-3h-6s-3c board, Rodrigues cheered in delight to his friends on his rail, before eventually realising it was a split pot.

Zsamosi remains on 125,000.

Lasse Chance Saloon

I didn't catch the action, but early pace setter Lasse Lien has just doubled through with A-K. He is now back over 200,000 and added "I hadn't seen any kind of hand in ages."

Gabor Zsamosi was the recipient, meaning he now has 125,000.

Aknes Piles On The Pressure

Filipe Monteiro raises the button to 25k and, after checking his opponent's stack, Kristian Aknes makes the call in the big blind.

The flop is A♣ Q♣ 5♥ and Aknes auto-checks to his Portuguese opponent who bets 45k. Aknes then raises to 145k with a look of confidence eliciting the fold he may or may not have wanted.

Andre Aguilar has doubled up after Mikal Blomlie limped in with A♥ K♥ in the small blind but Aguilar did not raise in the big blind. Blomlie check/raised his opponent all-in on the 3&clubs 3♠ 5♠ flop but Aguilar had hit with J♣ 5♥ and dodged the ace and king on the turn and river to double up.

Still 21 Left

Filipe Monteiro made it 33,000 preflop, only for Johan Abramsson to reraise to 96,000 from the big blind. After asking for a count and being told 144,000, Monteiro made the fold.

On the very next hand, Acacio Rocha pushed all in for just over 100,000 to takes the blinds and antes uncontested.

21 remain.

Penultimate Chip Count

We're fifteen minutes into what will be the final level of the day. As expected, play has pretty much ground to a halt with a lot of tired faces at the table. It appears as though players are content to just try and survive until the end of the day.

These were the chip counts from the last break:

Yngve Steen 580,000
Merianda Füllenbach 445000
Kristian Aksnes 366000
Helder Rodrigues 365000
Gabor Zsamosi 310000
André Santos 300000
Stefan Kostner 300000
Filipe Monteiro 279500
Timo Laurila 277000
Johan Abramsson 229000
Nuno Coelho 215000
Kristian Tolvhed 205000
Mikal Blomlie 200000
Pavel Novak 180000
Petra Anderssen 160000
Lasse Lien 150000
André Aguilar 135000
Acacio Rocha 115000
Jimmy Sidén 95000
Göran Larsson 78000
Henri Kettunen 75000

In Da Money!

The following players are out but have made the money:

22nd €2,380
Juuso Oksanen

23rd €2,380
Joáo Arruda

24th €2,380
Nuno Canossa

25th €2,380
Marcus Vretling Pistelli

26th €2,380
Moser Gerhard

27th €2,380
Meike Busch

28th €1,900
Valtteri Merikallo

29th €1,900
Paul Mortensen

30th €1,900
Thorkell Thordarsson

31st €1,900
Jussi Lind

32nd €1,900
Tuomas Impivarra

33rd €1,900
Pedro Ruben Dias

34th €1,900
Jorge Jesus Almeida

3-way Action!

João Arruda Sarmento moved all-in from early position. Helder Rodrigues moved in behind him and Juuso Oksanen called all-in too.

Sarmento: K♠ Q♦
Rodrigues: A♠ 7♠
Oksanen: 8♦ 8♣

9♦ K♣ 9♠ 3♠ J♠

If you didn't know who won, Rodrigues was happy to help, "FLUSHHHHHHHHHH!" he cried.

The other two player were eliminated. We're down to just 21 remaining.

Players on a short break, 6000/12000 with a 1000 ante when we return.

Marcus Vretling Pistelli Eliminated

Marcus Vretling Pistelli is a recent casualty having lost a 50-50 to Andre Santos with Ks-Qs versus 7d-7h. Although the Jc-3s-2d flop was a dud, the Tc turn produced eight more outs, none of which arrived on the 8s river.

It was difficult to count Santos' stack at the time as they were sprawled across the felt, but he can't be too far away from the 300,000 mark.

Updated Chip Counts

Chip counts from the outer two tables:

Table 1...

Seat 1: Jimmy Sidén -- 160,000
Seat 3: Nuno Coelho -- 205,000
Seat 4: Mikal Blomlie -- 245,000
Seat 5: André Aguilar -- 205,000
Seat 6: Göran Larsson -- 75,000
Seat 7: Pavel Novak -- 205,000
Seat 8: Petra Anderssen -- 80,000
Seat 9: Stefan Kostner -- 275,000

Table 2...

Seat 1: Johan Abramsson -- 260,000
Seat 2: Kristian Tolvhed -- 90,000
Seat 3: André Santos -- 285,000
Seat 5: Acacio Rocha -- 115,000
Seat 6: Filipe Monteiro -- 280,000
Seat 7: Nuno Canossa -- 85,000
Seat 8: Timo Laurila -- 145,000
Seat 9: Kristian Aksnes -- 370,000

You Don't Mess With The Johan

Johan Abramsson has managed to crack the first chink in Kristian Aknes armour. Aknes had raised preflop to 26k and Abramsson moved in for another 101k more. After Aknes talked to his opponent he was convinced to call with his 3♥ 3♣ and found himself racing Abramsson's A♦ J♠. A J♦ J♥ 9♣ flop looked pretty decisive and Abramsson avoided a nasty case of crabs on the 6♠ turn and 2♠ river to double up to about 250k.

Outer Tables

The set-up on the outer two tables post Busch's exit are as follows:

Table 1...

Seat 1: Jimmy Sidén
Seat 3: Nuno Coelho
Seat 4: Mikal Blomlie
Seat 5: André Aguilar
Seat 6: Göran Larsson
Seat 7: Pavel Novak
Seat 8: Petra Anderssen
Seat 9: Stefan Kostner

Table 2...

Seat 1: Johan Abramsson
Seat 2: Kristian Tolvhed
Seat 3: André Santos
Seat 4: Marcus Vretling Pistelli
Seat 5: Acacio Rocha
Seat 6: Filipe Monteiro
Seat 7: Nuno Canossa
Seat 8: Timo Laurila
Seat 9: Kristian Aksnes

Chip counts to follow shortly.

Busch Term Comes to an End

After a plucky performance that would make Rocky look like a quitter, Meike Busch has become the last elimination from today's main event. With Pavel Novak pushing all in from UTG, Busch called all in from late position and we had ourselves a showdown.

Busch = Ad-Jh
Novak = Ac-Kh

Board = As-9d-Th-9s-2d

Besides Busch, the second saddest person in the room in the Homer. He lost his ipod this morning, and Busch had promised to replace his missing item if she were to win the event. But, alas, our intrepid reporter will return home ipodless.

Marcus Is Pist

Marcus Vretling Pistelli has just had to suffer one of those nightmarish scenarios. He raised to 24k from early position and found Filipe Monteiro pushing in for 107k behind him and it got folded back to him.

"107k right? I call." He said in a flash flipping his Aces over as Monteiro and the Portuguese on the rail groaned when he turned over Kings.

But the Poker Gods had other ideas as the flop came 3♠ K♥ T♣ and multiple yells of "Vamos!" came from the rail. Dodging Aces on the turn and river doubled up the home player and Pistelli is left nursing a 55k stack.

New Level

Blinds are now 5,000 and 10,000 with a running ante of 1,000.

27 remain.

Thor Hammered

Merianda Füllenbach has knocked out Thorkell Thordarson, all the money going in on a King-high flop, the Icelandic player's K♣ J♣ no good against the German lady's A♥ A♦.

Jorge Almeida has been knocked out just the right side of the money.

When Harry Met Nuno

Nuno Canossa has doubled through in dramatic fashion. With his friends watching eagerly from the rail, Canossa found his tournament life on the line with Kc-Tc versus the Qh-6c of Marcus Vretling Pistelli.

"The six always seems to come on this table," commented Merianda Füllenbach as the first card out was a 6d. But raised eyebrows were soon pursued by a chorus of "ooooohs" as an 8c and Qc completed the flop to give the Portugese a flush draw.

A 9c saw fists punch the air, and by the 2d river it was party time, Canossa yelping "Yes! Yes! Yes!" as if emulating that iconic scene from 'When Harry Met Sally'.

It Just Wasn't His Dias

Pedro Dias has been eliminated from today's tournament, although he did manage to sneak into the cash.

Burble Bursts

Ville Tervonen is the unlucky man. Holding on as the short stack at the last count, he finally had to commit his stack with not-overly pleasant J-6 against Valtteri Merikallio's K-T. The board refused to help either player and Merikallio's K-high was good enough to send everyone els e into the money guaranting them a minimum of €1,900

Bubble Refusing to Burst

With each hand, the tension heightens and an extra bead of sweat drops from the brow of the short-stacks. However, with 35 remaining, we're still shadowed by the loom of the bubble as we wait for that elusive player to drop.

Although there have been no monster pots, there have been a few hands that have held up the action. In one hand,Pavel Novak raised from the small blind and Merianda Füllenbach called in the big, before Novak continue bet a 2h-9h-Ts flop. "I'm on a draw," confessed an honest Füllenbach, the German eventually folding Ks-Qs after a long dwell and being shown 9d-8d for her troubles.

As a result of that win, Novak now has around 180,000 in chips and looking certain to cash.

The Feature Table That Doesn't Feature Too Often...

Because of the cameras, we're keeping out of the way of the feature table for the moment, as it's very difficult to watch much action there. But during the last colour-up I can reveal the people who are on the table, all with seemingly decent stacks at the moment.

Jussi Lind
Valtteri Merikallio
Yngve Steen
Thorkell Thordarson (I think!)
Gábor Szamosi
Ville Tervonen
Helder Rodrigues
Lasse Lien
Henri Kettunen

Bubble Bubble...

Toil and trouble for Antti Tiainen, who is unfortunate enough to go out in the second worst spot in poker. He moved in for about 60k from midposition, and Kristian Aknes had so many chips that he decided to give him a spin from the big blind with 3♠ 3♦ racing the Finn's A♣ Q♦.

The board ran out J♠ 4♦ 2♥ 7♦ 6♥ and Tiainen is unlucky in 36th spot.

We're still hand for hand.

Official Chip Counts

Feast your eyes on these bad boys, accrued during the last break:

Lasse Lien 425700
Kristian Aksnes 390000
Merianda Füllenbach 380000
Gabor Zsamosi 335000
Stefan Kostner 195000
Acacio Rocha 188000
Mikal Blomlie 176000
Pavel Novak 167000
Meike Busch 152000
Yngve Steen 152000
Nuno Coelho 150000
Göran Larsson 145000
Filipe Monteiro 141500
André Aguilar 140000
Marcus Vretling Pistelli 140000
Kristian Tolvhed 135000
Thorkell Thordarson 126600
Henri Kettunen 113000
Juuso Oksanen 113000
Johan Abramsson 111000
Petra Anderssen 109000
Timo Laurila 100000
Gerhard Moser 97600
João Arruda Sarmento 93800
Antti Tiainen 90000
Paul Mortensen 88000
Nuno Canossa 83400
André Santos 80000
Sascha Apel 68000
Jorge Almeida 58000
Valtteri Merikallio 57400
Tuomas Impivaara 51000
Jussi Lind 44700
Jimmy Sidén 44600
Pedro Dias 40500
Helder Rodrigues 28500
Ville Tervonen 25700

Hand for Hand

The remaining four tables are now playing hand for hand. 36 survivors meaning we're only two spots away from the prize money.

Time for Apel to Get His Mac

Down to the felt and in desperate need of a double through, Sascha Apel threw in his shrapnel preflop before being looked up by the big blind who was virtually priced in to call.

"Wow," gawped Apel as he revealed Js-Jd. "I only looked at one card."

But poker is an unpredictable oddity at times, and although in dominating shape against Qs-8d, a queen on fourth street turned the tables and sent the German home.

Ladies in Red

In what was ultimately a standard battle of the blinds, Jimmy Sidén (small) and Sascha Apel (big) got it all in with Qd-Qh and 6h-6c respectively, the ladies just about holding up on a teasing Ac-Qs-8c-Jc-Ks board. Although he doubled through, Sidén still has less than 100,000, whilst Apel is left with little more than a bowel of rice.

Like Pete Tong Says...

"We continue..."

Blinds are now 4000/8000 with a 500 ante. 37 players remaining. 34 get paid.

Girl Power

Nedzad Djedovic has just been snipered down by Germany's Merianda Füllenbach. With Ks-Kh versus Ah-Tc, Füllenbach didn't really require any further aid, but she got it anyway as the flop came a decisive 2c Kd 2d to leave Djedovic drawing dead to running bullets or deuces.

"Ya! Ya! Ya!" chanted Füllenbach as the flop was dealt, almost reminissent of the warcries sounded by Chun Li in the old Street Fighter games.

No miracle occured, and after the 7s turn it was all over for the Swede. A fired up Füllenbach, meanwhile, has become a real contender with a gargantuan stack of 300,000.

Miscellaneous Chip Counts

Jimmy Sidén -- 43,000
Kristian Tolvhed -- 125,000
Marcus Vretling Pistelli -- 108,000
Petra Anderssen -- 119,000
Merianda Füllenbach -- 300,000
Nuno Coelho -- 81,000
Juuso Oksanen -- 122,000
Paul Mortensen -- 94,000
Kristian Aksnes -- 325,000
Meike Busch -- 168,000
Göran Larsson -- 123,000

Full chip count to arrive after the next break.