The Empire opened its doors once more today to host the thrilling finale to the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. competition, and eight whole levels of the always action-packed £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event played out too.

Through the doors poured the usual throng that accompanies the World Series: star names, bright-eyed young hopefuls, a few wanton gamblers and of course a starstruck gathering of railbirds, keen to watch history unfold as the second bracelet of the Series was handed out.

The H.O.R.S.E. tournament went on deep into the nether regions of the previous night, but despite the late finish, the field was unable to play down to the final eight last night, so 12 hopefuls returned to do battle and play to a finish.

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The £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha was the third event to be played out at this year's WSOPE and once again the field was filled with the cream of the poker world, with 165 players contributing to a hefty prize pool of £825,000.

There was a noticeable distinction between the slow, drip, drip poker play we had witnessed yesterday in the limit format of the H.O.R.S.E. and the incendiary play that took place in the fiery eight levels at the tables today.

Big names like Patrik Antonius and Daniel Negreanu weren't able to make it through the firestorm, falling in the long list of the day's many casualties.

Deeb: Top of the Omaha tree.

One of the big names, David Williams, held the lead for some of the day, before being crippled in a pot crossing swords with Roy Brindley. Williams was to make an amazing recovery though, finishing the day back in the top 10.

At the final bell, the leaderboard was largely dominated by young guns, with Jason Mercier and Sorrell Mizzi well stacked in the top 10. Leading the way, though, is Shaun Deeb, and when they resume battle at 3 p.m. GMT tomorrow, Freddy's son will be the man to catch.

We hope you'll join us then for our coverage of what should be an equally explosive run-up to the final table.