It's finally over here in Copenhagen. After both players checked the 8 7 2 flop on a limped pot Soren Jensen bet $150k on the 3 turn. The 4 river saw Jensen shove and Tim Vance get up from his chair.

"It was nice playing with you sir," he said, felting the flush. A T for Vance was the nuts; we're not sure what Jensen had but it was probably not as good as the nuts. Vance wins 6,220,488 DKK for first, while Jensen grabs 3,521,429 DKK for second.

Stay tuned for winner shots and our full recap blog. We will also be conducting an interview with our champ which should be up in the morning.

Tim Vance has once again taken a stranglehold on the heads-up match; he's chipped away at Soren Jensen and now has a 3-1 chip lead. No big showdowns, just slightly more aggressive play! Thank you God!

Soren Jensen got it in bad and sucked out to double up as the grinding play will continue here in Copenhagen. After a bit of a tiff over the amount, Tim Vance called a $200,000 pre-flop raise from Jensen and the flop fell K 6 7. Vance checked and Jensen moved all-in.

Vance called with K-4, the best hand, and was just two cards away from the win against Jensen's Q-7. Unfortunately for him, those two cards were the Q and 7, filling and doubling Jensen up. These two combatants are now almost even as Jensen has $2.52 million and Vance $2.08.

The action, or lack thereof, is just under way again with the blinds up to a whopping $50,000/$100,000. Decisions must be made!!!

This level has ended with very little action to speak of. The marathon continues after a 15-minute break from Casino Copenhagen where paint dries faster than heads-up poker is played!

Or not. They are just rolling in cots for the members of the audience who have stayed through this epic battle as the fold, check, fold war continues!

The blinds are up to $40,000/$80,000 and while Tim Vance has $3.23 million in chips, Soren Jensen is sitting on $1.37 million - literally sitting!!

After a Tim Vance pre-flop bet and a Soren Jensen call, Jensen bet $400k into the 9 8 4 flop. Vance asked how much he had left before announcing all-in.

Jensen passed, showing a king, and is once again headed in the wrong direction!

Just a note to show the frustration building in the room - at the Dortmund EPT a few weeks back they played 90 hands in the course of the final table. Today we've already had 204! It's bordering on epic in Copenhagen.

Well, we had a chance at ending this thing but it wasn't a good one. Soren Jensen got the action started with an opening raise and Tim Vance came over the top. Soren moved all-in and after a bit of thought Vance made the call. K Q for Vance was in terrible shape against Jensen's pocket kings. Vance was able to flop a queen but no other real draws. The turn was another king and Vance was drawing dead going to the river. Vance is still in the lead with $2.86 million to Jensen's new and improved $1.74 million. Will the excitement ever stop?

The biggest pot of the tournament so far started like many of the hands in this heads-up match so far. Tim Vance made it $140k pre-flop and Soren Jensen flat-called. The 10 8 2 flop brought a $200k bet from Vance and a $200k re-raise from Jensen. Vance floated the bet and checked the Q turn; Jensen checked behind him and the river fell the J. Another check from Jensen and Vance shoved all-in.

This is when Jensen revealed the biggest mistake we've seen so far as he made the call with Q-10. Perhaps he should have bet the turn, because he had allowed Vance to catch the flush. We didn't see Vance's clubs but he raked the massive pot and grabs the lead with $3.7 million to Jensen's $900,000.

After a brief flurry of action things seem to have slowed back down. Tim Vance limps from the small blind and Jensen checks in the big. The flop comes down J 7 3 and after a check form Jensen, Vance fires $120,000. Jensen makes the call and the 6 hits the turn.

Both players check and the river brings the 3. Soren checks again and Vance checks behind him. Vance shows 7-2 for the flopped second pair and Jensen shows Q-3 for the rivered trips. The pot is shipped to Jensen and we're wondering where the value bet on the river went.

The action seems to be picking up. Tim Vance opens to $150,000 and Soren Jensen moves all-in. Vance takes a moment before mucking his hand.

The Beatles-themed chip counts continue, in honor of our song-singing friend Timothy Vance. Jensen has the lead; here are the specifics.

Soren Jensen	$2,825,000
Tim Vance	$1,775,000

 

Tim Vance and Soren Jensen just played a hand that may help decide a winner here in Copenhagen.

Jensen made it $100k to go pre-flop and Vance just called. The A 7 5 flop brought a $200k bet from Vance, but Soren raised it up to $400k. The 5 turn went check-check, but Vance bet the 2 river, making it $400k. Jensen made the huge call and his A-8 grabbed the pot over Vance's A-2. The pot gives Jensen the lead with $2.8 million. Vance has $1.8 million. Jensen can still be heard screaming something or other in Danish about a local football club.

In the first thing resembling a hand we've seen in a while Soren Jensen has made back a few of the chips he lost in the last few levels. Tim Vance limped his small blind and Jensen checked the big. The flop came down J 9 5 and Vance quickly led out for $100,000. Jensen just as quickly announced raise and made it $200,000. Vance took a short dwell before letting it go.

We're back and the blinds are up to a dangerous level! Let's pray for action.

These two gladiators, these two warriors, have been sent on a short break. Perhaps tired from the unbelievable amount of betting and raising going on, they've been given a few minutes to recharge. Seriously though, we're going to go shoot ourselves.

Well, we thought it was bad but we didn't know how bad it could get. The last eight hands in a row have been open-folded by the player on the button. That's right, open-folded from the button. Rock on guys, rock on.

Here they are. Tim Vance seems to be edging out his heads-up opponent. Only time will tell if this trend continues.

Tim Vance	$2.82 million
Soren Jensen	$1.78 million

 

Another limped pot brought us to a 8 4 2 board where Tim Vance bet $100k and Soren Jensen called. The turn was the J and this time Vance checked, leaving Jensen to bet $160k. Vance flat-called and the river fell the 7. Both players checked and Vance's deuce-four two pair was better than Jensen's jack, garnering him another decent pot and increasing his slight lead.

This train wreck is still rolling, barely. We just saw a perfect example of why Tim Vance needs to ramp up the aggression. Soren limped from the button and Vance used his option to raise to $150,000. This was the only good thing he did in the hand. The flop came down 8 7 2 and Vance checked. Mistake No. 1.

Jensen checked and the T hit the turn. Vance checked again. Mistake No. 2. Jensen checked behind and the river was the J. Two more checks and Vance shows A-7, no club, for the flopped second pair. Jensen shows 3-5 and the pot is shipped to Vance. We don't really care that Tim ended up taking the pot down; he did nothing to earn it. Flopping a hand like second pair heads-up after raising pre-flop deserves a continuation bet. Just close your eyes and start firing!

The biggest action of the heads-up match so far was really not much action at all. We started with a limped pot and Soren Jensen check-calling a $140k Tim Vance bet on the 10 8 2 flop.

The turn brought the 9 flop and when Jensen bet out $200k, Vance wasted little time shoving. No showdown in Copenhagen yet though as Jensen mucked and Vance dragged the pot. He's chipping away and now has the chip lead for the first time since heads-up started.

This heads-up match has deteriorated to the point that it can hardly be called a match at all. Soren Jensen's play has been so transparent we just can't understand why Tim Vance doesn't start betting and raising. Vance opened the last pot and got a flat-call from Soren. The flop came down K Q 7 and Jensen led out for $200,000.

This bet alone should have set the alarm bells ringing in Tim's ears, since Soren seems to only do anything when he has a monster. Vance called anyway and the 2 hit the turn. Jensen bet out again, which pretty much means he has the nuts. Vance took a long time to release his hand and Jensen showed K-7 for two pair. Big surprise!

The surreality of this match became apparent at the end of the hand when Jensen began some sort of disco-dance and Vance started pacing frenetically back and forth patting himself on the back (literally) for his brilliant decision.

The clock has run out on this level. Blinds are now up to $25,000/$50,000. There is still no ante.

We'd been told all sorts of things about the aggression of the Scandinavians but we aren't seeing much of anything from native Dane Soren Jensen. While both players are being unbelievably timid at least Vance is betting at the occasional pot.

Jensen seems to only play when he has a premium hand but has managed to take down a few pots that have been checked all the way to the river. The last hand we saw was checked down with Vance in position and the pot was shipped to Jensen's jack-high. Seriously guys, it's called betting, try to keep up.

After limping in, Soren Jensen had to face another in a series of small raises from Tim Vance, but instead of calling or folding, this time he re-raised. Facing a $220k bet, Vance asked how big his ace was and Jensen said he felt it was bigger than Vance's small pair.

Vance eventually laid it down and Soren showed cowboys. Showing yet another big hand after he raises, Jensen's created an image as a tight-aggressive player and if Vance is paying attention, he might be able to use that to his advantage.

We just noticed that these two heads-up players are no longer posting their antes. We've discovered that the tournament director has done away with the antes in an effort to speed up the match. We would formally like to second the motion to do anything to speed up this match. Mandatory raises on every bet perhaps? We're just putting it out there.

Check is about all we've seen either player do in the last while. Besides the odd small pre-flop raises, we've already seen four hands get checked down to showdown.

With these two grinders we might need a loaded deck to finish this. Either that or the blinds will get so big they'll have to let the luck of the cards decide the winner.

A series of small pots played in the first few hands of heads-up has put Soren Jensen around $2.7 million and Tim Vance under $2 million. Things are a little tense in Copenhagen right now.

Soren Jensen and Tim Vance, two colorful characters, are ready to begin this heads-up match. A title and more than $1.2 million await the winner. Only time will tell who will take it down.

The Beatles-singing Vance is now heads-up with the maniacal Soren Jensen to play for the whole enchilada, or whatever the Danish equivalent of an enchilada is. Here are the counts as they now stand.

Soren Jensen	$2,490,000
Tim Vance	$2,108,000

 

Magnus Hansen is out and we're going heads-up between Soren Jensen and Tim Vance. The action in his last hand began limped with Jensen in the small blind and Hansen in the big. The flop was a raggedy 10 9 4 and after a Jensen raise and Hansen re-raise, Jensen shoved. Jensen stood up and Magnus made the call for his tournament life with 10 6 against Jensen's 4 9 for two pair. The 5 gave Hansen a flush draw, but the 7 river ended that. He's out third and will cash 3,521,429 DKK.

Heads-up will start in a few minutes with Jensen ($2.49 million) in the lead over Vance ($2.1 million).

We're down to three here in Copenhagen and play has just resumed with the start of a brand-new level.

We're taking a 15-minute break with the end of the level upon us.

Tim Vance is still singing Beatles songs and we're still mashing them into our chip count titles. Here are the three-handed numbers.

Seat 4	Tim Vance	$1,962,000
Seat 5	Soren Jensen	$1,473,000
Seat 6	Magnus Hansen	$1,163,000

 

Rasmus Nielsen just made an outstanding call for all his chips and was rewarded with nothing but a bad beat. It started with Nielsen opening to $99,000 and getting re-popped by Tim Vance to $350,000. Nielsen was out of position but made the call. The flop came out J 9 7 while Nielsen buried his face in his arms. Vance took a second before announcing all-in.

Nielsen finally looked up to see what the flop showed and stood up from the table. "I call," Nielsen said with a shrug. Nielsen turned over the impossibly weak 8 8 and Vance said, "You've got a winner," as he rolled A Q. The turn was the J, giving Vance a few more outs, and the river was the ace of spades (because it's always the f!@?&ng ace of spades). With that sick excuse for fifth street Rasmus Nielsen is out in fourth for 1,560,394 DKK.

Tim Vance was every bit Tim Vance in a big confrontation with Magnus Hansen just moments ago. After making a $73,000 pre-flop raise and getting the call from Hansen, he bet another $160k into the 7 K 6 flop. Hansen decided to push putting Vance to a $700k decision.

After getting the OK from the TD, the American stood up to ponder his decision and running through just about every possibility Hansen could have pushed with, Vance broke into the Beatles’ “Lovely Rita Meter Maid”.

He first said he needed to fold, then pretty much told Hansen he had a king before saying he wouldn’t be able to lay it down. Eventually he did, ordering a cappuccino before sitting back down.

They flipped the structure around a bit, but the blinds are now up again. It's $15,000/$30,000 with a $3,000 ante.

Here are the counts after Danny Ryan's untimely elimination.

Seat 3	Rasmus Nielsen	$1,007,000
Seat 4	Tim Vance	$1,603,000
Seat 5	Soren Jensen	$1,077,000
Seat 6	Magnus Hansen	$911,000

 

It will be three Danes against American Tim Vance for the title here now that Danny Ryan has crashed and burned. He open-shoved his short stack with A Q and Rasmus Nielsen was only too happy to oblige with a call, holding A K.

The 2 J 3 flop didn't help Ryan and the A turn and 3 river sent the American back to Spain with a bag full of 1,286,270 DKK and a fifth-place finish on the EPT to add to the portfolio. We're down to four in Copenhagen kids. Hang around a while; it gets really good from here!

It's folded to Rasmus Nielsen in the small blind and he raises it up to $70,000. Tim Vance is in the big blind and takes a fews moments to think things over. "Do you have a hand?" asks Vance. "Yes, of course. I have kings. You are the big stack," jokes Nielsen.

Kings notwithstanding Vance makes the call and sees the flop come down 9 8 5. Nielsen quickly reaches for chips and pushes $120,000 across the line. Vance thinks for a moment before tossing his hand in the muck. Nielsen does him the courtesy of showing his hand - pocket jacks.

PL.com caught up with Tim Vance at the break and with the chip lead he's as confident as ever. Apparently, when his daughter was born, Vance told some friends he was going to be on TV playing poker by the time she was five.

"She just turned three and a half," he said. "Now I'm going to win this thing. It's in the bag. I'm going to get it over with quick and then I'm going to go party."

Despite all the boisterousness Tim's shown, on the table and off, he's still played solid poker throughout. He said he's going to give half his winnings to his daughter and hopes to make her proud.

"When she goes to school and the teacher calls her name," he said, "I want them to say 'Vance'? - Is Tim Vance your dad?"

The five remaining players have returned from dinner break and are now taking their seats. Since we broke for dinner just partway into this level, blinds will remain at $12,000/$24,000 and a $3,000 ante.

Time for a one-hour dinner break; we'll see you back here at 7:15 p.m. Copenhagen time.

Despite the structure calling for this level to be $15,000/$30,000, it appears the tournament staff has decided to make it $12,000/$24,000 instead. We'll keep you posted should there be any other changes to the scheduled structure.

Here are the new counts, straight from the table to your computer.

Seat 1	Rasmus Nielsen	$167,500
Seat 2	Tim Vance	$1,884,000
Seat 3	Daniel Ryan	$503,500
Seat 5	Soren Jensen	$1,186,000
Seat 6	Magnus Hansen	$857,000

 

A big pot between the two Americans at the table just played out and ended with Tim Vance adding to his sizable chip lead.

After a standard raise from Vance, Daniel Ryan re-raises his fellow American by $115k and Vance tanks, asking for a count. Once he hears Ryan has $509,000 he makes the call.

The flop comes 6 7 2 and Vance checks. Danny bets out $140k and after Vance says he puts him on a big pocket pair, he flat-calls. The turn brings the 8 into play and Vance asks for a count again before moving all-in, standing up and breaking into his own extremely annoying rendition of "Let It Be".

Speaking words of wisdom, Ryan lays it down.

Just a few minutes into this level another player has been sent home. Nicolas Dervaux shoved all-in for about $175,000 after it was folded to him in the small blind and Soren Jensen made a quick call in the big blind. A 7 for Jensen had a slight edge over Dervaux's J 5 but lost it on the K J 4 flop. Fourth street turned the tables once again, bringing the A, and the 6 on the river made it official. Nicolas Dervaux is out in sixth and will take 1,012,147 DKK.

We've reached a new level and the blinds have gone up. $15,000/$30,000 with a $3,000 ante is the new price.

Tim Vance likes the Beatles and so do we. Here's how the final six stack up.

Seat 1	Rasmus Nielsen	$229,000
Seat 2	Tim Vance	$1,562,000
Seat 3	Daniel Ryan	$731,000
Seat 4	empty
Seat 5	Nicolas Dervaux	$206,000
Seat 6	empty
Seat 7	Soren Jensen	$944,000
Seat 8	Magnus Hansen	$926,000

Magnus Hansen has doubled through fellow Dane Rasmus Nielsen. Hansen made a $60k raise from the small blind and Nielsen gave him a little action in the big blind.

The flop came Q 8 7 and Hansen kept firing, betting out $100k. Nielsen suddenly shoved and had Hansen covered, putting him to a decision for all his chips. He made the call, felting pocket nines, and was way ahead of Nielsen's A-7. The 6 turn and K river doubled Hansen up and crippled Nielsen once again.

Simon Dorslund was running well in the early going of the day but ran into his first major setback a few mintues ago when he doubled up Rasmus Nielsen. After that hand he was somewhat short-stacked and moved all-in over the top of a Tim Vance opening raise. Vance made it $53,000 from the cut-off and Dorslund shipped it for about $300,000.

Vance considered it for a few moments before making the call and tabling big slick. He saw he had Dorslund's A 8 dominated and the J 9 2 flop didn't change much. The turn did a lot for Dorslund though, bringing the T and adding a ton of straight outs to his list. The river was the 6 though and Simon Dorslund is out in seventh for 801,283 DKK.

 

For the second hand in a row Rasmus Nielsen open-shoved, but the second time around wasn’t much like the blind-stealing first as Simon Dorslund made the call with A 10.

The race for Nielsen’s $300k was on as he showed pocket fives. The 6 K Q flop gave Dorslund many outs, but the 5 turn took away quite a few. The Q river both filled and doubled Nielsen up. Dorslund looks to be in a bit of trouble now.

Daniel Ryan has been relatively quiet so far at this final table but just got involved in a hand, defending his big blind and raking the pot as a result. Magnus Hansen opened the pot to $55,000 from the cut-off and Ryan called in the big blind. The flop came down A Q 2 and Ryan checked.

Hansen continuation bet $90,000 and Ryan smooth-called. The turn was the 2 and both players checked. The river was the 8 and Ryan led out for $80,000. Magnus only took a few seconds before tossing his hand in the muck, conceding the pot to the American.

Tim Vance has been told to take his seat. The TD just pointed out to Vance that his constant standing and walking around is a no-no at an EPT final table and he's been asked to remain in his seat when he is in a hand.

Vance wanted to clarify the rule and was asking about different scenarios where he would be allowed to get up. Apparently, he can stand when all his chips go in the middle, effectively ending his action; other than that, he must stay seated.

The very next hand after getting it sorted, Vance, still the chip leader, moved all-in from the big blind and stood up out of his chair, stealing a Rasmus Nielsen small-blind limp in the process.

We're back with the start of Level 23. Play has been pretty tight for a while, but we expect some action during this new level with the blinds and antes getting bigger and bigger!

This level is over and we're now on a 15-minute break.

Soren Jensen just doubled through Rasmus Nielsen, increasing his stack to almost $1 million and crippling Nielsen down to $220,000. Jensen opened the pot to $44,000 from the button and Nielsen called in the big blind. The flop came down K 8 2 and after a check from Nielsen, Jensen fired $60,000. Nielsen moved all-in and got a quick call from Soren.

Soren Jensen: A K

Rasmus Nielsen: J 8

Jensen had a solid lead but would need to fade Nielsen's outs to stay alive. The board finished out K Q and the pot was shipped to Jensen. As he's done every time he's taken a pot Jensen jumped up from the table and started screaming some sort of incomprehensible Danish chant. Good show. 

In honor of Tim Vance's penchant for halfheartedly singing Beatles tunes, our chip count title theme for the day will be classic Beatles song titles.

Seat 1	Rasmus Nielsen	$738,000
Seat 2	Tim Vance	$1,118,000
Seat 3	Daniel Ryan	$503,000
Seat 4	Patrik Andersson	$0
Seat 5	Simon Dorslund	$565,000
Seat 6	Nicolas Dervaux	$332,000
Seat 7	Soren Jensen	$483,000
Seat 8	Magnus Hansen	$858,000

 

Simon Dorslund's not shying away from the action despite coming into the day as a short stack. He just picked up a sizable pot off American Danny Ryan without a showdown. Ryan limped from the small blind, but Dorslund would have none of it, making it $45k more to see a flop. Ryan floated the bet before checking the 3 J 3. Dorslund bet out $60k and Ryan pulled out the old check-raise maneuver, making it another $95k.

With the action back on Dorslund, the Dane pushes all-in for around $160k more, forcing Ryan to a decision. It's a quick fold and Dorslund picks up the pot.

Tim Vance seems to be coming unglued at this final table and just gave up a few chips due to his confusion. Daniel Ryan open-raised from under the gun and it was folded around to Vance in the big blind.

Apparently Tim thought he was in the small blind, and Ryan in the big blind, because he announced raise, thinking he was going after Ryan's big blind. When the situation was explained to him he seemed to become flustered and simply tossed his hand in the muck, paying off the necessary min-re-raise. Advantage: Everyone else at the table.

Tim Vance, despite being a tad tilted as of late, is still extremely active at this table. He took down a nice pot a moment ago that started with Rasmus Nielsen opening to $39,000 from the cut-off.

Vance made the call from the button and Simon Dorslund did the same from the big blind. The flop came down Q T 6 and after a check from Dorslund, Nielsen fired out $106,000. Vance went into the tank and opted to raise, making it $250,000 to go. Dorslund got out of the way and Nielsen quickly tossed his hand in the muck.

Since losing a huge pot and another small one, Tim Vance seems like he might be tilting. The American is as vocal as ever, pacing around the table, playing almost every hand and is clearly uncomfortable.

His running commentary on the play at the table is only rarely interrupted by his off-key rendition of the Beatles classic "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and he hasn't sat down since the final table began. There's no saying what will happen, but fellow American Daniel Ryan is hoping he doesn't get more hopped up. When Vance was overheard ordering a coffee, Ryan exclaimed, "No, no caffeine please!"

Tim Vance open-raises to $43,000 and gets a call from Soren Jensen in the big blind. The flop comes down 6 5 3 and both players check. The turn is the 4 and Soren bets out $40,000. After a bit of thought Vance makes the call and both players check the Q on the river. Vance shows A-T but Jensen tables 7-X for the straight. Advantage: Jensen.

The price of poker is going up; we're now playing $8,000/$16,000 with a $2k ante.

Tim Vance opens the pot to $33,000 from the button and gets a call from Simon Dorslund in the big blind. The flop comes down A J J and both players check. The turn is the 4 and Dorslund leads out at the pot. Vance congratulates Simon on the hand and tosses his cards in the muck.

Here are the counts after Magnus Hansen's recent double.

Seat 1	Rasmus Nielsen	$810,000
Seat 2	Tim Vance	$997,000
Seat 3	Daniel Ryan	$659,000
Seat 4	Patrik Andersson	$0
Seat 5	Simon Dorslund	$344,000
Seat 6	Nicolas Dervaux	$357,000
Seat 7	Soren Jensen	$471,000
Seat 8	Magnus Hansen	$959,000

 

A Dane by the name of Hansen, Magnus to be exact, has doubled through chip leader Tim Vance. Magnus was one of three players to call a $33k pre-flop bet from Vance, but the only one to act upon Vance's $133k bet into the J 8 5 flop. Hansen's action was to push all-in for $276,000 more and after running through the range, Vance decided to make the call with A J. The Dane held a set of tens and looked good until the 9 gave Vance the chance at running diamonds. However, the 8 was not one of them and Hansen doubled up to around $959k.

Vance is still the chip leader, dipping below the $1 million mark with $997k.

Tim Vance is not only putting on a clinic on power poker, he's also favoring us with a medley of classic Beatles tunes. He opened a pot a moment ago from middle position and got calls from Simon Dorslund on the button and Soren Jensen in the big blind. Jensen and Vance both checked it and Dorslund used the button to put in a bet of $65,000.

Jensen got out of the way and Vance fixed Dorslund with a hard stare. "I don't think you have a hand sir," said Vance as he deposited an additional $200,000 in the middle. Dorslund only thought for a moment before dumping his hand in the muck. More abuse of classic Beatles songs ensues as Vance rakes the pot.

Swede Patrik Andersson is out after shoving his short stack in facing a Danny Ryan raise. Ryan began the action in the hand, making it $35k from the button before Andersson shoved from the small blind for $102,000 more.

“Do you want a call?” Ryan asked, doing the math before making it.

It was A 5 for Ryan ahead against Andersson’s K 6 and the board rolled out 7 5 7 10 J, giving Ryan the check mark and sending the Swede to the rail. Andersson will cash 569,333 DKK for his eighth-place finish.

Simon Dorslund just doubled through Patrik Andersson in a huge hand here in the early going. Dorslund made it $60k to go and got the call from Andersson in the big blind. The A Q 4 flop brought a check from Andersson and another $30k bet from Dorslund. Andersson waited for a minute before announcing a raise and making it $80k to see a turn.

Dorslund made the call and the turn came the 6. Without much hesitation Andersson shoved; Dorslund could not have called quicker. Dorslund’s well-played pocket queens left Andersson’s A-8 drawing dead. If you really need to know, the river was the 5, but the real news is that Dorslund’s double gives him close to $600k and Andersson is on life support.

We’ve seen our first flop of the final table, but it didn’t go much further than that. Under the gun, Patrik Andersson made it $35k to go and a short-stacked Simon Dorslund made the call. Andersson bet out another $60k on the A 9 4 flop and Dorslund dumped it.

The cards are in the air here in Denmark! Here we go!

For those of you keeping score at home, here's the seating and stacks at the final table:

Seat 1	Rasmus Nielsen	$789,000
Seat 2	Tim Vance	$1,408,000
Seat 3	Daniel Ryan	$557,000
Seat 4	Patrik Andersson	$283,000
Seat 5	Simon Dorslund	$267,000
Seat 6	Nicolas Dervaux	$336,000
Seat 7	Soren Jensen	$500,000
Seat 8	Magnus Hansen	$458,000

We're less than half an hour from the start of the 2008 PokerStars EPT Scandinavian Open final table live from Casino Copenhagen.

What started with 460 now has just eight, and even the first player to hit the rail today will cash 569,333 DKK, which is more than $100k USD.

The player with the best shot at the 6,220,488 DKK (1.2 million USD) first-place prize will certainly have his eye on the exchange rates. American Tim Vance comes into today as the only player over $1 million in chips - nearly twice the clay of his nearest competitor. Not bad for a construction company owner from St. Louis who qualified in a Frequent Players Points satellite on PokerStars.

The locals remain well represented here in Copenhagen, as half the final eight are from Denmark. There's obviously nothing rotten about Rasmus Hede Nielsen's game. He leads the pack of Danes sitting in second with over $700k. Other Danes making the great eight include Magnus Hansen, Simon Dorslund and Soren Jensen, whose animated celebrations have people questioning his sanity at times - though no one is questioning his poker skills.

Another American, Daniel Ryan, comes in third in chips and is a dangerous foe. He barely missed his chance at a big score and some TV face time at EPT Dortmund a few weeks back, finishing 10th, but looks poised to challenge for a big payday today.

Rounding out the group are Swede Patrik Andersson and Frenchman Nicolas Dervaux, who used to be a pro pool player and told the French press he figures this poker stuff is real easy.

There's going to be more than a little action here in Copenhagen this afternoon and evening. Stick with PokerListings.com throughout for a plethora of live updates capturing all the action as it happens. And remember, fools learn from experience; wise men learn from the experience of others.