PokerStars.com EPT San Remo - Live Updates

This tournament is over! Constant Rijkenberg has won the PokerStars.com EPT San Remo tournament, defeating Kalle Niemi in a short heads-up battle to claim his first EPT title and €1,508,000 in prize money.

The climactic hand saw Rijkenberg open with a raise to 250k and Niemi re-up to 850k.

Rijkenberg opted to call and the flop came T♥ 5♠ 3♠.

Niemi led out for 1.075 million and Rijkenberg makes the call. The turn is the 5♥ and Niemi moves all-in for about 2.8 million. 

Rijkenberg insta-calls, turning up A♥ A♠ for the overpair. Niemi has A♦ T♦ and needs to hit a ten to stay alive.

The river, however, is the 4♥ and the aces hold, giving Rijkenberg game, set and match here in Italy.

For second place, Niemi earns €862,000.

Stay tuned for more from San Remo.

We're down to heads-up here at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour's San Remo tournament as Gustav Sundell has been eliminated in third place.

Sundell got all-in preflop against Kalle Niemi, A♥ 6♥ against A-J, and watched the board fail to bring any hearts or sixes.

Any miracle suckout hopes thus extinguished, Sundell was thus eliminated and takes €480,000 in prize money for his finish.

We're now getting read for heads-up play between Niemi and Constant Rijkenberg, with Rijkenberg holding about a 7:5 chip lead.

Stay tuned!

Shortly after the return from dinner, William Reynolds open-shoves all-in and is looked up by Constant Rijkenberg.

Reynolds turns up K♦ J♦ and will need to improve against his Dutch rival's A♥ 7♦. 

The flop comes A♠ 9♣ 5♠ and Rijkenberg flops a pair of aces. The turn is the 9♦ and Reynolds is drawing dead.

The 6♠ on the river makes it official and Reynolds is eliminated, busto in fourth place and taking €377,000.

We're now three-handed in San Remo.

And we're back from the dinner break with four players remaining here at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour's San Remo stop.

Stay tuned as we play down to the thrilling conclusion here in Italy.

Gustav Sundell raises to 200k and Constant Rijkenberg makes the call before Kalle Niemi moves all-in over the top for 1.68 million.

Sundell thinks it through and ultimately makes the call. Rijkenberg folds pocket sixes and Niemi turns up A♦ Q♣ to counter his Swedish rival's A♠ J♣.

The board comes 9♣ 8♠ 5♥ 8♣ Q♠ and Niemi takes the pot with queens-up to avoid elimination once more. 

Kalle Niemi moves all-in over the top of a raise from Constant Rijkenberg and the crazy Dutch pro makes the call, turning up K♥ T♦.

Niemi has A♣ 8♠ and is in the lead, and after the board comes J♦ 7♥ 4♥ J♣ A♠ he doubles through his rival, who remains the prohibitive chip leader.

Kalle Niemi raises to 150k before William Reynolds moves all-in over the top.

From his left, Gustav Sundell makes the call for his tournament life and Niemi quickly folds out.

Reynolds turns up a pocket pair of red fours and Sundell is well ahead with K♠ K♥.

The flop comes A♥ K♣ 3♣ and the Swede flops a set to take a massive lead in the hand.

But the 5♠ on the turn reels him back to earth. Reynolds can now spike any deuce to send Sundell packing.

The river, however, is the 8♠ and the kings hold, giving Sundell the pot and doubling him up to more than 3.3 million.

Gustav Sundell limps from the small blind and Constant Rijkenberg checks his option in the big.

The flop comes 9♦ 3♥ 2♠ and Sundell check-calls a 75k wager.

The turn is the 4♣ and Sundell check-calls again, this time for 300k. 

The river is the Q♦ and Sundell check-calls a third time, this time for 500k. Rijkenberg turns up 9-2 for the flopped two pair and Sundell mucks, having lost more than two-thirds of his stack in what he describes as a "cooler hand."

A few hands later and he's all-in, getting his last 650k all-in over the top of an opening raise from William Reynolds.

Reynolds makes the call, tabling a pocket pair of tens to counter Sundell's A♠ 8♥. 

Kalle Niemi claims to have folded the other pair of tens, and after the flop comes A♦ 9♥ 3♦ Reynolds is drawing slim.

The board finishes out 8♠ 9♠ and Sundell doubles to more than 1.3 million.

William Reynolds raises to 140k from the button and Constant Rijkenberg makes the call in the big blind.

The flop comes 9♥ 6♥ 2♦ and both players check. 

The turn is the 9♠ and Rijkenberg bets out 175k. Reynolds makes a fairly quick call and the river is the 2♠.

Rijkenberg again fires, this time making it 225k. Reynolds instantly makes the call, turning up A♠ Q♣ for nines-up with an ace. 

Rijkenberg mucks and Reynolds takes the pot.

Dragan Galic was chipleader on the end of Days 1 through 4, but he won't be chipleader at the end of Day 5.

Galic is out, victimized by another one of Constant Rijkenberg's miracle flops.

Galic had shipped all-in over the top of a Rijkenberg under-the-gun raise and saw the Dutch youngster make the call, tabling A♥ Q♣ against Galic's red nines.

It was a race, but Rijkenberg jumped out to a massive lead when the flop came K♣ J♦ T♠. Dude had flopped the nuts.

Galic needed to fill up to stay alive, but the turn was the 3♥ and thus the Croatian was drawing dead.

The river was the T♣ and Galic was eliminated, busto in fifth-place and earning €314,000 for his efforts.

Finn Kalle Niemi open-shoves all-in for 950k from the small blind and William Reynolds makes the call, turning up A♠ 8♠ against Niemi's J♣ J♥.

The board comes T♠ 6♠ 6♣ 6♥ 2♣ and though Reynolds flops a flush draw, Niemi fills up on the turn and Reynolds can't spike an ace, doubling up Niemi as Level 28 gets underway.

Based on how Constant Rijkenberg has played at this final table thus far, William Reynolds can't have been too concerned after doubling up his Dutch rival with A-K against Q-J in a massive preflop confrontation.

He might as well have looked at Rijkenberg as an ATM or a chip reserve, and Reynolds just made a big withdrawal.

After raising preflop and getting calls from Rijkenberg and Dragan Galic, Reynolds watched the flop come T♥ 3♠ 2♣ and the action checked around.

The turn was the Q♠ and Galic fired out 150k. Reynolds made it 370k to go and Rijkenberg moved all-in.

Galic got out of the way but Reynolds quickly called, tabling a pocket pair of tens to counter Rijkenberg's K-Q.

Rijkenberg was drawing dead, and after the river was an eight he'd relinquished nearly 2.3 million to Reynolds, who is now chipleader with 4.6 million.

Rijkenberg is down to 1.8 million.

Ovi Balaj open-shoves for 640k from the cut-off and the action folds to William Reynolds, who ruminates for a bit before moving all-in over the top for 1.3 million or so from the small blind.

Gustav Sundell folds out in the big blind and Balaj turns up a pocket pair of nines, finding himself ahead of the American's pocket sixes.

But not for long.

The flop comes 6-3-2 and Reynolds flops the Cloven-Hoofed Set. Balaj now needs a nine to stay alive, but the turn is an ace and the river a four and Ovi Balaj is out in sixth place, earning  €229,000 for his time.

William Reynolds' big loss to Constant Rijkenberg has proved to be Alex Fitzgerald's problem, as Fitzgerald doubled up his compatriot shortly after Reynolds' doubled up Rijkenberg, A-K against J-J on a 10-6-2-8-2 board.

The hand gave Reynolds 1.28 million and dropped Fitzgerald down to his last three big blinds, and a few hands later everything came to a head for the Seattle native.

Fitzgerald got all-in preflop and was called by Dragan Galic and Ovi Balaj in the blinds.

The flop came T♥ 3♠ 2♦ and Galic bet out 150k, getting a hard look and a fold from Balaj.

Galic had J♠ T♠ and was ahead of Fitzgerald's K♣ 9♦, and though "Assassinato" picked up a gutshot draw with the Q♣ on the turn, the river was the A♦ and Fitzgerald was eliminated.

Fitzgerald takes €171,000 for his seventh-place finish and told EPT hostess Kara Scott he was very disappointed with the finish.

"There's a lot of monkeys on that table," he said. "I was looking forward to playing with them."

Constant Rijkenberg raises to 125k and William Reynolds re-raises to 332k. Action folds back to Rijkenberg, who moves all-in and Reynolds, barely missing a beat, makes the call.

Reynolds has A♥ K♠ and Rijkenberg is explosed as a fraud with Q♦ J♠.

The flop, however, is a game-changer, coming T♠ 9♥ 8♦ and giving Rijkenberg the nuts.

The 2♠ on the turn means Reynolds is drawing dead, and Rijkenberg doubles up to 3.8 million while Reynolds is down to 600k.