£10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event - Live Updates

The 2009 WSOPE presented by Betfair is over and Barry Shulman is champion! It was a heartbreaker for Daniel Negreanu but the silver lining is that with this cash he becomes poker's all time leading tournament money winner.

It was a marathon heads-up match that ended in a crippling blow followed by the coup de grace.

The Crippler

On a J♣ 8♦ 5♦ flop Daniel Negreanu checked, Shulman bet 300k and Negreanu check-raised to 900,000.

Shulman shoved and after a few minutes in the tank, Kid Poker emerged with the call. It was aces for Shulman and Negreanu needing help holding Q♣ J♦.

As the dealer burned and turned the crowd at the Empire roared in appreciation as the miracle J♥ hit the felt and it appeared the title was Negreanu’s.

Appearances can be decieving, however, and the river was Shulman’s turn for a miracle, as the A♦ came down.

Shocking stuff!

That hand left Negreanu with a massive deficit - down to 1.2 million versus Shulman's imposing 8 million stack - he was in big trouble.

The Death Blow

When Negreanu found pocket fours with just ten big blinds, there was no escape.

Bad luck for Negreanu - Shulman had him trussed up with pocket tens.

Needing to spike to win - instead it was Shulman who made a set, a ten hitting the flop to leave Negreanu virtually dead.

Running fours or running diamonds were his only salvation and when the turn was neither of these - it was all over!

Massive applause for both these gladiators who have slugged it out over a marathon heads-up game. Negreanu refused to give in - but ultimately Shulman made it to the winner's circle alone.

Second place for Daniel Negreanu, he picks up £495,589 for his performance - which happens to propel him above Jamie Gold at the top of the tournament prizes leaderboard.

Meanwhile congratulations to Barry Shulman who collects a huge £801,603 for his performance as well as his second gold bracelet!

With the blinds a whopping 60k/120k, winning a few pots in a row really changes the status quo.

Negreanu just did that, taking three pots in a row, meaning he was close to Shulman's chip lead for the first time in a while.

The final hand in that sequence saw Negreanu re-raise an opening min-raise by Shulman to 650k, Shulman making the call.

The flop fell K♥ T♦ 6♠ and Negreanu led out for 850k. Shulman passed and Negreanu showed aces for the 1000th time since they started.

Ok, a slight exaggeration but Negreanu has been seeing those bullets more often than you'd think.

And then, suddenly, Negreanu leapt into the chip lead for the first time since he lost that huge pot with aces -again!

The hand saw Negreanu push Shulman off a huge pot. 

On a ten-high flop with two hearts Negreanu bet 240k, Shulman raised to 940k and Negreanu shoved!

Shulman tanked for a moment before electing to lay it down, meaning Negreanu now holds a slim lead by just 100k - or less than one big blind.

It couldn't be closer!

Such a frustrating game for Negreanu - every time he looks to be gaining parity through a series of small pots - he loses a big one and Shulman regains chip monster status.

That's exactly how the previous passage of play has panned out, Shulman being forced to fold or being shown the best hand by Negreanu.

Shulman loves his check-raises and as the pair went to a queen-high flop, Negreanu led and again Shulman popped it to 600k, Negreanu making the call.

The pair cautiously checked down the remaining streets and Shulman showed down a queen to take the pot down, sending a super healthy 1.5 million pot the older combatants' way.

Negreanu back to a 3-1 disadvantage. He refuses to give up though...

Kid Poker is not a happy man right now!

He's become increasingly agitated and annoyed at the way the cards have been falling.

One of the more recent hands saw Shulman make it 200k from the button - a min raise - only for Negreanu to re-raise to 600k.

Shulman made the call.

The players checked down a board of Q♦ 5♣ 4♦ 2♦ 6♣ and Shulman turned over 9♥ 6♥ for a rivered pair, causing Kid Poker to leap in the air and slam down his cards, shaking his head at how unfair the poker gods are sometimes.

"Come on Negreanu!" yelled someone from the crowd in a bid to re-invigorate the Canadian who is so desperate to get his hands on that bracelet.

An unmoved Barry Shulman simply added the chips to his stack - still sitting on a formidable lead.

It's a titanic struggle between the two players right now. Negreanu had started to make some progress against Shulman, chipping back up to 3.5 million, before a series of check-raises when Negreanu had raised the button, saw an increasingly frustrated looking Negreanu begin to concede ground again.

He shipped a pot right at the death when his rivered pair of sixes took down Shulman's pocket deuces so right now here's how they stand as they take a twenty-minute break.

Shulman - 6.5 million

Negreanu - 3.5 million

The kid won't go down without a fight, but Shulman shows no signs of being intimidated by Negreanu and he won't be able to simply bulldoze his way back into contention.

They'll be resuming any moment now, so we're off to re-join the action.

Suddenly the two players tangled in an enormous pot!

Negreanu raised up the button and Shulman re-raised - Kid Poker making the call.

The board peeled off K♦ 8♥ 6♥ - Shulman led out and Negreanu moved all-in. Call from Shulman!

Shulman showed down a heart flush draw with A♥ 5♥, whilst Daniel had him on the backfoot with a pair of black aces. Just needing to fade a heart to pick up the bracelet, Negreanu studied the flop intently.

Shulman has been all-in for his tournament life with the worst hand before though and he's made a habit of hitting the card to stay in and chip up.

And guess what? He did it again!

The 2♥ turned to a mighty roar from the watching rail as Shulman made his flush, leaving a disonsolate Negreanu drawing dead.

Looking very upset, the Canadian removed some of his towers of 25k chips and handed them over to Shulman, who now enjoys a big 3-1 chip lead for the first time since the contest began - his 7.5 million dwarfing Negreanu's 2.5 million.

Can Kid Poker recover from this cruel set back?

The posturing is over and now the two prize-fighters are starting to throw some big shots.

A poised Negreanu had put a stuttering start behind him, soaring into the ascendency with oily precision as he began to systematically slip through the many gears his years of poker experience have crafted.

Negreanu had begun to pick up chunky pot after chunky pot as he made great value bets, got Shulman to fold in some key situations and chipped away till Shulman eventually found himself with under 3 million for the first time.

Then a big pot saw the pendulum swing.

The two combatants saw an 8♣ 6♦ 3♥ board peel off and Negreanu called a bet from Shulman, who went on to check the 6♣ turn card.

Negreanu bet out 500k, and now suddenly Shulman sprung what appeared to be a trap, counting out his stack and announcing all-in.

Kid Poker wasn't loving it, and tipped the rim of his baseball cap with a scowl as he considered whether to call. 

Eventually he laid it down, and all the inroads he had made into Shulman's stack were lost, the older player fighting back as the Canadian threatened to overwhelm him.

The stacks? As they were at the outset of the contest - Negreanu 6.1 mill, Shuman 3.8 mill.

Game on!

The players are seated across the felt from each other and a small mountain of £20 bricks lies between them, the bracelet glimmering luxuriantly at the apex of its papery nest.

With the prize and riches lying there as a reminder of just what these two players are playing for, the opening stages of the heads-up have been carefully played by both players.

Negreanu is obviously the favorite as they stand, his experience and skill, not to mention his chip lead all edges which Shulman has to overcome.

So far though, he is more than holding his own.

In fact he has managed to eat slightly into Negreanu's lead. He's still ahead of Shulman but he has to turn the pattern round or he may risk losing out on that fifth bracelet.

Can Shulman take down his more acclaimed opponent?

Praz Bansi really needed to get back into this, so made a desperation ship of Q♥ 2♥, only for Negreanu to find one of the worst hands for him to face - ace-queen.

Praz realised he was staring down the barrell and head hung he walked over and shook Negreanu's hand as Kid Poker prepared to deliver the killer blow.

Dominated, the crowd realised the English star would have to hit a deuce or hearts to stay in contention and loud, slightly inebriated shouts of "deuce, deuce, deuce" rang out through the casino.

As the rail watched on, their breath held, an inconsequential series of baby cards were peeled off, but unfortunately for Bansi, none of them were the deuce he needed, meaning Negreanu takes another victim, busting Praz Bansi.

Bansi wins £360,887 for his third place finish and receives a standing ovation from his multitude of supporters on the rail.

But now it's mano-a-mano for the title, Negreanu vs Shulman - Kid Poker holding a sizeable advantage.

Who will take it down?

Praz raised up the button with K-8 and Barry Schulman made the call in the big blind.

The flop came king-high, Barry checked and Praz led out, only for Schulman to check-raise all-in. Praz made the call and once again Shulma's tournament life was on the line.

This time, he was in good shape though, his king-jack connecting harder with the flop than Bansi's K-8.

Needing to hit an eight, Bansi watched the turn and river blank.

Huge "ahhhhhh" of sympathy from his supporters and he was left short with just 700k to his name, whilst Shulman has moved to over 4 million.

Big things are happening here at the Empire as three-handed play explodes into action. We've seen big pots, big chops and a clinic in shorthanded play put on by Daniel Negreanu.

Read on for all the action and remember, the most recent stuff's at the top. (We love spoiling the ending for you)

Shulman Gets Lucky ... Again

Barry Shulman has a knack for catching cards when he needs to, something he did again moments ago. All-in before the flop with A-J to Praz Bansi's A-Q the board ran 4-4-5-5-X for the chop, leaving the counts the same and Shulman with a new lease on his tournament life.

Daniel Negreanu is the &@!!ing Man!

There are a number of so-called superstars in the poker world but only a few prove day in and day out that they deserve the accolade. Daniel Negreanu is one of the latter.

Praz Bansi, while not at Negreanu's level earnings-wise,  is proving he's got the heart and the courage to make big plays.

In this monster pot Bansi limped from the small blind and called when Negreanu raised to 150k from the big blind. The flop came down A♦ 9♥ 3♠ and Bansi check-called Kid Poker's c-bet.

The A♠ hit the turn and Bansi checked again. Daniel fired out 180k but this time Praz check-raised to 450,000. Negreanu made the call and when the Q♣ hit the river Bansi led big for 1.1 million.

Negreanu insta-called and turned over A-J. Bansi mucked, but not before we saw 5-4 for absolute air. Negreanu rakes in a ginormous pot and Bansi's knocked down to about 2.5 million.

And Just Like That, Shulman's Back

On one of the first hands back from break Barry Shulman has recovered from the crippling hand we describe directly below.

We believe that Daniel Negreanu opened and Shulman shipped. Negreanu made the call and saw he had the best hand A♥ Q♠ to Shulman's T♥ J♦.

Shulman was on the brink of elimination and would need some help from the deck to stay in it. The flop was good, bringing a ten, and the turn was better, bringing a third ten and leaving Negreanu drawing dead on the river.

Shulman's up over 2 million. Negreanu, on the other hand, is down to around 3.7 million.

Big Fold from Shulman

In the closing minutes of the level a hand transpired that changed the landscape of this three-handed match dramatically.

It was between Barry Shulman and Praz Bansi and the real action got going on a flop of J♦ T♠ 4♠. Shulman checked and called a bet from his opponent. On the 3♦ turn Shulman checked again but opted to check-raise Bansi's 350k bet to 1,050,000 total.

Bansi was faced with a big decision and with around half of Shulman's stack in the middle already he couldn't have thought he had a ton of fold equity.

After some deliberation Praz announced all-in. The decision was now on Shulman and with most of his stack committed the call seemed a foregone conclusion. Either he was on a move or had a very strong read because he decided to fold.

With that pot Bansi is up well over 4 million while Shulman is left with around a mill.

We said Jason Mercier was far from finished, but we can only apologise for laying a curse at his door.

Mercier didn't waste too much time finding a spot to chip up - squeezing his stack into the middle following a raise pre-flop from Negreanu and a call from Barry Shulman.

Negreanu counted up Mercier's stack and took a few moments thinking it over...then he made the call, leaving Shulman to throw his hand in the muck.

A good call it proved with Mercier showing down sevens, dominated by Negreanu's pocket nines. Needing a seven, the board ran out with no help from Mercier and he was eliminated from proceedings!

Mercier might be disappointed at having not converted a dominant chip stack into a victory here, but he maintains the scintillating record of deep runs in major tournaments that have seen him rise from unknown online grinder to sponsored, worldwide superstar.

Mercier has time and talent on his side and we are confident the PL.com blogger will add to the millions he's already won over the coming years as well as perhaps increasing his tally of WSOP bracelets.

As far as the WSOPE Main Event goes though, Mercier is eliminated in 4th place, collecting £267,267.

The game continues three handed, Bansi, Shulman and Negreanu vying for the bracelet.

Negreanu is now the chip leader.

It's all about Praz Bansi right now.

He took a chunk out of Negreanu, betting a 8♥ 7♥ 3♠ board only for Negreanu to make a reluctant call. Bansi was in no mood to slowdown though, leading the turn for a full stack of white 25k chips (500k) plus another smaller pile of just six white chips.

Negreanu wasn't too impressed with this - motioning that he felt sick at the bet and he threw his hand away as the audience whooped and cheered on the popular Bansi.

Having made Negreanu squirm that hand, he took on Mercier just a few hands later, Mercier min-raising from the small blind to 100k, only for Bansi to re-pop him to 375k.

Mercier looked at his stack, fiddled with his chips but ultimately threw away his hand, allowing Bansi to extend his chip lead to 3.5 million or so.

Mercier is now the short stack, with just 1.7 million. He's still got time to increase his standing though, and we know the PL.com blogger won't be going down without a fight.

The post-dinner action has seen Bansi and Shulman duking it out in a number of pots and the latest saw Shulman's tournament life on the line.

The hand saw Praz open from under the gun, only for both Mercier and Shulman to make the call.

Come the 6♠ 4♣ 2♠ flop, Shulman and Bansi went to war and Shulman (who chip leader Bansi had well-covered) was all-in!

His tournament life hanging in the balance, Shulman showed he just had a draw, but a big one - the nut flush draw with A♠ 9♠.

Meanwhile Praz was lurking with a big overpair, his pocket kings currently the best hand.

So a big flip was on the cards and all Bansi needed to do to knock out Shulman and attain a huge chip lead was to dodge a spade or ace.

The turn came: A♣!

Another ace from space appeared. It's raining aces from space today here at the casino and that turn card saw to it that Praz was likely to lose this 2 million pot.

When the river blanked, exactly that had happened. Shulman flips himself back into contention whilst a disappointed Praz is thrown back into the chasing pack - still holding a chip lead - albeit a small one. 

The four remaining players have returned from the dinner break and are already in action.

All the players received a big roar as they took their place but the biggest cheer was reserved for hometown favorite Praz Bansi, who holds the chip lead right now and has even managed to extend his lead in one of the early hands.

Easy Showdown for Bansi

On one of the first hands back from dinner Praz Bansi opened from under the gun and Barry Shulman re-popped from the big blind. Bansi made the call and the flop came down T♠ 8♠ 4♣. Shulman cut out 300,000 and dropped it in the middle.

Bansi made the call and they checked down the 2♦ turn and the 7♠ river. Bansi tabled pocket jacks which were evidently good for the pot.

It looks like Mercier, Bansi, Negreanu and Shulman are prepared to take big shots at each other in the bid to win the bracelet.

Let's see how it pans out.

Another hour, and yet more drama. The remaining players have just taken leave of the table for dinner break. They are clearly enjoying the contest as all the players were keen to veto dinner and just play through following a small end of level break, but the television crews involved in filming the final were not so keen so that won't be happening.

Instead, there is a ninety-minute break in the riveting action, but in the meantime, let's get you up to date with the big pots that have played out in recent times.

Bansi - The Ladies Man

Praz Bansi just took a big chunk out of Negreanu's stack to move close to the chip lead. Following Negreanu opening for 100k, Bansi just plain shipped all-in for around one million and Negreanu tanked...before calling.

Queens for Bansi and ace-jack for Negreanu, Bansi's pocket ladies the best hand and the hit-squadder looked favored for a double-through.

A jack-high flop saw Negreanu getting excited but the turned queen banished any hopes of an outdraw. The crowd screamed their support for local boy Bansi as he raked in his new 2.3 million + stack - just short of Mercier's chip lead.

A couple of hands later, Bansi took another pot off Negreanu, his 8-4 outkicking Negreanu's 3-4 by the river when both players had flopped second pair.

And that hand propels Bansi into the chip lead for the first time on the final.

Markus Stunned By Ace From Space (5th)

Markus Ristola has been sent home, and it was Kid Poker, Daniel Negreanu who played the role of exectutioner.

The pair tangled pre-flop, Ristola shipping his stack in with K♦ T♦ following an opening raise to 100k. Negreanu made a brave call with A♣ 5♣ and when he saw Ristola's holding, it proved an excellent one.

The flop fell raggedy but then a king turned to send Ristola soaring into the lead.

The crowd love a bit of an "ooohhhhh" and they showed their "oooohhh"-ing skills as Negreanu faced the prospect of taking another hit.

Then came the ace from space, a single bullet spiking on the river sending the Empire into uproar as the well-supported Canadian hit his card to take down the pot and deliver yet another bustout.

A downcast-looking Ristola hung his head sadly, and departed the table in 5th, £200,367 some consolation for what has been an outstanding run.

That's it for ninety-minutes. Rejoin us following the dinner break for the run in to the bracelet four-handed.

More drama is inevitable.

What was a slow, withdrawn contest has exploded over the last level as the increasing blinds see the players going at each other, throwing a variety of wild haymakers.....and they've started landing.

There's been blood and tears - read on!

Fade To Matt Black (Hawrilenko - 8th)

Hawrilenko has been a busy bee over the last level, having moved in several times, he finally got looked up and he'd been caught with his hand well and truly in the cookie jar.

Having shipped with J♦ 7♥, Shulman looked him up with the superior A♦ Q♣, though Hawrilenko was no doubt glad to have some live cards.

Needing to spike to survive a board of T♥ 3♦ 3♣ 6♣ 8♣ peeled off, improving neither hand, but meaning Shulman takes it down.

Matt Hawrilenko is out in 8th spot, winning £87,074 for his performance.

His supporters - who had brought along home-made banners boasting uber-cool motifs such as "Hoss is Boss!" and "Matt's All That!" - applauded their man as he left the stage.

And that wasn't the end of it.

Sa-out! (7th)

The second November Niner who made it to this final table has been eliminated! Antoine Saout impressed us all by making it this far but in the end it was a lost coin-flip against Daniel Negreanu that would send him home in seventh.

Negreanu opened and Saout shoved for another 330,000 one seat to Kid Poker’s left. It folded back around to Negreanu who, after a bit of thought, made the call.

Negreanu’s A♠ Q♠ was flipping against Saout’s pocket fives. The flop came T♠ 8♠ 4♣, giving Negreanu the spade flush draw and a small edge in the hand. The turn was the 2♦ and the river was the 7♠, nailing Daniel’s flush and eliminating Saout.

The Frenchman takes £114,228 and a bit of final table experience with him.

Bansi Doubles

Praz Bansi just doubled up at the expense of Jason Mercier. Mercier opened to 90k and Bansi shoved for around 475,000. Mercier made the call and saw he was in a bad shot with Bansi’s jacks dominating his tens.

The board ran with no change to either hand and Bansi doubles to close to over 1.1 million.

Bjorin is All-in! (6th)

Chris Bjorin had to bust a move soon, and bust it he did, busting in the process.

A simple hand, he shipped in the middle with ace-jack and the increasingly big-stacked Negreanu made the call with ace-queen - the 'bust' hand.

Facing oblivion, the Swede couldn't spike on a K♦ T♠ 9♦ 3♣ T♣ board.

Chris Bjorin succumbs in 6th spot for £150,267.

They continue 5-handed. Will the fireworks continue?

The players were becoming like a group of prize fighters, circling each other cautiously, unwilling to open themselves up to a knockout blow, but there were increasing signs of aggression creeping in.

The blinds are starting to become a serious matter now, at 15k/30k, and it wouldn't be long before the shorter stacks were forced into a crictical confrontation.

Then we had one! Read on for details.

Kid Poker's Toys Confiscated

A huge pot just played out between Negreanu and Mercier, although it could conceivably have been bigger when the hands were revealed.

It opened with Negreanu calling a raise from Mercier, and both players checking the raggedy 9♣ 7♦ 4♠ board.

The K♠ on the turn saw Negreanu check and Mercier fire out 220k, which Negreanu cut out of his stack and pushed into the middle.

The 9♥ on the river elicited a bet of 380k from Mercier and though Negreanu didn't look 100% comfortable he made the call, only for Mercier to showdown a craftily-played pair of pocket aces!

Meanwhile, Negreanu had been playing a little sneakily himself, showing up with pocket queens!

Two big pairs, but Negreanu managed to avoid going broke, even though he did take a big hit there.

WP both.

Akenhead First To Fall (9th)

It's not been a great day for James Akenhead who has gone from 2nd in chips coming into the final to 1st out.

His elimination saw Chris Bjorin open from the cut-off, only for Akenhead to look down at ace-queen in the cut-off and view this as a prime spot to chip up.

He moved all-in and may have got past Bjorin, but little did he know Daniel Negreanu was lying in the shadows of the blinds with pocket kings!

Kid Poker re-raised all-in - Bjorin threw his hand away and suddenly Akenhead was fighting for his life.

Needing to spike an ace, the board peeled off low and unhelpful, a rivered pair of queens not quite enough for Akenhead to gain supremacy meaning we had our first elimination!

November Niner James Akenhead is first out in 9th spot, collecting £66,533 for his performance here.

He'll hope that he runs a little better when his next big WSOP table rolls around in November.

The pace is relatively slow at the moment with caution being the hallmark of the day. Bansi and Akenhead have both lost some chips over the first few levels and will be looking to turn the HitSquad's fortunes round but the big story right now is Canada's favorite poker boy, Daniel Negreanu.

Coming into the final as the short stack, it's been a great day for the Canadian so far using his experience to gather enough chips to put him in 2nd place right now.

Here's how he did it.

Negreanu Chips Up

Daniel Negreanu has been doing a great job of building his stack so far today and after this last pot he’s up to 1.75 million.

James Akenhead opened from early position and got a call from Negreanu a couple seats to his left. They went heads-up to a flop of 9♣ 6♠ 4♦ and Akenhead check-called 100,000 from Negreanu.

The 6♣ hit the turn and Akenhead again check-called, this time 162,000. Both players checked the 5♦ on the river and Daniel showed 9♥ T♥. Nines were good against Akenhead’s pocket eights and Negreanu scoops up the pot.

Short of Options

Former options-trader Matt Hawrilenko is the man most at risk of elimination right now, his stack of 500k lying at the bottom of the chip counts. He's joined by Chris Bjorin at the foot of the leaderboard.

Luckily for those two, the excellent structure ensures both still have plenty of room to manoeuvre and are nowhere near the desperate open-shoving state.

For the latest chip counts, click here.

 

These nine final-table players have plenty of ammo and with the exception of Chris Bjorin's all-in coin-flip reported earlier we've yet to see any major confrontations.

We all remember the final table of this event last year, which lasted 22 hours, and even though it shouldn't be that bad, we're in for a long one here in London.

Read on for the highlights of the last hour and check out the updated chip counts using the tab above.

Shulman Four-Bets

We just saw some strength from Barry Shulman as he refused to be pushed around by young gun Jason Mercier. Shulman opened the action to 50k and Mercier three-bet to 156k from the button. It folded back around to Shulman who didn't take long to put in a fourth bet to 506,000.

Mercier, apparently believing the adage that older people don't really four-bet light, released his hand and conceded the pot.

And All That Praz

Matt Hawrilenko opened to 60k and got two callers in Praz Bansi and James Akenhead. The three checked it down as the board ran 4♦ 2♥ 2♣ 6♥ K♥. Hawrilenko put in a 90,000 bet on the river only to get raised by Bansi to 300,000.

Akenhead quickly got out of the way, leaving Hawrilenko to a decision. After some time in the tank he decided to let it go, leaving himself with about 510,000.

Saout Ships

November Niner Antoine Saout doesn't have a ton of chips to work with but made good use of them in a recent hand against Daniel Negreanu.

Kid Poker limped the button and Saout raised from the small blind. The flop came K-T-3 all diamonds and Saout open-shipped. Negreanu didn't take much time to toss his hand in the muck and Saout rakes the pot. He's now on close to 600,000.

The last hour has been an eventful one at this final table, particularly for Daniel Negreanu. Jason Mercier is still in the lead but that lead has been somewhat diminished, thanks in part to Kid Poker.

Read on for all the Negreanu action and check the chip counts on the right to see where everyone stands.

Negreanu Up then Back Down

Daniel Negreanu started the day as the shortstack but it didn't take long for him to turn things around. He won a decent pot against Jason Mercier, checking the flop, betting the turn and checking the river on a board of J♣ 6♦ 3♥ K♣ K♦.

Negreanu showed a jack which was good for the pot. That hand brought him to over 650,000.

Not long after he got involved in a real hand with Mercier. Long story short it started out as a three-way pot between Negreanu, Mercier and Antoine Saout. By the turn it was only Negreanu and Mercier with the former all-in.

Negreanu had flopped a set while Mercier had turned a lower one. Somehow Jason failed to make quads on the river and Negreanu doubles to over 1.3 million. Mercier, meanwhile, is down to 2.5 million.

A few orbits later Negreanu finds himself in action again, this time versus Chris Bjorin. Negreanu opened to 56k and Bjorin shoved for what looked like 390k total. Negreanu made the call and the cards were on their backs.

A-K for Bjorin was racing Negreanu's pocket jacks as Bjorin looked for a much-needed double-up. The flop came K-Q-Q, leaving Kid Poker drawing to a jack or running straight cards but after the river bricked out he was forced to ship the double.

Negreanu's now on 900,000 while Bjorin is up to 800,000.

Ristola with the All-in

Jason Mercier opened from middle position and got a call from Markus Ristola in the hijack. The flop rolled out J-8-6 with two hearts and Mercier took a stab at the pot.

Ristola, apparently unafraid of Mercier's god-like ability to run good, announced raise and tossed in another stack of chips. Mercier tanked for a moment before calling and the turn brought the 8♠.

After Mercier checked Ristola announced all-in. Mercier's cards went in the muck and Ristola moves up over 950,000.

Things are slowly getting rolling here at this final table as players trade a few small pots back and forth, feeling each other out like two boxers in the opening rounds of a title fight.

Tournament Director Jack Effel is acting as MC and doing his best to get the crowd riled up. Until he puts on a pair of parachute pants and does the hammer dance we're going to remain calm.

So far not a lot of action to report so read on for a little context to this final table.

Home Town Heroes

By far the biggest cheering section belongs to Praz Bansi and James Akenhead, the two British young guns at the table.

Both players are members of the notorious Hit Squad and both have had success at the WSOP before.

Akenhead came close to a bracelet in 2008, finishing second, and of course has made the November Nine Main Event final table this year, although he is last in chips.

Bansi scored a WSOP bracelet in 2006 and has had a ton of results here in the UK. 

Hopefully we won't see any hooliganism from their supporters here today.

Kid Poker Good at Poker

With all the storylines at this finale it's easy to forget Daniel Negreanu, not something we're used to saying. Negreanu continually proves himself to be an elite tournament player and with over $11 million in career winnings there is no question he's cemented himself among the best in the game.

Representing Canada, and therefore all that is good and right in the world, Negreanu's going for bracelet number five and one of the bigger cash scores of his career.

We're just minutes away from the Main Event final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe presented by Betfair. As you've probably been told already we have a stellar lineup fighting for this WSOP bracelet and it's led by none other than Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier.

In case you didn't know Mercier writes an exclusive blog for PokerListings.com and he posted a quick note this morning before coming down to the tournament. Click through here to check that out.

Hot on his heels are WSOP bracelet holders, November Niners and all-around big names. It's not going to be an easy road for Jason but based on his record, and his monster chip lead, he's got to be the favorite.

Check out the chip count tab above or the the display on your right for a look at where everyone stands at the moment and check back for comprehensive coverage of this final table!