Despite his 3:2 chip advantage heads-up, Howard Lederer couldn't hang on to his lead and the aggressive Finn Jari Vilmunen ground into a chip lead.

Big pots swung the balance back and forth until finally we had a moment where one player was at risk of elimination - and that player was Howard Lederer.

Following a standard raise pre-flop by Vilmunen to 120k, Lederer pumped it to 360k and Vilmunen made the call in position.

The pair saw a board of 8 7 6 peel off, Lederer led out for 600k
and Jani casually raised the pot, enough to set Lederer all-in. The Professor made the call, feeling confident enough heads-up with A Q 5 4 - the bottom end of the straight.

Sick flop really in a 3-bet pot, seeing as Vilmunen had flopped the stone cold cojones Q T 9 7!

Drawing thinner than a supermodel on a bread and water diet, Lederer stood hands in pockets as the turn and river blanked to leave him down and out.

So that means we have our champion!

Hard luck to Howard Lederer, who misses out on bracelet number three, but adds another £126,134 to his already fulsome resume for 2nd place here.

Meanwhile Jani Vilmunen, the flying Finn, wins event 3 - the £5k Pot Limit Omaha event here in London, picking up the title, the bracelet and a cool £204,048 in cash for his performance.

Great game sir!

So that's it!

It's been a superb contest, we've seen some fascinating action and a worthy winner and this just whets the appetite for the main event.

That starts tomorrow at 12 sharp so join us then as we detail the journey to crown another WSOPE bracelet winner!

We'll see you there.

The players have just taken a twenty-minute break and the action that precipitated that was the elimination of Finn Aarno Kivelio in 3rd place.

Here's how that happened.

Heartless Board Crushes Finn (Kivelio - 3rd)

All three players strapped in and paid their dues in order to see a T 8 3 flop and Jani Vilmunen led out, only to see Kivelio move all-in!

Easy decision for Vilmunen holding a set of threes with A T 3 3, he made the call leaving his opponent to flip up A 2 J 7 for the nut flush draw and a gutshot.

Needing to spike a heart or 9 for the win, the turn and river came the 2 and Q respectively, meaning we lose Aarno Kivelio in 3rd, the Finn collecting £93,293 for a sterling performance that just fell short of the bracelet.

But with Kivelio gone, we now have a heads-up contest of note on our hands, two-time bracelet winner Howard Lederer facing off against the aggressive Finn Jani Vilmunen.

Lederer has played neat, tidy, well-timed poker during this final that has seen him accumulate a huge 1.85 million stack and as the heads-up starts, he has a 3:2 chip lead over Vilmunen, who holds 1.2 million.

The bracelet has been put on the table, the players book-ending the table and it will be interesting to see whether the aggressive play of Jani Vilmanen can overcome all the wealth of experience that Howard Lederer has accumulated during his extended career in poker.

Bring on the noise, this is where it's at.

We continue three-handed for the bracelet and there have been some monster pots played out over the last hour without anyone busting.

Here's what's been occurring as we close in on the bracelet.

Monster Pot for Kivelio

Jani Vilmunen opened from the button and Aarno Kivelio defended in the big blind. The flop rolled out K 5 3 and Kivelio led for 100k. Vilmunen made the call and the 8 hit the turn.

Kivelio cut out chips for another bet and slid two stacks of 5k into the middle, totaling 200,000.

Vilmunen didn’t take long to make the call again and they both saw the Q on the river.

Kivelio thought for a moment before checking and Vilmunen did the same. Aarno showed 5 3 A 4 for bottom two pair which was enough to send his opponent’s cards to the muck.

More Chips for the Professor

Howard Lederer just took a huge pot from Aarno Kivelio, likely putting the Professor in the lead three-handed.

Kivelio opened from the button and Lederer defended his big blind. The flop came down Q T 2 and Lederer led out for 50k. Kivelio made the call and the T hit the turn.
Lederer reached for chips again and made it 120k to go. Kivelio had no trouble making the call and the 6 landed on the river. Lederer, undaunted, pushed in another 250,000.

Kivelio didn’t take long to make the call and Howard turned over K 6 Q T for a full house, tens full of queens. Kivelio showed just two of his cards T-6, for the lower boat.

Somebody hold me!

Finn on Finn Action!

Jani Vilmunen raised it up pre-flop, only for Vilmunen to make the call and the pair went heads-up to a flop of J 3 5.

Kivelio checked and Vilmunen bet out at the pot, only for Kivelio to now check-raise enough to set Vilmunen all-in.

Vilmunen pretty much snap-called, though his tournament life was now on the line, with A K K 7 for an overpair and the nut flush draw whilst Kivelio could only table the comparatively weak-looking A 9 4 2 for the wrap.

When the 5 hit the turn to complete Vilmunen's flush the river became an irrelevant formality - Vilmanen having won a very sizeable pot whilst Kivelio was short with just a few hundred thousand chips to his name.

There's been some early action at the felt, as you would expect given the blinds are 15/30k now. There's no time for the players to nit it up so instead they're going for the throat. 

Here's how!

Double Trouble!

Ross Boatman isn't done just yet - shipping his last few shekels in with A K 9 3 he was called by dangerman Vilmunen and when the board fell A-J-8-J-4, Ross' hand was good and he was up to 200k.

Can the Hendon Mobster make an unlikely comeback?

Check-Raise Works for Lederer

Class is in session as the Poker Professor is doing a great job of chipping up during five-handed play.

Jani Vilmunen opened from under the gun and it folded to Lederer in the small blind who came along for the ride. The flop came down K Q T and Lederer checked. Vilmunen fired out 60k and Lederer check-raised another 150k on top.

Vilmunen thought it over but opted to let it go.

Patience, talent and experience. A dangerous combination.

Haavisto Harvested! (5th)

Ville Haavisto has been a quiet presence at the final, never quite gaining enough chips to become a serious threat, though he had a shot to drag himself into contention a few moments ago.

Seeing a flop of K-8-5 with Howard Lederer, Haavisto committed the rest of his chips with 8-5-x-x for bottom two pair but Lederer, although behind with his A-K-Q-T had plenty of outs to overtake the young Finn.

The board finished out Q-J, actually giving Lederer the nut straight via the backdoor.

That elimination means we are four-handed - Ville Haavisto crashing out 5th, collecting £51,890.

Boatman Shipwrecked (4th)

Ross Boatman had been shortstacked for some time and managed to move up a spot in the payouts, lasting through the elimination of Ville Haavisto. Unfortunately for the British contingent Mr. Boatman has been busted.

He got it in with K-K-9-7 against Aarno Kivelio’s A-A-T-5. Boatman flopped a seven and a gutshot but missed all his outs on the turn and the river.

Boatman is out in fourth and takes £69,030 for his trouble.

So we are three-handed for the bracelet - Kivelio, Lederer and Vilmunen sparring for the title, bracelet and riches.

Our 5 remaining participants have finished off their dinner and re-taken to the felt - albeit in a different location.

Now the Caeser's Cup is done (Europe taking it down 4-1), the stage is free for the Omaha players to take their rightful place at the centre of attention.

There's a bracelet to be won and right now, it's Finn Jari Vilmanen who holds sway, his stack of 1.35 million the most threatening as we stand.

Howard Lederer is still well in contention though, the Professor with nearly a million chips himself as he homes in on bracelet number three.

The other players have some work to do if they want to drag themselves into contention, especially Ross Boatman who is desperate following the bad beat Aarno Kivelio dished out just prior to the break.

We resume of 15k/30k so there should be some exciting action.

Keep those eyes locked on PokerListings as we join the final five for the run-in to the bracelet!

Ross Boatman just saw his tournament almost ended.

He made a 70k pot raise preflop and after some deliberation, the short-stacked Finn Aarno Kivelio made the call from the big blind.

Following a raggedy flop, Aarno moved in and Boatman made the call - with pocket aces.

He was in great shape when the Finn showed he had just been intending to stop and go, having spiked just bottom pair on the flop with a raggedy hand.

Poker is a cruel game though and with a few outs to bust Ross' bullets, he saw a six peel off on the river to give him two pair and cause Boatman to shake his head at how unfair poker can be at times.

Boatman is now crippled with less than 100k to his name, whilst Kivelio is looking a little healthier with oevr 400k.

That hand was one of the last of the level and following the end of the level, the players are taking a break for 75 minutes to grab some dinner.

We'll do likewise and return to play down to the bracelet. See you there!

Ross Boatman just managed a double-through moments ago, but just for an instant, he thought he was out!

Aarno Kivelio made an opening raise to 32k from the button, and Boatman moved all-in from the big blind for an additional 100k.

Kivelio made the call and the pair turned over their holdings.

Boatman had a powerhouse hand in A Q Q K whilst Kivelio could only table T T 9 7.

Favourite for the double, Boatman must have winced inside a little as the flop fell an unfriendly 8 7 4 to give Kivelio an open-ended straight draw and pair.

The turned 8 didn't help him, but the J on the river saw Kivelio make a straight. It seemed as though for a couple of seconds, Boatman thought he could be out, then he re-checked the cards and realised he had a flush!

So no bad beat and Boatman is back in contention with 280k or so whilst Kivelio is becoming increasingly more vulnerable to elimination.

A quick note on Howard Lederer. "The Professor" has played a pretty snug game so far - refusing to get involved in any blockbuster pots, but picking up enough chips every so often that his stack has increased slightly from its starting position.

Dressed in a snappy suit, Lederer seems to be biding his time, watching and waiting before getting involved - keen to add that third bracelet to his poker C.V.

The presence of three Finns at the final table has seen some interest from the high-stakes Finnish players. Ziigmund was seen railing the final earlier and a few moments ago Mantonius put in an appearance.

He watched on for just a few minutes to see how his compatriots were doing before disappearing into the bowels of the casino.

The blinds are starting to bite now - a very chunky 8k/16k meaning any hard-contested pot is likely to result in someone putting their stack on the line.

It's been a while since we've heard from one of the other Finns at this table - Jani Vilmunen stealing the limelight so far but Aarno Kivelio hasn't given up on this title just yet.

Moments ago, we saw him raise to 44k pre-flop, only for his nemesis Vilmunen to go into some deiberations, chomping away at an apple before making the call in position.

A flop of A 9 2 saw him lead out for 90k however and for once he didn't run into resistance, Vilmunen deciding he hadn't connected strongly enough, flipping up the T 9 enigmatically as he folded.

A few hands later, Kilvelio defended his big blind, calling a 54k raise from the button from Ville Haavisto.

A flop of K J 7 came down and after studying the flop for a few moments, he checked, only for Haavisto to follow suit.

The turned 8 saw Kilvelio lead for 80k, which was enough to persuade his Finnish friend to throw his hand in the muck and Kilvelio sweeps up another useful pot.

Boatman let out a cry of anguish moments ago. The english player is in dire need of some chips and with A-K-K-4 in the big blind, he would have been hoping for an opening raise.

No such luck, the table soul-read him and gave the Hendon Mobster a walk leading him to just shake his head and laugh as he revealed his hand.

One man's name is on the lips of everyone watching this final table - Jani Vilmunen.

The Finn is dominating this final table - delivering bust-out after bust-out. No one can stop him - he's both running well and playing well, and he just delivered his latest victim to the tournament morgue.

Dan Hindin had become short prior to this hand, so finding a decent hand in A Q Q 5, he was happy to get the rest of his stack into the middle. He should've expected trouble from Vilmunen however, and when the Finn isolated him, he found himself staring down the barrel of defeat as the Finn flipped A A T 4.

"Aces!!" an exasperated Hindin said and he could only laugh as the dealer dealt out the cards.

A board of K 7 5 2 J failed to improve Hindin's hand sufficiently and he was dismissed from contention.

Dan Hindin busts 6th, collecting £39,193 for his performance.

"I know you're going to win," said Hindin generously as he shook the Finn's hand in defeat. It's hard to see past that assessment at the moment. Vilmunen is dangerous; he has well over a million chips; he has all the table easily covered and he is fearless and aggressive.

Surely the title is his?

This is Omaha however and a good run could see any of the remaining combatants rise to challenge the dominant Finn. It will be exciting to see how the rest of this blisteringly-fast final plays out!

Roberto Romanello had been having a good final thusfar - a couple of early pots and the elimination of Robert Williamson III meant he was in reasonable shape, but he hadn't reckoned on the threat posed by Jani Vilmunen.

Yes, once again the mega-stacked was causing trouble. The hand in question saw Vilmunen open from the small blind and Roberto make the call from the big blind.

The flop fell 7-3-2 and when the Finn bet out - as he has been prone to do many times so far - Roberto decided to make a semi-bluff at the pot with 9-8-5-4 for the open ended straight draw, raising pot.

He'd timed his move badly however, as Vilmunen had connected - his 7-6-5-4 top pair and wrap draw good enough to gamble with and he set Roberto in - the Welshman priced in to call.

By the time the river came and went Romanello hadn't managed to overcome Vilmunen's hand - the pot was shipped to the Finn and we had our latest victim of his aggressive play.

Roberto Romanello is out in 7th place, winning £29,830.