Table 3 is the home to two chipped up Finnish players, Sami Kelopuro and Jani Sointula and they have just clashed on a draw heavy board.
Kelopuro got the betting started with a raise from the cutoff to 5,300. Roberto Romanello folded, as did Katri Kasper but Sointula made the call. The flop came down and Sointula check-called Kelopuro's 8,500 continuation bet, but when the fell on the turn, both players checked.
The river was another low card, the and now Sointula lead out with a bet of 12,500. Kelopuro sat motionless for 20 seconds before relinquishing his hand. First blood in the battle of the Finns goes to Sointula.
Severin Walser came back today with 112,100 but he had almost exactly 100,000 less than that when he moved all-in from the cut-off. Kaspars Renga was in the big blind and called the 12,200 bet.
There is something about the blind battle that increases the levels of testosterone to breaking point. Oscar Lima and Jani Sointula have just decided to have a machismo moment and it didn't end well for our former chip leader.
The action folded around to Sointula and he raised to 6,600 from the small blind. Oscar Lima decided to raise the stakes and defend his territory and he made it 15, 200 from the big blind. Back to the big Finn and he popped it right back up to 22,700, Lima moved all-in for around 100,000 total and Sointula called.
Sointula
Lima
Flop:
So far so good for Lima
Turn:
Still Lima ahead and Sointula had a huge grin on his face.
River:
Lima just sat there in shock for at least a minute before he eventually surrendered his chips to Sointula who has now become our chip leader with half a million chips.
Switzerland's Ronny Kaiser is bossing his table around at the moment and has just helped himself to a pot of around 60,000 chips.
Joining the action on a board and with Kaiser having bet 16,500 from the button, Albert Mykhaylyuta was in the tank for well over two minutes before he folded his hand. Next to act was Michelle Perego in the big blind and despite having had almost three minutes of thinking time whilst the small blinds was deciding what to do, he needed another two minutes to make the call.
The river was the and Perego instantly checked, Kaiser bet 48,000 and after another minute Perego folded.
Sami Kelopuro is a very aware player and will use this to his advantage. A pot he won against Markus Lehmann highlighted this perfectly.
The Finn raised from UTG and Lehmann peeled from the big blind to see the flop. Kelopuro saw his 6,300 c-bet check-called before both players checked the turn.
The river came and the German led for 16,500. Kelopuro asked how much his opponent had behind and when he found out it was 60,000 he announced, "I'm all-in". Lehmann could do nothing but fold.
Kjartan Jonsson opened up to 5,300 from the hijack, Andrey Subbotin called in the cut-off as did PokerStars qualifier Lasse Sorensen in the big blind.
Three to the flop and it was a rather connected . Sorensen checked to the raiser Jonsson who bet 17,200, Subbotin made the call and Sorensen folded.
The turn was the and after studying the stack of Subbotin (41,900 behind) he made a second bet of 17,000. Subbotin stacked his chips into two towers and pushed them across the line.
"Goddam," said Jonsson.
He spread the pot did some maths and called and he was in pretty poor shape.
Subbotin
Jonsson
The river was the and Subbotin had got his all-in through and now has ~135,000 and Jonsson is down to ~ 180,000
Roberto Romanello is the last former European Poker Tour champion left in the field and is still in with a shout of becoming the first-ever double EPT winner.
We missed the actual hand but the reigning EPT Prague champion was more than happy to fill us in with the details. He raised preflop with and Katri Kasper, seated to his direct left, called. The flop came seven high and Romanello bet 6,200, Kapser re-raised to 14,100 and Romanello re-popped it to 22,000. Kasper then moved all in and Romanello obviously snap-called. Kasper held and Romanello's hand held.
Kasper is desperately short on 16,500 chips but Romanello is up to around 130,000.
Paolo Della Penna was seated under the gun when he moved his final 41,200 across the line holding . The action folded around to PokerStars qualifier Robert Brofeldt who also moved all-in with . The rest of the table moved out of the way and we had a showdown with Della Penna at risk of elimination.
Board:
The turn and river sealing the Italians fate and Brofeldt is up to ~ 220,000
At the start of play yesterday Johan "busto_soon" van Til only had 5,000 chips and it looked as if he was going to be heading back to the Netherlands earlier than he had planned. Well if he keeps up this form he will need to book another couple of nights in his hotel and make room in his suitcase for the EPT Tallinn winner's trophy because he now has 275,000 chips! Unbelievable.
He just raked in a mammoth sized pot after a battle with Irene Baroni. We got to their table to see a board reading and Baroni deep in thought, contemplating calling van Til's 72,500 bet. If she called and won she would have scooped a 275,000 pot (including her own bets) but calling and losing would have left her with almost 100,000 exactly.
She eventually folded and van Til's march up the chip counts continues.
and Sointula check-called Kelopuro's 8,500 continuation bet, but when the 
fell on the turn, both players checked.
and now Sointula lead out with a bet of 12,500. Kelopuro sat motionless for 20 seconds before relinquishing his hand. First blood in the battle of the Finns goes to Sointula.
to make the Latvian trips.
board and with Kaiser having bet 16,500 from the button, Albert Mykhaylyuta was in the tank for well over two minutes before he folded his hand. Next to act was Michelle Perego in the big blind and despite having had almost three minutes of thinking time whilst the small blinds was deciding what to do, he needed another two minutes to make the call.
and Perego instantly checked, Kaiser bet 48,000 and after another minute Perego folded.
and the German led for 16,500. Kelopuro asked how much his opponent had behind and when he found out it was 60,000 he announced, "I'm all-in". Lehmann could do nothing but fold.
. Sorensen checked to the raiser Jonsson who bet 17,200, Subbotin made the call and Sorensen folded.
. The rest of the table moved out of the way and we had a showdown with Della Penna at risk of elimination.
and Baroni deep in thought, contemplating calling van Til's 72,500 bet. If she called and won she would have scooped a 275,000 pot (including her own bets) but calling and losing would have left her with almost 100,000 exactly.