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* 10 levels of play scheduled for Day 2
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3:30pm: Fast among the flurry
Level 11 - Blinds: 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

There are three former EPT Grand Final champions still involved in this one: Adrian Mateos, Steve O'Dwyer and Mohsin Charania. Or, to be more accurate, there were until very recently.

While Mateos is sitting comfortably with more than 150,000 in chips, both O'Dwyer and Charania found themselves in the danger zone, with stacks of around 30,000. O'Dwyer open shoved twice in one orbit and got no callers, but when Charania tried it, he was not only called, but also eliminated by Sergey Sergeev.

Charania had precisely 30,000 when he shoved with [ad][jh]. Sergeev had [ac][kh]. A king on the turn sealed the deal, and he offered the massage therapist working on his body a cheery peck on the cheek in celebration.

She was, as you can imagine, delighted. --HS

3:15pm: Zinno loses big pot to Peters
Level 11 - Blinds: 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Anthony Zinno was among the leaders until a short while ago he clashed with David Peters in a pot. 

Zinno bet from the cut off (we didn't see the amount), which Peters raised to 13,700. With the action back on him Zinno raised, to 22,000 this time. Peters thought for a few moments, then called for the flop.
[8h][3h][4h]

Zinno got to the point, lumping 100,000 into the middle. Peters announced he was all in, which Zinno called, turning over [ah][kd]. Peters though had flopped a flush, turning over [kh][qh].

The turn and river changed nothing except the stack sizes. Zinno down to 100,000 while Peters moves towards the front of the pack with 285,000. - SB

3:20pm: More than 200
Level 11 - Blinds: 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

We're still awaiting word of the official number of players for this tournament, but it seems as though we hit 208 entries, comprising 160 uniques and 48 re-entries. Prize pool information will accompany the confirmation of the numbers. -- HS

3:10pm: Fast among the flurry
Level 11 - Blinds: 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Now that registration is finally closed, being knocked out of this tournament is actually terminal. There's no coming back.

A flurry of exits has already started, with Dietrich Fast, David Yan, Dominik Nitsche, Vicente Delgado and Jason Mercier among those to hit the rail.

I caught Fast's elimination. He bluffed himself out of this one, with Chance Kornuth picking him off. The pair of them went to a flop for 13,000 apiece, which already means there was significant pre-flop action. Kornuth was in the hijack and Fast was on the button, so I'm guessing open, three-bet, call was how it went.

The flop came [8c][jh][2h] and Kornuth checked. Fast bet 11,500 and Kornuth called.

The turn was the [5d] and Kornuth checked again. Fast now decided to shove. "Can I get a count please," Kornuth said. The dealer broke down Fast's stack, establishing he had 47,000. Kornuth, with at least twice that, made the call.

Fast was forced to show his [9c][6c], and he was drawing only to a seven when Kornuth turned over his [kd][js]. The [6d] river wasn't enough and Fast is out.

The German player has had a sensational recent run on the WPT, after winning his first WSOP bracelet in Berlin last year. He'll be back for a lot more this week. -- HS

2:30pm: Kenney takes hit at the break
Level 10 - Blinds: 800/1,600 (200 ante)

As the break approached it looked like Bryn Kenney would lead. He had 265,000 when Stephen Chidwick moved all in for 16,700. Imad Derwiche was in seat one and already had chips in the pot so called, but when the action reached Kenney he raised to 23,000. 

Derwiche did a lot of shrugging, but it was unclear whether this was "I'm annoyed but I will fold," shrugging, or "what the hell!" shrugging. Turned out it was the latter, and he put his last 65,000 into the middle. Kenney snap called. 

Kenney: [jh][jc]
Derwiche: [ac][kd]
Chidwick: [5s][5h]

The board ran [6s][7s][kc][4h][8c]

The king on the flop helped Derwiche, but Chidwick would make a straight, moving up to 48,000. Derwiche would settle for 61,000 while Kenney dropped down to 180,000. - SB

2:15pm: McDonald doubles Schemion
Level 10 - Blinds: 800/1,600 (200 ante)

You'll do well to get a tell off Mike McDonald. Arguably, it's impossible. His face is impassive and over recent years he's even introduced the most rigid placing of bets style of anyone in the game: picking up the required number of chips and putting them over the line in one tight pile. No splashing, no scattering.

The only way to get any hint what McDonald is holding is to take him to showdown. And thankfully for us, both Andrey Zaichenko and Ole Schemion did just that in consecutive hands. Here's how McDonald played those two pots.

On the first, McDonald was under the gun and he opened to what looked like 3,400. (The tight pile of chips made it difficult to see exactly how many were out there.) Zaichenko, in the cutoff seat, raised to 10,000 and McDonald called.

They saw the [5s][6h][3s] fall on the flop and McDonald checked. Zaichenko bet 7,000 and McDonald called.

Both players checked the [7d] turn. And they also checked the [qh] river. McDonald turned over a carefully-played [tc][td] and Zaichenko mucked.

So there we had a medium pocket pair for McDonald, but there was nothing of the sort on this next hand.

The one started with Schemion opened to 3,500 from the cutoff and McDonald three-betting to 9,000 from the big blind. Schemion called, taking just the two of them to a flop of [as][4c][kd].

McDonald led. He bet 6,000, which Schemion called. The [8h] came on the turn and McDonald moved all in, a stack of about 50,000. Schemion sighed, but called all in.

Schemion had about 30,000 in his stack, so was the man under threat. But after he tabled [ac][7c] he was in far better shape than perhaps even he could have thought. McDonald had a gutshot, but otherwise his [2s][3s] wasn't great.

The [2h] on the river wasn't enough, and Schemion doubled. McDonald is mighty short now. -- HS

2pm: As luck would have it
Level 10 - Blinds: 800/1,600 (200 ante)

Sergey Sergeev has more trinkets in front of him than a taxi driver we once encountered at EPT Warsaw. This man, driving at close to 100mph along a relatively suburban street, had 18 pictures of the Madonna pinned to various parts of his car - the dashboard, the rearview mirror -  but no seat belt on. For him, taxi driving was a luck game, and while Sergeev might not depend quite as much on the almighty, he looks like a man who figures there's no point taking chances. 

So he has an assortment of charms with him, built around a small Buddha figuring which is surrounds with small piles of chips. There's a gold chain wrapped around the Buddha, with a medallion on the end, and two shiny gold coins, one large, one small, protecting his cards. 

He also has two pairs of glasses, one pair for reading, and the other pair sunglasses, both of which are perched on his forehead, and he's in the middle of a massage that started yesterday. I'm not sure of this, but after such a long time one imagines a massage therapist eventually exhausts all of their moves and simply begins making stuff up, like using Sergeev's back as a step ladder. She smiled. I understood. 

So a luck player? Niall Farrell might have thought so, at least for one hand.

Sergeev and Farrell played a hand together. The former was helped by a pair of fives and all those charms. Farrell meanwhile was held back by a hand that would not make quads by the river, and Bananaman, or at least the waiter, unfamiliar with poker etiquette, who politely insisted on payment for the banana while Farrell contemplated the turn. 

With the board reading [6s][2h][9c] [5h] he was reaching into the pocket for €3 and trying to work out what Sergeev had. He decided to check, perhaps out of necessity. Sergeev did the same for a [5c] river card. 

Apologetically handing the waiter a €50 note for the €3 banana, Farrell announced check. Who knows if he'd have done anything if less distracted, but Sergeev showed his pocket fives. Farrell laughed. "No good, no good," he said, folding his hand. 

Farrell made up for it moments later, sending Abdel Omais to the rail with 9[s][8s] which had made two pairs by the turn. 

"Lucky banana," he joked. 

"I'll pay six euros for it," replied Farid Jattin. --SB

1:45pm: No sign of Newey
Level 10 - Blinds: 800/1,600 (200 ante)

Paul Newey's collapse is complete. The chair, to the right of Stephen Chidwick, that housed the overnight chip leader is now vacant.--HS

1:40pm: The laughing stops as MacPhee departs
Level 10 - Blinds: 800/1,600 (200 ante)

Imad Derwiche knocked out Sam Greenwood in a hand taking place out across the other side of the tournament area from my vantage point--i.e., too far to see any of the details. However, it was definitely within earshot, particularly when Greenwood's erstwhile table-mates, including Bryn Kenney, Mustapha Kanit and Kevin MacPhee, began berating Greenwood as he wandered away.

"Go home!" bellowed Derwiche, to general amusement. (Greenwood, it must be noted, was in on the joke. He offered a wave as he headed towards the door.)

It wasn't quite such a laughing matter for MacPhee on the very next hand, however. He was quickly condemned to the same fate as Greenwood, despite finding pocket aces.

Bryn Kenney opened the pot, making it 3,500 to play. MacPhee, a couple of seats down, moved all in for something like 30,000 and when action came back to Kenney, he called immediately. Kenney had [ah][qs] while MacPhee had [ac][ad].

But it was another case of the dreaded four-flush when the board ran [5s][9s][8c][ks][ts]. The laughing stopped as MacPhee gathered his belongings. (It started again once he was gone.)

Kenney has about 260,000 chips now, which is bigger even that Sam Chartier's 255,000 stack. I'd say they're the chip leaders.--HS

1:25pm: Buddiga from the cut off
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

After moving all in a short while ago (no takers) Pratyush Buddiga opened for 2,700 in the cut off. Thiago Nishijima called from the big blind for a flop of [6c][ad][tc]. 

There was a bet and a call ahead of the [th] turn card. Nishijima made it 6,500 to play, which Buddiga called for a [4h] river. Nishijima then plonked a stack of blue chips in front of him and waited for Buddiga's reaction. It was quick. A fold. 

He's down to 20,000 while Nishijima now has around 135,000. - SB

1:20pm: Neuville double up
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Pierre Neuville secured a double up through Chance Kornuth. Neuville shoved for 24,000 with [7h][7s], which Kornuth called with [qc][kd].
The board ran [6s][8s][9h][5s][3s].

That put Neuville on slightly more than 50,000 while Kornuth has 95,000. - SB

1:15pm: Yeung send packing
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Edmund Yeung is out. Or, at least, he has lost his first stack. (Registration and re-entry is still open.) Sergey Lebedev opened in what would be Yeung's last hand, making it 2,600 to play from under the gun.

Stefan Schillhabel called from the cutoff and then Yeung squeeze-shoved for 20,700 from the button.

The move got rid of Lebedev, but Schillhabel went nowhere. He called with [ac][qs] which stayed ahead of Yeung's [kh][th] on a board of [2s][3s][jd][9h][7s].

Action remains frenetic as they move into Level 10, which is the last where re-entries are available. --HS

1:10pm: Newey slumps
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

It has been a disastrous start to the day for Paul Newey, who was the overnight chip leader in this tournament. His starting stack of about 190,000 is now only a fraction of the size--around 28,000, to be more precise.

I don't have specific details of how it shrank so significantly, but there are a couple of clues around his table. Firstly, Ben Heath, who only re-entered at the start of play, now has 120,000 chips. That's a 70,000 increase on the 50,000 starting stack.

More significant even than that is the presence to Newey's right of Imed Mahmoud. Mahmoud began the day in the top 30, with a stack of 112,000. However he now has at least 230,000, and is likely now in the top 1. --HS

1pm: Not so Grand this time
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Ivan Freitez and Jack Salter, two men with fond memories of action at an EPT Grand Final, are both out of this event. Freitez was spotted strolling out of the tournament room, chomping menacingly on a lolly stick. News of Salter's demise reached us in even more ignominious fashion. I found his player ID ticket discarded on the floor. "Oh yeah, he's gone," the tournament floorman said. --HS

12:55pm: Farrell off to a flyer
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Two more players just lost huge pots, both getting it in with the best hand and being flushed out by an inferior holding.

The first was Justin Bonomo, who flopped a set with his [6h][6s] on a board of [6d][3d][5h]. But he lost to Alexandru Papazian's [ad][jd] when the turn showed the [kd] and the river the [9d]. I'm not sure when the money went in here--Bonomo started the day with 48,200; Papazian with 57,400--but the end result was Bonomo in the queue for a re-entry.

Sergey Lebedev also took a massive hit when he and Niall Farrell got it all in pre-flop. Lebedev had [ad][kd] and Farrell [ac][qh]. But by the time this one was done, Farrell was convincingly ahead. The board ran [qc][kc][jc][7c][ts].

Farrell, who only bought in at the start of play today, had 80,200 in his stack, so now has double that. That'll put him close to the chip lead. --HS

12:45pm: Quoss out
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Fabian Quoss's high roller came to an end less than three minutes from the start. He found [ad][kh] and shoved, which Dan Smith in the seat next to him called with pocket jacks. 

The board came [kc][jd][2s][9s][3d]. Quoss was out of his chair on the turn, and wished everyone good luck. Smith up to 100,000. - SB

12:40pm: Panzica clings on
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Both of yesterday's leaders, Jean-Noel Thorel and Paul Newey, have been drawn on the same table today. Neither likes to back down in pots either, so there could be some fireworks on that table.

That said, Newey's stack just took a small hit as he doubled up Samuel Panzica on what may have been the first or second hand played today. It was lucky for Panzica and unfortunate for Newey, although his stack can handle it.

Ben Heath started the action, raising to 2,700. Panzica moved all in for 23,200 from the cutoff and must have been a little concerned when Newey, on the button, took a long while deciding his action. Newey decided to call, putting the decision back with Heath.

Heath actually had already made up his mind. He folded. It left Newey to turn over his [as][ah] and Panzica began packing his things as he turned over [ks][qd].

The dealer had other ideas. The board fell [5c][9d][7d][4d][kd] and Panzica four-flushed to stay alive. --HS

12:35pm: Another huge field
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Play has now started on Day 2 and this tournament is getting ever bigger. There were seven re-entries before play started, plus three new entries, and in the time it took to type that, another two players showed up. Registration remains open for another couple of levels, so this is going to get out of control.

The new players who registered before play are Mikita Badziakouski, Niall Farrell and Timofey Kuznetsov. The re-entries are Senh Ung, Boyuan Qu, Rainer Kempe, Yunhsiang Fan, Ben Heath, Rocco Palumbo and Mustapha Kanit, bro.

As I say, that's just the start of it. It'll be some time still until we know the full numbers. --HS

12:25pm: Into the main room
Level 9 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

After getting started yesterday in the auxiliary tournament room, the €10,000 single-entry high roller tournament is now in the main Salle des Etoiles. This is the best tournament room in world poker, what with its retractable roof and all.

Obviously the curtains are closed and the roof is shut as we try our best to recreate the atmosphere of a downstairs, dingy poker club. But it's nice to know the outside is there.

Play is now getting under way, so stick with us for the ups and downs of what is certain to be a turbulent day. -- HS

11:30am: Day 2 imminent

Over the coming hour, players will be gradually arriving to the tournament venue for the start of Day 2 of the €10,000 single-entry high roller at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final. The restart is at 12:30pm.

There's a slightly unconventional structure today. Registration and re-entry is still open for the first couple of hours, until they have played Levels 9 and 10 (which are 45 minutes long) and they have taken a 20-minute tournament break.

At the moment Level 11 begins, however, registration is closed. The tournament then reverts to 60-minute levels, of which they will play another eight, or until a final table of eight players is reached. There's next to no chance that the latter will happen, so we're essentially playing 10 levels.

There's a dinner break after Level 16 and the close of play will be around midnight.

Take a look at the official website of the EPT, with tournament schedule, news, results and accommodation details.

Also all the schedule information is on the EPT App, which is available on both Android or IOS.

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the €10,000 single re-entry high roller at the EPT12 Grand Final: Howard Swains and Stephen Bartley. Photography by René Velli. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog