4.28pm: End of level 14
The fourth level of the day has ended – the players are well drilled in the routine of streaming out into the sunshine every two hours and have just done so.

We’ll be back in 15 minutes.

4.31pm: Animosity on table 3
Day 1a chip leader, Andrey Shubin has not made friends with new tablemate Renzo Cambianica. Renzo, hailing from Italy, check-called the whole way on a Q♦ 9♦ 9♣ , 7♣ board that completed with the 8♣ . After that card was dealt, Cambianica lead out for about half his remaining stack, 25,400.

This puzzled Shubin greatly and he took his time, his fellow players fleeing to the nooks and crannies that a break inspires them to populate. When Shubin called Renzo was confident his straight – on a paired and flushing board – with 10♠ 6♠ , was best. He was right.

Shubin curiously flashed the 5♥ and, pointing to the 7♣ , asked the dealer “What kind of river is that?”

In the aftermath Renzo was insistent his play was justified on account of the Russian’s previous bullying.

“He played five-eight! He was bluffing! He was bluffing!” he said, taking your correspondent by the arm. — GC

4.15pm: Larraga remains enigmatic
Spain’s Tomas Guiu Larraga has Australia’s Stuart McDonald in a fog. After raising preflop, McDonald checked and A♣ 5♣ 5♠ , J♠ , 8♣ board to the river, holding Q♠ Q♣ . At this point Larraga elected to bet half the pot, around 7,000 on account of it being a small one.

“Call”

McDonald didn’t hesitate with his lovely ladies. But Larraga had found his way to the river with two red eights.

“Be bluffing one time!” McDonald ordered in good spirits.

This was not the first time Larraga had been best against him on the river. — GC

Tomas Larraga, master of disguise

4.11pm: Cano polished off
Daniel David Cano received a mortal wound to his stack earlier in that eights versus aces coup and Frenchman Elie Abougoche just administered the death blow – his big slick out-racing Cano’s pocket jacks.

Cano gave the table a little thump in disappointment but once the mild histrionics had played out – he was rail side- whilst Abougouce has a plentiful 150k+ stack at his disposal which pushes him into the top 15 or so chip stacks. — RS

3.46pm: Shove and reshove
On the button, Ondrej Vinklarek flat called a 29,600 shove from Jose Miguel Martinez Garnéswith, over which Victor Gonzalez promptly re-shoved from the small blind, for a total of 87,000.

Vinklarek didn’t give up on the pot with A♠ Q♦ . Garnéswith revealed J♣ 9♣ and Gonzalez was ahead with A♦ K♠ . The dealer left the stacks where they lay, hoping for a scoop.

The deck was in the mood to sweat, flopping 7♠ 5♠ 7♥ . The 6♠ added some high drama. Jose could more than triple up on non-spade eight, nine, or jack. Vinklarek could make away with all the cookies and a double elimination on any spade or one of the three offsuit queens. Mr Gonzalez was just hoping to hold. And hold he did, the 2♦ a definitive brick. Gonzalez exchanged pleasantries with Garnéswith and Vinklarek was left with a short stack. — GC

3.46pm: Variance claims more victims

As we move through level 14, the player roster has been further abridged – just 144 players still in contention as we speak. — RS

3.31pm: Andrzej the giant crushes namesake
There may just be a few consonants between the first names of Andrei Vlassenki and Andrzej Kozikowski but there is now a monster gulf in their chip stacks – a key coin flip separating the pair.

The hand in question saw Spaniard Vlassenki raise to 6k, only for the Pole Kozikowski to now move all-in for approximately 40k and change.

Vlassenki had a good long think about it, his table generously indulging his lengthy consideration, before finally he announced call and pushed his stack over the line.

A♦ Q♠ for Vlassenki, pocket tens for Kozikowski.

A standard race was won by the Pole on an eight-high board and once the damage had been accounted for, Kozikowsku had doubled through to 90k whilst Vlassenki was skirting the brink of elimination with 10k. — RS

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,500-3,000, ante 300

3.11pm: Shubin handles a squeeze
When we saw day 1a chip leaders Pawel Keller and Andrey Shubin drew each other on table 3 we expected a big clash. But Shubin’s been placated, surely on account of the two immaculately dressed Russian beauties doting on him in today’s early stages.

Well Pawel tried to put a halt to his lazy river of a day when he squeezed to 14,000 on the button versus the Russian’s early position open raise. Shubin came along and check-called a small 11,000 chip continuation bet on a K♦ J♥ 10♦ flop. The turn and river ran out 2♠ 6♠ and they checked it down. Keller had tried to force the action with A♣ 5♥ and Shubin raked the pot with A♠ J♠ . After starting the day with a respectable 152,700 Keller’s been heading in the wrong direction all day.

Shubin shows his delight at winning the pot

2.53pm: Cano’s Moneymaker impression falls flat
En route to winning the 2003 WSOP Main Event, at one point Chris Moneymaker found himself all-in with pocket eights versus aces – an eight spiking to keep his hopes alive and indelibly change the course of poker history.

Daniel David Cano just found himself trying to emulate this trick as he warred preflop with Flaviud Iones Gherca. the latter calling Cano’s shove before showing him a dominating pair of bullets versus Cano’s snowmen.

Cano however proved less felicitous than Mr. Moneymaker – a board of K♠ 4♣ Q♥ 3♥ 5♦ being dealt out to shut down his claims at the pot.

The good news is he had his opponent covered by 45k so he remains in contention whilst a grinning Gherca has moved up to 65k. — RS

2.34pm: Stacks on stacks on stacks
Nick Boehler’s now sits with close to 350,000 chips, the player to his direct left, Germany’s Fabio Sperling, conspicuous by his absence.

“He had been three-betting me a lot. I opened jack-nine suited and he three-bet me in position again, I called.” Boehler related.

The flop came Q♥ 10♥ 6♦ and the chip leader check-called a continuation bet of one third the pot, spiking the 8♥ on the turn. Nick led out 17,000 at this point, which Sperling called.

“The river was a complete blank and I tanked and bombed it for 45,000.”

Sperling ended up calling, his naked aces cracked by the table’s biggest stack.

“I’ve played some live cash, mostly home games around London,” Nick said of his comfort level at the table. — GC

2.25pm: Back to stack
That’s quite enough fresh air and light gentlemen…back to the tables to continue the battle for supremacy.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,200-2,400, ante 300

2.08pm: End of level 12
Wow! Two fast, explosive levels have just played out – a host of big pots and fatal eliminations trimming this field to around 175 players.

The players now get their first breather of the day – a 15 minute pause. We’ll be back shortly. — RS

2.03pm: Wild, crazy stuff
Renata Jack, one of a handful of women returning today, just made a bold move in a four-way pot. The shenanigans started with Ruben Benitez putting 8,000 of his remaining 10,400 chips in the middle preflop, which was flat called by Per Jonatan Soderstrom, Jack, and big stack Pawel Keller.

On a K♦ 6♣ 2♠ flop Benitez closed his eyes and tossed his remaining chips across the line, a bet that was raised to 9,000 by Soderstrom. This prompted a re-raise from Jack, to 30,000. Keller and Soderstrom got out of the way, only to find her 8♣ 7♣ up against A♥ 7♥ from an overjoyed Benitez.

Her play was beginning to look prophetic when the 10♣ spiked on the turn, a real sweat had emerged. Benitez more than quadrupled up on the 7♠ river.

“I had the best hand on the flop,” a puzzled Pawel told me. “I had a six.” — GC

1.58pm: Chip porn
Pablo Rojas, the Carlos Mortensen apprentice, is back at it today. He’s just won an all-in, which put a temporary end to this shapely creature. You’re welcome. — GC

Pablo Picasso is more like it

1.56pm: Boehler maintains Canadian stranglehold
He may be inexperienced when it comes to tournament poker, but you wouldn’t guess it from Boehler’s demeanour or current chip standing.

He has increased his overnight count to 260k and while we await official confirmation he remains the chip leader, he will be there or thereabouts when the stacks are tallied. — RS

1.45pm: Torrid start
With twenty minutes still remaining in today’s second level we have lost a whopping 65 players. “Seat open!” and “Asiento libre!” has been ringing out left, right, and centre. — GC

1.30pm: Mitchell on a tear
Hopefully we can find out just how James Mitchell has managed to chip up so effectively during the break but for now, we can report great news to his fans as he has reached the impressive 150k mark after starting the day relatively short. — RS

1.22pm: Hall monitor reports bustout
We’ve been keeping a close eye on popular UKIPT stalwart Tom Hall’s stack. It has lain there unattended for much of the first level but he arrived a few moments ago, breathless and a touch disheveled.

With a mere 4.5k, he was forced into a quick move and looking down at 7♣ 5♣ he gambled and slid his chips into the middle.

He can’t have expected his raise to get through, given his micro-stack so it was no surprise when Tomasz Spodenkiewicz pushed all-in for approximately 30k, but Hall couldn’t help but let out a laugh when a third player, Roman Igorevich Dolgorukov, also moved all-in!

At least he was in with a hope of a better-than-triple-through.

Spodenkiewicz showed down K♥ 10♠ and Igorevich the real monster in Q♦ Q♥ meaning Hall would need a touch of fortune from the poker gods.

They ignored his silent pleas, his faint chances extinguished by the turn as the board peeled out 8♠ 8♦ 4♥ 8♣ 10♠ to bust him.

Spodekiwicz meanwhile moves to a very respectable 80k. — RS

The ephemeral Thomas Hall

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1000-2000, ante 300

1:05pm: Showing off
Nick Boehler has a lot of chips to work with and he just put them to use against Swedish short stack Ninib Messo. On a 9♠ 4♣ 6♣ 7♦ board Nick plopped a big stack of blue 5k chips across the betting line, enough to put Messo all-in. Messo folded grumpily and was shown the most unorthodox double inside straight draw we can recall seeing, the 10♣ 3♦ . — GC

12:52pm: Out but not down
Martins Adeniye got his last fifteen big blinds in on king, queen, ten board with king jack, but ran into his opponent’s pocket tens to bust out of the main event.

“I might play the high roller at 8,” he told us.

“It depends how much I’ve had to drink by then.” — GC

12.44pm: Barrera flounders following promising start

Luis Manuel Caballero Barrera must have been loving life, chipping up from his 70k opening stack to 120k in quick-smart fashion.

He must’ve felt invincible but a crushing confrontation with big stack Xavier Riera Taydea brought him crashing back down to earth.

The hand in question saw the pair reach the river of a Q♠ 5♣ 5♦ 8♠ 3♣ board – Taydea leading out with a huge 37k bet around 1/3 of Barrera’s stack.

Barrera had a tough decision – he chewed on his scarf he rubbed his forehead he picked his chips up and down – he was the epitome of the uncomfortable poker player – and once he emerged for air and quietly announced call – Taydea showed him pocket kings – leading Barrera to muck his hand and shake his head.

Taydea pushes up to an even bigger 200k whilst Taydea has abandoned his table for now to cool down – though with 75k left he is still a contender if he can recover his composure. — RS

It’s all happening at the felt

12.36pm: Final numbers
First place money, a hefty 158,200 Euro, was announced over the PA system, as if the players didn’t have enough pressure on them. The last 88 players will be paid — it will be interesting to see if the bubble bursts tonight. — GC

12.24pm: Quick correction
Every so often a gremlin can slip into the system and one of the little green critters seems to have assaulted the chip counts.

Spaniard Juan Jesus Alcaide Hermoso is listed as still in with 39,600. This should be the UK’s Daniel Willis – apologies Daniel.

We’ve just stuck the offender in the blender so the green cocktails are on us. — RS

12:18pm: Crozer busts with jacks
Nicholas Crozer’s tournament has come to an abrupt end. He contested a flop preflop holding jacks – Kamil Hrabia the sole opponent taking him on.

The last of his chips went in on a king-high board, only to get the bad news Hrabia held ace-king. The board brought no further succour and he becomes an early casualty.

“I’m a little frustrated!” he said before heading off we assume to grab his towel and hit the pool. — RS

12:10pm: Boehler’s stellar debut
Chip leader Nick Boehler is a student at London, Ontario’s Western University (that’s in Canada). Western has a reputation as a party school, but one suspects that doesn’t extend to the bio-medical field, where Boehler is studying.

“I’ve working two jobs and playing poker on the side. But I’ve always been interested in making poker work.”

Get this, Marbella is Nick’s first live tournament, having won a package on PokerStars. You wouldn’t know it, however, from the poise he’s shown thus far. — GC

12:00pm: Cards are in the air!

11:50pm: Welcome back to Marbella – Boehler leads pack on Day 2

After ten arduous levels on each day 1 flight the field is combining today. Nearly 500 names have been banished to the pool to sip cocktails, poor lambs, but the remaining 240 players are poised and ready to lock horns, clash swords and butt heads as they pursue their goal of tournament glory.

Who will rise to stake their claim for glory?

The sign of a well structured event, six players are coming back with over 100 big blinds, including Spanish hopefuls Xavier Tayeda and Asier Crespo, returning with 168000 and 171,900 respectively. The other four are the Uk’s Robert Wybrew with 181,000, Lorenzo Dedaj with 172,400, Andrey Shubin with 202,500, and chip leader Canadian Nick Boehler with 231,700.

For full chip counts, click here…

Day 2s tend to have a fast start – the short stacks all keen to draw their line in the sand early doors in a bid to spin up or bust out and free a full day up for one of the many attractions offered by this attractive coastal resort. It’s going to be fast, it’s going to be furious – an intriguing day beckons.

We’re moments away from the kick-off so good luck one and all!

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