SEASON 3 - FINAL TABLE PLAYER PROFILES

At every EPT event, we like to interview all the players who make the final table. Below are the player profiles we published at the time ... congratulations to all these talented men (and two women!) for beating some of the best poker players in the world to reach the final eight.

Barcelona | London | Baden | Dublin | Copenhagen | Dortmund | Warsaw | Monte Carlo Grand Final

EPT3 BARCELONA

The €5,000 buy-in Barcelona tournament - the first of EPT Season 3 - attracted a record-breaking 480 players creating a total prize pool of €2,304,000 (approx. $2,900,000) and a top prize of €691,000 (approx. $875,000.

1st - Bjorn-Erik Glenne (Norway)
Bjorn-Erik, 35, is no stranger to the EPT: 19th in Copenhagen last year and 15th in a €1,000 side event in last year's EPT Grand Final. He's already way ahead of that and now guaranteed to take his biggest ever cash result back to Oppegard, Norway. Bjorn-Erik, also a high-ranking chess player, was the Norwegian No Limit champion in 2005 and is a PokerStars regular, enjoying substantial success in the $100 re-buy tournaments.

2nd - Phil Ivey (US)
Poker superstars don't come much bigger than Phil Ivey, now making his EPT debut. Phil, 30, is becoming one of the most successful tournament players in history - with a WSOP record of 24 cashes and 5 bracelets in just four years. He's a cash-game Goliath too - a regular in the Bellagio 'big game'.

3rd - Dave Gregory (UK)
The biggest win that former market trader Dave Gregory, 47, has ever had before today is £16,000 in a tournament in Brighton, on the UK's South Coast. The father-of-two has only been playing Texas Hold'em for three years and is amazed to now find himself sitting next to Phil Ivey at the final table of EPT3 Barcelona. He said: "Well, I've seen him on TV but when you sit next to him, you realize how well he plays."

4th - David Daneshgar (US)
David, 25, lives in Los Angeles and turned professonal last year. He has an impressive list of cashes behind him already, including $110,000 in the WPT event in LA last month, and $200,000 in a $2,500 NL event in LA in March. He used to work in investments, and is planning to re-invest some of his winnings here to enter the EPT in London next week.

5th - Joakim Geigert (Sweden)
Joakim, 42, from Gothenburg, is better known in Sweden as a TV presenter hosting travel, sports, poker and game shows including a Swedish version of "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush". Joakim, married with three children, has been playing online for six years and took up live cash games and tournaments three years ago. He co-founded the popular Swedish online community Prosharks which now has 6,000 members. He came 17th at the Season 2 Barcelona EPT winning €10,400.

6th - Jeff Lisandro (Italy)
Jeff describes himself as an 'Italian Australian' and lives in Salerno, Italy. Away from poker, he buys and sells property and invests in the stock market, but ring games remain his primary occupation. "I've won $1m in each of the last eight years playing cash". Jeff recently endured a three-hour heads up marathon with Phil Ivey at a WSOP circuit event, with Jeff emerging $500,000 richer. After pulling off a couple bluffs early in this tournament, he says he has 'not been in trouble since.'

7th - Jon Dull (United States) - PS qualfier
Jon (KidpokerJD), 23, is from California, but is being supported here by sister Jaqueline, who lives in Barcelona. Jonathan graduated in law and been playing online for three years. He didn't' make the cash at the WSOP main event this summer but did cash in the $1,000 NL event, and was close to the money in EPT2 London. He qualified for Barcelona in $475 PokerStars satellite.

8th - Robin Keston (UK)
Robin Keston, 41, from London, has been successful on the circuit for while. He is no stranger to the EPT and last year came 21st at the London tournament. He will be known to devotees of Late Night Poker, the pioneering UK television show, in which he was often a contestant.

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EPT3 LONDON

London journalist Vicky Coren won the EPT3 London event amd a record prize of £500,000 - the largest prize ever won by a woman in Europe - after beating 397 others in the sell-out event.

1st: Vicky Coren, London UK
Londoner Victoria Coren is a well-known television presenter, newspaper columnist and author. Among her many media commitments, she presents TV poker shows and writes a weekly poker column for the Guardian. Vicky is known to supplement her income with regular visits to the cash games here at the Victoria casino. She has impressed onlookers and rivals with her sophisticated play at this EPT event- 'she's a charming person, with a few tricks up her sleeve', says Norwegian pro Allan Dyrstad. Victoria has cashed in several major tournaments here at 'The Vic' and was the winner of the 2004 Celebrity Poker Challenge.

2nd - Emad Tahtouh. 25 from Melbourne, Australia
In 2005, Emad qualified for the WSOP and talked his best friend Joe Hachem into coming with him. Some three weeks later, Joe was World Champion and $7.5 million richer. But Emad's recent performances show he is no mere poker sidekick. He won $70,000 at this year's WSOP after coming 7th in the $5,000 Pot Limit event and in the last two weeks has come second in two events at the Victorian Poker Championships in Melbourne - with combined winnings of over $40,000. Emad has been playing poker for years but went pro some four years ago, playing mainly in small live tournaments at his local Crown Casino in Melbourne. He is now a regular in the high limit cash games on PokerStars.

3rd - Jan Sjavic, 42 from Oslo
Jan started his poker life playing in underground cardrooms in Oslo and is now one of the most respected poker players in the country. He won the European Championship at the Victoria Casino in 2001 and is a major force in high-stakes limit games in Vegas. Jan has been a professional player for seven years, and also now runs his own poker site.

4th - Michael Muldoon, 25 from Belfast, Northern Ireland
Civil servant Michael has been playing poker for eight years - mainly in home games and at local casinos. In the 2004 UK Open at the Vic, he "bluffed all his chips off in seven minutes". Making the final table this year is by far his biggest success so far. Michael is being cheered on by three friends from Northern Ireland, including two other EPT players - Joe Rafferty (who went out in 24th place) and Brendan Walls.

5th - Chad Brown from Los Angeles, USA
Actor and TV presenter Chad is well-known in the US for his hosting of the Ultimate Poker Challenge television series. A prolific tournament player, Chad arrived in London alongside girlfriend, Team PokerStars' Vanessa Rousso. Originally from New York, Chad grew up in the Bronx and learned poker playing in the neighbourhood cafes. Chad has cashed at several WSOP events including 3rd in the 2002 $1,500 Omaha hi-lo split event, 2nd in the 2004 $1,500 7-card stud event and 2nd in the 2005 $2,000 seven-card stud hi-lo event. Brown made back-to-back final tables at last year's WSOP circuit events, including a third place finish behind Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Prahlad Friedman.

6th - Jules Kuusik, 36 from Stockholm
Jules turned pro some three years ago and plays mainly online, coming 3rd in the Swedish internet championship in 2004. This is one of his first appearances at a large live tournament although he only narrowly missed the money at this year's WSOP. Last week, he came to EPT3 Barcelona and made it through to Day 2. Before taking up poker, Jules ran a chain of recruitment agencies.

7th - Peter Hedlund, 38, from Stockholm
Peter was one of the very first players to join the EPT circuit - winning €1,100 for 25th place at the first event in Barcelona in 2004. He also won €19,000 in a side event at last week's Barcelona event and has made the money three years in a row at the WSOP - with his 99th place last year netting him $77,000. Peter, a popular character in Stockholm cardrooms, is well-known for his excitable behaviour at the table. Journalist Ola Brandborn said: "He talks non-stop. I was playing with him once and offered him $50 to shut up for an hour, but he just laughed and threw the money back at me, saying he knew he wouldn't be able to keep quiet for that long!"

8th - Sid "El Sid" Harris, 61 from Hove, Sussex, UK
Sid describes himself as a "gifted poker amateur" but his day job is writing. He is the author of several books on food and horse-racing including the "Anti Atkins Diet". Sid has had a run of success in the last few months including a £14,400 win at the South of England Poker Championship in Southampton three months ago and two £10,000 wins in Luton and Brighton in the last six weeks.

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EPT3 BADEN

1st - Thang Duc Nguyen (Germany)
Originally from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Thang Duc Nguyen, 42, now lives in Hamburg, Germany. Married with ten-year-old twins, Thang Duc has had some impressive wins including two final tables in last month's PokerStars.com World Cup of Online Poker, picking up a total of €35,000, not to mention 8th place in the 2004 WPT in Paris where he won €50,990. Yet despite these successes, Thang Duc says he's "not ready yet" to give up his day job as a chef.

2nd - Ben Johnson (USA)
PokerStars qualifier Ben, from Brooklyn, New York, was a keen player on the NYC chess scene before he switched his attention to poker full-time two years ago. He prefers the science of cash limit games to tournament poker, but he has a useful tourney record having cashed high in WPT and WSOP events (33rd in 2005). Ben, 29, was 'brow-beaten' into travelling to Baden after his buddy Yakov (AKA 'sacker') qualified in the 'last chance' qualifier for Baden. 'sacker' finished 40th, but Ben could go all the way.

3rd - Dario Minieri (Italy)
A prolific online player with PokerStars, Dario, 22, is no stranger to live tournaments either - finishing 22nd in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo last March for $16,800, and 543rd in this year's WSOP for $22,266. He plays so much online - often up to nine tournaments at once for seven hours a day - that he gathered enough Frequent Player Points on PokerStars to become the first player to buy a car with them - a Porsche Cayman. He lives in Rome, Italy, where he takes delivery of his shiny free motor in January.

4th - Daniel Dodet (Belgium)
PokerStars qualifier Daniel, 41, is from Liege in French-speaking Belgium. He works in the insurance business and has only been playing poker for a year, but he caught the poker bug big time after finishing in the last 300 players in the WSOP main event (he qualified on PokerStars). Daniel is a regular on the growing Belgian tournament circuit and is planning on playing all remaining events on the EPT calendar.

5th Sasa Biorac (Germany)
Sasa Biorac, 31, from Wiesbaden has been playing poker for 10 years but, until very recently, stuck to live high-limit cash games, especially Pot Limit Omaha. He combines poker playing with running his own import business … but even if he wins here in Baden, he says he won't be giving up his day job. "I really have two professions - poker and my business. But to be honest, unless I won every EPT from now on, I wouldn't make as much as I do from my job."

6th - Rodion Cherednichenko (Russia)
Rodion Cherednichenko, 38, has only been playing poker for a year and has restricted himself to smallish live tournaments in his local casinos in Moscow. Nevertheless, the married father-of-three is used to stiff competition - he's a former wake board and water-skiing champion, and is also a keen snow boarder and motorbiker as well. Rodion is a software developer for computer games and also runs a refinery to recycle motor oil.

7th - Jonas Molander (Sweden)
Molander from Stockholm, Sweden, has only been playing poker since March, 2004. Already, though, he has proved he is one of the best new talents to emerge out of Scandinavia. He plays online at PokerStars, where he qualified for the EPT Baden in a cash satellite tournament. He has also had great success playing live, after beating Peter Eichhardt heads-up the Helsinki Freezeout last December for $110,522, coming 12th in the EPT London last month for $18,830, and 9th in the EPT Dublin last year for $24,013.

8th - Peter Eichhardt (Sweden)
Former card dealer Peter Eichhardt, a pro for 11 years, has cashed in dozens of tournaments across Europe and in Vegas with his biggest prize so far being €77,400 after coming 2nd to Jonas Molander at the Helsinki Freezeout in December. His best EPT result was 7th at Deauville in 2005. A keen practitioner of the Japanese martial art Bujinkan, Peter, 40, lives in Stockholm with wife Lena. She will miss his progress on the final table though - she's flying home this afternoon to care for the daughter Emma.

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EPT3 DUBLIN

The €5,000 buy-in No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament has attracted 389 players with a total prize pool of €1,847,750 and a top prize of €554,300

1st - Roland de Wolfe (UK)
Londoner Roland de Wolfe, 27, had enjoyed several modest cashes before bursting on to the big poker stage by winning the WPT Paris last year, collecting $599,600. More success followed and in April this year he came 3rd in the WPT Five-Star World Poker Classic in Las Vegas for another bumper payout of $1,025,205. Roland, a fanatical Arsenal fan, is also no stranger to the EPT, finishing 20th in Barcelona last month. Before turning pro, he used to work for gambling magazine Inside Edge.

2nd - David Tavernier (France)
PokerStars qualifier David 'Davethebest' Tavernier nearly didn't even make it to Dublin. He missed his first flight by 5 minutes and his second flight was cancelled. He finally sat down at the Regency 90 minutes late. However, the late start doesn't seem to have harmed his play and the same thing happened to Patrick Antonius who won in Baden last year. Anaesthetist David, 50, has been playing poker for over 30 years - online, in home games and the occasional tournament. Married with four children, he lives in Paris and is a regular on PokerStars.

3rd - William Thorson (Sweden)
William Thorson, 23, from Gothenburg, started playing at home with his parents. His father Olof, a horse-trainer, is also a highly successful player and has cashed at the WSOP. William is already a well-known and formidable player and one of the most successful online players in the world, playing the highest no limit games available. He came 13th in this year's World Series of Poker for a $907,128 payout. His main concern today is Roland who describes as "sickly aggressive".

4th - Gavin Simms (UK)
Londoner Gavin, 36, learned his poker skills at the PokerStars' fun Century Club monthly tournaments and, according to tournament director Conrad Brunner, he is by far the most successful graduate of the event. His biggest win to date was $44,000 after coming 59th in the $25,000 WPT Classic in April - a spectacular feat from the London stockbroker who outlasted some of the best players in the world. He said: "I'm either suicidally reckless or overcautious but this week I've managed to self-destruct". He may be a dark horse for this event; Noah Boeken says "No one ever knows what he has."

5th - George McKeever (Ireland)
Friends say Irishman George McKeever looks like Father Christmas - and plays like Scrooge. That may be a bit harsh judging by his results over the years. His highlight was a superb 7th in the World Series of Poker main event in 1999 for $125,775, but it was no fluke as he has a long list of tournament successes behind him. The 72-year-old cashed last month in the London EPT, where he also final tabled in 2004, and is currently 6th in the All Ireland All Time Money List, with $674,334. He has a fearsome reputation in cash games too.

6th - Rob Yong (UK)
Rob Yong, 34, used to be a blackjack player but got barred because his "system" was too effective. He took up poker three years and is the founder of the new Dusk Till Dawn poker club, due to open in Nottingham next year. Former recruitment consultant Rob said: "My lack of patience is my weakness, but I can be fearless when necessary." He picked up £23,300 after coming 2nd in the Midlands Meltdown in Wallsall in June.

7th - Nick Slade (UK)
Nick Slade, 43, a acquisitions broker from Preston, has only been playing poker for ten months but is already enjoying enormous success, making four final tables in four different countries in the last three months. He came 3rd in the Bellagio Cup II in July for a $41,000 payout. A former semi-pro golfer, he had to give up because of family commitments but believes the concentration skills he learned on the fairway are helping in him in four-day poker tourneys.

8th - Patrick Bueno (France)
The 40-year-old Parisian has been playing poker for eight years and has made several final tables in both Europea and the USA. The construction company boss says poker is "not my job, it's my passion". He is married with three children including eldest son Benjamin who is cheering him on today from the rails. He said: "I can sit and wait for ever for my chance but my weakness is I'm probably not aggressive enough."

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EPT3 COPENHAGEN

Winner: Magnus Petersson, 29, from Stockholm, Sweden
Financial advisor Magnus has been playing poker for three years, mainly online, although he is planning to play in more live tournaments from now on. His biggest win to date was $35,000 online but he also cashed at last year's WSOP, coming 438th for $30,000. This is his first EPT - he qualified online with PokerStars in a $475 cash satellite.

2nd: Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, 26, from Paris, France - Team PokerStars
ElkY was a famous professional gamer until a friend suggested he try his luck at poker six years ago. He quickly proved his skills by qualifying for the WSOP two years running. He joined Team PokerStars last summer. Never without his trademark sunglasses, poker has proved a profitable career switch for the young Frenchman. He cashed at EPT3 Baden in October, coming 16th for €12,578 and is a prolific online player. He said: "With gaming, I could practice 12 hours a day, but if I lost the game, the value would be zero. However, in poker every hour has some benefit".

3rd: Richard Toth, 24, from Miskolc, Hungary
Richard burst onto the scene in the last year, including a superb second in the World Series of Poker $1,500 No Limit event in the summer. That result got him $330,000, but he made another big cash by winning the Austrian Classics €3,000 European Masters Event in October, pocketing another €100,000. This is his third EPT - but the first time he has made it beyond Day 1.

4th: Theo Jorgensen. 34, from Copenhagen, Denmark
Theo marks EPT2 Deauville as the turning point in his poker career - he came fourth for a win of €118,300, showing not just his poker skills but proving he is one of the most entertaining chip rifflers on the circuit. He has been playing poker ten years and turned pro six years ago. He is also distinguished by his famous mushroom-shaped beanie hat. He bought it in Switzerland and started wearing it in Deauville so it has become something of a mascot. He said: "I only wear it when really need it so I didn't wear it here for the first two days - but when skill goes out, and luck comes in, then I need my hat - so I'll be wearing it today."

5th: Samir Shakhtoor, 30, from Malmo, Sweden
Samir has had some impressive poker wins including $209,000 in a Foxwoods WPT event in November 2005 since taking the game two years ago. He also cashed at EPT3 London, coming 29th for £5,940. His day job is running the online dating site he founded two months ago. He said: "It's actually in Denmark and I commute here from Malmo. No, I don't actually have a girlfriend but I don't date online - I'm still more of the bar type!"

6th: Alexandre Poulain, 31, from Paris, France
Alexandre Poulain, 31, from Paris, rode the poker rollercoaster on Day 2 of EPT3 Copenhagen - turning a tiny pile of chips into a final table stack. When Alexandre is not running his discount electronics store in Paris, he - like everyone in his family - is a keen online player and qualified for Copenhagen on PokerStars. He is also a regular at the Aviation Club on the Champs Elysées which is where he won his first major tournament, picking up the Pot Limit Omaha title - and €25k - at the European Finals of Poker Masters last month. A huge football fan, he is wearing the French shirt for his final table appearance.

7th: Thomas Holm, 30, from Copenhagen, Denmark
Thomas has been playing poker for three years but his final table appearance here in his home city is his biggest poker success to date. This is also his first EPT - although he did qualify for last summer's WSOP. Since becoming a dad four months ago, Thomas has been based at home - but used to work as an IT salesman.

8th: Anders Wijk, 24, from Stockholm, Sweden
Anders turned professional three years ago and mainly plays cash games online. He only recently started tournament play but came 7th at the Nordic master of Poker in Sweden last April for €24,000. This is his third EPT this season - he fell just short of the money in Dublin, and went out in the first two hours in Baden. "I don't think I have the skills for tournament play. I've been very lucky here."

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EPT3 DORTMUND

1st - Andreas Hoivold, 35, from Kristiansand, Norway
Andreas Hoivold's decision to turn pro seven months ago has proved a pretty good move. In December, he banked $250,000 after coming 3rd in the Poker Million and he is now on the final table in Dortmund, assured of at least €60,300. He also won €24,000 last May after winning the Tallin Challenge Cup in Estonia. Andreas used to have the largest comic book collection in Norway and is known as the "Cartoon Collector" - but he recently sold the lot to concentrate on his poker career. His card marker is a Mickey Mouse.

2nd - Christano Blanco, 26, from Rome, Italy
TV football journalist Christiano has only been playing a couple of years - mainly online and in home games with friends. This is the biggest tournament he's been in and he's delighted to have made the final table. Although mad about football - he says he will travel anywhere for an AC Roma match - he reckons it's poker that's going to make him rich. He said: "In poker, I'm a marathon runner, rather than a sprinter. It's the person who folds well that's the best."

3rd - Sebastian Ruthenberg, 23, from Hamburg, Germany
Known as "Luckbox", Sebastian is a big online player and qualified for this event in a PokerStars Frequent Player Point satellite. Now a professional and well-known in Germany, he's been playing about three years. His biggest win so far was 50k in an invitational tournament. Online, he plays both tourneys and cash games.

4th - Gunnar Rabe, 53, from Vasteras, Sweden
PokerStars qualifier Gunnar runs an engineering company in his home town and this is only his second ever live tournament. The first was last July's WSOP when he qualified online with PokerStars and came 287th for around $39,000. He's wearing the same PS cap now to bring him luck. He's been playing about three years, almost exclusively in online tournaments. He's married with two children.

5th - Jacob Rasmussen, 23, from Denmark
This is Jacob's second big tournament and he's doing even better than in his last one - January's EPT in Copenhagen where he won €7,424 after coming 27th. Known as "Sasuke" in the poker community, he's been playing around three years, fitting in his online cash games while studying Economy & Law at Odense University. He is being supported here in Dortmund by his girlfriend Jagge.

6th - Erik Lindberg, 24, from Stockholm, Sweden
Erik started playing poker five years ago and turned pro soon after. He focuses mainly on 25/50 online Pot Limit Omaha cash games but has been to three EPTs - and the World Series three years' running. Making today's final table is his biggest success to date, but he also came 11th at the EPT3 Copenhagen in January to win €24,000.

7th - Nicolas Levi, 24, from France
Originally from Paris, Nicolas now lives in London and is an online pro - known as "Croque Monsieur" as well as being a familiar figure in the card rooms. He studied computer sciences at Norwich University before turning pro. Although he went deep in a number of tournaments in 2006, including 7th in the Caribbean Classic $6,000 event, he has yet to trouble the cashiers at an EPT. He writes up his poker performances on his blog: teamrobusto.com

8th - Thomas Fougeron, 32 from Lille, France
Thomas is a well-known figure on the European poker circuit but still holds down a day job as the manager of a computer services company. His biggest tournament wins recently were two cashes in last season's EPTs in Deauville and Barcelona. Thomas travels the EPT circuit with his great friend, poker champion Pascal Perrault. He is an "ultra" supporter of the Olympique Marseille, Tony Cascarino's old team.

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EPT3 WARSAW

1st - Peter Willers Jepsen, 24, Denmark
Peter took up playing poker after serving in Iraq and being sent home injured. Desperate to rekindle "the rush" of army life, he discovered online poker and in a relatively short time had worked his way up from low 0.5/1 NL Hold'em to high stakes play, both cash and tournaments. In 2006, Peter won $165.000 at the Caribbean Poker Classic in St. Kitts. Like Frederik Hostrup, he is a member of Pokerteam.dk.

2nd - Farid Meraghni, 22, France
Like his friend Noah Boeken, Farid was a keen player of Magic: The Gathering winning a professional tour event aged just 17. When he saw all his fellow competitors switching to poker, he made the move himself and quickly became an expert online cash game player. Although he qualified with PokerStars for last year's WSOP, he hasn't played many live tourneys: he finds them way too slow - and he hates having to stack his chips.

3rd - John Conroy, 43, UK
John, a PokerStars cash qualifier, is - like his fellow final table opponent Andrew - another Dubliner who lives in Leeds. He started playing poker 20 years ago; his first forays were draw and stud cash games in Dublin card rooms. He then stopped playing until the poker internet boom kicked off two years ago. He made the final table of the Monte Carlo Millions consolation event but for no prize money. His biggest win to date was last month at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour in Walsall for £10,800. He runs the Bad Beat hedge fund which invests in high-roller poker players.

4th - Marius Torbergsen, 23, Norway
Marius, a Poker Stars online qualifier from Tromsø, in the north of Norway, has been playing poker for the last three years, mainly online and in NL cash games. He played in the WSOP last year and cashed in a side event. Although still studying, Marius says poker is his main source of income. The young Norwegian used to play basketball for Tromsø.

5th - Katja Thater Germany, 40, Germany
Katja famously took up poker after standing in for her partner Jan while he went to the bathroom during a high-stakes game. Immediately hooked and enjoying success in her home city of Hamburg, she turned pro in 2000. She came 2nd in the Poker Nations Cup in Cardiff, bubbled five times in a row at the WSOP Tunica event in 2005 and cashed twice at last year's WSOP. Her many TV appearances have quickly made her the best-known female poker player in Germany. She joined Team PokerStars last year.

6th - Andrew O'Flaherty, 45, UK
Andrew has been playing poker 20 years and competing in big tournaments for the last eight. The married father-of-three hails from Dublin but now lives in Leeds. His biggest win so far was $125,000 in a $1,000 buy-in event at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. Andrew is not only successful on the felt though; for a hobby, he races greyhounds and has had two St. Leger winners.

7th - Patric Martensson, 20, Sweden
Patric is something of an EPT phenomenon. He has made three final tables in the last 18 months, and cashed four times. His biggest EPT win was 4th place in Barcelona in 2005. Thanks to his friends giving out spoof biographic details, Patric is now widely known as Sweden's Monopoly Champion which he claims isn't true. Before the EPT Polish Open, he was 18th in the EPT Tournament Leader Board but his exceptional performance in Warsaw will push up him way up the table.

8th - Fredrik Hostrup, 42, Denmark
Frederik "Dynamisk." Hostrup has been an online pro since 2001 and has quickly become known as one of the best multi-table tournament players in the world. As chairman of the Danish Poker Federation, he is a high-profile figure on the Danish poker scene and he is also a member of Pokerteam.dk. Norwegian pro Sverre Sundbo said of Frederik: ""He's a really nice guy, but a crazy, crazy, crazy poker player."

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EPT3 GRAND FINAL IN MONTE CARLO

Winner: Gavin Griffin, 25, Chicago, USA
Chip leader and PokerStars qualifier Gavin Griffin arrived in Europe for the first time last week sporting pink-dyed hair and a pink wristband. But the gently-spoken 25-year-old from Chicago is no poker punk: the pink theme is to mark his involvement in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer charity (see http://tinyurl.com/ytyx3z) Gavin and his girlfriend Kristen, 21, who suffered breast cancer a few years ago, set off on their 39-mile, two-day Los Angeles marathon in September.

Gavin first came to poker fame in 2004 when he became the youngest player ever to win a World Series of Poker bracelet at 22. (He took down the $3k Pot Limit Hold'em event for $240k) University-trained as a speech therapist, he turned pro four years ago and is having a great 2007. He's made four final tables already, including 3rd place for $86,685 in the San Diego WSOP Circuit Event in February.

PokerStars is helping Gavin raise even more money. Aside from an immediate donation to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer of $15,000, we have also set up a special account on PokerStars to raise further funds. To donate, simply transfer funds from your own PokerStars accounts to AvonDonate before 18:00 ET (23:00 GMT) on Friday, April 6. For every dollar given, PokerStars will match it up to $100,000. If you don't have a PS account or would like to donate at a later date, go to Gavin's page on the Avon site: http://tinyurl.com/ytyx3z

2nd: Marc Karam, 27, from Ottawa, Canada - 1,742,000
Marc "Myst" Karam has come a long way since quitting his job as a glazier last year to turn pro. He has cashed in four of the five major live tournaments he's played - and made three TV final tables, including last year's EPT Grand Final when he won $270k for 4th place. His other big wins have been $170k for 6th place at the 2006 North American WPT Championship and $275k for 6th at the Aussie Millions in January. At last year's Grand Final, he busted Dutch pro Marcel Luske with J7 of diamond against Marcel's 8s. He caught running 77 on the turn and river. After the hand, Lüske stood up, placed his finger in his mouth and pretended to vomit.

3rd: Soren Kongsgaard, 19, from Jutland, Denmark
Since qualifying for EPT Deauville last year after winning a magazine freeroll, Soren is enjoying great success. The young student has played in four EPTs and made around $15k in live tournaments, including winning a Hold'em side event at EPT Copenhagen in January. He's also fresh off a 6th place finish at the Asian Poker Classic in Goa, India.

4th: Kristian Kjondal, 21, Oslo, Norway
In the world of high stakes online poker, Kristian "Kris85" Kjondal is already a huge name and has turned over at least $250k this year alone. He was nominated for Online Player of the Year in the Pokerstars' Scandinavian Poker Awards in January but was beaten by his good friend and fellow Norwegian Johnny Lodden. Kristian is now working his way into the brick-and-mortar poker world but this is first major final table. He most recently posted a 19th place finish at a WPT event in Canada.

5th: Josh Prager, 33, from California, USA
E-mails have been pouring in to the EPTlive webcast, offering words of support and encouragement for popular Josh, he trains a college tennis team in Yuba City with his wife Helen. After cashing for $77k in the 2005 WSOP, Prager took a year off to be with he and Helen's their new baby, Ezra. Now, though, Josh is back on the circuit. The PokerStars qualifier just cashed in the Aussie Millions (41st place) and is now on his way to posting his biggest ever tournament cash.

6th: Steve Jelinek, 36, Birmingham, UK
This popular UK player from Birmingham reckons he has qualified for major events at least 14 times - but has never cashed in any of them. His qualifier "jinx" has included being first out in Monte Carlo two years ago and qualifying with PokerStars three times for the WSOP but never making it past Day 2. Known online as "superowl99" (Steve supports UK football team Sheffield Wednesday aka The Owls), Steve arrived in Monte Carlo last week worrying about work. He heads up an IT department in a UK construction firm but a forthcoming merger means he could be out of a job. Today, looking down at a minimum €159,000 payout, he can think about turning pro with confidence. He is supported here by his girlfriend Irina, also a successful player.

7th: Andy Black, 41, from Belfast, Ireland
Andy started playing cards with his mother but took up the game seriously while studying law at Trinity College, Dublin - played in the JCR university poker school that had previously included players like Donnacha O'Dea and Padraig Parkinsom. He was famously knocked out of the 1997 WSOP by the eventual winner, Stu Ungar, and when he lost the 1998 WSOP as well, he threw away all his possessions and became a Buddhist, living in a monastery for five years. Black returned to poker in 2004, and the following year came 5th in the WSOP main event. Since then, he has cashed in two Dublin EPTs as well as dozens of other tournaments. In 2006 Andy won $100,000 for 5th place at the Tournament of Champions and he's enjoyed a spectacular start to 2007 at the Aussie Millions: 2nd for $100k in the Pot Limit Omaha event and 3rd in the Main Event for $550k. As of 2007, Andy's total live tournament winnings exceed $2,600,000.

8th: Ram Vaswani, 37, London, UK
Even before this Grand Final began, Hendon Mobster Ram Vaswani was heading the EPT all-time Tournament Leader Board - thanks to winning EPT1 Dublin, coming 2nd in Copenhagen last year and a string of other high cash finishes (including a record number of EPT final table appearances). Ram is generally considered the UK's top tournament player and although he may be short-stacked right now, it's worth noting he was also the short stack when he won in Dublin. Ram knows chip leader Gavin Griffin from their joint final table appearance when Griffin won his 2004 WSOP bracelet. Ram is supported in Monaco by his wife Jackie and baby daughter Holly.

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