Player ACTPA  took the title and extra change after romping through the 1,339-strong field. Top ten finishers were:

1 ACTPA, $49,838.68

2 cvtmWauzMaus, $49,161.33

3 prettypinkpony, $21,750

4 Highnyhine, $17,250

5 Cr4zY_Sw333de, $14,250

6 Skint_2006, $11,250

7 Hulk_DK, $8,550

8 beversdorf, $5,700

9 allin_stevie, $4,350

10 OnTwo, $3,000

You can buy-in direct for $215 or qualify for as little as $3. See our $300K Guaranteed Sunday page for more.

By Simon Young

University mathematics student Alexander Jung has used his analytic brain to win the PartyPoker.com Million VI trophy and a handy $358,280.

The 25-year-old beat fellow German Dominik Stopka heads up, and now plans to bank some of his cash and also launch an assault on the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this summer.

Alexander Jung is all smiles wih chips and trophy

Jung beat a field of 171 runners in the $8,000 No-Limit Texas Hold’em event, which started on board the stunning MSC Poesia on Sunday as she made her way from Italy to Greece, Turkey, Croatia and back to Venice.

Most players won their seats in online qualifiers at PartyPoker.com and brought family and friends to enjoy a week of luxury on the sea.

Jung, who first played poker with friends 10 years ago and says his maths helps his game, added that the week had been a fantastic experience. “This is my biggest live win so far. The structure of the tournament was perfect for me, and there were some very good players here.

“I had a lot of respect for Dominik. I had seen him play a great many hands, mostly without a showdown – and when he did have to show it was often something like aces – so he is a good player. However, I felt one or two others were a bit tight on the final table – perhaps wanting to try and climb the money positions.”

Jung and Mike Sexton

Jung, from Berlin, studied poker strategy books to improve his game, and is now reaping the rewards. He was presented with his beautiful glass trophy by PartyPoker’s “Ambassador of poker” Mike Sexton. In total, 24 players made the money in the PartyPoker.com Million VI.

Entrants came from all over the world, including Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Canada and throughout Europe. A bumper 20% travelled from Germany, so it was not a huge surprise to see two battling it out heads up.

Third place finisher was Cory Albertson from Texas in the USA, who was the only non-European to make the final table.

Final Table Positions and Payouts:

1 Alexander Jung, Germany, $358, 280

2 Dominik Stopka, Germany, $285,583

3 Cory Albertson, USA, $159,235

4 Mika Paasonen, Finland, $119,425

5 Raymond Estall, UK, $92,883

6 Andreas Jorbeck, Sweden, $67,675

7 Johannes Strassman, Germany, $47,770

8 Peter Steinlesberger, Austria, $31,845

9 Kenneth Gregersen, Denmark, $21,230

Here’s the final table action in detail:

4.55pm: JUNG WINS: Alexander Jung wins the PartyPoker Million VI tournament, scooping $358,280. He beat fellow German Dominik Stopka soon after they sat down for the heads-up battle. After taking a number of pots uncontested, he moved in with J-7 against Stopka’s A-9. The board came 3-Q-7-5-6, the seven being enough to win the event.

Stopka, right, and Jung

4.25pm: PLAYER OUT: Cory Albertson, who started the final short of chips has busted in third place, winning $159,235. He pushed all in with A-3 clubs against Jung’s A-J. The flop of 4-2-8 gave him hopes of a filling a straight, but the following Q and 4 ended his tournament. Albertson, from Texas, was the only non-European on the final table and picked up the biggest win of his career.

Jung and Stopka, both Germans, now face each other heads up. Jung has 1.1 million to Stopka’s 610,000.

4.20pm: PLAYER OUT: Mika Paasonen has busted in fourth place. On a board of 2-Q-2-9-3 with three hearts, he pushed with Q-8 but was insta-called by Alexander Jung with the A-7 hearts for the nut flush. Paasonen, a familiar face on the European circuit, picks up $119,425.

Mika Paasonen before his exit

4.15pm: Dominik Stopka took a decent pot off Alexander Jung on a tricky-looking board. On a flop of 6-2-8 Jung raised to 71,000. Stopka called, the both checked the 7 turn, and when another 6 hit the river Stopka bet 150,000. Too much for Jung, and a healthy lump of orange 5,000 chips moved Stopka’s way.

4.05pm: The dealer was not having to put out many flops, with raises and re-raises taking down the pots without a card being dealt. With the money now jumping in significant amounts, a wrong play would cost a small fortune.

3.50pm: Approximate chip counts: Alexander Jung 820,000, Dominik Stopka 425,000, Cory Albertson 250,000, Mika Paasonen 135,000.

3.30pm: Mika Paasonen raised to 65,000 but had to fold to Cory Albertson’s all in for another 165,000.

3.10pm PLAYER OUT: Raymond Estall busted when he ran his K-Q into Alexander Jung’s A-2. With no help on the board, the Englishman, who works for a chemical distribution company, picked up $92,883.

This was his first live event, and he’s thrilled with his result. “It has been great fun. But I don’t think it will be the start of a new poker career. I’ll be back at work on Monday with a great story to tell.”

Estall rakes in a pot

2.50pm: PLAYER OUT: Andreas Jorbeck is out in sixth place, winning $67,675. After a succession of pushes without being called, he went again with 9-9 and went up against Cory Albertson’s K-Q. The flop came K-4-Q, meaning the Swede needed a 9 to stay alive, but the turn and river was 7-8.

2.30pm: Approximate chip counts: Jung, 480,000, Stopka 420,000, Paasonen 260,000, Estall 240,000, Albertson 130,000, Jorbeck 120,000. Blinds are 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 running ante.

2.20pm: PLAYER OUT: Johannes Strassmann, who had been chip leader for much of the tournament, busted when his 3-3 all in was called by Raymond Estall holding A-6 clubs. The flop came 2-6-4 sending the Englishman ahead but giving the German a gutshot chance. The turn was another 6 and the river a 9 – sending Strassman to the rail.

He takes $47,700 for 7th place, but was frustrated. “This is my another final table and again I have missed the big money positions, which is frustrating. I’d much rather win one than finish lower in these others.” Strassmann, from Bonn, plays poker professionally having started with just $5 in a poker ccount, and never depositing since. “I really want that big tournament win: hopefully it will come in Vegas at the World Series.”

Johannes Strassmann

2.14pm: Stopka raised from the button, and Albertson moved all in for 91,000 more. After a long dwell, the German folded and the American stayed alive. On the next hand, Estall won a nice pot, re-raising Jung all in.

2pm: Raymond Estall lost a huge pot to Dominik Stopka, who took a clear chip lead with 500,000. On a board showing J-10-7-4-2, the Englishman bet 65,000 into a pot of 90,000. Stopka made a great call with 8-8, beating Estall’s K-Q missed straight draw. Estall, a chemical engineer, was left short stacked on about 80,000.

1: 45pm: PLAYER OUT: Peter Steinlesberger is out, moving all in for his last 24,000 with A-10. He was ahead of Mika Paasonen’s A-8 of diamonds but the flop of 9-7-K was all diamonds, giving the Fin the nut flush. Steinlesberger finished eighth and takes home $31,845. The pro player, who used to be a card dealer in Vienna, said: “This is my biggest live tournament win. It’s been a very good week.” He normally plays pot limit Omaha cash games online.

Peter Steinlesberger

1.30pm: Andreas Jorbeck, the Swede who won the PartyPoker Late Night Poker tournament, defended his big blind by re-raising Jung, the young player from Berlin, Germany, who promptly folded. But the Swede then lost an 80,000 pot to the UK’s Raymond Estall, who is playing his first live tournament. The Swede raised to 17,000 and Estall called. The flop came 5-K-10 all clubs, and Jorbeck bet 22,000, which Estall called. After a second ten came on the turn, Jorbeck checked, and Estall bet 40,000 to take the pot.

Mika Paasonen then got in on the action, raising to 17,000 from the button. Cory Albertson said: “This is a position raise.” He folded, and was shown 3-3 for his trouble. We then nearly lost our second player when young German Johannes Strassmann got all in with
A-9 against Austrian Peter Steinlesberger’s A-K – and promptly hit a 9 on the flop to save his tournament skin. He moves up to 180.000, while Steinlesberger drops to 50,000.

Like so many other players here on the PartyPoker Million VI cruise, Steinslesberger won his seat in an online qualifier on PartyPoker. Check the website www.partypoker.com for more chances to qualify for live events.

1.10pm: PLAYER OUT: Any thoughts that the final table could be a marathon seemed off the mark when we lost our first player on only the second hand. Denmark’s Kenneth Gregersen pushed in early position with A-9 for his remaining 42,000. It folded around to Cory Albertson who was a mile ahead with 9-9. Gregersen needed an ace to stay alive but the board of K-J-6-2-8 was no help.

The Dane goes home with $21,230 for his week’s work on board the MSC Poesia, which is sailing all day bound for Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Kenneth Gregersen

A €500 side tournament was well under way as the final table players sat down for their 1pm start. Blinds started at 3,000-6,000 with a 1,000 running ante, leaving plenty of play for the chip leaders. Dominik Stopka held the overnight chip lead with 327,000, just 1,000 ahead of fellow German lexander Jung.

The final table gets under way on board MSC Poesia

By Simon Young

People who know far more about statistics than I do assure me that 20% of starters for the PartyPoker Million VI were from Germany. It’s no huge surprise, therefore, to find two of them almost neck-and-neck for the chip lead – and a third, day two chip leader Johannes Strassmann, joining them on the final table.

Only a grey 1,000 chip separates Dominik Stopka and Alexander Jung, and both are a healthy 90,000 ahead of the next man, Finland’s Mika Paasonen, who played a patient game throughout day three before building just at the right time, thanks mainly to winning two important races with medium pairs.

Dominik Stopka takes a breather from stacking chips

All of these three are seasoned players used to the cut and thrust of tournament poker, whereas fourth-placed Raymond Estall, from the UK, is playing in the biggest and first proper event of his life. That’s the great thing about being able to qualify online.

Estall, a chemical engineer from Solihull, is by far the elder statesmen on the final table – which begins at 1pm local time on Thursday. He will be the first to admit he is lucky to have made it to the last nine from the 171 starters. Shortly before the last card of the night was dealt, he had the escape of his life when he found himself all in against Denmark’s Kenneth Gregersen.

Raymond Estall

Estall had 3-3, a mile behind the Dane’s 9-9. The flop was 7-A-K, and when the turn produced a 10 Estall was out of his seat and putting on his jacket. The river, as you would have guessed by now, was a 3, giving the Englishman a set. He shook his head in disbelief, while poor old Gregersen turned away and took a little of his disappointment out on a nearby plant.

The plant survived, as did Gregersen, but only just. He was down to 30,000 or so chips, while Estall soared to more than 150,000. A short while later, Gregersen got all in against Estall again, this time as the underdog with Q-9 against 10-10. The poker gods must have wanted to right a wrong, because the board came 5-3-2-4-A for a split pot.

“I had to call with the 3-3 as I was getting short stacked,” said Estall. No need to explain, sir – it’s these twists that win tournaments.

Gregersen will have nightmares about a set of threes

Gregersen made it to the final table as the short stack with 44,000, while American Cory Albertson, the only surviving non-European, sits in eighth place with 90,000.

Final table bubble boy was Sweden’s Mikael Erixon, out in tenth place when his 10-10 failed to improve against Alexander Jung’s Q-Q. Jung had been up and down in chips all day, but his timing at the end was just right to give him a great shot at the PartyPoker Million VI title and the $358,000 first prize.

Alexander Jung

Dominik Stopka had been quietly creeping up on the rails towards the end of day two and much of today before whizzing into the chip lead about two levels from the end of play. His decisive moment was a handy double up against then chip leader Johannes Strassmann when his Q-Q was enough on a ten-high board.

Johannes Strassmann eyes up top spot

He never really looked back – doing away with Irishman Matthew Dobbins a short while later, and then seeing off England’s Alan Forsyth in brutal fashion. Forsyth had 10-10 and was chuffed to see the flop Q-10-8 – but he gave Stopka a free card, and the turn came a nine, filling up the German’s straight – twice, as it happened, because he had pocket jacks.

Stopka’s last big scalp of the night was Sweden’s Samir Shakhtoor, albeit in curious fashion. On a flop of 9-5-6 – all diamonds – all the money went in. Shakhtoor had J-9, with no diamonds, while Stopka had 3-4, one a small diamond. The turn was an ace and the river a 7, making Stopka’s straight.

Andreas Jorbeck

PartyPoker Late Night Poker winner Andreas Jorbeck, from Sweden, had been toying with the chip lead throughout the evening session, but fell away a little, finishing with a still healthy 182,000.

But how he may come to regret calling light to Austria’s Peter Steinlesberger’s all in, which cost him a fair chunk of his stack, as did a sizeable pot with Cory Albertson.

Steinlesberger, left, and Albertson

All the players have a day off tomorrow (Wednesday) to enjoy the sights of Istanbul in Turkey, before playing out the final during a day at sea on Thursday.

The MSC Poesia is proving to be an excellent venue for the PPM VI event, and all players have agreed the card room, the Moulin Rouge on the seventh deck, has been a great success.

Please see below for the final table chips counts and payouts so far.

Final Table Chip Counts:
1 Dominik Stopka, Germany, 327,000
2 Alexander Jung, Germany, 326,000
3 Mika Paasonen, Finland, 236,000
4 Raymond Estall, UK, 187,000
5= Andreas Jorbeck, Sweden, 182,000
5 = Johannes Strassmann, Germany, 182,000
7 Peter Steinlesberger, Austria, 132,000
8 Cory Albertson, USA, 90,000
9 Kenneth Gregersen, Denmark, 44,000

Other results:
10 Mikael Erixon, $21,230
11 Fredrik Keitel, $17,250
12 Samir Shakhtoor, $17,250
13 Victor Sazonkin, $17,250
14 Paul Testud, $13,270
15 Florian Langmann, $13,270
16 Alexey Yuzikov, $13,270
17 Marcel Finnema, $11,280
18 Julian Lenz, $11,280
19 Allan Forsyth, $11,280
20 Matthew Dobbins, $11,280
21 Joseph Myles, $11,280
22 Christoph Haller, $11,280
23 Heinrich Mayr, $11, 280
24 Nicholas Bower, $11,280

25 Keith McGrath
26 Simon Munz
27 Christoph Niesert
28 Thomas Bihl
29 Epifanio Armando Licon
30 Ralph Rudd
31 Christian Schafer
32 George Dunst
33 Philip Hulse

Final Table Payouts:
1 $358,280
2 $285,583
3 $159,235
4 $119,425
5 $92, 883
6 $67,675
7 $47,770
8 $31,845
9 $21,230

When the tournament bubble approaches, it normally takes time to burst as many players try and steer themselves to a money-paying position. We started with 33 players this afternoon, all hoping at least to make it to the prized 24^th spot.

There was no pussy-footing around, however, as again everyone went at each others’ throats, and within two one-hour levels the bubble had burst and one extra had gone for good measure.

At dinner tonight, 23 players remain in the PartyPoker Million VI, each shooting for a prize of more than $350,000. Overnight chip leader Johannes Strassmann, a young hot-shot from Germany, is keeping his place at the top of the pile, although his domineering stack has been cut back to about 180,000.

Wide awake: Strassmann is not as tired as looks

Chasing hard are PartyPoker Late Night Poker 2008 winner Andreas Jorbeck (150,000), from Sweden, Germany’s Dominik Stopka (130,000), Alexander Jung (110,000) and the UK’s Raymond Estall (80,000).

The day began in dramatic, but not unexpected fashion, when overnight short-stack Philip Hulse, a retired maths teacher from the UK, pushed all in on the first hand for his 5,000. He had K-10 and wasn’t too unhappy to be called by Keith McGrath’s 3-3. But the dealer had other ideas – out popped 4-7-3-3-9 for quads. If you’re going to go out, it may as well be in style.

Hulse said: “This is the biggest tournament I have ever played, and I’ve had a great time. I had to push in that spot, so I can’t be too disappointed.”

Andreas Jorbeck

McGrath, from Ireland, was short-stacked himself, and managed to remain in the hunt right until the last minute, when he went out on the dreaded bubble, just one place off the money.

Down to his last 3,000 or so, just enough for the next blinds, he pushed with K-8, got two callers and was quite confident on the 3-K-6-10-3 board – until he was shown K-J by his neighbour and it was all over.

All remaining players, therefore, had $11,280 guaranteed in their pockets, and were now preparing to dig in and strike for the big money at the final table.

Except, that is, Nick Bower, from the UK, who went out moments later when his 2-2 remained ahead of Strassmann’s 5-7 all the way until a 5 hit the river. He seems to have had fun, though, and now has some spending money with which to enjoy the rest of his cruise on board the MSC Poesia, which has left Izmir in Turkey and is now heading for Istanbul.

While Strassmann, who has made two decent cashes on the European Poker Tour this season, maintains his lead, it has not all been plain sailing. Dominik Stopka took one huge pot off him with pocket queens before he recovered to rebuild again.

Fin Mika Paasonen showed he had a big heart when he re-re-raised all in pre-flop against Christoph Niesert of Germany. Niesert dwelled for an age before folding – only for Paasonen to flash Q-9 for a well-timed bluff.

Notable fallers before the bubble included Australian George Dunst, knocked out by Alexander Jung, Christian Schafer (who ran his J-J into Raymond Estall’s K-K), Ralph Rudd (his Q-Q banged up against Jorbeck’s K-K), and most surprisingly Thomas Bihl, the WSOP bracelet winner from Germany, who fell to Sweden’s Samir Shakhtoor, who still has a healthy stack.

Once the bubble burst, the seats were redrawn. We’re now down to 23 players on three tables. When they come back from dinner they’ll be facing blinds of 1,200-2,400 with a running 400 ante.

We’ll report back later with their progress.

Leaving Izmir port behind us

Welcome to day three of the PartyPoker Million VI on board MSC Poesia, currently docked in Izmir in Turkey. Play resumes at 4pm local time today, with just 33 of our 171 starters remaining. All hope to get their hands on the $358,280 first prize when the final table plays out on Thursday.

Germany’s Johaness Strassmann is currently well ahead of the chasing pack. Here are the chip stacks for all our survivors:

Johaness Strassmann, Germany, 218,000

Andreas Jorbeck, Sweden, 99,900

Thomas Bihl, Germany, 95,500

Marcel Finnema, Holland, 87,100

Alexey Yuzikov, Russia, 82,400

Peter Steinlesberger, Germany, 71,300

Alan Forsyth, UK, 70,200

Samir Shakhtoor, Sweden , 70,200

Fredrik Keitel, Germany, 62,500

Heinrich Mayr, Austria, 59,500

Raymond Estall, UK, 58,900

Alexander Jung, Germany, 58,400

Victor Sazonkin, Russia, 57,200

Christoph Nesert, Germany, 55,300

Florian Langmann, Germany, 53,200

Dominik Stopka, Germany, 47,400

Mika Passonen, Finland, 45,400

Paul Testud, France, 43,400

Matthew Dobbins, Ireland, 41,300

Cory Albertson, USA, 41,100

Simon Munz, Germany, 37,300

Joseph Myles, UK, 33,300

Christian Schafer, Germany, 29,500

George Dunst, Australia, 29,100

Nicholas Bower, UK, 27,800

Mikael Erixon, Sweden, 27,100

Christoph Haller, Austria, 24,800

Julian Lenz, Germany, 22,800

Epifanio Licon, Mexico, 21,300

Ralph Rudd, USA, 15,300

Kenneth Gregersen, Denmark, 9,800

Keith McGrath, Ireland, 7,700

Philip Hulse, UK, 5,800

I don’t know what the players had for dinner, but when the 60 of them returned there was a burst of bloodthirsty aggression that scared the hell out of me. So bad was it, that by the time play ended for the night, just three hours later, the PartyPoker Million VI field had nearly halved to 33.

Things can turn in an instant, of course, but for now one man who can very happy with his night’s work is young German Johaness Strassmann, who has climbed to the chip lead with 218,000. He’s a man on form, after final tabling this season’s EPT Dortmund, and finishing ninth in the Prague event.

Johaness Strassmann’s stack grew at a rate of knots

We’re yet to receive the full counts, but it seems the German has more than twice as many chips as his nearest rivals: PartyPoker Late Night Poker 2008 winner Andreas Jorbeck, on 99,900, and German Thomas Bihl, one of the chip leaders at the start of the day and still right up there with 95,500.

Alexey Yuzikov, 82,400, Samir Shakhtoor, 70,200 and Alexander Jung - the man who earlier in the day flopped quad aces - has 58,000 as the chasing bunch make sure they don’t get left behind.

Some of the play was pretty brutal. Take the experience of Philip Hulse from the UK, who is more used to smaller live tournaments in his local casino in Stoke. He had battled all the way through day two, doubled up once with aces, and looked set to do so again with about 20 minutes left to play.

He got all his chips in against Austria’s Christoph Haller when the flop showed 6-9-J. The aces for Hulse were still a mile ahead of Haller’s A-J… until another jack fell on the turn giving Haller trips. It left Hulse shaking his head with just 5,000 left as blinds reached 600-1,200 with a 200 running ante.

As a former maths teacher, Hulse will appreciate that the probability of Haller hitting trip jacks to crack the aces was pretty low.

But at least the Englishman is still in with a chance of making the first money-paying position, 24th place.

Not so fortunate is Russian Igor Osipov, German Sebastian Ruthenberg and overnight chip leader Ludvig Lidviksson, from Iceland, who was crippled earlier in the day when his set of fours hit a set of kings. Ouch.

Play will commence at 4pm local time tomorrow, with players returning to their same seats. There will be a seat redraw when the bubble bursts and 24 remain.

Tournament director Matt Savage also confirmed that if we make it down to the final table of eight tomorrow, then there will be a day off on Wednesday before the planned final on Thursday.

We’ll get the remaining chip counts for you as soon as we can.

Meanwhile, the good ship MSC Poesia is steaming towards Izmir in Turkey. We then head to Istanbul on Wednesday for a stop that will leave plenty of time for sight-seeing.

Stay tuned.

Swede Andreas Jorbeck, who won the recent PartyPoker.com Late Night Poker 2008 event for $125,000, raced into the chip lead here on the last hand before the dinner break. He found himself getting the chips in on a flop that had two kings - he had 7-7,  his opponent 10-10 and a 7 on the turn filled up his boat on, er, the boat.

That monster puts Jorbeck on over 100,000 and almost certainly the chip lead for this PartyPoker Million VI event. But several are chasing hard: Germany’s Alexander Jung and France’s Paul Testud both have approaching 80,000, while Swede Samir Shakhtoor also looks strong.

Jung won most of his chips with a classic case of poker overkill. His opponent held Q-Q and went all in - called by Jung with A-A. Not one, but TWO aces on the flop gave the German quads. “I think you are ahead,” his opponent said with a wry smile, as the turn and river were dealt.

At dinner, after four levels of play today, we are down to 60 players from the 171 who started yesterday. When they return with full stomachs we’ll be on level 10, where blinds will be 400-800 with a running 100 ante.

With 24 places getting paid, we are approaching the serious business.

The crystal-clear seas outside may be calm, but in Le Moulin Rouge room, at the back of the seventh deck of the huge MSC Poesia, there are stormy waters for some as numbers remaining in the PartyPoker Million VI falls to 93 from the 123 day two starters.

One of those who is struggling in the swell is the most surprising - overnight chip leader Ludvig Lidviksson is down, and nearly out. The man from Iceland, who started the day with about 45,000, looked down to find 4-4 in the hole, and got all his money in when the flop came 3-4-K. You know it’s not going to be your day, however, when the man to your left flips over K-K.

Lidviksson needs a miracle to rebuild, but he’s at a tough table, with Swede Samir Shakhtoor, a European Poker Tour final tablist in Copenhagen, looking threatening with a stack now approaching 50,000. Shakhtoor accounted for the first exit of the day, when his A-J saw off Manfred Manahan from Canada, who had pushed his 5,000 stack with A-4 suited.

Samir Shakhtoor sitting comfortably with growing chips

The overnight table redraw had seen table 17 put together with three of the overnight chip leaders: Canada’s Jonathan Dsouza, who got off to a flyer yesterday, George Dunst of Australia, and Germany’s Tobias Reinkemeier.

While the latter two have continued to build, DSouza’s starting stack of 28,000 dwindled away until, down to his last 7,000, he pushed with K-10 and came up against the aces. The flop of 9-J-6 offered hope of a gutshot straight, but following 10 and 5 changed nothing.

George Dunst, middle, and Tobias Reinkemeier, right

Moments later, the man with the aces busted Alan Smurfit. With blinds at 200-400 and a 50 running ante, Smurfit raised to 1,000, was re-raised to 3,000 and pushed for a total of 7,500. He turned over A-K, ‘Mr Aces’ had Q-Q this time and the 3-5-3-2-J board sent him to the rail.

Another big mover - though in a downward direction -  is WSOP Europe Horse bracelet winner Thomas Bihl, from Germany (the Germans make up 20% of our starting field). He’s down to 10,000 from his 35,000 starting point.

Yesterday I wrote that Austrian Christoph Haller found A-A just as I walked past, and that spurned his chip-building. Well, I walked past him again this afternoon and he only went and found the aces again. Sadly for him, everyone folded to his raise this time around. Perhaps they now realise Haller always has aces when I’m on the rail. Haller now has over 20,000.

Christian Kruel, left, and Mike McDonald in battle

Meanwhile, Brazilian Christian Kruel has bitten the dust, but not until after a fine skirmish with Canadian Mike McDonald, known as Timex online. First off the pair were in the blinds and saw a flop of 4-3-4. Kruel bet, McDonald re-raised and the Brazilian folded, leaving only 2,000 or so behind.

One hand later, they were at it again. This time Kruel went all in with A-10, called by McDonald with A-J, but the 10-K-K-2-3 board saved the man from Rio. It would not spur Kruel on, though, and a few rounds of the table later he was out of the door, at which time McDonald was moved to the same table as Dunst and Reinkemeier, which could provide fireworks later.

The international flavour of this event - they’ve come from all over the world - sees several Russians at the table. One, Igor Osipov, wearing a natty white hat and yellow flowery shirt, is bulldozing his table, reaching the first break of the afternoon with more than 40,000. He won one 13,000 pot by leading out on the flop and turn with an open-ended straight draw which he reached on the river. His 7-8 nicely disguised on the 6-K-5-2-4 board.

Hat’s the way to stack chips: Igor Osipov

We’re due to play a total of seven levels today during the long trip of the cruise from Katakolon in Greece to Izmir in Turkey.

Check back later for more thrills and spills from the tables.

Katakolon from the top deck of MSC Poesia

Welcome to day two of the PartyPoker Million VI tournament on board the MSC Poesia. We’re just pulling out of Katakolon in Greece, where many of our players stepped ashore to do the tourist thing. Next stop is Izmir in Turkey.

The tournament, with a prize pool of $1,326,960,  kicks off again in an hour or so, and leading the charge of the 123 survivors is Ludvik Lidviksson from Iceland, a regular player at PartyPoker.com.

The top ten in chips are:

1 Ludvik Lidviksson, Iceland, $44,975

2 Alexander Petersen, Denmark, $41,950

3 Tobias Reinkemeier, Germany, $38,350

4 Samir Shakhtoor, Sweden, $37,750

5 Thomas Bihl, Germany, $35,075

6 George Dunst, Australia, $33,075

7 Igor Osipov, Russia, $32,825

8 Paul Testud, France, $30,275

9 Jonathan Dsouza, Canada, $28,125

10 Lasse Saari, Finland, $27,02

Good luck to all the players.

As the PartyPoker Million VI cruise sails overnight towards Greece, a group of players with healthy chip stacks will sleep easily in their beds. Although the official chips counts are not yet in, it looks like Icelandic Ludvik Lidviksson is our Day One chip leader with 45,000, well up from the 10,000 starting point.

Big stack: Ludvik Lidviksson

We had five one-hour levels today. During that time, as we eased from the Adriatic into the Ionion Sea, we lost 48 players from the 171 who started. To save you the maths, that means 123 will return tomorrow for Day Two.

That high mortality rate confirms there are plenty of healthy stacks out there. Among those I spotted at the end of play were Sweden’s Samir Shakhtoor on 37,750, Germany’s Thomas Bihl - who won last year’s WSOP Europe £2,500 HORSE event, - on 35,000, France’s Paul Testud on 30,000 and early pace setter Jonathan Dsouza, from Canada, on 28,000.

Solid start: Thomas Bihl

Mike “Timex” McDonald spent the early levels bouncing around his starting point, but picked up key points late on to finish up with 25,000 - he’ll be one to watch tomorrow.

Not many ladies have found their way to the PartyPoker Million VI tables. One, Elissa Ihlenfeld, was unlucky to depart when her A-Q ran up against K-Q on a board showing two queens - and a king.

Players have made it to the cruise from all corners of the globe. There are representatives from Australia, South Africa, Canada and all over Europe.

Then there is a contingent who flew in from Brazil. Christian Kruel is the playing member of the trio, supported by former Rio high school friends Carlos Cerqueira and Henrique Bello. Carlos said: “We’ve been working together since watching Rounders in 2001. Christian plays, I make sure he is in the right shape, and Henrique looks after the finances.

“We make a good team, Christian is doing well and we believe one day he will win a bracelet.”

Christian, a former backgammon champion in Brazil, finished 8th in the PartyPoker Million in 2005, but although he is still in tonight, he has only 7,000 or so chips after finding himself on a tough table. Doing better is Finland’s Mika Paasonen, sitting on 23,000. But he strongly believes he could easily have been out - pre-flop, he folded pocket queens face-up to what he was convinced was one of the Big Two: kings or aces.

A regional oddity - the clocks have gone forward an hour tonight, so it’s one hour less sleep for the remaining players before we reconvene at 2.30pm local time tomorrow for day two. Come back then for the latest action from the tables, and when the MSC Poesia, our magnificent nautical base, turns towards Turkey for stops in Izmir and then Istanbul.