PokerStars.com's EPT Grand Finale Final Table Set

The PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Finale champion is set to be crowned today. The eight players had to move through a field of 298 that began play Tuesday to make it to the final table.

The five-day €10,000 no-limit Texas hold'em event is one of the richest tournaments ever held in Europe. The prize pool is nearly €3,000,000 ($3,552,000). The tournament is taking place at the Sporting, part of the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort complex.

Marcel Luske and Ross Boatman joined Canadian Marc Karam, Frenchman Thierry Cazals, Brits Arshad Hussain and Fraser Dunphy, Norwegian Aleksander Strandli, and Jeff Williams, a 19-year-old American University of Georgia student who's playing in his first major live event, at the final table.

After four hours of play, Dunphy, Karam, and Boatman all were turned into spectators. Dunphy was knocked out fairly early into the final table after his pocket aces lost to Williams's pocket tens. Dunphy received €84,000 for his efforts.

Luske was eliminated in seventh after Karam tried to run a steal with jack-7. Luske held pocket eights. After hitting nothing on the flop, Karam eliminated Luske when the dealer peeled off two sevens on the turn and the river. Luske won €112,000.

Boatman had to make a move with his short stack with 10-6 suited close to the first break, but he ran into pocket jacks held by Hussain, which held up. Boatman won €140,000 for sixth.

The winner of this event receives €900,000. Runner-up receives €492,000.

Cazals began the final table with the chip lead of €766,650. His closest competitor was Strandli with €633,500. Luske had €486,000, Williams €495,700, and Karam €231,900. The rest of the table each held less than €150,000.

Right before the break, Williams, whose parents took a red-eye flight to Monaco to watch their boy compete, held the lead with about €1 million in chips. Strandli was close behind with €750,000, Hussain was third with €670,000, Karam was fourth with €350,000, and Cazals sat behind the short stack of €120,000.

Karam and Hussain both qualified for this event for free at PokerStars.com. They got in by playing tournaments using their frequent players points. Williams and Strandli also qualified at PokerStars.com, but they took the cash qualifier path.

The players are now on their dinner break. Check back with CardPlayer.com to see who takes first in this event.

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