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The team has just headed to the dinner break for a well earned feed and MickeMusxxx has continued his incredible start to the tournament, building his stack up to massive 53,000 – more than 3 times the average. Dimagolvin also had a strong level moving up to 26,000 while kungboan and samsampson had a good time of it moving to 25,000 and 23,300 respectively.

Mickemusxxx and miniguss1

lamarcouille at the dinner buffet

Sirin-22 at dinner with old friend F34RB34R, samsampson and Krisitian

A familiar face in the field who is doing well is Johan Percivall who readers might remember from the 2008 Aussie Millions as F34RB34R. Johan cashed to the tune of $15,000 AUD at the Aussie Millions and is now playing in the PokerNews Cup Alpine just to catch up with old friends Sirin-22 and VIP Manager Kristian Svensson. Since the Aussie Millions Johan has also cashed in an EPT event and is doing very nicely so far today with over 37,000. Still yet to turn 21, Johan is certainly a player to watch out for in the future and we hope to see him back in bwin colours again soon.

Johan Percivall a.k.a F34RB34R

Since the last break, the team lost another two players with Don Cool and thomasPille both busting leaving 20 team members still standing. thomasPille was disappointed to be busted so early in the tournament, but still thrilled to have met and played against one of his poker idols in Markus Golser. thomasPille not only chatted at the table like an old friend with Golser, but also won a few big hands from the Austrian pro who was sporting a freshly broken arm from a skiing accident.

thomaspille and Markus Colsen

Here are the full chip counts:

MickeMusxxx – 53,000
DimaGolovin – 26,000
KungBoan – 25,000
samsampson – 23,300
manisp – 22,100
KristapsK3 – 21,100
lamarcouille – 21,000
_Aasisdebaas – 17,600
key1983-x – 16,700
Hydro8 – 16,000
mr.Schne – 15,300
A KIA – 15,300
x Will33 – 15,700
miniguss1 – 13,000
kingmemo36 – 7,400
choucri 18 – 6,300
kaw25 – 5,900
trut1 – 5,200
-NUTS6020- 5,000
Sirin-22 – 2,500
thomasPille – busted
Don Cool – busted
PlayboyRoyal – busted
Razga4 – busted

When the players return from their 60 minute dinner break blinds will be 200/400 with 50 ante. 107 players are still remaining with an average stack of 17,916.

With the 129 players registering for the Main Event there is €172,054 to be split between the top 15 place getters. 1st place will walk away with a very pretty €46,474 and 2nd will get €29,940. Here is a look at the full pay out structure:

1st: €46,474
2nd: €29, 940
3rd: €19,780
4th: €16,340
5th: €12,900
6th: €10,320
7th: v8,080
9th: €4,820
10th-12th: €3,100
13th-15th: €2,580

Let’s hope the bwin team can get right up amongst it and bring home another big pay day.

The first two levels of Day 1 have gone pretty much to script for the bwin team, with nearly all the bwin Team members making it through safely to the first break. Swedish team member MickeMusxxx is leading the way for the team and the entire tournament, with a massive 35,000 in chips. Those who followed the team’s 2008 WSOP Main Event journey will remember Mickemusxx for his huge cash of 42,000 USD, and if the first two levels of today’s play are any indication, he may well be headed for another big cash in the bwin colours.

MickeMusxxx

French team member lamarcouille is also doing very well with 27,000 in chips and dimagolvin is also well above average with 21,300. At the other end of the spectrum Poker Island winner Sirin-22 had a tough first session dropping half his stack to be down to 7,500 and Canadian team member trut1 is down to 5,100.

dimdgolvin

The team suffered two casualties during the level with Razga4 and PlayboyRoyal both hitting the rails much earlier than they would have liked. PlayboyRoyal had an especially tough exit, with his pocket Queens running into Pocket Aces in the last hand before the break.

PlayboyRoyal

Here are the full chip counts;

MickeMusxxx – 35,000
lamarcouille – 27,000
DimaGolovin – 21,000
KristapsK3 – 20,100
manisp – 17,100
samsampson – 16,500
thomasPille – 16,200
Hydro8 – 16,000
key1983-x – 16,700
mr.Schne – 15,300
A KIA – 15,300
x Will33 – 15,700
miniguss1 – 13,000
_Aasisdebaas – 12,200
kaw25 – 12,000
Don Cool – 11,150
-NUTS6020- 11,000
choucri 18 – 9,300
KungBoan – 8,000
Sirin-22 – 7,500
kingmemo36 – 7,400
trut1 – 5,200
PlayboyRoyal – busted
Razga4 – busted

When the players return from the break blinds will be 100/200 and the average stack is just under 16,000. With no late registrations the final number of runners is 129 which generates a €172,054 prize pool. 117 players are still alive.

The one and only Tony G has just called shuffle up and deal so proceedings are under way here at the PokerNews Cup Alpine Main Event. Tony’s advice for the all the runners was to “Know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em, and keep going all in.” Sounds like sound advice to me!

129 players are in their seats at the start of play and hopefully there will still be some late registrations to bump the prize pool up closer to €200,000. There are a few big names amongst the field, including Mark Vos, John Duthie, David Saab, Marcel Luske, Markus Golser, Erich Kollmann and of course Tony G.

Marcel Luske

David Saab

Shark Tank - Tony G and Erich Kollmann are seated next to each other

Blinds will start out at 25/50 with starting stacks of 15,000 in chips. Blind levels will increase every 60 minutes with a short break after every two levels.

Hi there poker fans! The moment we have all been waiting is upon us! In just a few short minutes 23 bwin team players will be taking their seats in PokerNews Alpine Main Event to fight it out for what is expected to over €200,000 prize pool.

The players all seemed relaxed and in good sprits this morning as they meet up in the hotel lobby for breakfast and were looking forward to the big day ahead. The whole team played in the PL Omaha event yesterday, and despite no players cashing, everyone was happy to have got some time at the tables in preparation for the Main Event.

-NUTS0620- and his girlfirend

KristapsK3 and samsampson

miniguss1 and Razga4

Alpine Palace Card Casino

Here is the full list of players who will be taking their seats today;

PlayboyRoyal – Germany
samsampson – Canada
manisp – Austria
KristapsK3 – Latvia
thomasPille – Austria
trut1 – Canada
kaw25 – Poland
miniguss1 – Denmark
kingmemo36 – Germany
Hydro8 – Denmark
Don Cool – Germany
mr.Schne – Sweden
key1983-x – Germany
choucri 18 – France
A KIA – UK
x Will33 – France
_Aasisdebaas – Netherlands
KungBoan – Sweden
lamarcouille – France
MickeMusxxx -Sweden
-NUTS6020- – Austria
Razga4 – Denmark
DimaGolovin – Russian Federation
Sirin-22 – Canada

The field is expected to be around the 150 mark, which would generate a prize pool of over €200,000 to be split between the top 15 finishers. The action is just about to get started here, we will be bringing you live updates of all the action all day so make sure you keep tuned the bwin Pokerblog!

The PokerNews Cup Alpine ‘officially’ kicked off last night in spectacular style with the the all the players attending the PokerNews Welcome Party. It was another great opportunity for the bwin Team to get together and bond over a few drinks, as well providing a chance for the players to mingle with some of the biggest names in the Poker Industry. The party took place in the lobby of the spectacular Alpine Palace Hotel where all the players are staying and, like everything in the hotel, the party was stylish, luxurious and right on the money.

The Champagne was on ice

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It would a crime to be here in the Austrian Alps and not get out and have some fun in the snow, so today with the sun shining and plenty of the white stuff around it was time for the team to get out of the hotel and see what Hinterglemm had to offer. First up was a team trip to ‘Snowmobile City’; a fun park where the players got the dream opportunity to go crazy on Snowmobiles around a prepared race track. Adreniline junkie heaven!

Hinterglemm

After a short instruction on how to operate a snowmobile (or rather how not to crash a snowmobile) the players were set loose to tear up the track for two hours. With the team consisting mainly of adrenaline junkies who love to make prop bets, this activity certainly presented a few concerns as to how much damage the players would do to themselves and the snowmobiles, but luckily enough everyone got through unscathed. There were a few close calls, (the worst involving a snowmobile careering towards a huge stone wall), and some of the snowmobiles may have now seen better days, but all the players survived and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

DimaGolovin

bwin Team Snowmobiling

Snowmobiling

With a 6-day ski pass included in the package, the players have also had the opportunity to show their skiing skills on the piste before the serious poker action kicks off. Today I got the chance to spend some time on mountain with team members Sirin-22 and samsampson, as well as bwin team veteran Wieringen who is in town to play the event and catch up with his bwin team friends. Sirin-22 and samsampson could certainly hold their own on the slopes, but it was Wieringen who was most impressive, with his skills on a snowboard every bit as good as his skills on a poker table.

Sirin-22, samsampson and Wieringen

Wieringen Snowboarding

Sirin-22 and samsampson

Tonight things really start to heat up with the players heading to the official PokerNews Welcome Party and then tomorrow afternoon the team will hit the felt for the first big tournament of the week, the €270+€30 Pot Limit Omaha Event. Most major events we have followed for the bwin Team have all been No Limit HE Events so it will be intresting to see which players have the skills to pay the bills when it comes to PL Omaha. See you tomorrow!

It begins! The bwin team has just touched down in the wonderful Austrian Ski Town of Hinterglemm for the next big event on the bwin team calendar; The PokerNews Cup Alpine! After arriving in true VIP style with a scenic helicopter transfer from Salzburg, the team got straight into the serious business of getting the 2009 PokerNews Cup Alpine party started!

Austrian Alps

The Alpine Palace

The festivities are well and truly in full swing with side events already running at Alpine Palace Card Casino, and the players already catching up for dinner and drinks. Amongst the 26 bwin team starters for this event are many familiar faces with Poker Island winner Sirin-22, samsampson (a.k.a BillyBillard), -NUTS6060-, MikeMusxxx and KristapsK3 all adding another event to their bwin team CV’s.

Sirin22, -NUTS6020-, samsampson and KristapsK3

Also, in a welcomed surprise many other bwin team veterans are in Hinterglemm for the event, such as Wieringen, Mike-Lowry, F34RB34R, and .hades It is always great to see a familar face at these events and fantastic that all the players stay such good friends after playing in events together.

Mike-Lowery, samsampson and Wieringen

The players really have a lot to look forward to this week, with plenty of team activities and both the €270+€30 Pot Limit Omaha and €1375+€125 Main Event included in their package. First up the team will be heading to ‘Snowmobile World’ for two hours of mayhem and carnage on snowmobiles, followed by the official PokerNews Cup Welcome Party.

Snowmobile

Snowmobiling, parties, poker .. What more could you ask for? It is going to be a crazy week, so make sure you catch all the action right here on the bwin Pokerblog!

Saturday February 14th wasn’t just a day for lovers to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but it was also the last chance for three lucky bwin players to grab their spots on the bwin Team for the PokerNews Alpine Cup trip, with three $8,000 trip packages going to the top 3 finishers.

Not only was it a star-studded field, but plenty of well-known bwin Team members from trips past were alive and well when the final table was set, with KristapsK3 (2008 WSOP), fanslau (2008 WSOP), Gutenburg1 (2007 WSOPE), LocStaOnFire (better known as dj_stiff, who cashed at the 2007 WPT Canada event and has also represented the Team at the 2008 and 2009 Aussies Millions, as well as the 2008 WSOP), and -NUTS6020- (2008 WSOP and PokerIsland finalist).

LocStaOnFire (a.k.a dj_stiff)

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Yet another action packed Saturday of poker on bwin, with yet another trio of players slated to join the bwin team at the end of Saturday’s online finals for the PokerNews Alpine Cup event in Austria. Three $8,000 trip packages were up for grabs, with the lucky winners taking down a trip of a lifetime to the Austrian Alps with the bwin Team for a dream getaway of poker, skiing, and fun.

With the starting field of 66 runners trimmed all the way down to just five left, here’s how they stacked up:

Seat 1: MickeMusxxx ($73,253 in chips)
Seat 2: KungBoan ($67,632 in chips)
Seat 3: kammes ($84,085 in chips)
Seat 7: TheTotti1 ($53,170 in chips)
Seat 10: lamarcouille ($51,860 in chips)

MickeMusxxx would be trying to book a second trip with the bwin Team, as he not only represented the team at the 2008 WSOP, but played his way to the money, spending time on the featured TV table as well!

MickeMusxxx at the 2008 WSOP

MickeMusxxx at the 2008 WSOP

TheTotti1 would be the first of the final five to fall, sent to the rail when he was caught trying to steal with blinds when lamarcouille woke up in the small blind with pocket aces, which held to eliminate TheTotti1.

With just four players left (and three of them guaranteed $8,000 trip packages), here’s how they stood as bubble play began:

Seat 1: MickeMusxxx ($95,753 in chips)
Seat 2: KungBoan ($44,632 in chips)
Seat 3: kammes ($54,585 in chips)
Seat 10: lamarcouille ($135,030 in chips)

kammes stack quickly dwindled and in just a dozen or so hands he was eliminated, with lamarcouille, MickeMusxxx, and KungBoan all surviving a tough finals to each grab a $8,000 trip package to the PokerNews Alpine Cup even where they’ll represent the bwin Team at both the poker tables and the ski slopes.