Russian student Andrey Pateychuk has won EPT8 San Remo after beating a talented final table - and 837-strong field overall. His win heads-up against Dimitar Danchev ended Bulgaria’s hopes of a first ever EPT champion.

As well as the EPT San Remo title and €680,000 first prize, Pateychuk also wins a stunning bracelet from EPT Season 8 Official Bracelet Sponsor Shamballa Jewels worth more than €10,000.

Pateychuk, who celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday, said: “It feels great to win. I can’t really imagine a better birthday present than this. I wasn’t feeling that nervous today. I haven’t played so many live tournaments but I’ve played a lot of final tables online so I have a lot of experience. It was actually harder when it was 30 players and people like Johnny Lodden, Lex Veldhuis, Kevin MacPhee and Mike McDonald were still in. It was tough if they had position on you.”Pateychuk, who is studying Information Security at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, has no plans to give up college and says he’ll be straight back to class when he leaves San Remo. The young Russian had virtually no live results until he grabbed attention this summer by coming 15th in the WSOP Main Event for nearly $480,000.Danchev, who normally plays online cash games at the $5-$10 to $10-$20 levels, only had a few relatively small live results before today’s big cash. The 26-year-old from Plovdiv, who chopped for €600,000 for second place, has been a pro for two years.

EPT San Remo champion Andrey Pateychuk with trophy,                                                                      Shamballa bracelet and winning hand Picture by Neil Stoddart

Third place went to Daniel Neilson, the 2010 Australian Player of the Year and winner of High Roller events at both ANZPT Perth and ANZPT Sydney. Neilson, who held the chip lead for two days straight, took home €285,000.

There was disappointment though for several big names. Dutch Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis was eyeing up his first EPT final but bust in 15th place for €22,000 while fellow Team Pro Johnny Lodden from Norway was aiming to better his EPT Budapest fifth place, but bubbled the final for €45,000. EPT Berlin champion and PokerStars qualifier Kevin MacPhee made the final but his hopes of becoming the first player to win two EPTs were ended when he was eliminated in eighth place.
British poker pro and celebrated commentator Barny Boatman has a string of live results totalling more than $1.75 million but has yet to win a major title. His hopes were dashed when he bust in fourth place for €225,000.

No title this time: fourth place for popular British pro and commentator Barny Boatman                                          Picture taken by Neil Stoddart

Others who made the money were EPT Dortmund champion Mike McDonald (18th), Italian Poker Tour Player of the Year Mustapha Kanit (19th) and WSOPE champion Elio Fox (23rd) – all for €19,000, plus Italian Poker Tour Female Player of the Year Carla Solinas (30th, €16,000), Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Selbst (40th, €14,000), EPT founder John Duthie (41st, €14,000) and PokerStars qualifier Shaun Deeb (71st, €10,000).A total of 831 players from 53 countries entered the €4,900 Main Event, creating a total prize pool of €3,734,694. 128 places were paid.

Italian player Angelo Tarallo won the last longer contest organised by Skrill, the Official Payment Provider Sponsor for EPT Season 8. He outlasted 134 other Skrill-patched players to get his €4,900 Main Event buy-in credited back into his Skrill account.

In EPT San Remo side events, Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth bested a 140-strong field to take down the €1,000 NL tourney for €33,130 while fellow Pro Marcin Horecki won a €300 NL Turbo event for €15,170.

The final of EPT San Remo was broadcast live on www.PokerStars.tv in English and Italian as well as on Italian TV.The next stop for EPT Season 8 is EPT Loutraki, the EPT’s first visit to Greece, running from November 15-20, 2011 at Club Hotel Casino Loutraki. Satellites for EPT Loutraki are running now on PokerStars, as well as for EPT Prague (December 5 – 10) and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas (Jan 5 – 15, 2012).

Daniel Neilson, one of Australia's best players, is leading the final of the €4,900 EPT San Remo Main Event. Picture taken by Neil Stoddart

Daniel Neilson, one of Australia's top poker players, is leading the final of the €4,900 EPT San Remo Main Event.

Also in contention for the €800,000 first prize are EPT Berlin champion Kevin MacPhee and British poker commentator and pro Barny Boatman.

Daniel Neilson, Australia, PokerStars player, 6,700,000 
Dimitar Danchev Bulgaria 4,435,000 
Jan Bendik Slovakia 3,980,000 
Andrey Pateychuk Russia 3,105,000 
Barny Boatman, UK 2,490,000 
Yorane Kerignard, France, PokerStars qualifier, 2,145,000 
Rocco Palumbo, Italy, 1,160,000 
Kevin MacPhee, USA, PokerStars qualifier, 1,115,000

A total of 837 players from 50 countries competed at EPT8 San Remo creating a €3,734,694 prize pool. The winner will take home €800,000 plus a stunning bracelet worth more than €10,000 from EPT Season 8 Official Bracelet Sponsor Shamballa Jewels.

A total of 24 players are left as the €4,900 EPT San Remo Main Event goes into Day 5. Canadian Chris McClung, who came third in the EPT London High Roller Turbo a few weeks ago for £84,100, led pretty much all of Day 4 and now has 3,148,000. The 27-year-old from Montreal is on his first poker trip to Europe and has cashed in every tourney he's played so far including the EPT London Main Event and the WSOPE event in Cannes.Team PokerStars Pros Johnny Lodden and Lex Veldhuis are both still in contention for the €800,000 first prize with 1,227,000 and 877,000 respectively. Also still in the running are EPT Dortmund champion Mike McDonald, EPT Berlin winner Kevin MacPhee, WSOPE champion Elio Fox as well as Italian Poker Tour Player of the Year and IPT Nova Gorica champion Mustapha Kanit who is currently third with 1,761,000

Canadian Chris McClung is still leading going into Day 5 of the EPT San Remo Main Event picture by Neil Stoddart

Canadian Chris McClung is the Day 4 chip leader picture by Neil Stoddart

A total of 64 players are left as the €4,900 EPT San Remo Main Event goes into Day 4. The current chip leader is Canadian Chris McClung, who came third in the EPT London High Roller Turbo a few weeks ago for £84,100. He has 1,202,000.
Last night's chip leader, Joseph Cheong, who came third in the 2010 WSOP Main Event for $4.1 million and was runner-up in the Season 7 EPT London High Roller Turbo, is now in fourth place with 833,000.
All four Team PokerStars Pros who started the day are still in: Johnny Lodden, Lex Veldhuis, two-time NAPT Mohegan Sun champion Vanessa Selbst and John Duthie. Among the other big names still in contention for the €800,000 first prize are EPT Dortmund champion Mike McDonald, EPT Berlin winner Kevin MacPhee, WSOPE champion Elio Fox, Italian Poker Tour Player of the Year and IPT Nova Gorica champion Mustapha Kanit and IPT Female Player of the Year Carla Solinas.

A total of 76 players are left as the €4,900 EPT San Remo Main Event goes into Level 19 of Day 3.
The current chip leader, with 890,000, is Italian Giampiero Tanzi. Also thriving are Italian Poker Tour Player of the Year and IPT Nova Gorica champion Mustapha Kanit, Team PokerStars Pro and two-time NAPT Mohegan Sun champion Vanessa Selbst, EPT Dortmund champion Mike McDonald, Joseph Cheong, WSOPE champion Elio Fox and Barny Boatman.
A total of 837 players from 50 countries competed at EPT8 San Remo creating a €3,734,694 prize pool. The winner will take home €800,000 plus a stunning bracelet worth more than €10,000 from EPT Season 8 Official Bracelet Sponsor Shamballa Jewels. 128 places will get paid.

The final of the EPT San Remo Main Event will be shown live on PokerStars.tv from 2pm (CET) on October 27. Expert commentary from James Hartigan and PokerStars blogger Marc Convey.

Thriving on Day 3: Mike McDonald Picture Taken by Neil Stoddart

A total of 144 players are left as the €4,900 EPT San Remo Main Event goes into Day 3.
The current chip leader, with 632,000, is American Joseph Cheong who came third in the 2010 WSOP Main Event for $4.1 million and was runner-up in the Season 7 EPT London High Roller Turbo for £162,280.
Also thriving is Italian Poker Tour Player of the Year and IPT Nova Gorica champion Mustapha Kanit who is currently third with 577,000 chips. William Thorson is fourth with 508,500 while Team PokerStars Pro and two-time NAPT Mohegan Sun champion Vanessa Selbst is sixth with 497,000.
Among the other big names still in contention for the €800,000 first prize are Team PokerStars Pros Lex Veldhuis, Johnny Lodden and John Duthie, EPT Berlin winner Kevin MacPhee, Jon Spinks, Barny Boatman, Nick Yunis, Italian Poker Tour Female Player of the Year Carla Solinas, EPT Vilamoura winner Toby Lewis and Melanie Weisner.
A total of 837 players from 50 countries competed at EPT8 San Remo creating a €3,734,694 prize pool. The winner will take home €800,000 plus a stunning bracelet worth more than €10,000 from EPT Season 8 Official Bracelet Sponsor Shamballa Jewels. 128 places will get paid.

Day 3 chip leader Joseph Cheong picture taken by Neil Stoddart

American Taylor Paur is overall chip leader going into Day 2 of the €4,900 EPT San Remo Main Event. Paur, who final tabled the €3k Shootout event at the WSOPE ten days ago and came fifth in the WSOP $10k NL Six Handed Championship in the summer, finished Day 1b with 188,200.
Also thriving from the Day 1b field are Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Selbst (4th, 164,200) and Johnny Lodden (20th, 113,800) as well as PokerStars qualifier Shaun Deeb who, despite turning up for Day 1b well into Level 4, finished the day in 13th place with 130,500.
A total of 260 players made it through Day 1b from today's starting field of 478,Combined with Day 1a's 222 survivors, that means 482 players are coming back for Day 2 at 2pm.
 total of 837 players from 50 countries competed at EPT8 San Remo creating a €3,734,694 prize pool. The winner will take home €800,000 plus a stunning bracelet worth more than €10,000 from EPT Season 8 Official Bracelet Sponsor Shamballa Jewels. 128 places will get paid. Italy accounted for 301 players - more than a third of the field.
Skrill is the Official Payment Provider Sponsor for EPT Season 8 and is running a Last Longer contest for patched-up players in the Main Event.

Team PokerStars Pro and two-time NAPT Mohegan Sun champion Vanessa Selbst is fourth overall going into Day 2 of EPT San Remo
  Photograph by Neil Stoddart

Team PokerStars Pro and EPT6 San Remo champion Liv Boeree is playing Day 1b today Photo taken by Neil Stoddart

UPDATE!!  A total of 478 players turned up for Day 1b of the EPT8 San Remo Main Event today which, combined with yesterday's 359-strong Day 1a field means a total field of 837 players.At least 430 players turned up for Day 1b of the EPT8 San Remo Main Event today, Dozens of big names have taken their seats for Day 1b including Team PokerStars Pro and EPT6 San Remo champion Liv Boeree, world champion Jonathan Duhamel, Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo, two-time NAPT Mohegan Sun winner Vanessa Selbst, PCA High Roller champions Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Eugene Katchalov as well as PokerStars qualifiers Shaun Deeb, Philipp Gruissem (who just won the EPT London High Roller event) and PCA finalist Bolivar Palacios.

A total of 222 players are through Day 1a of the PokerStars.it EPT San Remo Main Event from the 359 who started at 2pm today. Among the leaders is EPT6 Berlin champion Kevin MacPhee (pictured). The survivors also include Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso (runner-up in EPT London's £10k High Roller Turbo, John Duthie (18th at WSOPE) and Lex Veldhuis - as well as top female pro Jennifer Harman who is playing her first ever EPT.The end-of-day chip leader is Italian Gianluca Trebbi, who was runner-up in the 2010 €2k Notte del Poker event and third in an €1k IPT San Remo side event. He is closely followed by Massimiliano Forti who was runner-up in the Poker Grand Prix Master Event last month and went deep in the IPT San Remo event in July.

EPT6 Berlin champion Kevin MacPhee, among the leaders at the end of Day 1a of EPT8 San Remo        Picture taken by Neil Stoddart

More than 20 members of Team PokerStars Pro are attending EPT San Remo this week, including EPT founder John Duthie (who just finished 18th at WSOPE in Cannes) and Arnaud Mattern who finished tenth in Cannes alongside EPT6 San Remo champion Liv Boeree, Italian Poker Tour San Remo winner Luca Pagano, world champion Jonathan Duhamel, PCA High Roller champions Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Eugene Katchalov.
At least 340 players turned up for Day 1a of the EPT8 San Remo Main Event today.
POKERSTARS BIG GAME WINNER PLAYING DAY 1A OF EPT SAN REMO (started the day at Table 15, Seat 6) 
Massimiliano “visdiabuli” Martinez, the Loose Cannon who astounded viewers by winning the PokerStars Big Game televised TV tourney in February, is being sponsored by PokerStars on Day 1a of the EPT San Remo Main Event today.

Martinez won $163,000 and a PokerStars Main Event passport on the Big Game after taking on pros Phil Laak and Phil Hellmuth, Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and businessman Bill Perkins.

The Big Game pits an online qualifier – the Loose Cannon - against a table of poker stars and celebrities. The Loose Cannon is staked $100k and can keep any profits he or she has earned after 150 hands of play.

In between the taping of the show, and the show’s broadcast, Martinez won PokerStar’s Italian Poker Tour $2k Main Event in Nova Gorica, which netted him a further $100,568. The 26-year-old medical student from Rome then went to Las Vegas for the World Series and cashed four times, including a tenth place in the $5k 6-Max NL event and a 110th place cash in the Main Event , earning himself more than $100,000.

In the Big Game, Martinez showcased a highly aggressive strategy throughout, getting his money into the middle in marginal situations to maximize his earnings. While fellow pros, such as Phil Laak, suggested he was a “disaster bordering on the edge of genius,” the Italian continued to rake in huge pots.

Jennifer Harman, double WSOP-bracelet winner and widely considered one of the best female players in the world, is playing her first ever EPT today
Photography by Neil Stoddart

French Team PokerStars Pro Arnaud Mattern, who just finished tenth at the WSOPE Main Event in Cannes, is playing Day 1a of the EPT San Remo today
Photography by Neil Stoddart

Massimiliano “visdiabuli” Martinez, the Loose Cannon who won the PokerStars Big Game in February, is being sponsored by PokerStars on Day 1a of the EPT San Remo Main Event today. Picture taken by Neil Stoddart

PT8 SAN REMO - FINAL DAY 1A LIST

A total of 359 players competed on Day 1a of the EPT8 San Remo Main Event today. The field includes a huge number of big names including Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso, Marcin Horecki, John Duthie (18th at WSOPE), Lex Veldhuis, Arnaud Mattern (tenth at WSOPE), EPT Champion of Champions Jason Mercier, Victor Ramdin, Daniel Negreanu and David Williams - as well as top female pro Jennifer Harman who is playing her first ever EPT.
SAN REMO PARTY 
The EPT San Remo Welcome Party is at 9pm on October 27 (final day) at the Victory Morgana Bay yacht club.