Live updates from day 2 of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest chip counts can be found by clicking here.

2.45pm: Tae Jun takes a tumble

The hopes of PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro Tae Jun Noh winning the Asian Player of the Year title have taken a nosedive after he was almost felted by Victor Chen. The Korean youngster made the call with Q-10 against the A-6 of Chen, which duly held up. That left him with less than 40,000 in chips.

Meanwhile, Vincent Chung won a massive pot against the other PokerStars.net Team Asia player Bryan Huang when his [ac] [9c] made a better two-pair against Huang's [qd] [js] on a board that flowed [qh] [ad] [6c] [jd] [6d]. Chung is up to 600,000, while Huang dropped to 210,000.

2.20pm: We're on the final table bubble

It's been more than 30 minutes since the elimination of Tran Linh at the hands of Yong Hyun "James" Yoo in 12th, and a spot on the final table seems to be holding more allure than actually cashing in the 2009 MPCC Main Event as play has tightened up considerably.

On table one, the short stacks have been content to shove pre-flop and pick up the blinds and antes (there have been double-ups for Victor Chen and Paul Cheng) while on table six, where most of the chips reside, there've been plenty of flops but few big pots played.

1.40pm: Chung tops the count

Vincent Chung of the USA is the new chip leader after sending popular PokerStars Macau identity Hung Tu "All-in Henry" Wang to the rail in 14th. Chung sent his pocket nines to work against the K-9 of Wang, and the eight-high board sent Chung above 400,000 in chips.

Kitson Kho followed soon after when Daren Yoon flopped a set of sevens against A-J, which left Kho with less than a small blind. He limped out a couple of hands later. That leaves 12 players chasing one of 10 spots at the final table.

1.15pm: Big slick earns big split

It was the biggest pot of the tournament, and ended with the elimination of Matt Schwarmann in 15th and the spoils shared between Devan Tang and Chun Chieh Chang.

Schwarmann pushed all-in from early position, with calls from Tang and Chun. The flop fell [8s] [9s] [jh], it went check-check and the turn came [kc]. Tang bet 50,000, Chun shoved all-in and Tang called.

It was the red fours of Schwarmann against the [ac] [kh] of Chun and Tang's [ah] [kd]. There was no tiebreaking four for the American (river [9h] as the pot was shared between Chun and Tang.

1pm: Better late than never

Devan Tang arrived just in time to eliminate two players on the same hand - PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro Raymond Wu and Canadian Rafi Istanbulian - to double his starting stack of 160,000 early on day two in the MPCC Main Event.

Wu and Istanbulian will be scored in equal 16th-place. Nigel Jones was eliminated in 18th, leaving 15 players in contention for a spot at the final table, and Singapore's Bryan Huang in the chip lead on 375,000.

12.30pm: All air for Fan

Terry Fan was confirmed as the 19th-place finisher when he shoved all-in on the first hand of the day, and PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro Bryan Huang was happy to resume hostilities with his Taiwanese adversary. It was Fan's pocket eights against the K-10 of Huang, which found a pair of 10s on the turn to send Fan on his way.

Kitson Kho arrived just in time for the redraw of the remaining 18 players, but we're yet to see Devan Tang, whose blinds and antes are being greedily eaten up on table one.

The thought of having a top-20 line-up of players from China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Taipei, the USA, Canada and the UK in a major international poker tournament would have been unthinkable as little as two years ago.

But that's the "league of nations" represented heading into the final day of play in the first Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau; the culmination of a week-long festival of poker to celebrate the end of the first full year of Macau Poker Cup events.

As the Macau Special Administrative Region prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the return to China, another chapter in the history of the world's premier gaming location will be written today when the first MPCC Main Event champion is crowned.

The man in the box seat with 19 players remaining is Taipei's Chun Chieh "Michael" Chang on 364,00, although PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro Bryan Huang is snapping at his heels on 325,000.

Two other PokerStars.net Team Asia Pros will also be back today - Korea's Tae Jun Noh needs to finish fifth or higher to overtake Kitty Kuo in the race for Asian Player of the Year, while Raymond Wu is hoping for an early double-up as he brings the outright short stack into day two.

Whether it's a bowl of congee or a plate of bacon and eggs, players are taking on some fuel before play starts at 12.30pm local time today. We'll be starting in the magnificent PokerStars Macau facility before relocating to the TV table in the heart of the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino once the final nine are decided.

Day 2 seat draw

Table 1

Seat 1: Rafi Istanbulian (Canada) 85,000
Seat 3: Mathew Schwarmann (USA) 56,000
Seat 4: Vincent Chung (USA) 235,000
Seat 5: Victor Chen (Taipei) 212,000
Seat 6: Yinseng Devan Tan (Hong Kong) 143,000
Seat 7: Nigel Jones (UK) 113,000

Table 6

Seat 1: Terry Fan (Taipei) 101,000
Seat 3: Yong Hyun Yoo (Korea) 251,000
Seat 4: Ming Fang (China) 170,000
Seat 5: Bryan Huang (Singapore) Team PokerStars Asia 325,000
Seat 6: Hung Tu Wang (Taipei) 126,000
Seat 7: Kitson Kho (Hong Kong) 186,000
Seat 8: Wing Bor (Paul) Cheng (Hong Kong) 158,000

Table 7

Seat 2: Chun Chieh Chang (Taipei) 364,000
Seat 3: Tran Linh (Canada) 122,000
Seat 6: Tae Joon Noh (Korea) Team PokerStars Asia 201,000
Seat 7: Daren Yoon (Malaysia) 195,000
Seat 8: Raymond Wu (Taipei) Team PokerStars Asia 50,000
Seat 9: Yew Fatt Kan (Malaysia) 68,000

The Macau Poker Cup's reputation for high drama and swashbuckling poker was delivered in spades on day one of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event at PokerStars Macau in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino today.

The field of 158 players far exceeded expectations, and ensured a prizepool of almost HKD $3,000,000 in the MPC's first HKD $20,000 buy-in Main Event. And considering that the event is being held on the cusp of the holiday season, the line-up impressed both in terms of quantity and quality.

In addition to PokerStars.net Team Asia pros Tae Jun Noh, Celina Lin, Raymond Wu, Bryan Huang and Jonathan Lin, the line-up included several players with APPT final tables under their belts and the best of the best from the 2009 MPC.

The real action started after dinner when the structure really started to bite and stacks of all sizes came under considerable pressure. After the elimination of Ivan and Geoff Pringle, Ming Wang was confirmed as the bubble finisher after Darren Yoon's K-Q paired on the river against Ming Fang's flopped pair of sixes.

After almost 15 levels of 40 minutes, just 19 of the 158 starters remained with Chun Chieh "Michael" Chang holding the chip lead with 364,000. Others who'll be back tomorrow for the final day include PokerStars.net Team Asia trio Tae Jun Noh, Raymond Wu and Bryan Huang, Terry Fan, Winfred Yu plus former chip leaders Devin Tang and Henry Wang.

It's been a long but enthralling day here at PokerStars Macau. It's time for a nightcap at one of the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino's many bars, before returning at 12.30pm tomorrow for the race to the inaugural MPCC title.

Live updates from day 1, level 13 (blinds 2000-4000, ante 500) & level 14 (3000-6000, ante 500) of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau. Click refresh to see the latest updates below.

12am: Close calls for Team Pros

PokerStars.net Team Asia Pros Bryan Hung and Raymond Wu are livin' on the edge with just four players to fall before the bubble bursts in the MPCC Main Event. Both have survived several double-ups to maintain their hopes of an in-the-money finish.

Wu was down to just 1400 in chips when the blinds were 1000/2000 but has clawed back to just over 100,000 while Huang just doubled through Henry Wang with pocket sixes against A-Q to build his stack back above 150,000.

Terry Fan picked off another scalp when his pocket sixes held up against the A-6 of Andrew Ling and remains the chip leader on 380,000 while "Victor" Chih-yen Chen has climbed to more than 300,000 and into second spot on the chip count.

11.30pm: Bubble bounces closer

We're 10 spots short of the money and the end of play on day one in the first Macau Poker Cup Championship at PokerStars Macau inside the luxurious Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. As the song goes, "Saturday night's alright for fighting", and there's no shortage of stoushes as the short stacks continue to commit their chips at every opportunity.

There are three PokerStars.net Team Asia Pros - Tae Jun Noh, Bryan Huang and Raymond Wu - still in the field, along with other notables Terry Fan, Singapore's Ivan Tan and PokerStars Macau regular "Victor" Chih-yen Chen. Terry Fan remains the chip leader on 340,000.

11pm: Terry's on top

Players are back from what should be the final break of the night, with 36 players chasing one of the 19 spots in the money. More than 50 players have been eliminated in the three 40-minute levels since the dinner break, and with numerous short stacks clinging to their tournament life, the pressure mounts heading into level 13.

Terry Fan has been among the chip leaders for much of the day and remains the man to catch on 330,000. He's well placed for another final table after finishing fifth in the APPT Cebu Main Event last month.

PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro Tae Jun Noh has stormed back from less than 30,000 in chips to more than 220,000 (he eliminated Terrence Chan with aces against nines on the last hand before the break).

A top-five finish in the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event will allow the Korean youngster to overtake Kitty Kuo for the title of Asian Player of the Year.

Live updates from day 1, level 11 (blinds 1000-2000, ante 300) & level 12 (1500-3000, ante 200) of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau. Click refresh to see the latest updates below.

10.30pm: Lin leaves, Huang hangin' on

Just five tables of eight players remain with almost 75 per cent of the Macau Poker Cup Championship field on the rail midway through level 12 on day one.

PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro recently joined the exodus after losing most of her stack to teammate Raymond Wu after racing A-10 against pocket fours, then Jack Lee scooped up the remainder when he rivered a full-house against Lin's two-pair.

It looked as if Bryan Huang would join Lin on the sidelines but the PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro has doubled up to 60,000 to keep his tournament hopes alive. Others to be eliminated in the past 30 minutes include Kyle Morris, Jeppe Drivsholm, Julian Cohen and Mike Marvanek.

10pm: WA all the way

PokerStars Macau officials were thrilled to welcome a contingent of 13 players from the Western Australian Poker League (WAPL) this week. The group, who play regular in a pub-based competition around the suburbs of Perth, tried their luck in a Phase 2 satellite, with two of the 13 qualifying for the MPCC Main Event.

The gold and black colours of the WAPL team dominate the rail as their last man Patrick Healy tears up table six. Healy just took down a massive pot against Henry Wang, and eliminated another player soon after to snare the outright chip lead on 235,000.

At the other end of the table, Korean Yong Hyun Yoo has also amassed an impressive stack, and is firmly entrenched in top five with 165,000.

9.30pm: Taiwan on top

Players tumbled at a rate of one every two minutes in a dramatic level 10, with the field slashed to 57 in the early stages of level 11 in the Macau Poker Cup Championship.
Terry Fan has stretched his lead at the head of the chip count to 175,000, and it's a Taiwanese one-two at this stage with Henry Wang almost level in chips.

Another big mover since the dinner break has been Tournament of Champions runner-up "Victor" Chen Chih Yen. After twice doubling up, the May 2009 Red Dragon champion has some breathing space for the first time today with a stack of more than 80,000.

Malaysia's Daren Yoon has also been riding the proverbial roller coaster but has recently bounced back to 75,000 after his [7h] [8h] was initially in bad shape against the [ah] [jh] of Derek Cheung, but the board flowed [kc] [6h] [4h] [5s] [ks] to make Yoon's straight.

Live updates from day 1, level 9 (blinds 600-1200, ante 100) & level 8 (800-1600, ante 200) of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau. Click refresh to see the latest updates below.

9pm: Devin in post-dinner heaven

We suspect that chilli may have been the dominant ingredient of the meals ordered by players in the Macau Poker Cup Championship judging from the carnage since the dinner break. It's level 10 on day one here at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino, where less than 70 players are spread across just nine tables in PokerStars Macau heading into the evening session of play.

The big mover in the past 30 minutes has been Devin Tang, who just took out another player when he rivered an ace to overtake an opponent's pocket 10s to climb to 115,000. The cry of "all-in, call" continues as the number of players remaining ticks down by the minute.

8pm: Dinner warms the hearts of the frozen field

It's a windy and cold Macau evening - and that's inside PokerStars Macau. Those who feel the cold are doing it tough midway through day one of the Macau Poker Cup Championship, with all manner of clothing being sourced to keep out the cold.

Well-known poker media identity Kyle Morris is buried under a hoodie and cap while Tae Jun Noh has again donned a woollen beanie that wouldn't look out of place on a halfpipe.

In the meantime, we've lost almost half of the field in the first six hours of play - 81 remain, 77 have been eliminated and we're off to sample one of the magnificent dining options at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Pork buns anyone?

7.30pm: Fan blows Chang away

After a pedestrian afternoon, the gloves are well and truly off as the blinds start to bite in level nine of the Macau Cup Poker Championship here at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino.

The jump from 400/800 to 600/1200 signalled the start of frenetic action, with Taipei's terry Fan the main beneficiary as he became the first player to break the 100,00-chip barrier when his A-7 cracked Carlo's Chang's A-K when a seven sailed down the river. Fan, who placed fifth in the APPT Cebu Main Event, holds 110,000.

PokerStars.net Team Asia has suffered its first elimination of the tournament with the short-stacked Jonathan Lin departing. Celina Lin has recovered to 26,000, with Raymond Wu (seated to her immediate right) on 25,000 and Tae Jun Noh on 33,000.

Live updates from day 1, level 7 (blinds 300-600, ante 75) & level 8 (400-800, ante 100) of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau. Click refresh to see the latest updates below.

7pm: Ace goes bang for Tang

"Just call me the suckout king!" quipped Devin Tang as he scooped up one of the biggest pots of the tournament midway through level eight in the Macau Poker Cup Championship.

There was a huge crowd around table 12 with Christopher Koo all-in, Tang all-in and John Chong all-in. It was down to Daoxing Chen to join the party, but he declined the invitation and it was off to the races.

Koo showed red kings, Chong red jacks while Tang sweated his A-8. Chen shrieked with delight after folding the other two kings, and Tang joined the celebrations when the board fell A-Q-4-2-4. That took him to more than 40,000 chips, while Koo took down a sidepot of more than 60,000 with his kings.

6.30pm: Casualties mount

The ladies have taken their seats for their MPCC event while the HKD $20,000 buy-in Main Event ticks into level eight, with blinds up to 400/800 with an ante of 100.

Recent departures include Aussie young gun Daniel Neilson (who featured in last night's Tournament of Champions thanks to his sixth-place on the MPC leaderboard) and Phillip Willcocks, who placed eighth in the recent APPT Cebu Main Event.

Andrew Scott, the affable Aussie now based in Hong Kong, has also been KOed. He shoved with K-10 onto a K-5-4 with two hearts, and was called by an opponent with flush and open-ended straight draws, with the heart-breaking heart landing on the turn.

6pm: One down, one to go for Chan

Terrence Chan is one of the great travellers on the poker scene, and has been a great supporter of events in Macau since the first APPT Macau event back in 2007. Coming off a win in the WCOOP on PokerStars earlier this year, the Hong Kong-based Canadian won the Heads-up Challenge as part of the MPCC last week.

Chan's holding a smidge under 40,000 as players return from their second break of the day, and is well placed for another deep run here. The current chip leader is Sweden's Robin Backstorm, who is up to 66,000 while Kevin Clark of New Zealand is on 62,000.

PokerStars Macau Tournament Director Danny McDonagh has confirmed that 19 of the 157 players will receive a payout, roughtly equating to about one in eight entrants. There'll be a dinner break of 45 minutes after the conclusion of level nine.

Live updates from day 1, level 5 (blinds 150-300, ante 25) & level 4 (200-400, ante 50) of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau. Click refresh to see the latest updates below.

5.30pm: Celina has the eye of the Dragon

She's the princess of poker in this part of the world, and Celina Lin is never been more determined to put in a good display for her legion of followers in the Macau Poker Cup's marquee event of the year.

After scoring her breakthrough win here in the Red Dragon event held in July, her confidence has stepped up another notch and she's leading the way for the PokerStars.net Team Asia Pro contingent today with 30,000 in chips.

A sleepy Bryan Huang is on 22,000; Tae Jun Noh (who looks ready for a trip to the skifields) holds 27,000 while Jonathan Lin (10,000) and Raymond Wu (12,000) are hanging on.

We've also just farewelled the player on top of the Macau Poker Cup leaderboard, Taipei's Kitty Kuo. Her stacked had fluctuated wildly before running K-J into the pocket queens of Phil Lau. The flop came Q-x-Q to give Lau quads, and Kuo could only smile meekly as she gathered her personals. That leave Kuo's lead vulnerable ... any takers?

5pm: Smoke 'em if ya got 'em

It's amazing how quickly the poker players of Macau and China have embraced the popular aspects of the game. There are no shortage of "so sick" and "one time" shrieks throughout the room, but at least it's in English as Chinese is not allowed to be spoken in the act of play.

However, it's hard for westerners to readjust to the smell of cigarette smoke that wafts into the poker room from the adjacent gaming tables, where smoking is permitted. Playing poker here is a half-a-pack habit.

Metaphorically speaking, no-one's smoking the field after the opening six levels of play with the biggest stacks around the 50k-mark. Ira Blumenthal, who final-tabled the very first APPT event back in 2007, just acquired the bulk of Tim Eduard's chips to climb above 50,000 while Jeppe Drivsholm's stack is also north of 50k after almost fours of play.

Live updates from day 1, level 3 (blinds 100-200) & level 4 (100-200, ante 25) of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau. Click refresh to see the latest updates below.

4.30pm: Clark making his mark

The official entry for the inaugural Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event has been confirmed at 158 - an excellent number, which further underlines the growth of poker in the world's gaming capital. The prizepool will be HKD $2,970,400, or just under USD $383,000, meaning the winner is assured a payout of more than USD $90,000.

But the dream of becoming that first MPCC champion is over for PokerStars Macau satellite winner Chi Keung Lau after he slammed in his remaining chips to the all-in of New Zealander Kevin Clark. However, Lau's top-pair with ace-kicker and gutshot straight draw was completely dominated by Clark's flopped flush, and the Kiwi shot to 40,000 after that hand.

Play is about to tick in level five, with 144 of the 158 players still seated in the glorious PokerStars Macau room on a packed Saturday afternoon here in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino.

4pm: Roar power on table six

An early nominee for loudest gathering in the room goes to table six, where Hong Kong duo Cho Fai Wong and Phil Lau are providing a hand-for-hand commentary of the action, and there's been plenty to report with the chip shuffling mostly in the direction of Yow Hui Ng of Singapore, who's on 40,000.

Through all the noise, Korea's Eric Yim is somehow catching a quick nap on table seven, and missed the action as Aussie Mitchell Carle committed his remaining chips with pocket jacks, only for Renyong Hu's A-6 to improve to a straight.

But we're yet to hear a sound from PokerStars Macau livewire Daoxing "Bao Bao" Chen. The player who infuriated and amused all at the APPT Macau Main Event final table back in September has quietly amassed a stack of 44,000 after three levels of play. But "Bao Bao", please don't disappoint your audience!

3.30pm: Who's that with the Team Pros?

Raymond Wu and Bryan Huang missed much of the opening level of the Macau Poker Cup Championship, and both look a little star-struck since taking their seats.

The PokerStars.net Team Asia duo played a few hands with our celebrity guests Chrissie Chau and Samantha Ko, but the real test was the uninterrupted blast from the hundreds of camera flashes with the Hong Kong paparazzi packed around the table.

Huang was quick to locate his sunglasses and win some early pots to take his stack to 24,000, while Wu is sitting comfortably just above his start stack of 20,000. Likewise, it's been a steady start for Korea's Tae Jun Noh and Celina Lin, but Jonathan Lin has slipped to 10,000 after the first three levels.

3pm: Seven not so lucky

Play has just ticked into the third level after the first two 40-minute levels in the Macau Poker Cup Championship here at PokerStars Macau in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino.

Three players bowed out in the opening 80 minutes, with the total field currently on 157 players for a prizepool of just under HKD $3,000,000, which will soon be confirmed by PokerStars Macau tournament director Danny McDonagh.

Some tables have attracted more focus than others, with table seven's line-up of Julian Cohen (fourth in the 2009 Vic Champs Main Event), PokerStars.net Team Asia's Tae Jun Noh, Hanbing "Marlboro" Wang (top 15 on the MPC leaderboard) and 2009 Aussie Millions $1000 PokerPro NLHE champion Mitchell Carle among the toughest.

Live updates from day 1, level 1 (blinds 25-50) & level 2 (50-100) of the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander from the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau. Click refresh to see the latest updates below.

2.30pm: Region's best out in force

The proximity to the holiday season hasn't stopped the region's best players turning out for the first Macau Poker Cup Championship. PokerStars.net Team Asia Pros Celina Lin, Jonathan Lin, Raymond Wu, Bryan Huang and Tae Jun Noh lead the list of notables.

Others in town include 2009 WCOOP bracelet winner Terrence Chan, 2008 APPT Macau High Roller runner-up Andrew Scott, 2009 APPT Macau fifth-place finisher Daoxing Chen, three of the nine players who final-tabled APPT Cebu last month (New Zealand's Kevin Clark, Mark Pagsuyuin of the Philippines and Taipei's Terry Fan), and Jeppe Drivsholm, who was fifth in the 2008 APPT Macau Main Event.

Singapore's Ivan Tan, who final-tabled APPT Macau tournaments in 2007 and 2008, Malaysia's Daren Yoon, rising Aussie stars Daniel Neilson, Julian Powell and Julian Cohen and Thailand's Ire Blumenthal underline the wealth of nations here today.

There are also large contingents of players representing the Western Australian Poker League and Hong Kong Poker House, all proudly wearing the logos and colours of their respective organisations.

But it's the PokerStars Macau regulars who dominate the field, with many of the top Macau Poker Cup performers out to gain a slice of the estimated HKD $3,00,000 on offer.

MPC high fliers Kitty Kuo, Chen-an Lin, "Victor" Chen Chih Yen and Zhenjian Lin are all in today's field, along with "Joe" Kin Joh Pua, who won last night's inaugural Tournament of Champions worth HKD $100,000, including his seat in the MPCC Main Event.

1.30pm: Paparazzi invades PSM

PokerStars Macau has been invaded by a massive media contingent for the arrival of Hong Kong "It" Girl Chrissie Chau. The model/actor/bikini model is here to officially open the Macau Poker Cup Championship event, and has been followed to Macau by enough reporters and photographers to put Ante-up for Africa to shame.

Chau's appearance has added to a chaotic but incredibly exciting start to the day. Many of the players who'd planned to ferry to Macau from Hong Kong this morning had their plans thrown into disarray when the service was halted.

This was due to the departure from Hong Kong to Macau of Chinese President Hu Jintao for 10th anniversary celebrations of Macau's return to China. President Hu was last here five years ago, and the city is awash with red and green flags to honour his visit.

A string of celebrations have been planned across the weekend to honour the milestone, including a massive fireworks display following a concert by Cantopop superstar Andy Lau. What a backdrop for Macau's biggest ever home grown poker tournament!