The weekend here in Brno is drawing to a close now and what a weekend it's been! It was a relaxed (but action packed) day today at the track, after some seriously hardcore partying last night!. The players were all in good spirits and were enjoying the chance to analyse how it went down last night and discuss the key hands. It was race day at the track, and our VIP passes let us go pretty much anywhere, so we mingled with the drivers in the pit lane, chatted to the mechanics and soaked up the atmosphere before the big race. We even managed to squeeze in one more sit & go, in which Puggy82 proved last night was no fluke by coming out on top again, beating Mrs llamaheadx and your trusty blogger into 2nd and 3rd.

It was then time for last night's big winner, Puggy82, to take a ride in the leading car in the warm up lap for the big race (accompanied by Miss Austria, no less!). The look on his face afterwards suggested it was one hell of an experience! After the race, we headed back to the hotel before going out for the farewell meal at Brno's top restaurant. We even had time to catch the second half of tonight's Czech Republic v Turkey match, but our shouts of Češi do toho! (Go Czech Republic!) weren't enough to stop them losing 3-2.

Here are some of the many photos from the final day:

The guys with Miss Austria!

Puggy82 emerges dazed and delirious after his lap of the track (or was it just from sitting next to Miss Austria?!)

Puggy82 and the PokerRoom.com girls auditioning for Mary Poppins

So all in all it was a truly fantastic weekend. This was my first time blogging an event for PokerRoom.com and it's been brilliant. The VIP treatment the players receive is superb, and I'd strongly recommend trying to qualify for one of the next semi-finals!

Finally, I'd like to say a huge thanks to the players for making it such an enjoyable weekend (and not complaining at me constantly taking photos of them!). I really hope we get the chance to do it again. See you all at Brands Hatch for the next leg!

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Congratulations to Puggy82!!! He was already in a very strong position after hitting a straight on the river in the previous hand to take a massive, massive chip lead. This is how the final hand panned out: MadEngine pushed all-in for 2900 from the small blind with T2. Puggy82 called (obviously!) with K5 and the flop was 444 (!). The 5 on the turn gave Puggy82 the full house to crown him the semi-final champion!

Really well done Puggy82, you played some fantastic poker and didn't put a foot wrong the whole game. Time to celebrate and look forward to the $500,000 Guaranteed final in Vienna!

That's all from the blog then.......for tonight! I'll be back tomorrow with photos from tonight, plus photos and stories from race day at the track tomorrow. We've got some great stuff lined up for the players so don't miss it!

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And there it is. Marky_Crash moved all-in for around 8000 on the button with pocket 4's. Puggy82 was holding AsJc and called. It was a coin flip, and Puggy82 hit the Ace on the flop. The turn and river were blanks so it was time to say goodbye to Marky_Crash. Hard luck Marky, it's been great having you here again and somehow I think we'll be seeing you again in the UK! Third time lucky?

So we're heads up with very even chip stacks. Game on!

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Sir Rugren is next to go. MadEngine bets 2000 from the small blind and Sir Rugren pushes all-in for 4000 from the big blind holding KsTs. MadEngine insta-calls again, with pocket jacks. The flop and turn are all blanks and the river turns up a ten, but it's not enough for Sir Rugren and now leaves MadEngine with more than half the chips in play.

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starsplash83 hits the rail after a gamble that didn't pay off. MadEngine bet 2000 from the button and starsplash83 called another 1400 from the big blind. The flop comes 8s2c7h and starsplash83 pushes all-in for 3500 holding Jh7s. MadEngine insta-called with pocket kings and another two 2's followed on the turn and river to give MadEngine the full house. It was a bold move which didn't pay off in the end, and we're now down to the halfway stage with 4 players remaning.

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Marky_Crash: 11,000 / Puggy82: 10,800 / MadEngine: 5700 / Sir Rugren: 4900 / starsplash83: 7600

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Llamahead x is gone in the very next hand. He pushed all-in for 1500 holding Qs8h and was called by starsplash83 with Tc2c. The flop was Kc7c7d but then the turn turned up Qc, putting Llamahead x in front but leaving him vulnerable to the flush draw. It duly arrived with 5c on the river. Really bad luck Llamahead x, but that's how it goes sometimes.

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After what seemed like an age, the first action in around 10 hands ended up with croywhale going up against Puggy82, with the first holding Jh8s and the latter with queens. Marky_Crash had raised 1400 pre-flop, with Puggy82 then pushing all-in for 5400. croywhale, sitting on the big blind (600), called his remaining 2400 and Marky_Crash folded. The flop showed 6h8c3h, with a glimmer of hope for croywhale, but the turn (As) and river (6s) didn't bring any miracles and he bows out in 7th place. Hard luck mate, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing you again at another semi-final.

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Sir Rugren's pocket ace's have just held up against Puggy82's AK for him to double up. This hand aside though, still very little action. The blinds are now up to 200/400.

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Marky_Crash: 8550 / Puggy82: 6825 / Llamahead x: 3325 / MadEngine: 5700 / Sir Rugren: 3250 / croywhale: 3900 / starsplash83: 8450

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Well, someone always has to draw the short straw, and this time it’s Kmcdaddy. Here's how it went down: starsplash83 and Puggy82 limp in for 200 and MadEngine calls from small blind. Kmcdaddy checks on the big blind with 87 offsuit. The flop is Q78 (with 2 clubs) and MadEngine and Kmcdaddy both check. starsplash83 bets 200 and Puggy82 and MadEngine both call. Kmcdaddy moves all-in for around 3000 with his two pair, and MadEngine calls with Qc5c. Everyone else folds. Unfortunately for the Norwegian, MadEngine hit the flush on the turn which was enough to send Kmcdaddy to the rail. Well done on getting this far anyway fella and maybe we’ll see you at another of the semi finals…

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We've had our first all-in and it was called! Kmcdaddy pushed all-in for 3250 with 2 pair, 7s & 8s, after a flop of Qd 7c 8c. He was called by MadEngine who had Qc 5c and a stack of 2250. MadEngine hit the flush on the turn to take the hand!

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For those asking if we can have the whole blog in one thread, unfortunately because the blog isn't actually written in pokah we can't do it all as one post. It's copied straight in to the forum entry by entry (for comments), which is why it creates a separate thread each time. We'll try and get this sorted for the next one, to avoid cluttering up the forum.

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I thought we might have had an early exit then, but croywhale (after a long, long think) folded his jacks, after a big re-raise from Marky_Crash who was holding kings. croywhale had initially raised 325 pre-flop, only for Marky_Crash to turn up the heat with a re-raise to 1500. A wise fold from croywhale.

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We've just had the first pot of any substance, which stood at 600 going in to the river. The board cards showed T43K2 rainbow, with starsplash83 holding Q8 and Puggy82 KQ. starsplash83 tried to bluff it out with a 500 bet, only for Puggy82 to re-raise up to 1200. starsplash83 thought about it for a bit but was left with no chance but to fold. It's still pretty tight out there, understandably. The blinds are about to go up to 50/100.

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And we're off! It's a cagey start as expected, and we haven't seen a flop yet with the first few hands gone. The players do seem very relaxed though, despite the presence of the cameras.

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Here we go folks! The players are in position, playing a few practice hands to warm up. Here’s how they’re lining up at the table:

Seat 1: Marky_Crash / Seat 2: Puggy82 / Seat 3: Llamahead x / Seat 4: MadEngine / Seat 5: Kmcdaddy / Seat 6: Sir Rugren / Seat 7: croywhale / Seat 8: starsplash83.

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Hi again from sunny Brno. A quick pit stop before we head back to the track for the main event this evening. The players all seem relaxed and ready for the tournament... maybe it's just the calm before the storm. We've had a great day so far at the track - first up was a photoshoot in the pitlane:

From L-R: starsplash83, Kmcdaddy, Marky_Crash, Sir Rugren, Puggy82, Llamahead x, MadEngine and croywhale

Then we got the players to fight it out to see who could change a tyre on a WTCC car the fastest. Congrats to Sir Rugren, who managed it in a mightily impressive 44 seconds! Here he is in action:

So much for 'no professionals'!

After that it was a buffet lunch in the VIP club overlooking the track, before heading back to the paddock for some virtual racing! All 8 players went up against each other and after some crazy overtaking and spectacular crashes, Puggy82 and Sir Rugren emerged victorious, with a win each. Well done boys!

Marky_Crash really lived up his name...

Now the action moves on to tonight, where it gets really serious. The Race Trophy semi-final is due to start around 7pm and we'll be bringing you live blog updates continously, so you can follow all the action as it happens. Will Marky_Crash come out on top at the second attempt? Check back later to find out!

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Wow, what a great way to kick off the weekend. We're just back from the PokerRoom.com party at the race track, where the players were treated to some great food, fantastic cocktails, beer, football on big screens and, of course, poker. All the drivers and mechanics from the WTCC teams were invited as well, and it was great chatting with them and watching them learn poker at our very own poker school. There were also a load of single table sit & go's organised, with luxury chip sets for the winners. Congratulations to starsplash83 and MadEngine who both ending up winning tournaments and a chip case each. My favourite moment though had to be hitting a full house for a monster pot, right as Holland scored against France in the football. Happy days! Anyway, here are some photos from the night:

Inside the PokerRoom.com tent

mmmmm!

The kebabs were fantastic!

starsplash83, Puggy82 and Marky_Crash tuck in to the food

Marky_Crash correctly predicting Holland to beat France 4-1 in the prediction competition.. is there anything the man can't do?!

Some of the WTCC drivers trying their hand at a bit of poker..

So there we have it, a fantastic night all round and a great way to start off the weekend. Tomorrow we're heading to the track again as VIP guests, where the players will be trying their hand at changing tyres, meeting the drivers and having a go on some virtual racing. It should be another great day!

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Afternoon everyone. We're just waiting for the players to arrive, after a quick look round the city this morning. Brno is the Czech Republic’s second city and a couple of hours drive south east from Prague. It’s known mostly for its beautiful cathedral, a huge castle fortress which was the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s centre of torture (nice!) and, last but definitely not least, Starobrno beer. The Czech Republic in general is known for its beer, and PokerRoom.com fully intend to get well acquainted with the local delicacies over the weekend.

Here are some quick snaps we took out and about:

The market in the main square

That's tonights dinner sorted for the players...

The Cathedral

We also found two statues and we'd like your help figuring out what the hell they're about. In fact, we're gonna have a caption competition for the first one:

?!?!?!

This guy was facing the man and the fish, obviously feeling a bit left out...

There's a $10+1 ticket for whoever can come up with the best caption or explanation for what is going in these two photos! Just leave a comment with your suggestion.

And finally, I just had to share this with you. We drove in to the city centre from the hotel this morning (a very short distance). I drove there, and PokerRoom.com's Kristian drove back. Here's the route I took to get there (the blue dot is the hotel):

Journey time: four minutes

And here is the route that Kristian took to get back:

Journey time: AN HOUR AND TEN MINUTES!!!

I think I'll do the rest of the driving. Anyway, the players are about to arrive so it's time to go and meet them and get them checked in. Then we're off to the Race Track for a special party, where there will be lots of poker (duh) and tonight's Euro football matches on big screens, plus plenty of food and drink. Check back tomorrow for the photos!

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Evening all - Blogmeister MC here, stepping in for the WSOP-bound Billy McKloski. We've just arrived arrived in Brno after an eventful drive down from Prague, in which we learnt that the Czech Republic has very crazy drivers and very bad radio stations. It's a beautiful country though! The players are due to arrive tomorrow afternoon, and we have a special surprise for them when they get here....

The CHOPPER

Yes, that's right, The CHOPPER. We spied it in the car park when we got here and have arranged to hire it out tomorrow, so the players can relax after their flights by zooming around the streets of Brno on a monster three wheeled motorbike! Yeehaw! We'll be bringing you lots more photos and plenty more action tomorrow so stay tuned. Over and out.

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I can almost smell the burning rubber already. PokerRoom.com are packing their bags ready to hit the Czech Republic for the next stop of the Race Trophy. Stay tuned to the blog this weekend for live updates from Brno, where we'll be bringing you all the action from the track and the semi-final. Find out who will win the 3rd seat at the $500,000 final in Vienna!

Remember also that qualifiers have now started for the UK leg of the Race Trophy, at Brands Hatch in July. For more information on the Race Trophy, and how to qualify, click here.

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