October 27 2011, Josh Bell

Download PokerStars and win your way into the Saturday Countdown.

Introducing the Saturday Countdown

For those who aren’t familiar with the Saturday Countdown, it is PokerStars’ newest addition to its already jam-packed Saturday tournament lineup. The Saturday Countdown will use the new Time Tourney format.

In Time Tourneys, instead of playing until one player has all the chips like in a traditional format, play lasts for a set period that changes depending on each tournament. Once this time limit is reached, the prize pool is distributed based upon the size of players’ stacks.

In the Saturday Countdown this set period is an action-filled 120 minutes. Imagine winning an obscene amount of money in only two hours!

Win Seats into the Saturday Countdown

To help celebrate the launch of the brand new PokerStars Saturday Countdown, PokerNews will be hosting an affordable satellite, which will award at least 100 seats to its winners.

The satellite will run Friday, Oct. 28 at 1500 ET (1900 GMT) and features a $2+0.20 buy-in. To participate, players will simply need the password, “POKERNEWS,” when signing up for the tournament.

With 100 guaranteed seats up for grabs, the Saturday Countdown satellite is sure to be a massive success, so don’t be one of the few to miss out when the Saturday Countdown kicks off Saturday, Oct. 29.

The PokerNews Saturday Countdown Satellite is open to players regardless of where they signed up for PokerStars, but, of course, there is always extra incentive to open a PokerStars account through PokerNews, since we continue to offer the best, exclusive promotions available anywhere online.

Double the Reason to Countdown

To further celebrate the launch of the Saturday Countdown, PokerStars has decided to double the guarantees in all of its Saturday lineup tournaments this weekend.

This means the Saturday Countdown will feature a massive $20,000 guarantee, and thanks to the PokerNews satellite, you could turn just $2+0.20 into a share of this huge prize pool!

Try a Time Tourney for Free

If you don’t already have an account, download PokerStars now and remember to use the marketing code “POKERNEWS.COM.” If you deposit more than $30 before Oct. 28, use special bonus code ”TIME” when depositing to receive a free $5.50 tournament ticket!

If you don’t happen to sign up to PokerStars before Oct. 28 to claim your free tournament ticket, remember to still use the marketing code “POKERNEWS.COM” and then use the 100% up to $600 first-deposit bonus by also using the bonus code “STARS600.”

If you experience any problems with this or any of our promotions, please contact our Ticketed Promo Support System.

October 26 2011, Donnie Peters

The final table was set on Wednesday night for the 2011 PokerStars.it European Poker Tour San Remo, Italy. It was another short day as the field of 24 players got down to eight in very little time.

At the end of the day, Australian Daniel Neilson led the way with 6.7 million in chips. He quietly chipped up throughout the day before ending the night by sending Team PokerStars Pro Johnny Lodden home in ninth place. Neilson has been on a nice run in Europe recently. A few weeks ago, he placed 45th in the EPT London Main Event for £13,000 and is now set to make a lot more cash as he eyes the “800,000 top prize.

When the day began, Chris McClung had the lead with 3.148 million. Instead of writing about how he ran over the field, all we can do is wonder where all his chips went. McClung, with his ultra-aggressive style, had his foot on the gas all day. In fact, it seemed like he never slowed down from the start of play on Day 1. On Wednesday, that style seemed to get the best of him. It allowed him to grant numerous double-ups to his opponents before he was eliminated in 14th place.

One of the players McClung doubled was Kevin MacPhee. MacPhee was all-in before the flop for 1.742 million, and he was tangling with McClung. MacPhee showed and McClung turned over .

The flop reversed the outs for the two men, and now McClung was looking for one of MacPhee’s kings to make Broadway. The turn was a blank, though, and the river was even blanker.

Although that hand described above did give MacPhee the lead, he went on to lose a big one against Dimitar Danchev. MacPhee raised to 110,000 from under the gun with the blinds at 25K/50K/5K and Danchev called from the cutoff seat to see the flop come down . MacPhee stayed on the gas and bet 125,000. Danchev called.

The landed on the turn, but MacPhee didn’t slow down. He fired a bet of 275,000. Danchev stuck right with him and made the call. The river paired the board with the and MacPhee bet 460,000 rather quickly. Danchev double-handed a raise to 1.2 million. Only a few seconds passed before MacPhee announced a call.

Danchev tabled for a full house, queens full of aces. MacPhee sprung from his chair and slammed over the for a straight that was no longer good, losing about half of his chips in the hand.

MacPhee will enter the final table with 1.115 million in chips and has a shot at becoming the first two-time EPT champion. In 2010, MacPhee won EPT Berlin. His work will be cut out for him on Thursday, however, after he finished the day dead last in chips.

Fourteen other players fell short of this final table besides Lodden and McClung. Team Pro Lex Veldhuis hit the rail in 15th place, former EPT champion Mike McDonald went out in 18th and 2011 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event champion Elio Fox fell in 23rd.

Final Table Seating Assignments

Everyone left has locked up at least “63,694, but there’s still plenty more to play for. The title and first-place prize of “800,000 still hangs in the balance, so be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the live coverage starting Thursday at 1400 CET (0500 PDT).

Don’t forget to tune into the Live Reporting page on Wednesday to follow along with the action. And speaking of following things, our Twitter stream is the best place for up-to-the-minute poker news right in your timeline.

Follow Donnie Peters on Twitter – @Donnie_Peters