EPT Barcelona: Norway vs Ivey

Norwegian assault on TV table
Simon Young reports: Two Norwegian PokerStars qualifiers are sitting on the first televised feature table of the day - along with a certain Phil Ivey.

But they won't be sitting too comfortably, as both are short-stacked and need a fast double-up to stay in contention. Jorgen Kjervol (org45) (above, middle) and Trond Manger (hervattin) (above, top) start with 11,800 and 10,200 respectively.

Jorgen, 33, is used to the TV lights after playing in the UK Open last year, but sitting next to ice-cool Ivey will be a new experience. At home in Oslo he works for the immigration service processing asylum seekers ("We do have some, honest," he says) as well as playing online at PokerStars in his spare time. He qualified for this event in a MTT.

Sitting on the other side of the dealer in seat eight is fellow Norwegian Trond. By day Trond, 29, sells music DVDs to shops around Norway, but by night he frequents his local card club in Bergen as well as playing online at PokerStars, where he won his seat here in a $26 re-buy tournament.

Trond said: "I've got just over 10,000 chips, but with the big blinds starting at 600/1,200 I don't have much time. Let's hope I start with the button! But if I can double up a couple of times I can start playing poker again."

That would be music to the ears of his friends and family watching developments back home.