Theo Jorgensen and his can’t-lose tactic, Thor Hansen’s optimism and Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken’s fighting spirit on the vBlog before each sat down to play on day two...

With play underway Ola Brandborn, the Swedish journalist in second place on the chip list overnight came out firing, raising every pot on the first round of hands, winning a few and extending a lead.

Whilst he was getting busy Dutch player Leroy Soesman had taken it on himself to entertain his table, and each camera pointed in his direction. “Floor, I need a table change please!” he joked, possibly in response to similar ribbing from countryman Rolf Slotboom sat next to him. This is what a stack of over 50k does to a man.

“Please sir, I beg you. I promise you I have the best hand!” This isn’t Soesman, it’s a few tables along and comes from Danish player Tommy Dender, all-in with the player next to him, Torbjorn Jonson, thinking of the call. “And I’ll buy you coffee. A small one. And a cookie too!”

Pedersen stands out on this greyest of days wearing as he does a solid gold coloured suit. Gold blazer, gold tie, he even has gold hair and a look of distinguished health. The man glows. It’s a ray of sunshine on a table of short stacks looking concerned.

Torbjorn was still thinking....

“Please!!!” That did the trick, or not. Torbjorn folded and Dender flipped up his A-Q. “Of course I wanted you to call. But now I get to sit here for another ten minutes!”

He offered the man coffee anyway.

On the next hand it was Soren Jensen’s turn to risk everything, all-in with K-Q which held out against Q-J. He went into a series of shouts, the adrenal kind, which surged through him, something he expressed with various arm movements. He was only doing what was natural but spent a full five minutes in the lobby walking it off before sitting back down.

Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken was giving tell tale interviews to people on the rail - his tournament over without too much of a surprise. He moved in on a flop of K-T-6 holding T-J only for his calling opponent to flip over A-K. It was always a big ask to revive a 9k stack.

Earlier on two more familiar faces talked to the vBlog team – Austrian Markus Golser and Frenchman Nicolas Levi...

We’ve played the first level. Blinds go up to 500/1,000 with a 100 ante.

All photos © Neil Stoddart