Mortensen and Mercier

Playing just the first hand at the new blind level before the table is chopped, we saw Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier and Danish player Morten Mortensen get involved.

Pre-flop, Mortensen opened to 38,000 from middle position, and in the hijack position, Mercier made it 117,000. Mortensen seemed undeterred, and so it proved as he re-raised to 248,000. A smooth call from Mercier and we saw a flop of , which both players checked.

The turn of led to a bet of 191,000 from Mortensen, and that was enough for Mercier to eventually lay it down.

"I finished 10th here four years ago," Mortensen was telling us at the break. "It would be cool to go further in a record-breaking field."

He's taking steady steps towards making that a reality... but there is a very long way to go. Mercier will remain a danger on whichever table he ends up.