Haigh drags in a big pot

Robert Haigh played his way into a commanding position in the last hand before the break, winning a pot that leaves his tower 160,000 chips high.

The German's thoughful style seemingly hypnotised his opponent on a 2♥Q♣K♥-Q♥-4♣ board, as the villain made a huge call on the end and mucked when Haigh flipped 7♥8♥.

It left him with one of the biggest stacks in the room, eclipsing even fellow PPT regulars Srinivasu Thavarajah (123,000) and Bastian Bleum (90,000).

We're down to an 81-man field as the players return to the baize but those missing include Antonio Lemos and Thomas Merved.

Merved had been reduced to a short stack and despite picking up AQ to open shove with in late position, his executioner found KK in the small blind.

The Dane even had some hope on the flop when an Ace arrived, but a King on the turn ended his hopes if a cash in Madrid.

Here's a selected chip count:

Robert Haigh - 160,000
Srinivasu Thavarajah - 123,000
Bastian Bleum - 90,000
Dietmar Doering - 80,000
Caspar Engelien - 78,000
Toni Merivuori - 59,000
Marek Viscak - 58,000
Tom Lane - 34,000
Christian Schulz - 22,000
David Pishvafar - 16,000