No cowboys for Srini

Srinivasu Thavarajah is a man hooked on the ParadisePoker Tour and after making a strong start to the Madrid leg - who can blame him?

Those who saw Srini (pictured) on the PPT Prague video will have heard the Sri Lankan born player claim he couldn't sleep for excitement before the €125k Main Event.

And after meeting him face-to-face, the PPT blog can confirm his enthusiasm is as real as it appeared on camera, despite a vendetta against one of poker's most powerful starting hands.

"I've played the Vienna, Prague and now Madrid events and I absolutely love this structure," he grinned at the last break.

"I haven't been that lucky in the previous legs though, as I lost decisive hands with KK in both.

"So I don't want to see cowboys this weekend - and that way I might yet make the final table!"

Thavarajah, who now lives in Germany, had around 28,000 chips at the last check and was looking in good shape as Day 1 entered its final straight.

"I haven't had many big hands to be honest," he added, "But I've been stealing enough pots to make it a good day so far. Let's hope it continues into Day 2."