No slowing down the Germans

The before shot - David (pre-hair cut) at the WSOP

German poker has rarely enjoyed a stronger spell, with Pius Heinz claiming the WSOP Main Event earlier this month and their 'national' team claiming glory at the recent Nations Cup in London.

And as if inspired by their compatriots, our regular German contingent are lighting up the Barcelona event with a hot streak that has seen the likes of David Pishvafar and Bastian Bluem move among the bigger stacks in the room.

Pishvafar, who was the Team Paradise star performer in the summer, has since cut off his trademark locks but is suffering no Sansom syndrome at the moment - with 40,000 chips now in his armoury.

His defining hand so far came when he called a pre-flop raise from a villain holding 88, floated a J-6-2 flop and turned his set. Displaying his trademark composure, David smooth-called turn and river bets and allowed his rival to ship the rest of his stack across the table,

Bastian meanwhile is sitting on around 39,000 having twice made trips and once flopped a set and been paid off on each occasion. Ably supporting the pair is Mischa Dankert on 28,000 who has been three-barrelling to good effect, pushing one rival off his top pair and avoiding too many showdowns.