Lee Davy airs his view after the World Poker Tour’s decision to introduce a 30-second shot clock in the Tournament of Champions is met with an angry response by a member of their Champions Club.

I am in Baden, Austria. Marvin Rettenmaier sits in his seat like a king on a throne. And why not? The German star is on his way towards an incredible third World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event title in less than nine months. He wears a grey t-shirt. His hair tussled by the masseuse calmly squeezing his scalp between her fingers. He is enjoying a joke with his partypoker teammate Bodo Sbrzesny; seated to his direct left.

The action folds to Fedor Holz in middle position who min-raises to 12,000. The Finnish player Kimmo Kurko is next to act. He takes his time before three-betting to 28,000 in the hijack seat. My curiosity is piqued. So is Sbrzesny’s in the cutoff. He riffles a small stack of blue chips with his right hand. His left-hand rests on his right forearm. He doesn’t look at anyone in particular when he reaches for chips and moves a 52,000 cold four-bet into the middle in one fell swoop.

The jokes have stopped. Nobody is talking. It’s as if all the eyes in the casino are on this table. Rettenmaier is also riffling a small stack of blue chips with his right hand. His left rests on the table. In between, lies the largest stack of anyone left in this competition. He stares at the initial raise of Holz. He looks deadly serious. After a minute’s thought, he pushes out a 96,000 cold five bet from the button.