Florida-based poker professional Jason Mercier has had a terrific week. On Monday, the player topped the field of the 2016 WSOP $10,000 2-7 Draw Lawball Championship for $273,335 and his fourth gold bracelet. On Wednesday, he finished runner-up to Ray Dehkharghani in the $10,000 Seven-Card Razz Championship for $168,936. And only a few hours ago, the player took down the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for his fifth WSOP-related gold piece and a first-place prize payout of $422,874.
Mercier took down the event after a two-hour heads-up battle with Australian James Obst, during which chips went back and forth and the eventual winner emerged as the chip leader after having a huge chip deficit at the beginning of the two-handed battle.
As its name suggests, the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship featured five poker formats – Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8, Seven-Card Razz, Seven-Card Stud, and Seven Card Hi-Lo Split 8. The tournament was played over three days, starting June 15. Its final day saw 14 finishers coming back to the poker tables at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino to battle it out to an eventual champion.
Mercier kicked off the day as the chip leader and one of the three players to have passed the million mark. Overall, the event attracted 171 finishers, quite an impressive number for a tournament of this kind. The total prize pool amounted to $1,607,400 and the top 26 finishers were paid a portion of it. Well-known poker players such as Erik Seidel, Jason Somerville, and Bryn Kenney were among those to make it to the money.
As mentioned above, Obst was Mercier’s heads-up opponent. Two-handed match began with the Australian holding a massive chip lead over the now five-time gold bracelet winner. The final hand occurred after a two-hour epic battle. At that point, the two remaining players were playing the Limit Hold’em poker format.
Mercier raised from the button and Obst called for his last 300,000. Mercier showed [5c][3h] against his opponent’s [Qs][Jd]. The board ran out [10d][4s][2h][Ad][2s], securing Mercier with the pot and the tournament as a whole. Obst had to settle for the consolation prize of $261,354.
Nick Schulman from New York City took 3rd place for $183,779. Adam Friedman from Gahanna, Ohio finished 4th to take home a payout of $131,519. Russian Mikhail Semin collected $95,817 for finishing 5th.
Jesse Martin from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts was paid $71,089 for taking 6th place. Yuval Bronshtein from Isreael took 7th place for $53,729. Bryn Kenney from Long Beach, New York was the first to leave the official eight-handed final table. His payout from the tournament amounted to $41,383.
