If the WSOP is generally accepted to be the world’s most highly anticipated live poker festival, the World Championship of Online Poker could be said to be its online equivalent. Annually, poker players from around the world enter the numerous WCOOP events on PokerStars to contend for a portion of the largest online prize pools.
This year’s online poker festival kicked off on September 4. Its schedule will feature as many as 82 events, with the upcoming Main Event with a guaranteed prize pool of $10 million indisputably being the one to attract the widest attention. Running through September 26, the 2016 WCOOP will distribute $50 million in guaranteed money.
Aside from the Main Event, there is another tournament on the schedule to be striking as particularly noteworthy this year – the $102,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High roller 8-Max. It will be the highest buy-in event to have ever taken place not only within the WCOOP but online, as a whole. The previous record was also beaten by PokerStars. During the 2015 World Championship, fans of the high roller thrill had the chance to enter a $51,000 buy-in tournament.
This year’s $102,000 Super High Roller is scheduled to start on September 11. It is expected to attract some of the world’s most prominent poker professionals and Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier announced on Thursday that he will be one of the entries. What is more, the player who is equally well-known for his live and online achievements will be broadcasting on Twitch while playing. Viewers will be able to see Mercier’s cards, although play will be streamed with a fifteen-minute delay.
It was also announced that Jason Somerville, whose Twitch channel changed the way poker is broadcast for good, will take part in Mercier’s stream by commenting throughout the event. The Super High Roller tournament will also be broadcast on YouTube, Facebook, and PS.tv.
Commenting on the announcement, Eric Hollreiser, Director of Corporate Communications at PokerStars, said that with a well-recognized player like Mercier showing his hole cards and Somerville joining the stream to put a “truly great show,” poker fans will most certainly be offered a memorable look into the Sunday action.
With live tournament winnings of more than $17 million, five WSOP gold bracelets, an EPT title, and victories in a number of other prestigious events, Mercier truly is one of the world’s best live poker players. However, his proficiency is not limited to the live poker scene. He boasts two former WCOOP titles as well as five SCOOP ones. According to PocketFives, Mercier has accumulated more than $2 million in online winnings, playing under the JasonMercier screen name on PokerStars.
