Jason Mercier is putting on a clinic at the 2016 World Series of Poker this year. The series is closing in on its midway point and it will be difficult for anyone else to win Player of the Year after his dazzling performance so far.
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On a roll: Jason Mercier took down his fifth career World Series of Poker bracelet on Friday in Event #24, the $10K H.O.R.S.E championship. (Image: WSOP.com)
Mercier is straight up schooling folks at the poker table. First, he took down Event #16, the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball. Then, he finished in 2nd place in Event #20, $10,000 Seven Card Razz. And on Friday at the Rio in Las Vegas, the poker star of PokerStars conquered the bracelet in Event #24, the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship. Talk about a streak.
Legendary NBA star Larry Bird once asked his fellow competitors at the 3-Point Shootout during All-Star weekend, “which one of you is playing for second?”
That’s what Mercier might be asking the thousands of other poker players hoping to win Player of the Year. Even Ryan Laplante, winner of a bracelet and eight money finishes, will have a hard time staying in contention.
Mercier’s run is reminiscent of what Jeffrey Lisandro did in 2009. He won three bracelets that summer and earned Player of the Year honors. But even the legends of the game are taking notice of what Jason has accomplished this month.
“Every year amazing things happen at WSOP & it’s a thrill to witness, but don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like this @JasonMercier run,” Erik Seidel, one of the greatest players of all-time, posted on Twitter.
Meanwhile, it looks like the Selbst-Mercier prop bet has been settled privately, based on some fairly angry Tweets from La Selbst yesterday on the topic. Jason isn’t commenting, so there may be more to this saga yet to be revealed.
Making Doug Polk Look Bad
The recent Twitter feud between Doug Polk and Mercier just got a little more interesting, of course.
Polk made headlines for his recent criticisms of the PokerStars Team Pro. He went so far as to call Mercier a “bad reg,” which is kind of odd considering Jason’s positive results aren’t over a small sample size. This isn’t a Jerry Yang-type run where he went on a sick heater and was never to be heard from again.
Mercier has been carving up players at the poker table for years. He now has five career WSOP bracelets, has won big bucks in online and offline cash games, and has over $17 million in live tournament winnings around the world throughout his career.
Polk, who is a great player as well, will now find it ever-harder to argue that a player who has recorded consistent results over a long period of time is anything but talented.
Brooklyn in the House
Danny Lee from Brooklyn, New York doesn’t have the resume of Jason Mercier, but he has now joined him on the exclusive list of World Series of Poker bracelet winners. Lee defeated Steven Thompson heads-up to win Event #21, the $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, on Friday.
He won $531,577 for his performance. Thompson received $328,487. The tournament began on Tuesday with 1,029 players.
Action Preview
The action will be intense at the Rio this weekend. On Saturday, play will conclude in Event #23, the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em, Event #25, the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em, and Event #26, the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better. That means three bracelets will be handed out in one day.
A couple of tournaments will also kick off: Event #29, the $1,500 No-Limit and Event #30, the $3,000 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha. Stay tuned for a recap of Saturday’s events right here.
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