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The accomplished American pro won the fourth WSOP bracelet of his career and according to him, he took home much more than the first place prize in a side bet. Mercier has also stated that he has a 180:1 bet with Vanessa Selbst to win three bracelets this summer, he wagered $10,000 to win $1,8 million from Selbst and he is in prime position to get his second bracelet, having reached the final table of the $10,000 Razz Championship.
The final day of Event #16: $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship kicked off with 9 players including tournament crushers Jason Mercier, Mike "SirWatts" Watson, Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick and high stakes cash game pro Alex "Alexonmoon" Luneau.
Play kicked off on Level 18 (8,000/16,000 - 4,000) on two tables and the final table was set with the elimination of Jesse "MazeOrBowie" Martin.
Seat 1: Alex Luneau - 740.000
Seat 2: Jason Mercier - 970.000
Seat 3: Stephen Chidwick - 655.000
Seat 4: Herezel Zalewski - 110.000
Seat 5: David Grey - 505.000
Seat 6: Benny Glaser - 605.000
Seat 7: Lamar Wilkinson - 270.000
Seat 8: Mike Watson - 1.100.000
The first player to be eliminated was Zalewski and he was soon followed by Luneau. Chidwick finished in 6th after losing his chips to Watson and Glaser was also sent packing soon after.
Wilkinson eliminated Grey to set up 3-handed play but he was still the next one to go, during Level 23 (25,000/50,000) he shoved for 355,000 from the small blind and Watson called. Wilkinson drew one and Watson decided to stand pat, showing Q-J-8-8-4. Wilkinson was in the lead with 7-5-4-2 but received a Five and was eliminated.
Jason Mercier - 2,125,000
Mike Watson - 2,880,000
Mercier dominated heads-up play and the tournament came to an end during Level 23.
Watson began the final hand with 1,550,000 and opened to 100,000 from the button. Mercier called and drew one and Watson also drew one. After the draw, Mercier checked, Watson bet 200,000 and called all-in after Mercier shoved all-in.
Mercier: 8-6-5-4-2
Watson: 9-7-4-3-2
Mercier won with an Eight low and won the fourth WSOP bracelet of his career. His previous titles came in 2009 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha), 2011 ($5,000 Pot Limit Omaha - Six Handed) and 2015 ($5,000 No Limit Hold'em - Six Handed).
Final table results
1. Jason Mercier - $273.335
2. Mike Watson - $168.936
3. Lamar Wilkinson - $120.025
4. David Grey - $86.302
5. Benny Glaser - $62.810
6. Stephen Chidwick - $46.277
7. Alex Luneau - $34.522
8. Herezel Zalewski - $26.078
Mercier is well-known for making bracelet bets during the WSOP and according to him, he won far more than the first place prize thanks to the sidebets (some sources claimed he won $1 million total).
If Mercier wins one more bracelet, he can expect even bigger profit from the sidebets and if he wins two more, he will win $1,800,000 from Vanessa Selbst (and possibly more from others). Immediately after winning the 2-7 Championship, Mercier jumped into the $10,000 Razz Championship tournament where he also made the final table.
It's very likely that nobody has won back-to-back events in the history of the WSOP so if Mercier takes down the event it will be an extremely impressive and lucrative result.
According to Selbst, she made the 180:1 bet that Mercier can't win three WSOP bracelets while drunk at a party. It's well-known that Selbst already made a 200:1 bet with young star Dzmitry Urbanovich where she is risking $2 million to win $10,000 just a couple of days before.
Once Selbst sobered up, she tried to buy out from the bet for $1,000 the following day but Mercier refused which made Selbst quite upset. She explained her disappointment and stance on the bets on Twitter:
Making drunk prop bets with high stakes mixed game and tournament crushers is not a wise choice, Vanessa!
What do you think about the bet? Can Mercier take down two more events, which only five players in WSOP history have been before him? Tell us in the comments section!