It took just two hands for Jason Mercier to dismantle talented French player Antony Lellouche. With Mercier holding $5.7 million to the Frenchman's $1.3 million, many were wondering if Lellouche's aggressive style would get him into trouble. That's exactly what happened in the second hand of heads-up play.

In the final hand Mercier made a standard raise from the button and Lellouche reraised to $400,000. Mercier shoved all-in, having Lellouche easily covered, and Lellouche called instantly. The players flip over their cards:

Lellouche: 7 7

Mercier: K Q

The board comes A Q 4 8 2 and with the spiked queen on the flop Mercier gets the check mark and the tournament.

An American has surprised everyone by becoming the winner of the first major poker event ever held in Italy and although many of the Italians will likely be disappointed there's no doubt the event will return next year.

Lellouche will receive €505,000 for his second-place finish while Mercier will take down the big prize for first, which is €869,000.

Congratulations to Mercier and to everyone involved with EPT San Remo. We'll see you in Monte Carlo!

Crowd favorite Dario Minieri opens for $140,000 and Jason Mercier re-raises to $340,000. Minieri calls and the flop comes 8 7 2. Minieri raises $400,000 and Mercier shoves all-in almost instantly. Mercier has Minieri easily covered - before the hand began he had $3.5 million to Minieri's $2.2 million. Minieri calls and the players reveal their cards:

Minieri: Q Q

Mercier: A 4

Minieri is ahead but looks extremely nervous about Mercier's flush draw and the live ace. With the entire Italian contingent on their feet, the dealer flips over 4 for the turn card.

The tension in the room is palpable as the Italian crowd prays that Minieri can dodge any ace or diamond or four. It comes... 3!

In an incredible upset, Jason Mercier has eliminated final-table favorite Dario Minieri. The loud crowd has been silenced and suddenly Mercier is in position to win it all.

Minieri will receive €287,600 for his efforts, although he has to be disappointed with his third-place finish.

We just saw the American Jason Mercier make an unbelievable call to send France's Eric Koskas to the rail. The two were in the blinds and after Koskas limped and Mercier checked, the flop came down J 6 5. Both players checked. The 8 hit the turn and Koskas led out for $200,000. Mercier made the call and the 8 hit the river.

Koskas immediately moved all-in, seemingly without giving it much thought, and Mercier went way into the tank to think things over. It was about $650,000 back to Mercier and after a lot of contemplation he made the call. Koskas quickly turned over T-3 for nothing but ten-high and Mercier tabled 5-9 for bottom pair. With that hand Mercier takes a big lead and Koskas heads out the door with €233,600 for fourth.

Short-stack Gregory Genovese could not recover from his recent clash with Eric Koskas. In his final hand Dario Minieri opened for $90,000 and Genovese moved all-in for $120,000. Jason Mercier called and the flop came A 7 5 and Mercier bet out $120,000. Minieri folded and the remaining players showed their cards:

Mercier: A 3

Genovese: T 9

Mercier is in great shape to knock Genovese out of the tournament as we head to the turn, which comes Q. The river is a meaningless 2 and we have our fifth-place finisher. Genovese will receive €188,500.

Before leaving, Genovese walked over to fellow Italian Dario Minieri and wished him luck in the tournament.

Here are the updated counts after the elimination of Gregory Genovese.

Dario Minieri	$2,395,000
Jason Mercier	$2,368,000
Antony Lellouche	$1,270,000
Eric Koskas	$956,000

Eric Koskas is back in it after doubling through Gregory Genovese in a huge all-in pre-flop race. Genovese opened the pot and Koskas moved all-in. Genovese made a quick call and the hands were rolled.

Genovese: A K

Koskas: 7 7

The board ran 9 3 2 8 6 and and Koskas's pocket sevens are good for the double. Koskas is back in the game and Greg Genovese is absolutely crippled.

Here are the counts for the final five players.

Dario Minieri	$2,577,000
Jason Mercier	$2,124,000
Antony Lellouche	$1,195,000
Gregory Genovese	$636,000
Eric Koskas	$457,000

William Thorson was the only Scandinavian at this final table but, as he was just eliminated, this table is now Scandie-free. On his final hand he opened from the button to $85,000 and got re-popped to $225,000 from Jason Mercier in the big blind. Thorson took only a moment before moving all-in and Mercier snap-called.

Mercier: A K

Thorson: A Q

Things were looking grim for the Swede but it got a lot worse when the flop came down K 6 5. Thorson would need to catch running queens to stay alive and when the turn brought the A it was all over. The river is the 4 and Thorson is out in sixth for €140,600.

We've seen nothing but pressure coming from Dario Minieri and it doesn't look like he's going to be letting up any time soon. Jason Mercier opened this pot to $96,000 and Antony Lellouche called before Minieri announced reraise. The Italian pushed an additional $206,000 into the middle and everyone folded. Minieri has now extended his lead to right around $2.6 million.

Parisian Antony Lellouche mainly plays live poker in high-stakes cash games around the world. He is both respected and well-liked by his peers and mentors, including the "godfathers" of French poker Claude Cohen and Jan Boubli.

Antony turned pro nine years ago, honing his skills at the smallest limit games at the Aviation Club. Fearless and intuitive, Antony has already made two WSOP final tables and come close in two EPT Grand Finals - 12th in 2005 and 21st in 2007. In October, he came 6th at EPT4 London for €140,081 – making this his second final table in one season.