EPT London £1m Showdown - Live Updates

Jason Mercier has just rained mightily on John Juanda's parade. The young American cemented his reputation as the hottest player on the PokerStars European Poker Tour by defeating the 2008 WSOPE Main Event champ in a quick heads-up battle.

In the climactic hand of the tournament, Juanda raised pre-flop and saw Mercier reraise over the top to put him all-in.

Juanda mulled the call, muttering partly to Mercier and partly to himself, "I won't be able to throw this hand away, especially after you've moved in so many times, so I guess ... I'm going to have to ... call."

He does make the call, tabling A♠ J♣ to Mercier's K♣ Q♦, and is a favorite to double through the kid. But the flop is disastrous for Juanda, coming J♠ T♥ 9♠ and flopping Mercier the nut straight.

Juanda needs running cards to stay alive but the 5♣ isn't one of them and when it lands on the turn, the game is over. The 3♣ on the river makes it official and Mercier is the highest of rollers and an EPT winner yet again!

For the win, the Floridian earns £516,000 and one of those gigantic PokerStars paperweights, as well as the joy of a PokerListings.com interview with Martin Derbyshire. Juanda takes second place and its £327,000 reward, completing an incredible trip to London for the Full Tilt pro.

Stay tuned for winner pics, that interview we talked about and a full recap. And congrats to Jason, John and the rest of the finalists!

John Juanda raises from the button and Jason Mercier makes the call in the big blind. The flop comes J♥ J♦ 6♠ and Mercier checks to Juanda, who bets out $55,000. Mercier makes the call and the turn is the 7♦.

Both players check to see the river, which is the 5♥, and Mercier fires out a $75,000 wager. Juanda thinks for a couple of minutes, again talking himself through the hand, before ultimately making the call.

Mercier turns up J♣ 6♥ for the flopped boat, and Juanda can't muck fast enough.

After Jason Mercier raised to $55k, John Juanda shoved in just the first hand of heads-up play.

"This could be a really bad call," Mercier said. "I think I'm racing."

After a little discussion between the two, Mercier did make the call, letting his tournament life ride on Q♠ J♠. Juanda held A♥ 2♣ and the lead, staying ahead on the T♥ 8♥ 7♣ flop.

The 5♣ turn left Mercier down to one card, but that card was the J♣, giving him a pair and doubling him up into the chip lead.

John Juanda raises to $56,000 on the button and Michael "SirWatts" Watson shoves the entirety of his $365,000 stack into the middle from the small blind. Jason Mercier gets out of the way and Juanda announces that he's going to make the call.

Watson turns up A♠ 7♦ and the Full Tilt pro opposite him turns up A♣ K♠ to hold a dominating advantage pre-flop. The board comes 9♥ 5♥ 3♠ A♥ 4♠ and Watson can't engineer the suck-out, instead finding himself eliminated in third place for a £241,000 haul.

With Watson's elimination, we're down to our final two survivors and heads-up play is under way between John Juanda and Jason Mercier. 

The chip counts:

John Juanda	$1,185,000
Jason Mercier	$536,000

We've finished the 16th level of play in the PokerStars.com EPT London High Roller event and action continues three-handed into Level 17 without benefit of a break. Chip counts at the level change are as follows:

John Juanda	$646,000
Jason Mercier	$610,000
Mike Watson	$465,000

Michael Watson got it in bad, but found a way out to double through Jason Mercier anyway.

Watson shoved for $164k with Q♥ T♣ and Mercier made the call with A♦ 8♣.

The flop was decidedly Watson's, with the Q♣ 4♣ 2♣ falling, and needing an ace that wasn't the A♣ to rail Watson, Mercier didn't find the J♥ turn or 8♥ river to his liking.

Watson doubled his short stack up and although Mercier leads, that lead has been shaved.

Peter Jetten raises to $42,000 on the button and the action folds to Jason Mercier, who moves all-in from the big blind. Jetten asks for a count and it transpires that Mercier has him covered. No matter - the Canadian makes the call for his tournament life.

Mercier looks like he just walked into the port-a-potties at the tail end of a Kid Rock show as he turns up a pocket pair of deuces to counter Jetten's A♠ J♥.

It's a race situation and Mercier jumps up to an early lead when the board comes A♦ Q♥ 2♣, giving the Floridian a set. The turn, however, makes things reeeally interesting when it brings the A♣ to give Apathy a few more outs.

The river card, however, is the K♣ and Jetten's trip aces are no match for Mercier's deuces full. He's out in fourth place and takes £189,000 as he makes his exit.

Current chip stacks as three-handed play begins:

John Juanda	$801,000
Jason Mercier	$754,000
Mike Watson	$166,000

After a Scotty Nguyen open-shove and a Jason Mercier pass, John Juanda cut out the chips for a call.

"Sorry; Scotty Nguyen is going to be your fifth-place finisher," he said, making the call and dropping K♥ 9♥ on the felt.

Scotty was ahead with A♣ T♠, but Juanda did pick up a flush draw on the J♣ 7♥ 6♥ flop.

"Scotty, I'm sorry that you will be drawing dead on the turn," Juanda joked as the A♦ fell, putting Scotty even further in the lead.

"What happened, baby?" Scotty asked.

"It's a five-card game," Juanda said prophetically, as the J♥ fell on the river, making his flush and sending The Prince of Poker home fifth with £137,500 for his efforts.

The break is over and the cards are back in the air from the Victoria Casino in London. Five players remain in the hunt for EPT glory.

Here are the chip counts as we get back into it:

John Juanda	$598,000
Peter Jetten	$480,000
Jason Mercier	$361,000
Michael Watson	$200,000
Scotty Nguyen	$86,000

John Juanda remains the chip leader here in London, but Peter Jetten is so close he can smell him, with things tightening considerably since Scotty Nguyen's big double-up.

Here's where they stand:

John Juanda	$470,000
Peter Jetten	$464,000
Jason Mercier	$358,000
Michael Watson	$301,000
Scotty Nguyen	$128,000

 

John Juanda raises to $36,000 from middle position and Peter Jetten makes the call on his left. The flop comes T♠ 7♣ 3♠ and Juanda bets out $54,000. Jetten pauses for barely a moment before moving all-in for his last $289,000.

Juanda wastes little time in laying it down, and Jetten takes a substantial pot.

Scotty Nguyen open-shoves all-in for his last $75,000 from under the gun and the action folds around to Peter Jetten in the small blind. Apathy moves all-in to isolate and his fellow Canadian, Mike Watson, folds out in the big blind.

Jetten has 5♣ 5♥ and Nguyen is racing with K♦ Q♣. The flop comes 9♦ 4♥ 2♠ and Jetten maintains the lead, but the turn is the K♣ and Jetten relinquishes the lead. The river is the Q♥ and Nguyen makes two pair to double through Jetten and build his stack up to $167,000.

Jason Mercier has found a way to break John Juanda's spell over this final table.

First Mercier limped the small blind, then he flat-called when Juanda tried to bully him off the hand from the big blind with a bump to $37k total. The flop came T♣ 9♥ 3♦ and Jason checked, allowing Juanda to continuation bet.

He did just that, making it $40,000, and Mercier sprung the trap, check-raising all-in.

Juanda shrugged and was forced to fold. Mercier is now up to $386k and in a threatening position to Juanda's chip lead. 

 

 

Mike Watson raises to $27,000 from under the gun and Peter Jetten makes the call in the big blind. The flop comes 8♠ 2♠ 2♥ and Jetten checks to Watson, who bets out $36,000. Jetten makes the call and the turn is the 5♦, prompting checks from both players. The river is the 7♦ and both players check again. Jetten turns up a pocket pair of tens and it's good to take the pot.

Scotty Nguyen open-shoved his short stack and after he tried to convinced John Juanda to make the call, Peter Jetten did.

It was J♣ J♠ for Scotty against Jetten's 8♥ 7♠, and the T♠ 6♦ 3♠ 7♦ K♠ board kept Scotty's johnnies ahead the whole way.

Still the short stack at the table, Scotty has a little less than $90k now. 

Isaac Haxton raises to $75,000 and John Juanda reraises to $75,000 from late position. Action folds back around to Haxton, who gives the matter some serious thought before moving all-in for $268,000.

"I have to call you," Juanda says, and does. 

"That's not good," Haxton says, and it isn't.

Juanda has A♠ A♣ and is well ahead of the Lizard King's 8♣ 8♠. The flop comes A♦ K♠ Q♣ to compound the matter, and Haxton is drawing to runners to stay alive. The turn is the 4♠ and Haxton is drawing dead.

The Hack is eliminated in sixth place and will earn £103,000 for his efforts. Meanwhile, Juanda's on $738,000 and is killing this.

The dinner break is over and the cards are back in the air from the PokerStars EPT London £1m Showdown at the Vic. Five of our survivors are back in their seats, with Peter Jetten nowhere to be found, his stack thus being blinded off as action gets back under way.

Update: Jetten has returned.

The six remaining players have headed off on a 60-minute dinner break. PL.com will be back when they are.

Here's where things stand right now:

John Juanda	$435,000
Michael Watson	$348,000
Peter Jetten	$318,000
Jason Mercier	$304,000
Isaac Haxton	$241,000
Scotty Nguyen	$75,000

Masaaki raises to $24,000 and Mike Watson makes it $72,000 to go. Action is back on Kagawa, who gives the matter some serious thought before moving all-in over the top for only a few thousand more. Watson makes the obvious call, turning up A♠ K♠ to have his rival's A♥ Q♥ dominated.

The flop comes A♣ 4♣ 2♦ and Kagawa gets no help. The turn is the 2♣ and Kagawa gets a few chop outs, but the river is the J♥ and the Japanese businessman is eliminated, out in seventh place and earning £86,000 for his time.

Watson is now second in chips with $349,000, while Juanda has $444,000 and the chip lead.

Mike Watson open-shoves all-in for his last $110,000 from the button and the action folds to David Benyamine, who will have to call all-in if he wants to play. Benyamine looks down at K-J and decides he has to call.

Watson, however, has a monster in his A♦ A♠ and Benyamine is behind with K♦ J♣. The flop comes T♥ 8♠ 7♠ and Benyamine flops a gut-shot draw. The turn is the Q♥ and Mr. B now has a double gutter. The river card, however, is the 7♦ and Benyamine misses. He's out in eighth place and takes £69,000 for his time.

Masaaki Kagawa has just doubled through Michael Watson, hitting a three-outer to suck out on Watson's pocket pair.

Kagawa open-shoved with Q♠ 9♥ and Watson made the obvious call with 9♣ 9♦, looking good until the Q♥ T♣ 2♣ flop. The 5♣ gave Watson the club outs, but the A♠ river wasn't one of them.

Following the hand, Watson was down to $100k while Kagawa pushed up into the $140k range.

David Benyamine open-shoves for $50,000 and the action folds around to John Juanda in the big blind. Juanda is getting nearly 2-1 to call, but as he looks down at his cards he mutters, "Oh man, I have ten-high. This is sick."

Benyamine nearly spits out his drink as he hears this, but recovers in time to see Juanda muck the hand, claiming he'd call with queen-high. Mr. B flashes a face card as he takes the pot.

John Juanda just picked up a decent-sized pot off Jason Mercier with a small but scary river bet.

The hand started with a standard raise from Mercier that the 2008 WSOPE champ flat-called.

Both players checked the 5♠ 4♠ 3♠ flop and the 8♥ turn, before Juanda suddenly leapt into action on the 7♣ turn, betting $30k.

"I was going to call a big bet," Mercier said.

"It's too small?" Juanda replied. "Maybe I can redo it? How much do you want me to make it?"

"Ninety," Mercier said, before tossing it in amidst pleas for a call from Juanda, who has now increased his lead, sitting on $453,000.

 

Scotty Nguyen limps from the small blind and Jason Mercier checks his option from the big blind. The flop comes A♦ 4♣ 2♠ and Nguyen bets out. Mercier flat-calls and the turn is the 7♦.

Nguyen bets out again, making it $20,000 to go. Mercier again flat-calls and the river is the 9♣. Nguyen fires a third bullet, making it $24,000 to go, and after some thought Mercier raises to $69,000.

Now Nguyen is left to think and he does, ultimately deciding to match the wager and make the call. Mercier turns up 7♥ 2♦ for two pair and it's good to take down the pot.

Peter Jetten raises to $17,000 on the button and Isaac Haxton makes the call in the big blind. The flop comes A♦ 9♥ 5♦ and Haxton bets out $22,000. Jetten makes the call and the turn is the J♦. Now Haxton bets out $60,000 and Jetten again opts to flat-call.

The river is the J♥ and Haxton checks. After a bit of thought, Jetten checks behind.

"How's eight-high looking?" Haxton asks, showing 8-7.

"Not that good," Jetten replies, turning up A-Q to take down the pot.

And the blinds are up.

John Juanda raises from the cut-off and Peter Jetten reraises to $60,000 from the button. Action folds back around to Juanda, who moves all-in over the top for $337,000 total, and after a bit of thought, Jetten lays down the hand.

"All right John," he tells Juanda. "You win."

"You can't have aces all the time," Juanda replies as he stacks the pot. The Full Tilt pro is now on $414,000 and has the chip lead.

Team PokerStars Pro's Isabelle Mercier open-shoves all-in for her last $68,000 from under the gun and the action folds around to Mike Watson, who ships all-in over the top from the small blind. Isaac Haxton folds in the big blind and we're heads-up, with Mercier showing A♠ J♥, only to find herself dominated by Watson's A♣ K♦.

The flop comes A♦ Q♣ 7♦ and Mercier remains behind. The turn is the K♥, giving Watson top two and his fellow Canadian the straight draw. Mercier needs a ten to survive, but the river card is the 3♦ and the female half of the Isabario Mercineri amalgam is eliminated in ninth place.

Mercier takes home £51,500 for her efforts.

Action folds around to David Benyamine in the small blind and Mr. B raises to $103,000. Scotty Nguyen, in the big blind, looks down at his hand and his $65,000 stack and tells Benyamine, "I'm 80% sure I'm gonna call this, baby."

He looks down at his hand once more and announces, "Yep, I call."

Nguyen is all-in with A♦ 9♥ against Benyamine's A♣ 7♣, and the door card is the 9♦ to give the Prince of Poker the lead. The board finishes out 5♠ 5♣ T♠ 2♠ and Nguyen doubles up to about $130,000.

The players have been introduced and the cards are in the air from the final table of the PokerStars.com EPT London £1m Showdown at the Victoria Casino in London. We've rolled back the blinds one level as action gets under way, and we'll play 60-minute levels until we've established a champion. Stay tuned!

The final table of the PokerStars.com EPT London £1m Showdown is set to begin from the hallowed halls of the Victoria Casino in London. The final nine combatants are all in the money and guaranteed at least £51,500 for their time, with a £516,000 first prize going to the winner.

Here are seating positions and chip counts for the final nine:

Seat 1	Peter Jetten	$347,000
Seat 2	Michael Watson	$104,000
Seat 3	Isaac Haxton	$193,000
Seat 4	Isabelle Mercier	$86,000
Seat 5	David Benyamine	$175,000
Seat 6	Scotty Nguyen	$68,000
Seat 7	Jason Mercier	$204,000
Seat 8	Masaaki Kagawa	$142,000
Seat 9	John Juanda	$302,000

Just one hand after the level break, Dennis Phillips gets all-in for the last of his chips and Isaac Haxton makes the call, tabling A♠ 4♥ to Phillips' Q♠ 9♠.The alleged "November Niner" is in deep trouble and needs to improve to stay alive.

The flop comes K-8-8 and Phillips remains behind. The turn is a six and the river a seven and the bubble is burst! Dennis Phillips has been eliminated in 10th place and we've got our (killer) final table, the members of which are each guaranteed at least £51,500 for their efforts.

The final table will begin in about a half-hour's time. Stay tuned for seating positions and chip counts for the final nine.

Action folds around to John Juanda in the small blind, and the 2008 WSOPE Main Event champ looks reluctant, but raises to $18,500. In the big blind, Alex Roumeliotis gives the matter some serious thought before moving all-in for $173,900 on top.

"So sick," the Full Tilt pro mutters on his way into the tank. "I think I might have to call this."

Juanda ruminates for at least five minutes, talking himself through the hand and repeatedly asking for a count of his opponent's chips.

Finally, he announces, "I can't see how I could fold my hand and still respect myself tomorrow." A moment or two later, he matches the wager, leaving himself with about $60,000 behind.

It's a race. Juanda has A♥ Q♣ and Roumeliotis has 8♠ 8♣.

"I have to be honest," Roumeliotis says. "It doesn't feel good to be racing with you."

"Yeah, but you did it to yourself," Juanda replies.

The flop comes A♠ 3♠ 2♦ and Juanda flops the best hand. The turn is a 4♣ and he calls good-naturedly for a five to chop the pot. Instead, the river card is the A♣ and Juanda makes trips to send Roumeliotis packing in 11th place.

We're now on the money bubble and play continues hand-for-hand on two tables.

Current chip leader David Benyamine is five-handed now with Mike Watson, Dennis Phillips, Isaac Haxton and Jason Mercier in the playdown to the final table, but it's Greg Raymer who is doing most of the talking.

The Team PokerStars pro dropped by to chat a few minutes back, asking Benyamine if he'd like a laptop brought in so he can play online between hands.

"I'm playing in my head right now," Benyamine answered. "We used to do that playing backgammon. With my coach, we would program the next game and play it out in our heads."

"I've heard of chess masters doing things like that," Raymer fired back, discussing the possibilities further before Haxton added his two cents.

"In high school I used to play chess blindfolded against guys on the soccer team," he said. "They weren't very good. I could get mate in four moves."

In the meantime, the action has certainly tightened. Haxton has had to fold twice after having his raises stepped on by Jason Mercier, and when Dennis Phillips tried making a standard raise from the small blind into Haxton's big, Isaac shoved and he was forced to let it slide.

Benyamine has played his roll of big stack quite well, dragging more than his fair share of blinds and antes with some big bets - a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by the rest of the group, as evidenced by a few recent grumblings.

"Hey, I've also lost more chips than anyone else who is not out of the tournament," the chip leader said in his own defense. "I had over $300,000 before."

Ghassan Bitar gets all-in pre-flop holding A-5 and Isaac Haxton makes the call, tabling a pocket pair of sixes. The board fails to bring any help for Bitar, who is eliminated in 12th place as the money bubble inches ever closer.

The blinds have now gone up as we enter Level 13 action.

Andrew Feldman open-shoves all-in from under the gun and the action folds around to John Juanda in the small blind. After some thought, the Full Tilt pro makes the call and the big blind gets out of the way.

Feldman has K♣ T♠ and is behind Juanda's A♠ T♥. The flop, however, comes K♠ Q♦ 6♥, and Feldman flops the best hand. After the turn is the 4♣, though, the river is the A♣ and Juanda rivers an ace to send the young American to the rail.

John Juanda raises to $10,500 from middle position and Masaaki Kagawa makes the call in the small blind. The flop comes A♥ Q♣ 6♣ and both players check. The turn is the T♥ and Kagawa bets out $14,000.

Juanda raises to $45,000 and Kagawa makes the call. The river is the 5♥ and Kagawa again checks. Juanda bets out $43,000 and Kagawa lays it down.

Masaaki Kagawa raises from the small blind and Scotty Nguyen makes the call in the big blind. The flop comes T♥ T♦ 6♦ and Kagawa checks to Nguyen, who bets out $12,000. Kagawa raises to $24,000 and Nguyen makes the call.

The turn is the J♣ and Kagawa again checks. Nguyen bets out $20,000 and Kagawa looks poised to raise, but instead simply flat-calls. 

The river is the J♦ and both players check. Kagawa shows A♠ Q♥ for two pair, jacks-up, and Nguyen looks disgusted as he mucks.

Just a few minutes into the day, short stack Jani Sointula has been eliminated.

Welcome back to the Victoria Casino in London where we return once more for the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour's London leg. It's the final day of the £20,000 High Rollers event, aka the £1 Million Showdown.

Fourteen players survived the carnage on Day 1 and today we play down to a champion. Among those who've returned for the final day are chip leader David Benyamine, as well as alleged November Niner Dennis Phillips, Scotty Nguyen, Isabelle Mercier and recent WSOPE Main Event champ John Juanda.

The cards will be in the air shortly from the tournament floor at the Vic and from then on PokerListings.com will rule the day. Keep it locked right here throughout the day as we take it down, London style.

Here are the chip counts for the final 14:

David Benyamine	$295,900
Alex Roumeloitis	$229,400
Jason Mercier	$161,200
Scotty Nguyen	$159,100
Masaaki Kagawa	$159,000
John Juanda	$138,900
Mike Watson	$118,000
Peter Jetten	$105,000
Isabelle Mercier	$99,200
Isaac Haxton	$83,200
Dennis Philips	$73,200
Ghassan Bitar	$58,700
Andrew Feldman	$33,000
Jani Sointula	$6,500