Event 35 - $5,000 Six-Max Pot-Limit Omaha - Live Updates

Moments after the last update, Jason Mercier won a huge pot against Hans Winzeler to take the chip lead. There was 960,000 in the pot before the flop.

Both players slowed down and checked to the river on a board of K♣ 9♦ 2♦ 4♠ 10♣, when Mercier bet 530,000. Winzeler called, and Mercier flipped over Q♣ J♦ 9♣ 8♠ for the nuts -- a king-high straight.

That gave Mercier a solid lead, which he increased a few minutes later to nearly 2-to-1.

Heads-up for the WSOP bracelet on the ESPN stage.

 

THE FINAL HAND

Winzeler three-bet it preflop, and once again there was 960,000 in the pot before the flop.

The flop came 9♦ 4♠ 3♦, Mercier bet, Winzeler moved all in, and Mercier immediately called.

Jason Mercier: Q♣ 6♣ 5♦ 3♠
Hans Winzeler: A♣ K♣ K♦ J♠

Winzeler had an overpaid (pocket kings), while Mercier had a pair of threes with an open-ended straight draw.

The turn was the 10♣, and the river was … the 7♥. Jason Mercier won the pot -- and his second WSOP bracelet -- with a seven-high straight.

Hans Winzeler finishes as the runner-up, earning $383,075. It was the sixth WSOP cash for Winzeler, and his first WSOP final table.

Hans Winzeler finished 2nd for $383,075.

 

For Jason Mercier, it's just one more thing that solidifies his status as one of the best poker players in the world. Whether it's live or online, cash or a tournament, PLO or NLHE, Mercier is one of the best in the world.

Congratulations to Jason Mercier!

1st Place: Jason Mercier - $619,575
2nd Place: Hans Winzeler - $383,075
3rd Place: Steven Merrifield - $239,100
4th Place: David Chiu - $156,628
5th Place: Joe Ressler - $105,967
6th Place: Michael McDonald - $73,965

The last hour has been a steady grind between Jason Mercier and Hans Winzeler. Mercier effectively tied up the chip stacks at one point, but then slipped back a bit.

Here are the official chip counts from the break, with the blinds at 40,000-80,000:

Jason Mercier - 3,490,000 (58 bb)
Hans Winzeler - 4,125,000 (68 bb)

Most won't notice this, but these chip counts add up to 20,000 less than the previous official count. I'm convinced that one of the players has a dirty stack (a 25K chip in a stack of 5K chips), which would account for the discrepancy. (The stacks were recounted several times.)

3rd Place: Steven Merrifield - $239,100
4th Place: David Chiu - $156,628
5th Place: Joe Ressler - $105,967
6th Place: Michael McDonald - $73,965

Steven Merrifield was steadily building his chip stack once the tournament moved to the ESPN stage, and by the time they took their dinner break with five players left, Merrifield was the chipleader.

Since then, things haven't gone as well. Merrifield was treading water for a while, and when it got down to the final three, Jason Mercier and Hans Winzeler effectively evened things up.

Then Merrifield started losing pots, losing chips, and he became the short stack. He bet big against Winzeler after a flop of K♦ 10♦ 7♦, but Winzeler raised enough to put Merrifield all in.

Merrifield folded, leaving himself with 550,000 in chips.

Steven Merrifield busted in 3rd place.

 

STEVEN MERRIFIELD OUT IN 3RD PLACE

A few minutes later, Merrifield and Winzeler saw a flop of K♥ J♠ 10♦. Merrifield moved all in, and Winzeler insta-called.

Hans Winzeler: A♥ Q♥ 10♥ 5♣

Steven Merrifield: A♣ K♣ J♥ 4♠

Merrifield had two pair (kings and jacks) with a gutshot straight draw, but Winzeler already had the nut flush.

Merrifield would need to catch a full house to stay alive, but the turn was the 3♦ and the river was the 3♣. Winzeler won the pot with his ace-high flush.

Steven Merrifield was eliminated in third place, earning $239,100.

HEADS-UP: JASON MERCIER VS. HANS WINZELER

The bracelet is now up for grabs between Mercier and Winzeler, and there isn't that much of a chip differential between them.

They are both fairly deep, so this match could last a while. On the other hand, it's pot-limit Omaha, so it could end at any moment. Stay tuned.

Hans Winzeler begins heads-up play with the chip lead.

 

Here are the official chip counts as the blinds are about to increase to 30,000-60,000:

Jason Mercier - 3,490,000 (58 bb)

Hans Winzeler - 4,125,000 (68 bb)

3rd Place: Steven Merrifield - $239,100

4th Place: David Chiu - $156,628

5th Place: Joe Ressler - $105,967

6th Place: Michael McDonald - $73,965

Play began right on time after dinner, but it took short-stack Hans Winzeler nearly 10 minutes to show up and take his seat. Fortunately, it didn't seem to cost him, as he is still around at the next break.

But two other players aren't -- Joe Ressler busted in fifth place, and David Chiu followed a short while later in fourth.

JOE RESSLER OUT IN 5TH PLACE

After three players saw a flop of K♦ 10♥ 7♣, Joe Ressler bet in position, chipleader Steven Merrifield raised, and Jason Mercier folded. Ressler moved all in, and Merrifield quickly called.

Joe Ressler busted in 5th place.

 

Steven Merrifield: A♠ 10♣ 10♦ 2♦
Joe Ressler: K♥ K♣ 3♣ 2♥

Merrifield had a set of tens, but he was dominated by Ressler's set of kings, and Ressler was poised for a big double-up.

The turn was the 4♣, and the river was …

The 10♠.

Steven Merrifield caught a one-outer on the river with five players left in a WSOP event to win the pot.

Joe Ressler was eliminated in fifth place, earning $105,967.

DAVID CHIU OUT IN 4TH PLACE

David Chiu fell short of reaching the fifth WSOP bracelet of his career. Chiu had gotten short, and got all of his chips in preflop against Jason Mercier.

Jason Mercier: A♥ Q♥ J♦ 9♣
David Chiu: A♣ K♣ J♣ 4♣

The board came A♦ 9♥ 4♥ 6♠ 10♥, and Chiu flopped two pair (aces and fours), but Mercier rivered a heart flush to win the pot.

David Chiu was eliminated in fourth place, earning $156,628.

Hans Winzeler is the short stack, but fairly close to average.

 

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS: ANYBODY'S BALLGAME

With three players left, the chip counts have finally evened out, with less than 10 big blinds separating the leader from the short stack.

Here are the official chip counts from the table as the blinds increase to 25,000-50,000:

Seat 1. Steven Merrifield - 2,775,000 (55 bb)
Seat 2. Jason Mercier - 2,540,000 (50 bb)
Seat 6. Hans Winzeler - 2,300,000 (46 bb)

4th Place: David Chiu - $156,628
5th Place: Joe Ressler - $105,967
6th Place: Michael McDonald - $73,965

The final table is underway, and they got down from seven to five players during the last level. Jason Mercier's massive pile of chips has been colored up (against his will), so now the table looks fairly normal once again.

GREG BROOKS OUT IN 7TH PLACE

Greg Brooks made it to the ESPN stage, but he technically bubbled the final table. He got involved in a hand against Hans Winzeler, and they got it all in on the turn with the board showing A♠ 10♠ 7♦ Q♠.

WPT L.A. Poker Classic champion Greg Brooks finished in 7th.

 

Hans Winzeler: A♣ K♠ 7♥ 5♠
Greg Brooks: A♥ J♣ J♠ 5♦

Brooks had a pair of aces, but he was already drawing dead to Winzeler's spade flush.

The meaningless river card was the 8♦, and Greg Brooks was eliminated in seventh place, earning $53,210.

That set the official final table of six, and play continued without a break.

MICHAEL McDONALD OUT IN 6TH PLACE

Michael McDonald got all his chips in preflop against David Chiu.

21-year-old Michael McDonald busted in 6th, recording his first WSOP final table.

 

Chiu: A♥ A♣ 9♣ 8♣
McDonald: Q♥ 10♠ 9♦ 8♦

Board came 6♥ 6♣ 5♣ 6♦ J♥, and Chiu won the pot with a full house, aces full of sixes.

Michael "Timex" McDonald was eliminated in sixth place, earning $73,965.

STEVEN MERRIFIELD TAKES THE LEAD

Steven Merrifield has been on a bit of a rush, picking up quite a few pots to take the lead from Jason Mercier and separate himself a bit from the pack.

They colored up the yellow chips, so Mercier has experienced some "shrinkage" since this pic.

 

When the level came to an end, the players took their one-hour dinner break. When they return, the blinds will be 15,000-30,000.

Seat 1. Steven Merrifield - 2,185,000 (72 bb)
Seat 2. Jason Mercier - 1,675,000 (55 bb)
Seat 3. Joe Ressler - 1,285,000 (42 bb)
Seat 4. David Chiu - 1,310,000 (43 bb)
Seat 6. Hans Winzeler - 1,190,000 (39 bb)

With the elimination of David Callaghan in eighth place, the final seven players redrew for seats at the featured table on the ESPN stage.

They will continue playing until one more player is eliminated, and the final six will get credit for an official final table in this event. At that point, it's likely that the players will take a one-hour dinner break.

They finished out Level 23, and the blinds are increasing to 12,000-24,000. Here are the official chip counts for the unofficial final table:

Seat 1. Steven Merrifield - 1,525,000 (63 bb)
Seat 2. Jason Mercier - 1,633,000 (68 bb)
Seat 3. Joe Ressler - 1,000,000 (41 bb)
Seat 4. David Chiu - 1,600,000 (66 bb)
Seat 5. Michael McDonald - 252,000 (10 bb)
Seat 6. Greg Brooks - 289,000 (12 bb)
Seat 7. Hans Winzeler - 1,250,000 (52 bb)

Since this is a six-handed event, only the final six players will receive credit for an official final table.

DAVID CALLAGHAN OUT IN 8TH PLACE

David Callaghan raised back-and-forth with Jason Mercier until he was all in, and they flipped over their cards.

Jason Mercier: Q♥ Q♦ J♦ 9♥
David Callaghan: J♥ 10♠ 9♣ 7♥

The board came 8♦ 5♦ 5♣ 3♥ J♣, and Mercier won the pot with his pocket queens.

David Callaghan was eliminated in eighth place, earning $53,210.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Here are the official results for the players who have already been eliminated today.

8th: David Callaghan - $53,210
9th: Robert Fellner - $39,413
10th: Jared Bleznick - $39,413
11th: Chris Moorman - $30,024
12th: Danny Fuhs - $30,024
13th: David Ulliott - $23,519
14th: Peter Jetten - $23,519
15th: Shaun Bennani - $23,519

With eight players remaining, the $5,000 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha event is one elimination away from moving to ESPN's center stage in the Amazon Room.

Jason Mercier has the most intimidating, towering stack, which has been growing all day, though he is only third in chips at the first break.

David Chiu has doubled his chips since the start of play, while Day 2 chipleader Greg Brooks has taken a few hits to drop down to half of his stack.

DANNY FUHS OUT IN 12TH PLACE

After a flop of K♥ Q♣ 5♠, Danny Fuhs was all in against Steven Merrifield.

Steven Merrifield: J♦ 10♦ 9♥ 7♣
Danny Fuhs: A♣ A♠ 9♦ 8♣

Fuhs had pocket aces to Merrifield's wrap straight draw. The A♥ on the turn gave Fuhs a set of aces, but the 10♠ on the river gave Merrifield an ace-high straight to win the pot.

Danny Fuhs was eliminated in 12th place.

Chris Moorman (aka "Moorman1") busted in 11th place.

 

CHRIS MOORMAN OUT IN 11TH PLACE

Chris Moorman was all in preflop against David Chiu.

David Chiu: A♦ K♦ K♠ 5♠
Chris Moorman: 10♣ 9♦ 8♥ 7♠

The board came J♥ 7♣ 3♣ A♣ 2♦, and Chiu's pocket kings held up to win the pot.

Chris Moorman was eliminated in 11th place.

JARED BLEZNICK OUT IN 10TH PLACE

After a flop of K♠ 7♥ 3♥, Jared Bleznick and Michael McDonald were all in and nearly even in chips.

Michael McDonald: K♥ Q♥ J♣ 9♦
Jared Bleznick: A♣ A♦ 8♥ 3♠

Bleznick was in the lead with his pocket aces (he also had a pair of threes), while McDonald had a pair of kings with a heart flush draw.

The turn card was the 8♠, the river card was the 10♥, and McDonald won the pot with a heart flush to double up.

Jared Bleznick (aka "Harrington25") busted in 10th place.

 

That hand crippled Bleznick down to less than 3 big blinds, and he was eliminated a few minutes later in a three-way pot against Robert Fellner and Hans Winzeler.

ROBERT FELLNER OUT IN 9TH PLACE

Robert Fellner was all in preflop against Steven Merrifield, who has been steadily climbing the leaderboard today.

Steven Merrifield: K♥ K♠ 9♠ 9♥
Robert Fellner: J♥ 10♥ 8♣ 6♣

The board came K♦ 10♠ 3♦ 9♦ J♠, and Merrifield won the pot with a set of kings.

Robert Fellner was eliminated in ninth place.

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

As mentioned earlier, they are one elimination away from moving to ESPN's center stage. Here are the updated chip counts as the blinds increase to 10,000-20,000:

Seat 1.
Seat 2. David Callaghan - 455,000 (22 bb)
Seat 3. Jason Mercier - 1,270,000 (63 bb)
Seat 4.
Seat 5. David Chiu - 1,540,000 (77 bb)
Seat 6. Greg Brooks - 1,015,000 (50 bb)

Seat 1. Steven Merrifield - 2,002,000 (100 bb)
Seat 2.
Seat 3.
Seat 4. Hans Winzeler - 471,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5. Michael McDonald - 506,000 (25 bb)
Seat 6. Joe Ressler - 420,000 (21 bb)

As you can see, there are four players with more than 1 million in chips (the haves) and four players with half a million or less (the have-nots).

Three players have busted during the first level today, and the final 12 have redrawn for seats at the final two tables in the $5,000 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha event.

SHAUN BENNANI OUT IN 15TH PLACE

Early in the day, start-of-day short-stack Shaun Bennani got all his chips in against David Chiu before the flop.

David Chiu: K♥ K♠ 10♠ 9♣
Shaun Bennani: A♦ K♣ 10♣ 6♦

The board came 5♥ 2♣ 2♠ 4♥ 8♣, and Chiu won the pot with his pocket kings. Bennani was eliminated in 15th place.

MERCIER BAGS TWO; PETER JETTEN OUT IN 14TH; DAVID ULLIOTT OUT IN 13TH

After a flop of J♦ 8♠ 2♦, Peter Jetten moves all in from the small blind, Jason Mercier went all in over the top from the big blind, and David "Devilfish" Ulliott called all in from the button.

Ulliott watches as Mercier turns a straight.

 

Jason Mercier: Q♦ 10♣ 9♦ 6♣
David Ulliott: J♣ J♥ 7♥ 7♦
Peter Jetten: A♣ A♥ 9♠ 5♣

Jetten had pocket aces for an overpair, Ulliott flopped a set of jacks, and Mercier had a diamond flush draw along with a big straight draw.

The turn was the Q♣, the river was the 4♣, and Mercier completed his queen-high straight on the turn to win the pot and bust two players.

As the shorter stack, Peter Jetten was eliminated in 14th place, while David Ulliott gets credit for 13th.

FINAL TWO TABLES

Here's a look at the final two tables, with the blinds at 8,000-16,000:

Seat 1. Chris Moorman - 185,000 (11 bb)
Seat 2. David Callaghan - 470,000 (29 bb)
Seat 3. Jason Mercier - 1,240,000 (77 bb)
Seat 4. Joe Ressler - 475,000 (29 bb)
Seat 5. David Chiu - 1,500,000 (93 bb)
Seat 6. Greg Brooks - 832,000 (52 bb)

Seat 1. Steven Merrifield - 648,000 (40 bb)
Seat 2. Robert Fellner - 373,000 (23 bb)
Seat 3. Jared Bleznick - 530,000 (33 bb)
Seat 4. Hans Winzeler - 680,000 (42 bb)
Seat 5. Michael McDonald - 207,000 (12 bb)
Seat 6. Danny Fuhs - 231,000 (14 bb)

When they reach the final seven, they will move over to ESPN's center stage.

There are 15 players remaining in the $5,000 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha event, and recent WPT winner Greg Brooks has the substantial chip lead. Here's a look at the top five:

1. Greg Brooks - 1,294,000 (107 bb)
2. David Chiu - 891,000 (74 bb)
3. Michael McDonald - 827,000 (68 bb)

The action starts at 2:30 pm, with blinds at 6,000-12,000. Here's a look at the official chip counts by table and seat:

TABLE 1
Seat 1. Robert Fellner - 343,000 (28 bb)
Seat 2. David Ulliott - 415,000 (34 bb)
Seat 3. Chris Moorman - 208,000 (17 bb)
Seat 4. Peter Jetten - 310,000 (25 bb)
Seat 5.
Seat 6. Jason Mercier - 619,000 (51 bb)

TABLE 2
Seat 1.
Seat 2. Steven Merrifield - 357,000 (29 bb)
Seat 3. Jared Bleznick - 710,000 (59 bb)
Seat 4. Greg Brooks - 1,294,000 (107 bb)
Seat 5. Danny Fuhs - 193,000 (16 bb)
Seat 6. Hans Winzeler - 446,000 (37 bb)

TABLE 3
Seat 1. Shaun Bennani - 130,000 (10 bb)
Seat 2. David Chiu - 891,000 (74 bb)
Seat 3. David Callaghan - 314,000 (26 bb)
Seat 4.
Seat 5. Joe Ressler - 564,000 (47 bb)
Seat 6. Michael McDonald - 827,000 (68 bb)

Lots of big names left in this one, so stay tuned to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage throughout the day as they play for the WSOP bracelet.