JASON MERCIER WINS THE $5K NLHE SIX MAX
JASON MERCIER WINS THIRD GOLD BRACELET - FIRST IN NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
 
 
MEET THE LATEST WSOP GOLD BRACELET CHAMPION

Name:  Jason Mercier
Age:  28
Current Residence:  Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Profession:  Poker Player
Number of WSOP Cashes:  43
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances:  13
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories:  3
Best Previous WSOP Finish:  1st (2009 $1,500 PLO and 2011 $5,000 PLO Six-Handed)
Total WSOP Earnings:  $2,853,749

[Note:  All statistics above include the results of this tournament]
 
Jason Mercier has defeated a pro-heavy field of 550 entries in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six Max event at the 2015 World Series of Poker. Mercier collects the first place prize of $633,357 and his third gold bracelet. This is Mercier's first gold bracelet in No-Limit Hold'em. His first two came in Pot-Limit Omaha, one which was a six-handed event. With this victory, Mercier joins an elite group of players with three or more gold bracelets.
 
"I haven't won one yet. That's kind of what feels good about it," said Mercier about winning his first bracelet in No-Limit Hold'em.
 
This win couldn't have come at a better time for the Florida native. Mercier has had a tough series thus far, cashing in only one event. Winning one midway through the series not only makes-up for his struggles early on, but also gives him momentum heading into the second half of the series.
 
"It feels great. I was really down on myself. I was getting beat up in cash, busting every tournament. This is the first tournament I made Day 2 of. It feels really good just to go deep, make the final table, and to win is just the cherry on top," said Mercier.
 
Mercier recorded the first three knockouts at the final table to give himself a large chip lead with only three players remaining. In the span of eleven hands, Mercier knocked out James Obst, Igor Dubinsky, and Dario Sammartino (in that order). He eliminated Obst on the river with a miracle four-outer that would change the whole dynamic of the final table. If Obst would have won that pot, he would have become the chip leader and Mercier would have been left short. Mercier rode the momentum of that river card to knock out Dubinsky in fifth place and Sammartino in fourth place.
 
His last opponent to fall was Simon Deadman. Deadman is from Cambridgeshire, England and was looking to become the second Brit to win a bracelet this series. The two players battled back and forth heads-up a good hour before they flipped for the championship. With just a slight chip lead, Mercier four-bet shoved all-in preflop. Deadman contemplated his decision for a few seconds and then threw in the call. Mercier's pocket sixes would hold against Deadman's king-queen, despite Deadman flopping an open-ended straight draw.
 
As the river bricked out, Mercier's rail flooded onto the stage, led by last week's $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em runner up finisher, Natasha Barbour. The always loud and faithful British rail fell silent. Deadman congratulated Mercier and then was congratulated himself by his rail. Although the Brits didn't get the bracelet this time, they proved once again they are some of the best fans in the game.
 
Six-max events at the series generally garner some of the toughest fields the WSOP has to offer. The short-handed play weeds out the weak quickly and allows the brightest and best to rise to the top. This six-handed event was no exception. The final table featured three gold bracelet winners in Mercier (3), Gorodinsky (1) and Dubinsky (1). The other three, Obst, Sammartino, and Deadman, may not have a bracelet quite yet, but still hold their own with a combined 27 WSOP cashes for more than $1 million. Just missing out on the final table was one of the WSOP's hottest players, Pierre Milan. Milan won a gold bracelet last year and just missed out on a second this year after finishing runner-up in the No-Limit Hold'em Eight-Handed event. Milan went out in this event in 8th place for $56,637.
 
Mercier had plans to play in the $10K version of this event, which began today, but those plans went out the window after the final table for this event ran deep into the night. Mercier will have to settle for spending the rest of his evening with friends.

Following Mercier's finish in the top spot, the descending order of results was as follows: 

Second Place:  Simon Deadman, a 27-year-old professional poker player from England records his largest ever WSOP cash with this runner-up finish.

Third Place:  Mike Gorodinsky has now recorded a 2nd, a 3rd and a 9th place at this year's series alone. His one and only gold bracelet was won in 2013 in an Omaha/Seven Card Stud 8 or Better event. Gorodinsky continues to impress as this year's series and has put himself in contention for Player of the Year with his three deep runs. 

Fourth Place:  Dario Sammartino, a 28 -year-old poker pro from Naples, Italy, ended up as the 4th-place finisher.  He cashed for the 13th time in his career at the series. This marks Sammartino's second final table of the 2015 series. He finished in 6th place in the $10K PLO Championship for just over $60,000.

Fifth Place:  Igor Dubinsky finished in 5th place. Dubinsky won last year's Little One for One Drop tournament for $637,539. Dubinsky is from Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. This marks his third career WSOP cash.

Sixth Place:  James Obst, from Adelaide, Australia, cashed in 6th place.  Obst now has eight WSOP cashes for just shy of $400,000 in tournament earnings. Obst's biggest WSOP cash came last year when he finished in 10th place in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $115,447.

OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS:

Aside from the final table finishers, other notable players who cashed included – Jorryt van Hoof (9th place), Tuan Le (12th), John Gale (33rd), Faraz Jaka (53rd) and Jason Somerville (60th)
 
 
EVENT DIRECT LINKS:

For this event’s results, visit:

For Mercier's official player profile page, visit:
http://www.wsop.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerID=42898
 
For the Live Reporting Log for this event, please visit:
For photos from this event, please visit:

For the live stream archive of this event, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/videos/

(Note: Will appear 48 hours after event concludes)