It was déjà vu all over again Thursday in Uncasville, Connecticut. One day after Vanessa Selbst defended her title of the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event, fellow Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier followed suit, winning the $10,000 High Roller Bounty Shootout for the second straight year.
Mercier bested a tough field of 78 players to collect $246,600, adding yet another title to a list of accolades that includes a World Series of Poker bracelet, a PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker bracelet, a European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event championship, and an EPT High Roller title. Mercier earned the $142,600 winner-take-all prize plus another $104,000 in bounties and bonuses.
The final table began with nine players, each of whom won their first table and picked up $36,000 plus $2,000 for every bounty they earned. Bounties at the final table were worth $10,000 and the player who knocked out the most number of opponents in the tournament picked up an additional $20,000 plus a seat into the next NAPT Bounty Shootout.
Joe Sweeney, who had the most bounties (five) going into the day, was the first player sent home, as he moved all-in with a pair of nines on a Kd-9d-5d flop. Eugene Katchalov called with Ad-2d for the nuts; the ace-high flush held up and the Team PokerStars Pro was out to an early lead.
Micah Raskin was the next to hit the rail when his pocket tens were outdone by Jonathan Jaffe‘s pocket queens. That gave Jaffe a big chip lead, but Micheal Pesek closed the gap after winning a three-way all-in confrontation against Jimmie Guinther and Scott Blackman.
With the blinds at 800/1600, Guinther raised from early position to 3,600 with Qs-9s, Blackman moved all-in for 30,000 with Ad-Qh, and Pesek re-shoved for 31,225 with Ac-Kc. Guinther called, having both covered, and the board ran out 9h-7h-3s-Js-Kh to give Pesek the pot and send Blackman out in seventh place. Guinther, left with just 5,700, exited a few hands later in sixth.
Drama then ensued as Katchalov got his remaining chips in with pocket aces against the pocket fives of Taylor von Kriegenbergh, who hit a five on the turn to leave Katchalov gasping for life with one card to come. But an ace fell on the river to revive Katchalov and leave von Kriegenbergh with just a handful of chips. He was eliminated by Pesek shortly after.
Katchalov held the lead with four left, but Mercier made his presence known by eliminating Jaffe to usurp his title. Katchalov then sent it to heads-up by handing Pesek a beat he’ll not soon forget. The two players got it all-in pre-flop, Katchalov holding Ah-5h to Pesek’s Ac-6c, and a five on the turn ended Pesek’s run in third place.
The two Team PokerStars pros took a dinner break before returning to play for the winner-take-all top prize. Mercier had already claimed the $20,000 and NAPT Bounty Shootout seat for knocking out the most players, but his work wasn’t done.
The final hand saw Katchalov min-raise the button to 8,000 and Mercier make the call to bring a coordinated flop of 9c-8c-7s. Mercier checked, Katchalov bet 12,000, and Mercier moved all-in. Katchalov made the call with 8s-7d for bottom two pair, while Mercier held 10d-9s for top pair and an open-ended straight draw.
The 3s turn brought no help to Mercier, but the 10h on the river gave him a better two pair and his second straight Bounty Shootout title at Mohegan Sun.
Mercier posted the following on Twitter after his victory: “Boom. Won it. Got it in with 13 outs and binked. Back to back son! Win #10 baby!!!” He now has nearly $5.5 million in live tournament earnings since 2008.
Here’s a look at the final table results from the 2011 NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout:
1. Jason Mercier – $246,600
2. Eugene Katchalov – $68,000
3. Michael Pesek – $70,000
4. Jonathan Jaffe – $54,000
5. Taylor von Kriegenbergh – $44,000
6. Jimmie Guinther – $42,000
7. Scott Blackman – $44,000
8. Micah Raskin – $46,000
9. Joe Sweeney – $52,000