The largest online poker site around keeps adding to its all-star stable of pros, and they seem to be shopping both ends of the poker world this time, as they add beloved veteran Marcel Luske and hot discovery Jason Mercier.
“The Flying Dutchman” is easily recognized at the tables for his sharp suits and upside-down sunglasses, but looks are not everything when it comes to this Dutch poker professional, who was recognized as the top poker player in Europe at the European Poker Awards in 2001 and 2003, and honoured with the European Poker Awards ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ in 2008 at the Aviation Club in Paris.
Like many old-school pros, Luske started out playing poker informally in Amsterdam while hanging on to several day jobs, until he eventually opened his own poker club and decided to enter the European tournament scene. He made his first big splash in 2001, winning 3 tournaments in a two-week span. The $85,000 he collected over those two weeks were a good motivation to quit the day job and focus on poker.
His 2001 run was so successful it earned him his first “Player of the Year” title at the European Poker Awards. Two years later, Luske made an even bigger splash internationally in the 2003 WSOP, where he finished 14th at the Main Event and caught the public’s imagination with his classy outfits, outgoing personality and penchant for singing at the poker tables.
Luske’s career has seen him score big in many international events, most notably winning at the Five-Star World Poker Classic for $212,000 in April 2005; taking down the Hall of Fame Poker Classic in Paris for $143,000 in July 2005 and winning at the Five-Star World Poker Classic in April 2006 for $316,000.
A human dynamo, Luske finds time for plenty more besides his successful poker playing: he has famously mentored WSOP bracelet holder David Williams (who was runner-up for the Main Event in 2004,) as well as noted pros Noah Boeken and Kirill Gerasimov. Luske also founded the Federation Internationale de Poker Association (FIDPA), which aims to even the field by implementing standard rules all over the tournament trail; he is a valued member of the World Poker Federation Advisory Board; he support several charity projects and he is even considering a singing career, a long time ambition of his.
Next to Luske’s extended career, Mercier may seem a mere shooting star, but make no mistake: this 22-year-old is here to stay as one of the top players of his generation. In his short time in the poker spotlight, Mercier has already accrued over $3.2 million in live cashes since his first major tournament, the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Mercier was already a top VIP at PokerStars, having earned the status of SuperNova Elite for his level of play, and he is naturally enthusiastic about becoming a sponsored pro: “Becoming a member of Team PokerStars Pro means a lot to me. I’m so excited to be playing for the site I first started playing on. I feel like this solidifies my standing as one of the top poker players’ around.”
In spite of his relatively short career span, Mercier already has a number of major scores to his name, such as winning the Season Four PokerStars EPT San Remo (a $1,372,893 prize;) finishing sixth at the PokerStars EPT Season Five event in Barcelona, earning $324,946; and shortly afterwards taking down the PokerStars EPT London £1 Million Showdown High Roller tournament for £516,000 ($944,847). In this last one he faced a terrifying final table, squaring himself against notables such as John Juanda, Scotty Nguyen, David Benyamine and namesake Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier.
For the cherry on top, Mercier has already cashed four times at this year’s WSOP and he won his first bracelet on June 1st after besting 808 players in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event for $237,415.
