Weekly Tournament Recap: Jason Mercier Triumphs in Alpha8

There were not a large number of professional poker tournaments played over the last week, but those tournaments that were held were large in terms of both entrants and prize pools.

Here is a review of the three major poker events that took place throughout the last seven days.

Wilson Calixto Takes Down Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP)

The 2014 BSOP was held in Sao Paulo and attracted its largest field in the event’s seven-year history. A total of 2,749 players showed up and took part in the event, but it was hometown hero Wilson Calixto who finished in first place.

Calixto had a memorable final table, playing smartly before eventually knocking out his last obstacle, Luiz Ferreira Duarte, in heads-up play to win the event and its US$420,000 first place cash prize.

The 2,749 player field that took part in this year’s BSOP Main Event made the event the second largest in the world in terms of entrants, surpassed only by the widely renowned World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

Jason Mercier the Man at WPT Alpha8 St Kitts

The World Poker Tour (WPT) Alpha8 in the Caribbean Island of St Kitts only attracted 15 players, but with a US$100,000 buy-in, competition was set to be stiff.

That is exactly what it was as players battled it out to get a slice of the US$1,455,000 prize pool, which was divided only among the tournament’s top three players.

The event naturally attracted some very solid players and famous faces, with Antonio Esfandiariand Olivier Busquet both in the field.

After all was said and done, two-time WSOP Gold Bracelet winner Jason Mercier was the one taking home the bounty. Mercier earned $727,500 for his stellar play, while Kathy Lehne came in second and took home $436,500.

Tony Guglietti was the other player who left the event with some cash. He finished third, which was good for $291,000.

Alex Goulder Takes Out 2014 partypoker WPT National Prague Main Event

A total of 251 players descended on the Czech capital for the partypoker WPT National Main Event, with some of the top poker pros in Europe among the field.

That field was reduced to 19 players on the last day, and it took quite a bit of play before the event’s winner finally emerged, Alex Goulder.

The win was one of the biggest of the Englishman’s professional poker career. Goulder also has three WSOP in-the-money finishes and took 11th place in the EPT Deauville Main Event in January this year.