Jason Mercier's Amazing Series

By anyone's standards Jason Mercier made history at the 2016 World Series of Poker. Almost every action he took and every tournament he entered was newsworthy in some way. From bracelet wins, to crazy and controversial prop bets, to marriage proposals and Twitter wars, if you wanted WSOP gossip in 2016 you just had to follow Jason’s progress and you would not be disappointed. Any player who turned up to the WSOP, won a bracelet and went home would look boring when compared to Jason’s rollercoaster summer. Let’s take a look at what Jason himself called a “life-changing summer” for him.

Before the WSOP even started Jason was making headlines. Not one to set mediocre targets for himself he made a series of bracelet prop bets, offering action to all players via his amazingly active and interesting twitter account JasonMercier. The most newsworthy prop bet turned out to be a $10,000 bet he made at odds of 180/1 odds with fellow poker pro Vanessa Selbst which meant if he won three bracelets at the 2016 World Series of Poker Selbst would have to pay him a massive $1.8 million. Things got very interesting when Mercier won two bracelets in quick succession and the prospect of having to pay out on this prop bet became a realistic proposition for Selbst.

On 11th June Jason took down the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship for $273,335, finishing at the top of a 100 strong field and beating a final table that included double bracelet winner in 2016, Benny Glaser. Jason followed that up two days later by finishing runner-up in the 100 player field at the $10,000 Seven Card Razz Championship, winning $168,936. Notable finishers in that event was Bart Hanson (7th) and Brian Hastings (4th).

Two days later Jason continued his heater winning his second bracelet of the 2016 WSOP when he won the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for $422,874, finishing at the top of a field of 171.

Jason reflected after the WSOP on what a special moment this was for his family, particularly as his Father presented him with the bracelet, his fifth overall. He said:

At this point Vanessa Selbst was beginning to panic. She claimed the prop bet was made whilst she was very drunk (something Jason disagreed with) and she had offered to buy out of the bets the next day for $1,000. After Jason won the first bracelet, she offered to buy out of the bet again, this time for $100,000, but Jason declined this offer stating it was too low. Things appeared to be getting nasty with Selbst claiming to have 20 witnesses that she was “blackout drunk” when she made the bet. Thankfully though, things were resolved. It was reported that Selbst managed to place other prop bets that covered any potential losses to Mercier should he win his third bracelet.

Jason continued to chase his third bracelet and play in as many events as possible. This meant even multi-tabling live events and on Day 30 he made the headlines by playing in three events simultaneously. This is pretty easy things to online but to do it in live tournaments means literally running around the venue, missing blinds and hands in the tables you cannot physically be present at and hoping to build a stack in all three tournaments. This demonstrated Jason’s incredible belief in his abilities that he felt it was a good idea to buy into more than one event, feeling he had an edge over the field even when missing hands. It also showed what lengths he was willing to go to in order to win.

We later learned there was another reason for his desperation to claim his third bracelet. He revealed later that he had planned on popping the question to girlfriend Natasha Barbour if he captured the third bracelet, but when Natasha final tabled the $5,000 No Limit Hold'em n July 5th, taking home her biggest ever cash of $348,374 he decided this was the perfect time to make his move and after she busted, Jason dropped to one knee on live TV and asked for her hand in marriage. Jason Mercier ensured that he made the headlines at the 2016 WSOP yet again. What a story.

Here is Jason’s own account of that special moment.

Jason finished the WSOP with a total of $960,424 won across his 11 WSOP cashes that included four final table appearances. He won two bracelets and finished runner-up once. His amazing record saw him crowned the 2016 WSOP Player of the Year and when you combine these achievements with getting engaged on live TV and capturing the imagination of the entire poker world it might be some time before we witness such poker drama both on and off the tables engineered by one player.

Jason Mercier’s story of the 2016 WSOP is the most compelling and emotional poker journey’s I have ever witnessed. But there is one last of interest for us all and for Jason himself.

The very last bracelet to be decided at the 2016 WSOP is the $10,000 Main Event bracelet which is played in November. Jason is not at the final table but he revealed on Twitter he has a “nice little chunk” of a November Niner, Jerry Wong, who sits 8th out of 9 in chips with $10,175,000. Wong will need a bit of luck to get much further in the event, but would you bet against him knowing that a bit of the Mercier magic could well rub off on him?

Jason Mercier’s 2016 WSOP story is like a movie script, but the final chapter of his dream run at the 2016 WSOP may not yet have been written. As he tweeted on July 19th, it (Wong going on to win) would be the #CherryOnTop.

Oh ya. And I have a nice little chunk of a November niner... It wouldn't fit in the first tweet tho 🙈 lets go @HumLun !! #CherryOnTop

— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) July 20, 2016