Mercier denies JJ London double

Poker Web Watch / Dave Allan / 10 October 2008 / Leave a Comment

London has been a happy hunting ground of late for John Juanda who became the first American to land a gold bracelet at Betfair's World Series of Poker Europe with his victory in the Main Event earlier this month, writes Rob Eddy.

The man they call the 'Pros Pro' also scooped £868,000 for his troubles and was looking to add another substantial paycheck to his poker coffers at the European Poker Tour's High Rollers event in the capital - the £1 Million Showdown.

Although the field was only 85 strong, the number of top draw poker stars made it a very impressive line up, with the likes of Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson, Patrik Antonius and Betfair pro Sorel Mizzi all ponying up the £20,000 for their shot at the top prize.

However, it was another man in form who managed to deny JJ his London double with Jason Mercier proving to be the last man standing to pick up a not too shabby £516,000.

The result will go some way to making up for his disappointment at the WSOPE when he had held the chip lead in event 3, the £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament but could only manage eighth place.

Juanda though can still walk away a (reasonably) happy man as it was he who finished second to take home £327,000, which pushed his winnings from London over the £1m mark.

However, JJ may be disappointed by the fact that he failed to convert the win after holding a better than 2 to 1 chip advantage at the start of heads-up play.

Having said that, it took one hand for Mercier to double up immediately and assume control when his Qs Js beat Juanda's Ah 2c when a Jc came down on the river.

It didn't take too long for the 21-year-old to settle the contest when he went all-in with Qd Kc following a raise from Juanda, with As Jc, and proceeded to flop the nut straight with a board of 10h 9s Js.

Juanda needed a miracle that wasn't coming and 5c on the turn condemned him to the runner's up spot, while Mercier was able to celebrate his second EPT title.