Jason Mercier Wins Sixth Bracelet One Year After His Return To The WSOP

Six seems to be the magic number at the 2023 WSOP, as Jason Mercier is the latest player to claim his 6th WSOP bracelet, after beating Mike Watson heads-up in the $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball event. Jason returned to the WSOP in 2022 after a self-imposed hiatus to spend more time with his family, and one year after his return he grabbed yet another bracelet to add to his already impressive collection.

Stacked Field

The commentators for this event were saying that this final table looked more like a $10K event than a $1,500, and it’s hard to disagree! Not only were there Jason Mercier and Mike Watson, but Erik Seidel, Jon Turner, and Richard Ashby were also vying for the coveted gold bracelet.

Jason had a healthy stack coming into the final day, but had to carefully navigate this tough field to ensure that he hung on to as many of those chips as possible. As the other competitors were eliminated around him, he was able to flex his muscles more and put pressure on those without the same level of No Limit 2-7 experience as him.

Eventually, the field was whittled down to two remaining participants - Mike Watson and Jason Mercier; two of the best in the business. The two started with roughly even stacks, so it seemed like it would be a long night ahead for both players. Mike caught a hot run of cards early-on in the heads-up match, being dealt several pat hands, but Jason managed to hold on to his tournament life.

After a while, Jason’s luck started to change, and he was the one who was making the hands while Watson was drawing bricks. After a little over an hour, Jason dealt the final blow to Watson’s chances of winning his first bracelet; both players had a ten-draw, but Mike was dealt a queen as Jason was dealt a 5, meaning that Jason made a ten low to seal the bracelet.

Good Luck Charm

One oddity that was pointed out during the late stages of this event is that Jason and Mike have made the final three of four other tournaments in the past - with Jason winning all four. This victory would mark the fifth time this has happened - we’re not sure why Mike is such a good luck charm for Jason, but something seems to be doing it!

Speaking after his victory, Jason said, “I've been three-handed with him four separate times in major events and I've won all four. So he's gotten second twice and third twice. But in particular, we played heads up for the no-limit deuce bracelet in the $10K in 2016. So it was definitely a bit of déja vu.”

When asked if Jason was worried about Mike finally breaking his curse, he said, “You know going into heads up, I was a little worried that he was finally going to get me. But luckily I ran hot and was able to beat him again.”

If there’s one thing you can take away from this event, it’s that if Jason and Mike are in the final three of a tournament - bet on Jason to win it!

Event #60 $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Final Table Results

Now that Jason Mercier is back and playing at the WSOP, how many bracelets will he go on to win? How long will it take Mike Watson to claim his first WSOP bracelet? Stay tuned for all the latest WSOP news and events.

Image Source: @WSOP Twitter