Spending the play down from 30 today accumulating chips and pushing his big stack relentlessly, Mercier piled up a dominating 4,165,000 in chips heading into tomorrow.
After an impressive seventh-place finish in the Main Event earlier in the festival, it looks like Mercier is over his 2012 slump and has the magic back that made him one of the highest earners on the poker circuit over the last five years.
Mizzi, Adams, Seiver Join
As expected there won't be any weak spots waiting for Mercier when play picks up tomorrow.
Veteran Canadian grinder Sorel Mizzi and intriguing Russian Vladimir Troyanovsky are closest in chips with 2,150,000 and 2,140,000 respectively.
German online crusher Max Altergott, one of the more unfamiliar names at the table but a very feared player online, also topped the 2-million mark at 2,110,000.
Rounding out the final three are some very notable names to poker fans in Timothy Adams, Scott Seiver and Mike "SirWatts" Watson, but they'll all start the final table under 1 million in chips.
The official final seven and chip counts:
1. Jason Mercier 4,165,000 2. Vladimir Troyanovsky 2,150,000 3. Sorel Mizzi 2,140,000 4. Max Altergott 2,110,000 5. Timothy Adams 830,000 6. Scott Seiver 625,000 7. Mike Watson 480,000
Poker vet Erik Seidel was the unfortunate bubble boy today busting in eighth to miss both the final table and the money. Phil Ivey, who fired three 100k bullets for naught, Sam Trickett and Antonio Esfandiari also just missed the cut.
With 50 total entries including rebuys, the prize pool has ballooned to almost 5 million Euro and left an astounding €1,746,400 for first. The full payout list:
1. €1,746,400 2. €1,115,700 3. €679,100 4. €485,100 5. €339,500 6. €266,900 7. €218,300Action picks up again from Monaco at 1 pm CET with live, cards-up coverage available on the live stream right here on PokerListings starting at 2 pm CET (8 am ET).
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