Altergott, a feared online high-stakes specialist known as AltiFC, rarely plays tournaments and in fact hadn't cashed in one before this event stacked with 40+ of the game's best pros.
None of them could stop him in this one and he'll take home the full €1,746,400 first-place prize while Mercier earns €1,115,700 for second.
Mercier Caps Great Grand Final, Mizzi Takes Short End
Coming into the final table of seven in the middle of the pack, Altergott picked his spots well to chip up to almost 5 million and the lead three-handed with Mercier and Sorel Mizzi.
Talk of a deal was eventually quashed by Mercier (the ICM numbers "make his head hurt") and the three played on for the title.
Mizzi, who was in second at the time of the deal talk, ended up losing the most as he busted shortly after with KQ to Altergott's jacks.
Mizzi left with €679,100 - substantially less than he might have had in a three-way deal.
That left Altergott and Mercier to play it out and while a deal was also briefly discussed an agreement couldn't be reached and they finished things off head-to-head.
Mercier took a brief chip lead before the big hand that swung the tide with Altergott's queens topping Mercier's pair and flush draw.
Despite the near miss Mercier leaves the EPT Grand Final with a side-event OFC title, a seventh in the Main Event and tonight's €1.1m score.
The three short stacks coming into the final table - Tim Adams, Scott Seiver and Mike Watson - were never much of a factor although Adams' patience allowed him to leapfrog Vladimir Troyanovsky up to a fourth-place finish.
The official final seven and payouts:
1. Max Altergott €1,746,400 2. Jason Mercier €1,115,700 3. Sorel Mizzi €679,100 4. Timothy Adams €485,100 5. Vladimir Troyanovsky €339,500 6. Scott Seiver €266,900 7. Mike Watson € 218,300For a full recap of all the final-table action, check the PokerStars blog.
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