Schwartz Tops Mix-Max Final 16, Mercier Eyes PLO Bracelet #3

The marquee event so far at the 2013 WSOPE has been the €5,300 Mixed-Max with dozens of big names battling for a piece of the final 16.

Schwartz, a massively successful pro from South Florida, rose to the top but plenty of pros including Shannon Shorr, James Dempsey, Dan O'Brien and the ever-dangerous Phil Ivey came along for the ride.

Meanwhile on Day 1 of the €1,650 PLO, Jason Mercier staked out some familiar turf as one of the major bracelet contenders.

Schwartz, Shorr, Ivey Lead Field into Four-Handed Play

Six-handed play today saw a quick whittling of the Mixed-Max field down to the final 16.

Taking full advantage was Schwartz, who fell just short of his first WSOP bracelet this summer when he finished runner-up in Event #22, $1,500 PLO.

He'll take 262,000 into four-handed play tomorrow followed closely by Shorr at 252,000 and 888 Poker's Jason Mann at 232,500.

Also making things interesting will be the one and only Phil Ivey who moved on to Day 3 with 90,500. The final 16 and chip counts:

1. Noah Schwartz 262,000 2. Shannon Shorr 252,000 3. Jason Mann 232,500 4. James Dempsey 193,500 5. Joe Kuether 179,500 6. Dan O'Brien 162,000 7. Ville Mattila 160,000 8. Mark Newhouse 143,000 9. Nikolaus Teichert 110,000 10. Phil Ivey 90,500 11. Jeremy Joseph 72,500 12. Jake Schwartz 72,500 13. Wai Kin Yong 63,500 14. Marc Trijaud 53,000 15. Darko Stojanovic 42,000 16. Marc McLaughlin 25,500

Action will get down to just four players tomorrow who will battle it out heads-up for the title on Thursday. Tune in right here on PokerListings.com tomorrow at 1 pm for full live updates right from the tourney floor.

Mercier in the Hunt for Third PLO Bracelet

Few players have an edge in Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments like Jason Mercier does and he proved it yet again today. Already with two WSOP PLO bracelets in the bag Mercier piled up a Top 5 chip stack in Event #4, €1,650 PLO.

He'll start Day 2 with 46,700 trailing just Ryan Chapman (96,600), Jan Peter Jachtmann (69,900) and Fabrice Soulier (63,400).

The winner of this event will pocket €70,324 except Mercier, thanks to a big side bet with Ivey, who'll score an extra €130k. The top 10 in chips heading into Day 2:

1. Ryan Chapman 96600 2. Jan Peter Jachtmann 69900 3. Fabrice Soulier 63400 4. Jason Mercier 46700 5. Jeremy Ausmus 39400 6. Jeremy Ausmus 39,400 7. Yohann Aube 38,100 8. Jonathan Little 36,700 9. Michael Schwartz 35,900 10. Mariov Deinshev 34,300

Get the full rundown of today's action and tune in for more at 1 pm local time right here. Check out Swede Henrik Johansson's experience winning his first bracelet below:

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