Defeating an amateur player and petroleum company CEO - and the first female to ever play a $100k WPT Alpha8 event - heads-up for it?
Not the usual way it happens. But that's how it went down tonight in St. Kitts as Mercier topped Sun Coast Resources founder and CEO Kathy Lehne for his first WPT Alpha8 crown and $727,500.
The win leapfrogs Mercier over Scott Seiver into 11th-place overall on the all-time money list and rockets the amateur poker enthusiast Lehne up to 46th on the women's list.
Lehne claimed $436,500 for her runner-up finish -- by far and away the biggest live score of her poker-playing career.
Colman Bounced First, Antonio Drops Trou
The second edition of the WPT Alpha8 St. Kitts was an unconventional affair all around beyond just the final heads-up combatants.
The ostensible host of the event, the affable Bill Perkins, bought in twice and kept the banter lively at the table for both days before his final bustout in sixth.
Dan Colman, who's done pretty much nothing but win huge tournaments all year, found himself on the short end of the variance stick for once when his AK couldn't beat Mercier's AQ to start the final table.
Antonio Esfandiari, meanwhile, was the only player to fire 3 entries and needed to finish third to almost break even. He came close but, despite jettisoning his pants to combat the heat, fell in fifth overall just short of the money.
Third place was claimed by amateur Tony Guglietti while Olivier Busquet bubbled in fourth. All told 11 players and 15 entries made for a $1,455,000 prize pool split three-ways. The official final three:
1. Jason Mercier $727,500 2. Kathy Lehne $436,500 3. Tony Guglietti $291,000
Check the WPT Live Updates for the full rundown of the two days of action and watch for the complete edited show next year on FOX Sportsnet.
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