Three players, each with their own storyline to write, will convene inside the Horseshoe Las Vegas Event Center at 4 p.m. local time to finally decide the champion of Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship.
There’s Jason Mercier, the former young phenom turned family man looking to join the upper echelons of poker’s pantheon and secure his ticket into the Poker Hall of Fame by becoming just the 10th player with seven World Series of Poker bracelets. There’s Danny Wong, who seized control of the chip lead late yesterday. Wong has been coming to the WSOP for nearly 20 years, and, despite seven final tables, has never won a live bracelet. His lone victory came in a $600 No-Limit Hold’em online event last year. Wong is looking for a bit of redemption; he made it this far in this event just three years ago, only to come up one spot short and finish runner-up.
And then there is Phil Ivey, whose darting stare has haunted opponents for more than two decades. Any ranking of the greatest poker players in history will be sure to have Ivey’s name near the top. There was a time when Ivey looked to be making a serious run at the all-time bracelet record. He won his fifth before the age of 30, his 10th before he was even 40. But his last came a decade ago as Ivey has remained tied for second place, while Phil Hellmuth has added four during that span. The chase will be back on if Ivey can capture his 11th here today.
Final Three Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|
| 1 | Danny Wong | United States | 3,730,000 | 19 |
| 2 | Jason Mercier | United States | 2,955,000 | 15 |
| 3 | Phil Ivey | United States | 2,260,000 | 11 |
He’ll have to mount a comeback to do it, as Ivey enters the unscheduled Day 4 at the bottom of the chip counts with 2,260,000. Wong leads with 3,730,000, while Mercier follows behind with 2,955,000. All three players still have at least 11 big bets remaining, and with the wild swings already seen so far at the final table, the bracelet is still very much up for grabs.
The action picks up on Level 25 with blinds of 50,000-100,000 and 100,000-200,000 limits. Everyone left is guaranteed $151,412, but none of them will be satisfied with that; they are chasing the $347,440 first prize, the bracelet that will mean so much to each of them, and the respect and renown that comes with winning such a prestigious title. The final table will be streamed on PokerGO’s YouTube channel beginning at 5 p.m.
Some of the biggest names in poker are still in the hunt for the title, and it will be a grinding road to get there for one of them, so stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the day for all the updates.
Tags:
Danny WongJason MercierPhil Ivey
