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From the small blind, Eugene Katchalov popped it up to 7,500, and Jason Mercier defended his big blind with a call.
The flop came 
, and Mercier called a bet of 8,000. He and Katchalov would check through the 
turn and 
river, and Mercier showed 
at showdown. His kickers were good.
Eugene Katchalov raised to 6,000 from the button and Jonathan Jaffe reraised all in from the small blind for 71,500 and Jason Mercier reshoved from the big blind to knock Katchalov out of the hand.
Mercier tabled the 
and Jaffe the 
. Mercier was in front and in a dominating position to knock out Jaffe and lock up the most bounties.
The board ran out 
to keep Mercier in front and win him the hand. Jaffe was eliminated in fourth place, taking home $40,000 for his table win yesterday, two $2,000 bounties from yesterday and one $10,000 bounty from today. That's a total of $54,000.
Mercier moved to 180,000 in chips and locked up the $20,000 prize for the most bounties along with an entry into the next North American Poker Tour Bounty Shootout event.
Level: 9
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 400
Jonathan Jaffe opened to 4,800, and Eugene Katchalov called to see a flop.
Heads-up, it came 
. Katchalov called a bet of 6,500 on that flop, but he could not call a second one. When Jaffe bet the 
turn, Katchalov gave up.
Jason Mercier raised to 4,800 from the cutoff and Jonathan Jaffe called from the big blind.
Flop: 
Jaffe led out 6,100 and Mercier responded with a raise to 15,500. A call from Jaffe brought the 
turn which he quickly checked. Mercier checked behind and the 
hit the river. Jaffe bet 15,000, sending Mercier into the tank for a few minutes before ultimately folding.
We estimate that Jaffe upped his stack to about 120,000 while Mercier slipped to about 80,000.
Our very own Sarah Grant caught up with Jason Mercier on the last break to discuss how the final table is going so far. Check out what the defending champion of this event had to say about his day so far.
With the elimination of Taylor von Kriegenbergh in fifth place, the only two players alive contending in the race for the most bounties are Jason Mercier and Eugene Katchalov, both Team PokerStars Pros. As it stands right now, Mercier has six bounties and Katchalov has four. If Mercier can pick up one more bounty, he'll have seven and lock up the $20,000 prize for earning the most bounties. An entry to the next North American Poker Tour Bounty Shootout also comes as a prize, but the next stop is still unannounced.
Katchalov will need to bust all three of his remaining opponents in order to win the bounty race. If Jonathan Jaffee or Michael Pesek eliminate one another, Katchalov will have to bust the last two players then in order to claim the title after play gets to three-handed.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
155,000 | 76,000 |
|
102,000 | -13,000 |
|
97,000 | -13,000 |
|
96,000 | -9,000 |
From under the gun, Michael Pesek raised to 5,300. Taylor von Kriegenbergh was all in for 13,000 from the big blind and Pesek made the call.
Pesek: 
Von Kriegenbergh: 
The board ran out 
and von Kriegenbergh was eliminated in fifth place. He took home $40,000 for winning his first table and two $2,000 bounties for a total of $44,000.
Jason Mercier opened the pot to 4,800 before Taylor von Kriegenbergh three-bet shoved for about 70,000. The action wasn't done there yet, though, as Eugene Katchalov called all in for 59,400, folding Mercier and putting the two men heads-up with Katchalov at risk. He had it.
Showdown
Von Kriegenbergh: 
Katchalov: 
Von Kriegenbergh had his man covered, but not by much, and the 
flop was a swing and a miss. Von Kriegenbergh has a robust cheering section here today, and they were all huddled around the TV screen in the corner of the room pleading for a five.
Turn: 
Bing! Von Kriegenbergh found his unlikely high five, tripping up and putting Katchalov one card from the door. He'd need to catch one of the two remaining aces to stay alive.
River:
Oh, bing again! It's the ol' suck-resuck for Katchalov as he goes from ahead to behind to ahead once again. That timely ace on the river has kept Katchalov alive, doubling him up to about 130,000 and crushing von Kriegenbergh back to just about 15,000.
