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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.
Level: 9
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 400
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.
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.
From the button, Jason Mercier made his minimum raise to 6,000, and both Michael Pesek and Eugene Katchalov called from their respective blinds.
Family pot! The flop came 
, and the blinds let Mercier continue out with 9,300 more chips. Pesek folded, Katchalov called, and it was heads up to the turn. Mercier bet 22,300 this time, and Katchalov gave it up.
After Michael Pesek raised to 6,000, Jason Mercier reraised from the big blind to 15,800. Pesek made the call and the flop came down 
. Mercier continued with a flop bet of 11,800. Pesek called.
The turn brought the 
and Mercier checked. Pesek took his time and then bet 17,000. Mercier check-raised all in and Pesek gave it up.
When Jason Mercier folded his button, Michael Pesek moved all in for 75,000 from the small blind. In the big, Eugene Katchalov took just a minute to make sure before he made the call for almost all of his own chips too. Cards up, gents.
Showdown
Pesek: 
Katchalov: 
There was a muted nervousness in the sparsely populated studio as everyone inched toward the edges of the stage to catch a glimpse of the flop.
It came 
, a disaster for Pesek's ace. He was now in a big hole with two cards to come, needing some help to stay alive.
The turn opened the door a bit as the 
gave him another set of outs to try and chase down. He was now looking for any club (except the five) or any six to double up, and a queen or seven for the chop. The river was the blank 
, though, and that's a miss.
That's all she wrote for Pesek, relegated to the rail in third place. He'll take home $70,000.
The two Team PokerStars Pros who are left standing have stepped away for a dinner break. It'll be "about an hour", and they'll return to these stacks sometime around 8:15 P.M.:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
269,600
-20,400
|
-20,400 |
|
||
|
180,400
95,400
|
95,400 |
|
||
Jason Mercier was loitering in his chair for about five or ten minutes, shooting the breeze with the television staff and the dealer as if he were playing a home game.
He's not playing a home game, though, and his challenger Eugene Katchalov has returned to the ring for this duel for a reminder that it's a serious competition here. He's trying to play the role of spoiler her, while Mercier is looking to go back-to-back like Selbst.
With three minutes left in the level, the cards are in the air. It's Team PokerStars Pro versus Team PokerStars Pro, and it's heads-up for the title!
Level: 10
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 500
