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Matt Perrins minraised in the small blind and Chris Bjorin called in the big blind.
Perrins drew two and Bjorin drew one, the former checked and Bjorin bet 15,000. Perrins made the call but could only muck when Bjorin turned over 
.
As expected, Jason Mercier is using the short stack to his advantage and just picked up a nice pot from Chris Bjorin.
From late position, Bjorin raised to 12,000 and Mercier, on the button, moved all in for around 90,000. Bjorin did think about it but eventually folded, giving Mercier the pot and moving him up to about 130,000. With the blinds and antes as high as they are, every pot is important at this point, especially for the short stacks.
Right now, the seats are pretty empty here on the main feature stage. However, Matt Perrins of the UK seems to have a nice rail of Brits. It's not quite the show we saw from the Brits at Jake Cody's Heads-Up Championship final match, but it is still early. Also on the rail is yesterday's $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Champion, Allen Bari, who is good friends with Jason Mercier.
Robin Rightmire raised to 12,000 from UTG+1 and Jason Mercier made the call.
Rightmire stood pat and Mercier drew one. Rightmire immediately bet 20,500 and Mercier muttered something along the lines of, "This is such a nitty call," and put out the chips. Rightmire showed 
for a smooth eight and Mercier folded, later saying on twitter that he had an 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
110,000 | 20,000 |
|
95,000 | 15,000 |
Matt Perrins raised to 12,000 from the small blind and once more Chris Bjorin made the call. Perrins drew two against Bjorin's one before the Englishman checked. Bjorin bet 15,000 again and Perrins called. The Swede showed a 
but Perrins turned over to win back a pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
275,000 | 35,000 |
|
265,000 | 20,000 |
Jason Mercier raised to 12,000 and Josh Brikis moved all in. Mercier thought briefly but folded saying, "I would've had to draw two."
"I was pat," replied Brikis.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
90,000 | 10,000 |
|
|
75,000 | -20,000 |
In late position, Jason Mercier moved all in for his last 70k or so. Brikis then re-raised all in and got folds around the table. Both players stood pat and Brikis had Mercier's just beaten with a .
Mercier hit the rail in seventh place, and Brikis moves up to around 190,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
285,000 | 10,000 |
|
275,000 | -40,000 |
|
|
250,000 | -15,000 |
|
|
190,000 | |
|
140,000 | 5,000 |
|
|
110,000 |
Josh Brikis, buoyed by eliminating Jason Mercier, opened to 15,000 before Matt Perrins made it 39,000 in the small blind. Brikis deliberated briefly but elected to fold causing some cheers from the Brit rail.
Two hands in a row Bernard Lee raised it pre-draw to 15,000 (from the small blind, then the button) and in both hands Perrins raised it to a total of 39,500 and took down the pot.
We've seen Perrins make a lot of strong moves throughout this event and clearly his aggression hasn't slowed down at the final table.
