Action folded to Jason Mercier in the small blind who raised. Kristopher Tong reraised, Mercier made it four bets, and Tong five-bet. Mercier, who started the hand with 605,000, called and left 5,000 behind.
"I bet 5,000 in the dark. Do you want to call it?" Mercier asked Tong, who put in the chip before seeing the flop.
Jason Mercier: A♥Q♦
Kristopher Tong: A♠J♠
Mercier had Tong dominated as the flop came 8♠10♥8♣, while the Q♣ turn improved Mercier to two pair. The river was the 6♣ and Mercier doubled up.
The next hand, Tong limped in from the small blind, Brad Ruben raised in the big blind, and Tong called.
The flop came J♣5♥6♠ and Ruben bet. Tong raised and Ruben called.
Tong bet on the 7♥ turn and Ruben called. The river was the Q♥ and Tong checked to Ruben, who bet.
"Bad start," Tong muttered to himself as he took a minute before folding.
The final four battled late into the night yesterday, but were unable to determine a champion in Event #55: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. They will return today at 1 p.m. local time to determine the next World Series of Poker mixed-game master at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
Kristopher Tong begins as the overwhelming chip leader with 7,145,000 as he seeks his first career bracelet. The Texas native has come close a few times before, including a runner-up finish back in 2013 and a run to the final table of the PPC in 2023.
Like Tong, Maximilian Schindler is also looking for his first WSOP golden moment and is in second place with 2,680,000. At the bottom of the leaderboard are two players who are no strangers to the big stage.
Day 4 Seat Draw
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Kristopher Tong
United States
7,145,000
30
2
Brad Ruben
United States
1,305,000
5
3
Maximilian Schindler
United States
2,680,000
11
4
Jason Mercier
United States
1,295,000
5
Brad Ruben (1,305,000) already has a bracelet this summer and five in the last five years, one of just two players to do so this decade. Jason Mercier, whose six WSOP bracelets include one from this event in 2016, can join the seven-bracelet club if he manages to battle back from the short stack with 1,295,000. Ruben and Mercier will have to fight back from just five big bets at the start of the day, but as yesterday’s wild swings in momentum showed, anything is possible.
Brad Ruben
Final Table Remaining Payouts / Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
$452,689
2
$301,786
3
$206,747
4
$144,965
5
Marco Johnson
United States
$104,089
6
Alex Livingston
Canada
$76,581
7
Scott Seiver
United States
$57,766
8
Walter Chambers
United States
$44,703
9
PJ Cha
United States
$35,515
The action picks up on Level 26 with limits of 120,000/240,000. The four finalists have locked up $144,965 for making it this far out of the 207-entry field, while the eventual champion earns $452,689.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates throughout the day until a new champion is crowned.
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