The Sunday Briefing: Jason Mercier Wins WCOOP Gold; Mike Telker Leads WCOOP Main Event

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Sep 24, 2012 5 min read

The most anticipated day on the calendar for many online poker pros is when the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event kicks off. That day was yesterday, and a field of 1,825 took part in the biggest online poker tournament of the year. Day 1 action ended just 20 spots shy of the money bubble, and leading the way is Mike "munchenHB" Telker.

Meanwhile, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier earned the lone WCOOP bracelet up for grabs on Sunday, topping the field in the 8-Game High-Roller event for $253,425.

PokerStars WCOOP-65: $5,200 NL Hold'em Main Event ($5M Guaranteed)

A starting field of 1,825 in the WCOOP Main Event is down to 245 following 20 half-hour levels on Day 1. First place is set at $1,612,844, while a min cash (starting at 225th place) pays $12,318.75.

Among the immediate eliminations was Tobias "PokerNoob999" Reinkemeier after he opened to 150 from early position during Level 1 (blinds 25/50). "PikkuHUMPPA" called on the button before "e1mdopp" popped it to 625 from the big blind. Both Reinkemeier and "PikkuHUMPPA" called to see an A?4?4? flop. "e1mdopp" bet 900 with only Reinkemeier tagging along to see the 5? turn. Another bet came from "e1mdopp," this one for 2,150. Reinkemeier called once again, and the 8? landed on the river. With 8,000 in the pot, "e1mdopp" bet 3,150. Reinkemeier responded by shoving for 15,119, but was insta-called by "e1mdopp" with A?A? for aces full of fours. Reinkemeier's A?K? was second best, ending his WCOOP Main Event during the first level.

Defending champion Thomas "Kallllle" Pedersen bowed out during Level 10. With the blinds and antes at 200/400/50, Pedersen minraised to 800 from the hijack. A three-bet to 1,985 came from "theMakdiesel" out of the cutoff. Action folded back to Pedersen who reraised all in for 9,047. "theMakdiesel" called and revealed J?J?, leading Pedersen's 8?7?. The flop, though, came down K?Q?10? to give Pedersen a flush draw. However, he found no help from the Q? turn or 5? river.

Jason Mercier exited during level 13 (350/700/85). Mercier was in the hijack and he minraised to 1,400. Action folded to "slv458" in the big blind who reraised all in with the bigger stack. With 12,750 behind, Mercier called all in with 8?8?. He held a commanding lead against "slv458's" 6?6?, but the board ran out A?6?2?7?4? to give "slv458" a set of sixes to send Mercier to the rail.

Here's a look at the top five stacks entering Day 2:

Among the many notables still in the field are:

PokerStars WCOOP-64: $10,300 8-Game High-Roller ($400K Guaranteed)

An elite field participated in the $10,300 8-Game High-Roller event and, as expected, big names put up excellent showings. Among the players who cashed but finished just short of the final table were Anders "Donald" Berg (7th - $34,875), George "Jorj95" Lind III (8th - $34,875), Calvin "cal42688" Anderson (9th - $34,875), James "Andy McLEOD" Obst (10th - $23,250), and Sorel "zangbezan24" Mizzi (12th - $23,250).

The final table was stacked with big names, including Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Scott "gunning4you" Seiver, Niki "RealAndyBeal" Jedlicka and Ben "BensBenz" Yu. While Mercier held a sizable chip lead with four players remaining, a back-and-forth battle ensued that saw the chip lead change numerous times before Mercier closed the deal and took home the bracelet.

PokerStars WCOOP 65 2nd Chance: $1,050 NL Hold'em

Making deep runs in the $1K 2nd Chance event were Chris "d0r1t0s" McClung (10th - $5,194), Chris "Big Huni Hunichen (14th - $4,452) and Mike "Timex "McDonald (15th - $4,452). Poker pro Alex "Assassinato" Fitzgerald went on to win the even after agreeing to a heads-up chop with "arnon shraga." Also making the final table were Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick and Will "dankness3" Jaffe.

*denotes heads-up deal

PokerStars Sunday 500 ($300K Guaranteed)

Toby "810ofclubs" Lewis (11th - 42,962.20), Leandro "leopeluca" Csome (13th - $3,865.90), Alex "AK87" Kim (15th - $3,865.90), Aidan "whereisdonny" Tam (22nd - $2,308), and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (24th - $2,308) had impressive showings in the Sunday 500. The outright triumph went to "delegator" for $98,090.

PokerStars $109 Sunday Rebuy ($225K Guaranteed)

Making deep runs in the $109 Sunday Rebuy were Ryan "ryanghall" Hall (12th - $4,363.35) and Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee (16th - $2,526.15). A tough final table was topped outright by Jon "TherookieQQ9" Plens for $83,408.88.

PokerStars Bigger $109 ($160K Guaranteed)

Christophe "chrisdm" De Meulder (12th - $2,170.20), Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka (13th - $1,627.65), Jonathan "Poker Own U" Bardier (16th - $1,085.10), and Hunter "HEMIpowerSWT" Frey (18th - $1,085.10) were among the top finishers in the Bigger $109. A heads-up deal took place with "P-i-t.DqDoG" coming away with the win for about $50,000.

*denotes heads-up deal

PokerStars Bigger $162 ($150K Guaranteed)

Falling just shy of the final table in the Bigger $162 were Sorel "zangbezan24" Mizzi (11th - $2,536.38) and Ashley "DYBYDX" Mason (13th - $1,824.30). Following a heads-up deal, "Javy28" came out on top with the victory.

*denotes heads-up deal

PokerStars Sunday Storm ($300K Guaranteed)

"FoppTheFlop" bested a massive 34,213-player field in the Sunday Storm, earning $28,393.10 after agreeing to a deal heads-up.

*denotes heads-up deal

PokerStars Sunday Kickoff ($100K Guaranteed)

Making a deep run in the Sunday Kickoff was Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen, but the Team PokerStars Online member was eliminated in 27th place for $626. After a heads-up deal at the final table,"LiMa171" got the better of "@cey@lone" to notch the win.

*denotes heads-up deal

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