Greg Merson Grabs 2012 World Series of Poker Title and $8.5 Million Top Prize

The 2012 World Series of Poker main event was one for the ages.

With two women left at the final two tables, the play down to the October Nine was dramatic and tense. When the dust settled, nine men, who weren’t necessarily poker household names prior to the Series, sunk into a 103-day hibernation in anticipation of the $8.5 million first-place prize.

When play resumed in late October, much had been written and said about the comeback story of poker pro Greg Merson, who not only came back from a super short stack earlier in the event but also, by all accounts, conquered a drug addiction to turn his life around.

There was also Hungarian professional Andras Koroknai, who was given a second chance in the tournament thanks to a favorable ruling which kept him alive after he made the blunder of all blunders: mucking his hand after going all in during the later stages of the event.

Despite not being quite the prestigious record it once was, college kid Jacob Balsiger was looking to become the youngest main event champion ever, just a few years after Joe Cada claimed that mark from Peter Eastgate.

Grizzled poker pro Robert Salaburu was looking to use the main event to finally end his vicious cycle of going broke, but ended up exiting heartbreakingly early.

Despite their intrigue, the personalities at the final table eventually were overshadowed by the stellar play and marathon three-handed match, which set a WSOP record.

At 6,589 players, the 2012 main event didn’t have the beginnings of anything historic or extraordinary, but when Merson was the last man standing on Halloween morning, it stood as one of the most memorable finales in the WSOP’s 42-year run.

Record-Setting Final Table

At just about 400 hands in total, the 2012 WSOP main event final table was the longest ever for the summer festival. In fact, at 242 hands, three-handed play between Merson, Jesse Sylvia and Balsiger was longer than three out of the past seven main event final tables – in their entirety.

Here’s a look at the number of hands played at the past seven final tables:

2012: 399 hands
2011: 301 hands
2010: 262 hands
2009: 364 hands
2008: 274 hands
2007: 205 hands
2006: 236 hands
2005: 232 hands

The all-time record for a WSOP no-limit hold’em championship event belongs partly to John Juanda and Stanislav Alekhin, who battled heads-up as part of a 484-hand marathon at the 2008 WSOP Europe main event final table.

The legendary $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E event in 2006, which played a final table of only no-limit hold’em, lasted 354 hands.

Tanking Problem?

Part of the reason the final table took so long was because of the slow and deliberate style of its players.

Fewer than 100 hands into the epic three-handed match, some of those watching on TV and following on social media were feeling a little frustrated.

With millions on the line and poker’s most coveted title within reach, some of the hands, not surprisingly, featured lengthy decision making.

Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu and last year’s champion Pius Heinz were among many who complained. The nearly-live ESPN coverage made it so hands were not edited for time.

Brunson tweeted that it was “too slow” for him to watch and that he hoped the tournament would “get a clock soon.”

Negreanu chimed in by tweeting: “If there was any doubt about the need for a clock in poker this is exhibit A. This is painstakingly tilting for casual viewers.”

However, not everyone agreed that the tanking was a problem.

Poker pro Steve O’Dwyer responded to one of Negreanu’s tweets by saying: “They’re playing a once in a lifetime three-handed game for obscene life-changing money. Everyone should relax and give [them] a break.”

Key Hands

It took 30 hands before 57-year-old Steve Gee became the first casualty of the main event final table. He was eliminated on arguably the most brazen bluff of the entire final table.

Gee had more or less held his ground with the 16.86 million chips he started the day with until his final hand of the night against 24-year-old Russell Thomas.

Gee raised from under the gun to 900,000 and was called by Merson behind him and Thomas on the button. The flop fell 7 5 4, and Gee continued for 1.6 million. Merson folded, and Thomas called. The turn was the J, and Gee bet 3.25 million. Thomas called once again, and the 3 hit the river. Gee thought it over for about a minute before moving all-in for his last 11.35 million.

Thomas, who had Gee barely covered, went into the tank for more than five minutes before finding a call, turning over pocket queens. Gee stood up from the table, only able to produce the 8 8. The former bracelet winner from California earned $754,798 for his ninth-place finish.

The second elimination at the final table was linked to a cooler which preceeded it.
Robert Salaburu was sitting in the middle of the pack with a stack of 20 million, when he three-bet an opening raise and a flat, only to see Balsiger move all-in behind him for 10 million. Salaburu made the call with pocket queens. Unfortunately for him, he was up against pocket kings and received no help from the board.

The hand left him among the three short stacks, so when Sylvia put him all in from the small blind a dozen hands later, he immediately made the call with pocket sevens. Sylvia’s Q 5 got there on the river as the board ran out A A 4 2 Q.

The disappointed 27-year-old Texan earned $971,252 for his finish.

With less than 15 big blinds at one point, New York-area seven-card stud player Michael Esposito was becoming desperate. The 44-year-old came back from break apparently determined to make some moves, and after a few all-in bets had chipped up back to more than 10 million.

On the very next hand, however, he moved all in from middle position with the A J, only to run into Merson, who woke up with the A K in the big blind. The board ran out 9 7 4 6 8, and Esposito was eliminated. He picked up $1,257,790 for his seventh-place finish.

After a move that some might call a meltdown or a blowup, Koroknai, the 2012 main event final table’s only non-American, was eliminated in sixth.

It seemed like Koroknai was content playing small pots early on and chipping up where he could. It actually took 40 hands at the final table before he was able to rake in his first pot.

However, after the elimination of Esposito in seventh, the Hungarian pro picked up his aggression. In a span of two hours, he was able to increase his stack to more than 40 million, placing him in third overall. His large stack, however, was ultimately his undoing.

Koroknai’s final hand began with Merson raising to 1 million on the button. Sylvia reraised to 2.6 million from the small blind. Koroknai four-bet to 5.3 million from the big blind, and Sylvia folded. Merson then made it 9.2 million.

Unexpectedly, Koroknai moved all in for more than 40 million.

Merson, sitting with approximately 43 million, snap-called, tabling the A K. Koroknai revealed a dominated K Q and failed to connect on a board which ran out 8 3 2 7 7.

A shell-shocked Koroknai received $1,640,461 for his efforts.

The next elimination, that of Las Vegas poker pro Jeremy Ausmus, 33, was the result of a super-aggressive play.

His last hand began by him opening to 1.2 million from the button. Sylvia defended his big blind, and the flop fell 9 8 3. Both players checked. The 3 fell on the turn, and Sylvia checked. Ausmus bet 1.5 million, and Sylvia check-raised to 3.6 million. Ausmus shoved for about 14.5 million, and Sylvia called. Sylvia exposed the A 9, and Ausmus tabled the 10 7 for a straight draw with an overcard.

Ausmus needed help, but the river 5 was no good, and he was eliminated in fifth place for a score of $2,155,313.

Despite starting off the final table with a huge knockout, Thomas wasn’t able to find much traction thereafter. His last hand started with him raising to 1.5 million. Balsiger moved all-in, having him covered. Thomas thought about it before eventually calling off his last 16 million or so. Balsiger tabled A-K, while Thomas was in trouble with A-9. The board ran out Q 8 5 5 7, and Thomas was gone.

He took home $2,851,537 for his efforts, while the remaining players bagged their chips to resume the following day.

Final Day Fireworks

One of the most exciting hands in the early stages of the final table’s second night of play featured Merson making an incredible all-in bluff with just queen-high.
The hand began with Merson limping the button. Balsiger raised from the big blind, and Merson called. The flop fell 9 8 3. Balsiger bet, and Merson called. A 4 on the turn prompted Balsiger to bet again. Merson called again, and both players saw a 6 on the river.

Balsiger fired another barrel, and Merson shoved. Balsiger folded.

Merson raked in the big pot, showing the Q J for complete air.

It looked like Balsiger would hit the rail after a handful of hours of three-handed play. However, the cards wouldn’t have him leaving that early. At one point Balsiger shoved his short stack into the middle holding the A 10 and ran up against the A Q of Sylvia.

The flop looked safe for Sylvia to score the knockout, until Balsiger spiked a dramatic ten on the turn. Sylvia got the chips back on the very next hand, however, after he got lucky to double through Merson.

Sylvia raised on the button, Merson three-bet from the big blind, and Sylvia responded with a big four-bet equaling a quarter of his stack. Merson then put his opponent all-in, and Sylvia instantly called with A-K. Merson turned over pocket kings. Sylvia was on the ropes, but the board ran out 5 3 2 8 4 to give him the wheel and an unlikely double up.

The three players traded chips for another two hours before Balsiger found himself short once again. He pushed with K-J and was called by Sylvia’s A-10. Once again, Balsiger’s inferior hand came from behind to double up.

An hour and a half later, Balsiger took the chip lead when his pocket kings held against Sylvia’s K-9 on a nine-high flop.

Sylvia and Balsiger continued to go at it. They clashed again when Balsiger’s top pair ran into the Sylvia’s bottom two pair. Sylvia wound up turning a full house en route to the double up. The hand put Balsiger back on the short stack.

Finally, after falling down to his last ten big blinds, Balsiger shoved holding Q-10 and was called by Merson’s K-Q. The board fell 6-6-6-J-5, and Balsiger was eliminated.

The 21-year-old Arizona State University student picked up $3,797,558 for his third-place finish.

Merson held a 3-to-2 chip lead over Sylvia going into heads-up play.

In contrast to three-handed play, the Merson-Sylvia heads-up match happened in an instant. It lasted just 17 hands.

After some initial betting on the final hand, Merson shoved from the button with the K 5, and Sylvia surprisingly called off his 35-big blind stack with the Q J. The board ran out 9 6 3 6 7, and it was all over. Merson was mobbed by his friends and family amidst a storm of confetti and a flood of flashing lights.

Jesse Sylvia, a 24-year-old Las Vegas pro, netted nearly $5.3 million.

A quick look at the champion

Prior to the summer, Merson had played more than seven million hands on the computer over the years, but still wallowed in obscurity among the poker community. Thanks to the WSOP final table, he became a poker legend and one of the game’s most recognizable faces.

“I’m trying not to cry,” an emotional Merson said immediately after the win.
Merson, a 24-year-old from Laurel, MD, finished off a starting field of 6,598 at around 5:45 a.m. local time on Oct. 31 to scoop $8.5 million and the prestigious no-limit hold’em championship bracelet — worth a six-figure sum itself in raw materials.

The victory was his second of the 2012 World Series. Merson won a six-max tournament in July for more than $1.1 million, a performance that solidified his standing as a professional on the live circuit.

His main event journey wasn’t as smooth.

Merson was down to just a couple of big blinds with about 150 left in the event, but with a lot of help and a little patience, he managed to emerge from the short-stack abyss and rebuild.

“I knew I needed to get a little lucky and double up once or twice, but after that, I thought it was entirely possible that I could run it back up,” Merson said.

Merson’s aggressive style delivered, especially as play became shorthanded — a variation of poker that he usually dominated on the Internet. He said he thought he was the best player at the final table, and he ended up doing everything to justify that hubris.

Merson’s climb through the poker ranks mirrors his treacherous battle with synthetic heroin and cocaine, addictions that he overcame most recently in December of last year. He called his detoxification in a hotel room at Aria casino the “worst week of [his] life.” He told Card Player that he could have — or perhaps should have — died from his habitual drug use.

“I’m just so lucky to even be alive,” Merson said. “To have a second chance at life and to do what I want to do — it’s amazing.”

He said he has been clean ever since. Merson declined a drink after his win, adding that he has no fears of relapsing into drugs or the lifestyle that put him on the brink.

He said he wakes up every day to the thought of keeping his past demons far away.
Merson’s friends and family seem to share the same confidence that he won’t unravel from having a bloated bank account and the fame that comes with winning the main event.

Stan Merson, the champion’s father, told Card Player that the family “won’t permit his head getting too big.” He added that his son has a good support system of friends.

The $8.5 million first-place prize is Merson’s alone only on paper and in the WSOP’s record books, as a large chunk will go to his backer and long-time friend, Anthony Gregg.

Gregg was about as happy as Merson when the final river card hit the felt.

“I was pretty confident that he was going to win,” Gregg said. “It was destiny.”
Thanks to his run at the World Series, Merson now sits atop Card Player’s 2012 Player of the Year race. He has cashed for $9,664,179 this year.

Here are the main event final results:

1 Greg Merson $8,531,853
2 Jesse Sylvia $5,295,149
3 Jacob Balsiger $3,799,073
4 Russell Thomas $2,851,537
5 Jeremy Ausmus $2,155,313
6 Andras Koroknai $1,640,902
7 Michael Esposito $1,258,040
8 Robert Salaburu $971,360
9 Steve Gee $754,798