Defending Champion Jason Mercier Tops Day 1
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The best horses in the game took to the track today for their shot at the coveted $10k H.O.R.S.E Championship gold bracelet. A total of 150 hopefuls joined the field throughout play today and after ten hour-long levels on Day 1 of Event #30: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E Championship only 57 remain.
The top horse as the clock ran out on Day 1 was the defending champion, Jason Mercier. Mercier bagged an impressive 384,500 to claim the top spot. Mercier was a late addition to the field but it clearly didn't hinder the five-time WSOP gold bracelet winner.
Joining Mercier on top of the counts were Mack Lee (347,500), David Bach (278,500), Tom McCormick (224,500), and Mark Gregorich (222,500)
As expected in the Championship events, the field was star-studded. A bunch of the game��s best made it through to Day 2 including Esther Taylor (201,500), Brandon Shack-Harris (171,500), Anthony Zinno (146,000), Felipe Ramos (136,000), Maria Ho (90,000), Mike Sexton (74,000), Daniel Negreanu (61,500), and Phil Hellmuth (33,500).
When registration closed at the beginning of Level 9, the prize pool capped off at $1,410,000. The top 23 spots will leave with a prize. A min-cash will be worth $15,000 and the largest share sitting up top is a first-place prize of $383,208.
Some notables no longer in contention include Jon Turner, Jeff Lisandro, Jared Bleznick, David Benyamine, Mike Leah, Matt Grapenthien, Mike Matusow, Mike Gorodinsky, Jesse Martin, John Monnette, and Jennifer Harman.
Play will resume at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon with another ten hour-long levels on the schedule. Follow along live as PokerNews will be on the floor providing updates and full coverage until a champion is crowned.
| Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brasilia | 722 | 1 | Eric Wasserson | United States | 140,000 |
| Brasilia | 722 | 2 | Mack Lee | United States | 347,500 |
| Brasilia | 722 | 3 | Jonathan Drane | United States | 42,500 |
| Brasilia | 722 | 4 | Philip Sternheimer | United States | 70,000 |
| Brasilia | 722 | 5 | Gary Benson | Australia | 55,500 |
| Brasilia | 722 | 6 | Mike Sexton | United States | 74,000 |
| Brasilia | 722 | 7 | Howard Lederer | United States | 149,500 |
| Brasilia | 722 | 8 | David Bach | United States | 278,500 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 1 | Andrew Brown | United States | 128,500 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 2 | Andrey Zhigalov | Russia | 66,000 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 3 | Chris George (NY) | United States | 118,000 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 4 | David "ODB" Baker | United States | 132,000 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 5 | Andrew Barber | United States | 74,000 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 6 | Adam Friedman | United States | 82,500 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 7 | Don Zewin | United States | 172,000 |
| Brasilia | 723 | 8 | Thao Thiem | United States | 82,500 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 1 | Jean Montury | France | 151,500 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 2 | Jerry Wong | United States | 159,500 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 3 | Randy Ohel | United States | 173,000 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 4 | Eric Rodawig | United States | 204,000 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 5 | Owais Ahmed | United States | 126,000 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 6 | Andrew Kelsall | United States | 62,000 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 7 | Yuebin Guo | United States | 133,000 |
| Brasilia | 724 | 8 | Phillip Wallace | United States | 149,500 |
| Brasilia | 725 | 1 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 61,500 |
| Brasilia | 725 | 2 | Pat Pezzin | Canada | 133,500 |
| Brasilia | 725 | 3 | Ben Yu | United States | 126,000 |
| Brasilia | 725 | 4 | Tom McCormick | United States | 224,500 |
| Brasilia | 725 | 6 | Jason Mercier | United States | 384,500 |
| Brasilia | 725 | 7 | Albert Daher | Lebanon | 188,000 |
| Brasilia | 725 | 8 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 121,500 |
| Brasilia | 726 | 1 | Felipe Ramos | Brazil | 136,000 |
| Brasilia | 726 | 2 | Scott Mauer | United States | 12,500 |
| Brasilia | 726 | 4 | Richard Chase | United States | 102,000 |
| Brasilia | 726 | 5 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 48,000 |
| Brasilia | 726 | 7 | Anthony Zinno | United States | 146,000 |
| Brasilia | 726 | 8 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 47,000 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 1 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 33,500 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 2 | John Racener | United States | 26,000 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 3 | Andre Akkari | Brazil | 77,800 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 4 | Esther Taylor-Brady | United States | 201,500 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 5 | Brian Rast | United States | 150,500 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 6 | Mark Gregorich | United States | 222,500 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 7 | Greg Mueller | Canada | 64,500 |
| Brasilia | 727 | 8 | Aditya Prasetyo | United States | 178,000 |
| Brasilia | 728 | 1 | Paul Volpe | United States | 126,500 |
| Brasilia | 728 | 2 | Scott Bohlman | United States | 100,000 |
| Brasilia | 728 | 4 | Thomas Hammers | United States | 200,000 |
| Brasilia | 728 | 5 | Greg Mascio | United States | 118,500 |
| Brasilia | 728 | 6 | Richard Sklar | United States | 100,500 |
| Brasilia | 728 | 7 | Brandon Shack-Harris | United States | 171,500 |
| Brasilia | 729 | 2 | Ted Woolridge | United States | 210,000 |
| Brasilia | 729 | 3 | Maria Ho | United States | 90,000 |
| Brasilia | 729 | 5 | Aron Dermer | United States | 197,000 |
| Brasilia | 729 | 6 | Craig Chait | United States | 172,500 |
| Brasilia | 729 | 7 | Ryan Turner | United States | 119,500 |
| Brasilia | 729 | 8 | Laurence Kantor | United States | 94,500 |