Just a couple hands after Andrey Gulyy was eliminated, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier has followed him out the door, and one again it was Juha Helppi who did the deed.
It happened when Helppi raised to 48,000 from middle position and Mercier three-bet jammed for around 350,000. Action folded back to Helppi and he snap-called.
Showdown
Mercier:
Helppi:
Once again Helppi held a big hand, and he had Mercier in dire straights. The flop gave Mercier a pair of queens, but it also delivered Helppi a pair of aces. The turn was of no consequence, and neither was the river. With that, the last Team PokerStars Pro in the field made his way to the payout desk in seventh place to collect €44,200.
A short-stacked Andrey Gulyy moved all in under the gun for 357,000 and received a call from Juha Helppi in the cutoff. The button and both blinds folded, and the cards were tabled.
Showdown
Gulyy:
Helppi:
Gulyy had ran into a pair of kings, which meant his best chance of winning was to catch an ace. The flop paired his jack, meaning he could win with another, but it was not meant to be as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.
The towering Russian made a quiet exit in eighth place accompanied by his rail, which appeared to include his parents and girlfriend.
Sorel Mizzi opened to 48,000 from under the gun, Marvin Rettenmaier three-bet to 83,000 from the cutoff, and the action folded back to Mizzi. He sat quietly for the better part of a minute, studying Rettenmaier, then suddenly announced all in.
Rettenmaier re-checked his cards, then called the 612,000-chip bet.
Mizzi:
Rettenmaier:
The board ran out , and Rettenmaier shipped the massive double, while Mizzi was reduced to just 380,000 chips.
Aubin Cazals began the day on the short stack, so it was no surprise to see him become the day's first casualty.
It happened when action folded around to the Frenchman in the cutoff and he moved all in for right around 240,000. The button got out of the way, and then Finland's Juha Helppi moved all in over the top from the small blind. Jason Mercier folded the big and the cards were turned up:
Showdown
Helppi:
Cazals:
Helppi's kicker has him as a heavy favorite; in fact, the PokerNews Odd Calculator had him as a 71.54% favorite; meanwhile, Cazals had just a 22.74% chance of surviving the hand.
That actually dropped to a measly 4.84% on the flop, and hit zero on the turn. Cazals began to rise even before the hit the turn on the river, and he exited in ninth place. With that, we've reached the official final table of eight.
The action folded to Juha Helppi, who opened to 48,000 on the button. Jason Mercier tanked for a bit then three-bet to 94,000 from the small blind. After the big blind released, Helppi quickly moved all in.
Mercier asked for a count - it was a 483,000-chip bet - and after mulling it over for a bit, he called.
Helppi:
Mercier:
The flop gave Mercier a leading pair of nines, but Helppi still had outs to catch up. The on the turn was a brick, but the fell on the river, giving Helppi a pair of jacks and the win.
He doubled to over one million chips, while Mercier is back under 500,000.
Philippe Ktorza opened for 48,000 from the cutoff and Fabian Quoss defended his big blind. The latter proceeded to check-call bets of 57,000 and 85,000 on the flop and turn respectively, and then both players checked the river.
Ktorza tabled for aces and kings, but it was no good as Quoss held for a full house. With that, Quoss has taken the chip from Ktorza.
[user101598]
Jason Mercier (Day 2) is back in the game
The action folded to Jason Mercier, who opened to 48,000 on the button. Sorel Mizzi pushed out 500,000 from the big blind, and Mercier called, turning over .
Mizzi tabled .
The dealer was confused because Mercier called so quietly, and wanted to confirm that there was indeed an all in and a call.
"Yes," Mercier said. "Especially now that I've seen that."
The board ran out , and Mercier successfully doubled.
The tournament official has just announced each of the remaining nine players and cards are in the air here at the Hilton Prague. Today we'll play down to a winner, and while he'd certainly like to get there, it sounds like Marvin Rettenmaier would be happy to take second.
Here's what he had to say on Facebook just prior to the start of play:
"Made the final table of the EPT Prague Highroller - slightly above average... should be fun if I can stop doubling the shortstacks up all the time... Operation 'making Dan Smith sweat' will restart in one hour... (I need 2nd to take the lead in POY..)"
Two days ago, the €10,000 High Roller at the Season 9 European Poker Tour Prague is attracted a field of 113 players. That turnout exceeded even the wildest expectations, and that’s resulted in the tournament running longer than planned. For that reason, Day 3 has been added to the schedule to determine a winner.
Just nine players remain in contention for the €365,300 first-place prize including chip leader Sorel Mizzi, who has 1.192 million; France’s Philippe Ktorza, the only other man over a million in chips; back-to-back World Poker Tour champion Marvin Rettenmaier; and Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier.
Mercier suffered a brutal beat late last night when Rettenmaier opened for 40,000 from the cutoff and Mercier three-bet to 113,000 from the small blind. Action was then on Ktorza in the big blind and he paused for a moment before announcing that he was all in for 522,000. Rettenmaier got out of the way and Mercier snap-called.
Showdown
Ktorza:
Mercier:
Mercier held rockets and was a huge favorite over Ktorza, who was up on his feet. The flop gave Ktorza a pair of kings, but he'd need another to stay alive. Wouldn't you know it, the dealer burned and turned the . Ktorza briefly celebrated while Mercier was clearly disgusted and frustrated. The was put out on the river, and the long-time chip leader was suddenly on a short stack. Luckily for him, Mercier doubled the very next hand to put himself back in contention with 444,000.
Here’s a look at the final nine and how they stack up:
Seat
Player
Chips
1
Andrey Gulyy
229,000
2
Fabian Quoss
781,000
3
Marcin Wydrowski
420,000
4
Aubin Cazals
225,000
5
Marvin Rettenmaier
738,000
6
Juha Helppi
546,000
7
Jason Mercier
444,000
8
Philippe Ktorza
1,094,000
9
Sorel Mizzi
1,192,000
Play will resume at 12:00 CEST, which is less than an hour from now. Join us then as we will crown a winner in the EPT9 Prague €10,000 High Roller!
flop gave Mercier a pair of queens, but it also delivered Helppi a pair of aces. The 
turn was of no consequence, and neither was the 
river. With that, the last Team PokerStars Pro in the field made his way to the payout desk in seventh place to collect €44,200.
flop paired his jack, meaning he could win with another, but it was not meant to be as the 
blanked on the turn followed by the 
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, and Rettenmaier shipped the massive double, while Mizzi was reduced to just 380,000 chips.
flop, and hit zero on the 
flop gave Ktorza a pair of kings, but he'd need another to stay alive. Wouldn't you know it, the dealer burned and turned the 
was put out on the river, and the long-time chip leader was suddenly on a short stack. Luckily for him, Mercier doubled the very next hand to put himself back in contention with 444,000.