Event 19
Level 37 (250,000/500,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 1
Chip Average: 29,000,000
Aaron Mermelstein – $3,000,000 GTD WPT WPO Champion
The last time the Borgata Poker blog was at a Final Table with Aaron Mermelstien, it was during the Fall Poker Open, covering his first ever outright live major poker victory.
That event and Final Table went late into the early morning hours, with play ending nearly 20 hours after it started as Mermelstein outlasted a massive field to win the $100,000 GTD ‘Deep Stack’ Event 11, where he’d take home just under $40,000, his biggest tournament score to date.
While the setting and the logistics of this WPT Winter Poker Open Championship Final Table might have been drastically different, the outcome was not, as Mermelstein would win his second major title, putting his name on the WPT Champion’s Cup and earning himself just over $712,000.
Mike Sexton might have said it best in his closing statement, “Aaron was the most poised and aggressive player at this Final Table” battling through the peaks and valleys, literally and figuratively, as there were so many swings and lead changes throughout the entire Day 5 session.
For those keeping track of the action, and for those that weren’t, there were 17 chip lead changes through this Final Table and almost a dozen short stack survivals and Mermelstein battled through it all.
For a Final Table that had so many swings and changes, Mermelstein always seemed ahead of the curve, never finding himself all-in and at risk during Day 4 or at this Final Table.
Mermelstein would almost be at a loss for words when the post-Champoinship interviews began, still catching his breath from getting mauled by his friends and families celebrating the championship, but he would say that this moment “was a dream come true, that he’d always know he’d get to this stage at some point, he just didn’t know when.”
He won’t have to wait any longer, as he is now one of poker’s elite after winning the WPT Winter Poker Open Championship.
This post has been timestamped so it is on the front of the WPO blog, to recap the action from only the WPT WPO Championship click HERE.
Level 37 (250,000/500,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 1
Chip Average: 29,000,000
Eugene Todd (Brooklyn, NY)
Eugene Todd had almost battled back to find himself and Aaron Mermelstein with even chip stacks, but in one of the final hands of Level 37, the two would finally get it all in the middle, with Mermelstein holding a dominating advantage as he would be just two cards away from being crowned the WPT Winter Poker Open Champion.
The action was picked up pre-flop with Eugene Todd limping on the button, with Mermelstein rising to 1,600,000.
Todd would call to see a flop of {Qc}{Js}{7c} and Mermelstein would fire out a bet of 2,700,000.
Todd would then take a moment to think and then announce himself “all-in” for just over 12,000,000 and Mermelstein would snap call and table {As}{Qs} for top pair top kicker.
Todd was in deep trouble, as he also had top pair but an inferior kicker, holding {Qh}{8h}.
Todd would need to improve to stay alive and if he was to hit, he’d control nearly all the chips in play, as Mermelstein only had a few million chips left behind.
It would never come to determining that number exactly, as the turn and river bricked out and Aaron Mermelstein would be win the pot and the WPT WPO Championship in emphatic fashion as the river would give him two pair and send his rail into a massive celebration.
Eugene Todd would again be denied a WPT title after coming close so many times before, Final Tabling two prior WPT events in 2005 and 2007.
This would be Todd’s biggest career score to date, as he makes just under $420,000 for his runner up finish here in the WPT Winter Poker Open Championship.
Level 37 (250,000/500,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 14,840,000
Eugene Todd (Brooklyn, NY)
Both players seem to have their finger on their respective triggers, but no one has pulled their’s just yet, as we’ve seen a few all-in moves, but neither player has showed up with a good enough hand to call with.
There was a moment in one of the first hands back from break where we thought we might finally see an all-in and call, as Aaron Mermelstein raised to 1,050,000 and Eugene Todd would move all-in for just under 9,000,000.
Mermelstein went deep into the tank for close to two and a half minutes before laying it down, with his rail offering some encouraging words, saying, “It was close, just not the time.”
Mermelstein still holds a decent chip lead, but much like he did last level, Eugene Todd has shortened the gap between the two, now playing just under 13,000,000 to Mermelstein’s 16,700,000.
We are mid-way through Level 37.
Level 37 (250,000/500,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 14,840,000
Aaron Mermelstein returns to heads up play with a 2:1 chip lead, with Eugene Todd working a sub 20 big blind stack.
We’re on a quick 10 minute break and the chip counts have reverted back to how they looked when we started this heads up match, with both players more or less playing the same amount of big blinds that they were a half hour ago.
We’ve played well over 150 hands at this Final Table and while we’re not sure where that ranks in terms of all-time records for the WPT, it has certainly surpassed any and all expectations we had coming into today.
Regardless of who walks away as the WPT WPO Champion, both players have fought hard and battled adversity at this Final Table and are both deserving of the title.
Will we add another name to the WPT Champion’s Cup during this level?
The cards are back in the air with Aaron Mermelstein holding 20,625,000 chips and Eugene Todd holding 9,050,000 chips.
Level 36 (200,000/400,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 14,840,000
We’ve almost played an entire level, with very few “major” hands developing over the course of the half hour.
Eugene Todd’s rail keeps emphasizing to their player, “Don’t give up, don’t give up.” and Todd’s listened, as he’s been able to chip up well over the course of Level 36.
Todd now sits with just over 11,000,000 chips and the “momentum” that Aaron Mermelstein entered this heads up battle with has more or less evaporated as Todd continues to gain ground on the chip leader.
We are five minutes from the end of Level 36 and when the blinds go up next level, there will be just sixty total big blinds in play, leaving both players somewhat short.
Level 36 (200,000/400,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 14,840,000
Aaron Mermelstein and Eugene Todd are heads up for the WPT Champion’s Cup with Aaron holding a 3:1 chip lead.
As is the case with every WPT Final Table heads up match, the action is paused to allow the players to break, allow the WPT production team to run interviews and reposition chips, but more importantly, to have the WPT Royal Flush Girls present the WPT Champion’s Cup trophy and the winners money on the table.
Over $700,00 in cold hard cash is now sitting between Aaron Mermelstein and Eugene Todd as they are about to begin their heads up battle for the WPT WPO Championship title.
Mermelstein is sitting with a three to one chip lead and with the blinds and antes at 200,000/400,000 Eugene Todd is sitting with just under 20 big blinds and will have to find a way to stop Mermelstein’s momentum.
As is the case with every WPT Final Table, heads up levels will only be thirty minutes in length.
The official heads up chip counts are as follows:
Aaron Mermelstein – 21,750,000
Eugene Todd – 7,925,000
Level 36 (200,000/400,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 14,840,000
Randy Pfeifer (Lancaster, NY)
Shortly after advancing to Level 36, Aaron Mermelstein and Randy Pfeifer would get involved in another battle, this time with Mermelstein landing a knockout punch to send Pfeifer to the rail in 3rd place for $253,263.
The action was picked up pre-flop with Mermelstein rising to 925,000 from the small blind, with Pfeifer taking an inventory of his stack and then electing to move all-in from the big blind for just under 7,000,000.
Mermelstein would snap call and the crowd would explode after he tabled {Ks}{Kh}.
Pfeifer would roll his eyes and throw over {Qc}{10s} and be drawing extremely thin as he needed to hit and hit big to stay alive.
The board would run out {Ad}{Ac}{7c}{7d}{10d} and Mermelstein and his rail would celebrate with his rail, as he was now heads up with a sizable chip lead for the WPT WPO Championship title.
Pfeifer and Mermelstein had battled all day, creating some of the more memorable moments of this Final Table.
Pfeifer would make one of the biggest scores and his best WPT cash of his tournament career, but the focus now shifts to the head up match-up between Aaron Mermelstein and Eguene Todd which will start after the trophy presentation.
Level 35 (150,000/300,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 3
Chip Average: 9,900,000
Aaron Mermelstein (Philadelphia, PA)
Aaron Mermelstein might have made a few missteps and taken a few beats at this Final Table, but he’s got to get credit for one thing, every time he’s dipped below the chip average or lost a sizable pot, he’s always come back with an answer.
The action was picked up with Eugene Todd completing his small blind and Mermelstein checking his option in the big blind and both players would see a flop of {Jd}{9c}{5s}.
Todd would check and Mermelstein would fire out 350,000. Todd would quickly call.
The turn would bring the {3d} and Todd would again check, call 625,000.
The {7s} completes the board and this time Todd leads out for 1,200,000.
Mermelstein takes a second to pear down at his chips and then separates out 4,000,000 chips and slides them across the betting line for a raise.
Todd throws his hands in the air and land them behind his head, leaning back in his chair while he pondered his decision.
After close to a minute and a half of thinking, he’s slam a stack of chips in the middle for a call, only to see Mermelstein table {10d}{8h} for the nut straight, turning to the rail to celebrate a close to 11,000,000 chip pot.
His rail would look at the “scoreboard” to see Mermelstein take a commanding chip lead on this Final Table, as he has close to 15,500,000 of the 30,000,000 or so chips in play.
Level 35 (150,000/300,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 3
Chip Average: 9,900,000
Randy Pfeifer was lucky to still be alive after his last big hand with Aaron Mermelstein, but there wasn’t much luck involved in Pfeifer’s recent double up, as he was more or less a 50/50 “coin flip” when he got it all-in again against Mermelstein, {As}{10h} to {2s}{2c}.
Mermelstein held the pocket pair and the two would do the same routine they did the last time the cards were turned up, with Mermelstein heading to his rail and Pfeifer stepping away from the table.
There wasn’t much of a “sweat” with this flop, as the {Ad} was in the window followed by the {Ks}{7h}{9c}{8s} good enough to get the vital double that Pfeifer had so desperately needed, moving himself close to the 9,000,000 chip mark in the process.
Aaron Mermelstein is now the shortest stack at this three handed Final Table, playing just over 7,000,000.
Level 35 (150,000/300,000/50,000)
Total Entries: 989
Players Remaining: 3
Chip Average: 9,900,000
Randy Pfeifer with one card to come to save his tournament life.
We just said that Randy Pfeifer needed to make a move sooner or later and he just did and when the cards were dealt out and the dust settled one of the more exciting hands you’ll ever see had just played out at the WPT WPO Championship Final Table.
The action was picked up with Aaron Mermelstein limping on the button and Pfeifer would raise to 850,000 from the small blind.
Mermelstein would call and they’d see a flop of {Kc}{10c}{4d}.
Pfeifer would bet out 1,100,000 and Mermelstein would announce “all-in” with Pfeifer quickly calling with just under 4,000,000 total in his stack, tabling {Kh}{Jd} for top pair.
Mermelstein would turn over {jc}{9c} for a massive combo draw and head to his rail where is friends would meet him to sweat the turn and river.
The tension was high in the Event Center, with everyone either on the edge or out of their seat to see the {Qh} come on the turn, giving Mermelstein a straight.
Pfeifer would step back from the table, almost admitting defeat but the hand wasn’t over yet, as he had outs to a chop, although the it had to be a non-club Ace, as Mermelstein still held his flush draw.
It was a non-club Ace, as the {Ah} spiked on the river, giving both players broadway and leading to a chopped pot.
It was a “made for TV hand” that “could only happen at the Borgata!” screamed Mike Sexton from his booth as both players shot each other a stern look and then broke that seriousness to flash each other a smile with Pfeifer “shhhh-ing” the rail.
Each player will add a little to their stack, but Pfeifer is still in need of a double up, playing less than 15 big blinds.