Aaron Mermelstein has become the latest member of the World Poker Tour Champions Club after defeating Eugene Todd, in heads-up action, to take the crown at the Borgata Winter Poker Open in Atlantic City.
Aaron Mermelstein has prevented Shawn Cunix from becoming the 21st player to win two World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event titles, with a life altering tournament performance in Atlantic City.
It was a tough final table.
Season X WPT Jacksonville winner Cunix was joined by the likes of Season 6 WPT Borgata final tablist Eugene Todd, former Deepstacks Tour winner Randy Pfeifer, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) final tablist Justin Liberto.
Mermelstein came into the final table second in chips. Cunix had the chip lead. The next nine hours of play would see 181 hands splayed across the table; 17 different lead changes, and four different chip leaders. It was like a game of pass the parcel with the WPT trophy playing the role of parcel. When the music stopped it remained in Mermelstein’s hands.
The Cunix challenge would end in a cooler of a hand that saw him exit in fourth. The money going in on a board of [Jh] [Jc] [Tc] [Ad] – Cunix holding [Qh] [Js] for trips, only to stare in amazement as Todd showed down the [Kd] [Qc] for Broadway. The river bricked, and Cunix was left with only money. He now has over $2.3m of the stuff earned playing this wonderful game.
That exit gave Todd the momentum to make it all the way to heads-up. Mermelstein may of had a 3:1 chip lead, but Todd had all of the experience. It took 26-hands for Todd to leverage that experience into an even split situation. Then, during Hand #181, the pair played for stacks.
Todd limped into the pot for 500,000, Mermelstein raised to 1.6m and Todd called. The flop was [Qc] [Js] [7c], Mermelstein bet 2.7m, Todd moved all-in for 12m and Mermelstein called with [As] [Qs] with top pair-Daddy kicker. Todd showed down [Qh] [8h] for the same hand and inferior kicker. The [3d] and [Ah] ended the action and Mermelstein was collecting a sum of money that trumped his entire five year career haul.
And the best thing?
He was freerolling after winning the Skrill last longer contest.
It must be nice.
WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Final Table Results
1st. Aaron Mermelstein – $712,305
2nd. Eugene Todd – $419,467
3rd. Randy Pfeifer – $253,263
4th. Shawn Cunix – $212,108
5th. Esther Taylor-Brady – $174,118
6th. Justin Liberto – $140,878
