The final table of the sector Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in razz championship event drew numerous attention this year, and never simply because of the talented line up of players. The poker world’s eyes were in this event because Jason Mercier came into the overall day with the chip lead, just days after winning his fourth career gold bracelet, and had an opportunity to win his second WSOP title of the summer just days later. Mercier has massive side bets on winning multiple bracelets this summer, including the danger to win $1.8 million from Vanessa Selbst should he win three bracelets this year. After all Mercier fell just short, with high-stakes cash game regular Ray Dehkharghani defeating him heads-up to secure his first WSOP title and the highest prize of $273,338.

“It means a major amount to win this gold bracelet," said the 45-year-old poker pro after popping out on top. "THE MOST PRODUCTIVE players, they're generally spending their time playing in high-stakes cash games. That being said, we do follow what goes on within the tournaments, especially when one of the crucial winners sits down with us to play. However the reality is, it’s meant so much to me for a very long time. My goal this summer was to win a gold bracelet. I only play 2 to three tournaments a year. My mission was to win a bracelet and now I’ve won a bracelet, so I BELIEVE very fortunate.”

The final day began with Mercier in lead of a stacked final table of eight that included Card Player contributor Bart Hanson (7th – $34,521), 2010 WSOP main event runner-up John Racener (6th – $44,712) and three-time bracelet winner Brian Hastings (4th – $82,078).

In the tip it came right down to a heads-up showdown between Mercier and Dehkharghani, with the latter holding a 3-to-1 chip result in start. Mercier was in a position to mount a handy guide a rough comeback and overtake the lead briefly, but Dehkharghani turned the tables again just as rapidly and just about never looked back.

By the time the overall hand arose Mercier had only two big bets in his stack. Mercier was dealt the (7-5)4 and completed on third street. Dehkharghani called with the (8-6)9. Mercier hit a jack on fourth street and Dehkharghani paired his nines. Mercier bet and Dehkharghani called. Fifth street brought Mercier a five and Dehkharghani a 10. Mercier bet and Dehkharghani mulled over his options before rasing, putting Mercier all in. Mercier made the decision and the 2 flipped up their hole cards. Mercier caught a king on sixth street and Dehkharghani picked up a seven to make a 10 low. Mercier was drawing dead and stood to shake hands before seventh street was even dealt.

Their final boards looked as follows:

Mercier: (7-5)4-J-5-K-xDehkharghani: (8-6)9-9-10-7-x

Mercier was eliminated only one spot clear of his second bracelet of the summer and his fifth career WSOP title.

“When he lost his chip lead, it was really clear the tension really set in and affected him,” said Dehkharghani. "It wasn’t a question of my capitalizing on that, but I do believe the burden of (the side bets) affected him negatively within the match. It was palpable.”

There are still 49 tournaments left within the 2016 WSOP for Mercier to take a look at to win, but after all the $10,000 razz championship title was earned by Ray Dehkharghani.

Here is a glance on the payouts and POY points awarded on this event:

Place	Player	Earnings (USD)	POY Points
1	Ray Dehkharghani	$273,338	600
2	Jason Mercier	$168,936	500
3	Yueqi Zhu	$116,128	400
4	Brian Hastings	$82,078	300
5	Robert Campbell	$59,694	250
6	John Racener	$44,712	200
7	Bart Hanson	$34,521	150
8	Jyri Merivirta	$27,499	100

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2016 WSOP landing page complete with a whole schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]