WSOP 2016: Dehkharghani Beats Mercier Heads-up to Claim $10k Razz

High-stakes cash player Ray Dehkharghani has just claimed the WSOP $10,000 Razz Championship title, after besting a field of 100 players over three days, including Jason Mercier heads-up, to walk away with a gold bracelet, and $273,338 in prize money.
The victory represents Dehkharghani’s best tournament cash to date, and pushes his live career earnings to $1,370,959. After picking up his first ever WSOP bracelet, the 45-year-old pro commented:
“The best players, they are generally spending their time playing in high-stakes cash games. That being said.. My goal this summer was to win a gold bracelet. I only play 2 to 3 tournaments a year. My mission was to win a bracelet and now I’ve won a bracelet, so I feel very fortunate.”
The $10k Seven Card Razz event featured a prize pool worth $940,000, and amongst the 15 players finishing in a cash place was Phil Hellmuth in 15th ($15,464), Shaun Deeb in 14th ($16,946), Robert Mizrachi in 10th ($22,624), and Max Pescatori in 9th ($22,624).
Jason Mercier then entered the final table of eight as the chip leader, and eventually managed to make it through to heads-up play where he was hoping to claim a 5th career bracelet, as well as a whole bunch of bracelet prop bets he had made before the start of this year’s WSOP.
At this stage, Mercier trailed by 3-to-1 in chips, but still managed to eek out a lead before Dehkharghani turned the tide once more and ultimately sent him to the rail in second spot. Commenting on his final battle, Dehkharghani said:
“When he lost his chip lead, it was really clear the stress really set in and affected him. It wasn’t a matter of my capitalizing on that, but I do believe the weight of (the side bets) affected him negatively in the match. It was palpable.”
Final Table Results
1: Ray Dehkharghani $273,338
2: Jason Mercier $168,936
3: Yueqi Zhu $116,128
4: Brian Hastings $82,078
5: Robert Campbell $59,694
6: John Racener $44,712
7: Bart Hanson $34,521
8: Jyri Merivirta $27,499