Jason Mercier to stream WCOOP event
8 Sep 2016
With a buy-in of more than $100,000, this Super High Roller event will be the highest-buy-in poker tournament ever played online. The previous record of $51,000 was set during the 2015 World Championships, also on PokerStars. The Super High Roller will be one of several high profile events, including the NL Hold'em 8-Max High Roller and Main Event, to be streamed on the PokerStars Twitch channel.
Mercier, who has earned more than $17 million in live tournaments, and is the reigning World Series of Poker Player of the Year, will be allowing poker fans around the world to see his cards as he takes on the other biggest names in the game, albeit with a 15-minute delay put in place to prevent his high stakes opponents from seeing what he has during play. Fellow Team PokerStars Pro and Twitch record breaker Jason Somerville will be joining Mercier in the broadcast booth, providing commentary and interacting with viewers in chat. Somerville's Twitch channel has had 13.5 million views. The event will also be streamed on Facebook, YouTube and PS.tv.
"The WCOOP is the premier online tournament series of the year, and our 15th annual Championship is the biggest yet with over $50 million guaranteed. There was great buzz last year about the $51,000 Super High Roller, but we've upped the ante this year by doubling that record to $102,000," said Eric Hollreiser, Director of Corporate Communications, PokerStars. "Jason Mercier streaming the event and showing his hole cards gives poker fans an amazing opportunity to jump on board the action and excitement. On top of that, Jason Somerville has made Twitch the premiere channel for poker fans and knows how to put on a truly great show. All this combined is going to make for some intense Sunday poker watching."
Mercier will be streaming on the PokerStars Twitch channel, which is available to all viewers free of charge. The event begins on Sunday, 11 September, at 1:30 p.m. U.S. Summer Eastern Time (6:30 p.m. British Summer Time; 7:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time). It is a two-day event, and if Mercier makes it through to Day 2, he and Somerville will both be in the booth to the end.
Scott Ball, Community Development and Poker Manager for Twitch, said, "Twitch is proud to host Jason Mercier playing the $102,000 Super High Roller. As a serious poker player myself, I look forward to seeing Jason's strategy unfold hand by hand and learning from him. And of course, Jason "JCarver" Somerville was the founder of poker streaming and a Twitch legend. With him in the booth, there won't be a dull moment; it should be a great day for Twitch and poker fans everywhere."
Jason Somerville's commentary will help explain the action to new viewers. In accordance with PokerStars' rules, Somerville will not be providing strategy advice to Mercier during the tournament.
For a full tournament schedule go to PokerStars.com.