Every six months, some new young player comes along and wins a couple of poker tournaments. People call him the next big thing.
Six months later, you don’t hear from him again. They’re flashes in the pan, just taking advantage of variance.
But sometimes, a player comes along who blows variance out of the water. Players like Bertrand Grospellier — truly talented players who have staying power.
It’s time to add Jason Mercier to that list.

Mercier wins the NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller tournament

Since 2008, the 24-year-old American has dominated the tournament circuit, starting with a breakout win at the EPT San Remo main event. In that time, Mercier has eight tournament wins (one of which is a World Series of Poker bracelet) and 18 final tables, including a fourth-place finish in the 2009 WSOP-Europe main event.
A few days ago, Mercier took down the $25,000 High Roller event at the NAPT Mohegan Sun and about $475,000 to put his career earnings over $4.8 million. He’s young and he’s already 51st on the all time money list.
He’s put together an amazing run, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued his good play into this year’s WSOP.
If you don’t know his name, it’s time you learned it. He’s one of the best.