After more than 100 days of nerve racking poker playing, six of the nine finalists had been eliminated from the championship following 8 exhausting hours of tough decisions and, let’s admit it, dealing with the skills and wits of the last three powerful survivors who made it to the final table. This year’s WSOP championship was quite interesting, considering that it has seen two poker professionals and one college student to the final table, all trying their best to win one of the highest pots in the World Series of Poker competition – the $8.53 million top prize. Let’s meet the WSOP 2012 victors.

3rd place – Jake Balsiger

In spite of Balsiger’s lack of experience and some disputable decisions he made throughout the championship, he constituted the best element of surprise of the WSOP 2012 event. Even though he won the third place, the truth is that this 21 years old Arizona University senior couldn’t have been happier. How else could it be said, considering that he won a $3.8 million prize only one year after he was involved in a terrible accident while riding his bike? Because his physical recuperation went slowly, he took comfort in playing poker at his local casino and during that period, he couldn’t have imagined he would participate in the Poker World Series, not to mention becoming the youngest poker champion in the history of the event.

2nd place – Jesse Sylvia

If you haven’t been to Vegas for the final table event then you should know that you missed out on one of the best performances in the history of the World Series of Poker, one that is coming from professional poker player Jesse Sylvia. Although he won the second place and a cash prize of almost $5.3 million, it is necessary to mention that Sylvia put out quite a show and managed to awe the audience with the fact that he seemed to always be in control and always pick the best spots.

Granted, some poker players agree that Sylvia’s gameplay is not very spectacular, but rather conservative. However, his patience and conventional style are what actually allowed him to press at the right time and win key hands. Unfortunately for Jesse Sylvia, when he was playing three-handed against Greg Merson, he fell for the all-in bluff trap and lost.

1st place – Greg Merson

Considering his evolution this year, you can’t call his winning of the great $8.53M WSOP 2012 prize anything else but destiny. Merson’s typical short-handed play and patience are the secret ingredients that helped him win the $10,000 six-handed competition as well as occupy top positions in the four-handed event. As one by one of the nine finalists went out, it became clearer and clearer for poker fans and professional players that the situations that developed at the final table event are advantaging Greg Merson a great deal. And, right they were! As previously mentioned, Merson’s big moment at the final table was the successful bluff against Sylvia. However, that was just one critical instance for what turned out to be an all night 402-hand marathon at the final table.