Joe Giron/WSOP Greg Merson is the 2012 World Series of Poker main event champion.

The river card is dealt and the biggest poker tournament in the world is over. Friends swarm the stage, looking to hug, high-five and celebrate with their champion, Greg Merson, but the champion isn't there. While a mass of humanity swarms a now-vacant seat, its occupant is on the move. Not toward those who have been cheering and chanting in support for 12 hours, but toward his devastated competitor, Jesse Sylvia.

The two embrace, understanding that nobody else can truly comprehend the magnitude of the moment. They share a few words before heading their separate ways and finally, a smile comes across Merson's face as he walks toward the madness that awaits.

It seems appropriate that the final story of the 2012 World Series of Poker would be about Merson. After navigating his way through a nearly 11-hour three-way battle against Sylvia and Jake Balsiger, Merson's eventual heads-up victory over Sylvia put the finishing touches on a WSOP that will be remembered for years to come. Merson, a cash-game superstar with a heavy online background, emerged to the forefront of the poker industry in a short period of time. We often say the world champion always gets the spotlight, as they should, but with Merson, things are different. If you talked to his friends, they'd say Merson always seemed destined for greatness. With his victory on Tuesday, those dreams have come to fruition.

Merson's victory is the culmination of an unexpected journey for a player who respects the game more than many others. We're talking about a guy who spent most of his summer at the Bellagio cash tables, and doesn't like to play tournaments, but turned his sights to the Rio to tackle -- and achieve great success in -- the short-handed WSOP events.

We're talking about a guy who turned a seven-event WSOP stint into the Player of the Year award. We're talking about a guy who 11 months ago was fighting the toughest battle of his life, against drug addiction. Merson turned professional challenges into millions and personal challenges into a way to help others. On Tuesday, he earned the greatest prize a poker player could ask for, and as he shed a few tears while being presented with the bracelet that sets him apart from the rest, the poker community appreciated and applauded his efforts and what he will mean to the game.

Merson's focus is a constant throughout this life. Over the past two days, he turned his cell phone off, making sure that he wasn't distracted in the least. For 400 hands, fans around the world witnessed how you truly maneuver during a final table and how keeping composure is everything. The social space appreciated his efforts and commented about his abilities. He wasn't getting the typical "he just got lucky" shtick. Merson's performance showed an intricate knowledge of the game, and no matter how long the action, Merson's mentality remained the same: The only thing that would satisfy him was the bracelet.

"You can't let fatigue get in the way," Merson said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I've pushed myself through tons of hours of poker in the past, and you just have to get through it somehow. I'm never going to have an opportunity like this again."

Merson understands the magnitude of his accomplishments and what they mean on a broader scale. He wanted to win tonight not just for the bracelet, but to become poker's ambassador and to do something with it. He wanted to win and become the Player of the Year and have two banners, boasting his successes, in the hallway of the WSOP each year. Finally, he wanted to make enough money to head to Macau and never have a bankroll concern ever again.

"I'm looking into getting into the biggest cash games in the world," said Merson. "That's always been my dream."

His dreams are big and his supporters keep him on track. He credited fellow poker pro Christian Harder for his wisdom during the final table and for many others who stood by his side throughout the past few months. He respects the history of the game and after his news conference on Tuesday afternoon, he went out of his way to shake Doyle Brunson's hand. Finally, he cherishes what and who matters most in his life and took the diamond-crusted WSOP bracelet and put it on his mom's wrist during the celebration.

Merson is on the right path, and the final table offered only a glimpse at what may be in store for Merson throughout his poker career. He probably won't be seen much at the tournament felt, but that's not a problem. His abilities were on display for the past two days, and the impact of his win has already been felt across the world. He's a superstar and his future is bright. Congratulations, Greg, on becoming the 2012 WSOP main event champion. We look forward to seeing you continue to grow as a person and excel as a player.

There's no more waiting, planning or preparing for Greg Merson, Jake Balsiger and Jesse Sylvia. After they outlasted the first day of the final table and six more eliminations, one of those three will finish the job they started in early July and become the world champion. At the end of the night, one of them will be $8.5 million richer and the newest poker icon.

The three players each offer intriguing storylines. Merson enters the final three as the chip leader thanks to a monstrous hand against Andras Koroknai and if he wins, he'll not only be the WSOP champ, but also the WSOP Player of the Year, handing Phil Hellmuth his third runner-up finish in that race. Sylvia came into the final table as the chip leader and while he didn't make many, if any, mistakes, he's in a comfort zone thanks to his preparations with Vanessa Selbst and others. Sylvia recognizes the magnitude of the moment and wants to firmly grasp the spotlight that he's rightfully earned. Then there's 21-year-old Jake Balsiger, a college student who could become the youngest main event champion in history. He's unexpectedly in this position, coming back from the short stack yesterday to give himself a good chance and so far, he has displayed a creative game that has brought him to this point. Regardless of his finish, tonight is Balsiger's jumping-off point in terms of a poker career. He said earlier today that he already has the money, now it's about the win.

All the action can be found live on ESPN and WatchESPN starting at 9 p.m. ET. The televised broadcast will be on a 15-minute delay, but unlike TV, this blog will be live, covering the action the second it happens. If you just want to enjoy the TV show, close this page. If you want to be the first to know, this is where you want to be.

To learn more about the final three, check out ESPN.com's preview, read about the biggest hands and hear what the players had to say after Monday's final table.

There will be 1 hour, 7 minutes and 7 seconds left in the current level (blinds: 300,000/600,000 with a 75,000 ante). Welcome to the biggest night of the year for the poker industry. Tonight, we'll crown a world champion.

This is it. The 2012 World Series of Poker main event final table is here, and one of the remaining nine players is less than two days from pocketing the $8.5 million top prize. The members of the October Nine -- Jesse Sylvia, Andras Koroknai, Greg Merson, Russell Thomas, Steve Gee, Michael Esposito, Rob Salaburu, Jake Balsiger and Jeremy Ausmus -- are ready to go, and play will begin at 7:45 p.m. ET in Las Vegas and last until only three players remain. The final three will then return at 8:45 p.m. ET Tuesday to play for the bracelet, life-changing money and the title of world champion.

After 103 days, the Penn & Teller Theater is packed with family, friends and fans as hope of a main event victory lies only eight eliminations away. Chants, T-shirts, music and patches are creating a true sporting environment, and, along with the money on the line, that is what separates this event from all the rest. Fans around the world will be watching live on ESPN2/WatchESPN, and superstars will be created with the turn of a card. Tonight is an industry-changing night, and, if you aren't familiar with the final nine, get to know them. They are nine talented individuals who are extremely deserving of the title of world champion.

There will be one hour, nine minutes and 45 seconds left in Level 34 (blinds: 150,000/300,000 with a 40,000 ante). The Cover It Live below will post the action in real time, which means for those watching at home on ESPN2 or ESPN3.com, coverage here will be 15 minutes ahead of the action on your television or computer. Additionally, for live updates on Twitter, check out @AFeldmanESPN.

The Nuts is a monthly feature that takes a look at the best poker players in the world. This feature aims to produce a list of the best players at the moment. Our panel of 10 is comprised of ESPN.com's trio of poker contributors (Gary Wise, Bernard Lee and me), ESPNdeportes.com poker editor Nahuel Ponce, Bluff magazine editor-in-chief Lance Bradley and senior writer Tim Fiorvanti, WSOP.com managing editor Jessica Welman, PokerNews editor-in-chief Elaine Chaivarlis and tournament reporter Don Peters, and Pocketfives' Dan Cypra.

Phil Hellmuth … wow. If you watched any of the live WSOP Europe main event final table coverage (which you can watch on demand here), you probably were able to see what makes him an elite no-limit hold 'em player. As all the hole cards were displayed at the end of each contested hand, we were able to see that Hellmuth's style varied greatly depending on the situation and the competitor. He was able to make strong reads and laydowns and in the end, pocketed his 13th WSOP bracelet and jumped to the top of the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year standings. When it came to these rankings, it wasn't if Hellmuth would make the list, but where he'd end up. Some panelists felt that his win earned him the top spot and others felt that when you look at the big picture, Hellmuth still isn't a top-five player. Hellmuth jumped up four spots this month to No. 3 and the highest he's ever been on this list.

It seems that each month there's a different player in Hellmuth's shoes, or, more specifically, whoever is ranked No. 3. The player in that spot will always have two major hurdles to climb and perhaps this month, those hurdles became even higher. Phil Ivey didn't have a strong WSOP Europe coming off a $822,941 score just weeks prior, but does he really need to cash in every event to maintain his spot? The answer is clearly no and unless something dramatically changes the tone of the panel, it will be hard to remove Ivey from No. 1. Hurdle No. 2 is Jason Mercier, and for a couple months this year, it appeared that Mercier was slipping. Not anymore. Mercier capped off an impressive month with an eighth-place finish at the WSOP Europe main event. In addition to his four live cashes, he also dominated WCOOP with four cashes and one victory worth more than a quarter million dollars. Mercier is back on track and that means a major blocker for anyone wishing to jump into the top two of these rankings.

Michael Mizrachi nearly added another bracelet to his résumé at WSOPE, but finished in third in the 5,000 euro pot-limit Omaha event. Despite that run, Mizrachi fell one spot to No. 4. Dan Smith moved up one spot thanks to his deep run at the 2012 Partouche Poker Tour main event; and at No. 6 is the only player to make this list for the very first time, Antonio Esfandiari. There may have been a difference of nearly $18 million in prize money between his first and second bracelet win this year, but money aside, Esfandiari's third career WSOP victory was just another reminder to everyone about his talents. Until Hellmuth's victory, Esfandiari was also leading the WSOP Player of the Year race thanks to his eight cashes (two wins, three final tables). As Esfandiari moved from the bubble to No. 6, Bertrand Grospellier dropped from No. 8 to unranked this month.

Some of the biggest winners this month came from online play and the World Championship of Online Poker. Two players who have appeared in the top 10, Eugene Katchalov and Dan Kelly, won events, as did top pros Darren Elias and George Danzer. On the live felt, Greg Raymer won his second Heartland Poker Tour event of the year in Missouri and Yorane Kerignard (Malta), Benjamin Hamnett (Borgata) and Matt Salsberg (Paris) all earned World Poker Tour titles.

October's poker schedule ends in a big way with the WSOP main event final table, but before then, there's plenty of action to keep an eye on. Coming in December, FTOPS returns. Pre-Black Friday, winners of FTOPS had a strong place on this list and it will be interesting to see how the panel reacts to the high-stakes online game at FTP once again.

Did we leave out your favorite player? Who should be ranked higher? Who should be completely off the list? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below! Here's a look at September's top 10:

The Nuts: Poker's best in September 2012

PLAYER (NO. 1 VOTES)		RANK (LAST)	RECENT SUCCESS	COMMENT
	Phil Ivey (7)	1 (1)	No success at WSOPE for Ivey, but apparently he's been winning big in other casino games.	It will take the man passing away or retiring from the game for me to remove Ivey from this spot. (Welman)
	Jason Mercier (1)	2 (2)	Four live tournament cashes in September including an eighth-place finish in the WSOPE main event, plus a WCOOP win.	The $10,300 WCOOP 8-Game is one of the most prestigious events online all year. Mercier's win, worth $253,425, along with his big month on the live felt, reminded us why he deserves a spot at the top of this list. (Feldman)
	Phil Hellmuth (2)	3 (7)	Won the WSOP Europe main event for one million euros.	He won two bracelets in 2012. He's the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year leader heading into the main event final table. He put on a show with brilliant reads and an unpredictable style at WSOPE. You still think the game has passed him by? (Feldman)
	Michael Mizrachi	4 (3)	Third in the WSOPE pot-limit Omaha event for $81,865.	It's a tough month when you make the final table of a WSOP Europe event and fall in the rankings. (Feldman)
	Dan Smith	5 (6)	Seventh in the Partouche Poker Tour main event for $224,430.	It's one thing to be one of the hottest players in the world, but the heater is only shining a light on what many in the poker world have known for a while: that Smith is one of the best players in the game. (Wise)
	Antonio Esfandiari	6 (NR)	Won his second bracelet of the year at WSOP Europe.	He just keeps on winning. After seven cashes, two final tables and the biggest win in tournament poker history during the summer, Esfandiari added his second bracelet of the year (third overall) at WSOPE. (Fiorvanti)
	Marvin Rettenmaier	7 (4)	Two cashes at WSOP Europe for $57,631.	Over the past two years Rettenmaier has gone from final tabling smaller buy-in events to winning the most prestigious title the WPT has to offer. Since March 2010 he's cashed at least once a month in all but five months and when he cashes, it's usually with a final table appearance. (Bradley)
	Vanessa Selbst	8 (5)	12th in Event 3 at WSOP Europe for $12,954 and four cashes in the 2012 WCOOP (one final table).	Selbst has been a model of consistency and it's hard to imagine this list without her name on it -- maybe even higher than it already is -- for the foreseeable future. (Bradley)
	John Juanda	9 (9)	Second in the 50,000 euro Majestic High Roller at WSOPE for $782,789.	Juanda has three cashes in 2012 worth more than $500,000 and for the first time in his career, he's earned more than $3 million on the tournament felt. (Feldman)
	Sam Trickett	10 (10)	Seventh in the Macau Super High Roller for just less than $1 million.	Trickett didn't need to win over $10 million in the Big One for One Drop to qualify for this list … but it didn't hurt. The young British pro doesn't seem to be limited by cash or tournament, hold 'em or other, or just about anything else at a poker table. (Wise)

On the bubble

The bubble boy this month was John Monnette. The live cash game pro made the money three more times at WSOPE and nearly captured his third bracelet in the shootout event. Monnette's run at the player of the year title may have stalled, but there's plenty more to come from the man Doyle Brunson says is good "at every game." … Grospellier's run on the top 10 has ended for now, but with 10 WCOOP cashes and two top-25 cashes at WSOPE, his status will remain uncertain for the near future. … Katchalov spent most of the year in the top 10, but even a WCOOP win and a 40th-place finish in the WSOPE main event couldn't get him back. … Daniel Negreanu is also on the bubble for a second straight month. Negreanu dedicated himself to the WCOOP grind and earned nine cashes with one final table in the $10,300 8-Game event that Mercier won. He followed those scores up with three cashes in Cannes and now has $1.6 million in tournament earnings in 2012. … The last major bubble boy was David Baker, who, like Negreanu, was in this paragraph a month ago. Baker made a deep run in the six-handed WSOP Europe event, finishing 14th. Baker will finish the WSOP Player of the Year race in seventh. … Others receiving substantial consideration include Greg Merson, Dan O'Brien, Jonathan Duhamel, Shaun Deeb, Viktor Blom, Phil Galfond, Joseph Cheong and Steve O'Dwyer.

Final thoughts

Bradley: Hellmuth does it again. Grabs himself another bracelet and moves himself up the rankings in a big, big way. Blows my mind that there are people, top-ranked players even, who believe the bracelet is the ultimate measuring stick for tournament players and yet they still find a way to discount what Hellmuth did. It's hard to believe that you can look at the overall field in the WSOP Europe main event and not be impressed by what Hellmuth did. I'm not sure we'll ever see the day where he displaces Ivey at No. 1 but he certainly needs to be in the conversation for this list each and every month.

I think Selbst at No. 8 is vastly underrated and I have to wonder what more she could do to be in the conversation with Mercier for No. 2 on this list. Esfandiari has had an amazing year with two bracelets, but I'm not sure he's had the kind of consistency over the past two years or so to warrant a ranking so high. Putting him ahead of both Selbst and Rettenmaier seems to a bit of an overstatement in my opinion.

Feldman: I probably say this most months, but I really like the way the rankings played out this month. I was ready to move Mercier down from second on my list, but his WSOPE and WCOOP performances really made it impossible to drop him. He may not have his million in earnings that he's managed for the past four years, but looking at the big picture, I don't really think there's anyone, besides Ivey, whose game is more well-rounded at the current time. I'm sure that statement can be debated at length.

Hellmuth moving to No. 3 is appropriate and really, it amazes me that after Hellmuth's win people still took to Twitter to talk bad about the man's game. I'm not sure what else he'd need to do in order to sway that portion of the population besides winning big on a televised cash game. In any case, his ranking is deserved in my mind.

Two final, final thoughts. First, Dan Smith is incredible and I think Gary's take on his success is spot on. So many talented players are under the radar as a result of lacking the consistent publicized scores. Smith is out of that shadow for good. Second, on Esfandiari, sixth might be too high as a debut rank, but who can say he doesn't belong? From his cash game chops to tournament dominance year after year, the fact that it took him this long to make the top 10 was surprising.

Tim Fiorvanti/BluffChip leader Phil Hellmuth is looking to become the second double-bracelet winner of 2012 on Thursday.

There are two major differences between the WSOP Las Vegas and WSOP Europe. First, the fields are far smaller in Europe and will remain that way for the foreseeable future. Second, the main event final tables at each of the locations consistently have a different composition. This year is no exception. The WSOP main event final table in Las Vegas contains nine players who, with all due respect, essentially nobody had heard of a year ago. At WSOPE, the final table includes multiple bracelet winners, a former Player of the Year and the most decorated player in WSOP history.

When the final table begins on Thursday at 8 a.m. ET on ESPN3.com and WatchESPN, all eyes will be on Phil Hellmuth as he goes for a record-extending 13th WSOP bracelet. Hellmuth's quest for No. 13 also includes an attempt at earning the WSOP Player of the Year award. In addition to winning Event 18 in Las Vegas earlier this year, Hellmuth also made two other final tables and recorded six total cashes in Vegas this summer. His play in Cannes has been equally outstanding, with three more cashes and now, a final table in the main event.

According to Bluff, if Hellmuth, who enters play as the chip leader with 3.4 million, wins the WSOP Europe main event, he will become the Player of the Year if Greg Merson does not win later on this month. If Hellmuth doesn't win, there's still a chance that he could earn the award, but it would greatly depend on Merson's finish. The current leader in the race is Antonio Esfandiari, and he can hold onto the honor if both Hellmuth and Merson finish outside of the top four at their respective final tables and Joseph Cheong does not win Thursday's final table.

The only player to overtake the chip lead from Hellmuth throughout the final table bubble was Ukrainian Sergii Baranov. Regardless of where he finishes, this is Baranov's largest career cash on the tournament felt. Baranov has two victories in smaller buy-in events on the EPT (in Vienna and Berlin) and has made six final tables on that tour over the past three years. He'll begin Thursday's action in second place with 3.3 million in chips.

Cheong's run at WSOP Europe and his appearance at this final table should be no surprise to anyone. Since his third-place finish in the 2009 WSOP main event, Cheong has remained one of the top players in the world. Earlier this year, Cheong was runner-up in the WSOP's Mix-Max event and 116th in the main event among his four WSOP cashes. He's earned more than half a million dollars on the tournament trail in 2012, but has yet to find the winner's circle. Cheong has 1.9 million in chips and a desire to remove his name from the best without a bracelet list. If Cheong wins and both Merson and Hellmuth fail to finish in the top three of their respective final tables, he will become the Player of the Year.

Stephane Albertini, currently in fourth place with 1.1 million in chips, is one of three French players at the final table. Throughout his career, which has primarily included a focus on cash games, Albertini has secured two six-figure cashes with the most recent coming in the 2011 WSOP main event when he finished in 46th place. He's made one EPT and WPT-National final table, further demonstrating his ability to succeed at any venue. Now he's at home and looking to become the third French champion of this year's WSOPE. Fellow Frenchman Paul Tedeschi is looking to accomplish the same thing. He enters the final table as the short stack with 543,000 in chips. Tedeschi is on quite a run as of late with a 13th-place finish at the Partouche Poker Tour main event and a quarterfinal elimination in the Mix-Max event earlier at WSOP Europe. Stephane Girault is the third Frenchman and is sixth with 664,000 in chips. His conservative play will be an interesting dynamic at this final table full of aggression.

For most of the final day, Britain's Christopher Brammer battled for his seat at the final table. After the elimination of 2012 WSOP bracelet winner Timothy Adams in ninth, Brammer chipped up to 851,000 to finish the day in fifth place. Brammer has earned nearly $2.5 million through online tournament play and at one point was ranked the No. 1 online poker player in the world by PocketFives. He fell short of his first bracelet this summer in dramatic fashion as he finished fifth in the $10,000-six-handed no-limit hold 'em event. Since 2008, Brammer has been traveling the tours in Europe and has earned wins on the EPT and UKIPT.

The joke of #whenwillitend for Jason Mercier might have found a semi-reality earlier this year. That semi-reality has disappeared as of late as Mercier will make his second WSOP Europe main event final table appearance on Thursday starting with 653,000 in chips. So far, 2012 hasn't been a year that Mercier would like to remember. After four consecutive years of earning seven figures in tournament play, Mercier entered the WSOP Europe main event with only $324,926 in cashes. While that might seem like an incredible amount to the public, Mercier's WSOP buy-ins from Vegas totaled $194,000, not including the $1 million buy-in for the Big One for One Drop. Mercier cashed seven times in Vegas, making one final table, and has added two more WSOP cashes and another final table at WSOPE. He also won the $10,300 buy-in eight-game event at the World Championships of Online poker two weeks ago for $253,425. Mercier is going for his third WSOP bracelet at this final table.

In addition to the bracelet, there's a good amount of money at stake. Here's a look at the payouts:

1. 1,022,376 euros
2. 632,592
3. 423,360
4. 292,320
5. 207,648
6. 149,184
7. 108,864
8. 84,672

Small blinds: Gus Hansen was announced as a returning endorser for Full Tilt Poker. FTP is scheduled to re-open internationally during the first week of November. … "maratik" defeated Ryan Carter to win the WCOOP main event. … Ben Hamnett became the latest WPT Champion at the Borgata Poker Open. Hamnett defeated a final table that included Steve Brecher and David Diaz to win $818,847. … Matthew Salsberg won the WPT Paris main event for 400,000 euros. The final table was filled with familiar faces including Theo Jorgensen, Phillip Gruissem, Fabian Quoss, Mohsin Charania and Timothy Adams. … The 50,000 euro re-entry High Roller event at WSOPE (non-bracelet) attracted a field of 48 players. … Greg Raymer won his second Heartland Poker Tour event earlier this week in St. Louis. … PokerStars announced that the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will offer 40 events including $100,000 Super High Roller and $25,000 High Roller events.