Adrian Mateos Diaz Wins 2017 World Series of Poker $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship

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At 22 years old Adrian Mateos Diaz is the youngest player to ever win three World Series of Poker gold bracelets. He captured his third WSOP title by taking down the 2017 $10,000 no-limit hold’em heads-up championship, outlasting a field of 129 total entries to win the top prize of $336,656. His heads-up opponent, 2016 runner-up in this event John Smith, is 70-years-old. That meant there was a 48-year age gap between the final two competitors.

“It’s insane that I have three bracelets,” Mateos Diaz said. “It’s really difficult to win three bracelets and I’m 22. I run good and I think I play good so that’s all that matters.”

Mateos Diaz broke onto the scene as a 19-year-old by taking down the 2013 WSOP Europe main event for nearly $1.4 million. In only a few years he has accumulated more than $9 million in live tournament earnings, winning huge events like the 2015 European Poker Tour Grand Final main event and the 2017 PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo $50,000 super high roller along the way. While the young Spanish poker pro looks the part of a prodigy, his final opponent in the championship round of this tournament does not quite fit the image of a player that would excel in an event that has recently been overrun by the young high-stakes type that got their start as an online player.

John Smith is not only older than any other competitor in the field, he also has quite a different background. Although he has been playing poker for five decades, he is not a professional player. Smith owns an asphalt and is a contractor in Southern California, where the Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart medal recipient frequently plays in private cash games. He prefers short-handed action and has had an incredible success in this heads-up event, having finished second last year and inside the sweet sixteen in 2014.

The two finalists had quite an exciting an entertaining battle, with a few big swings along the way. Mateos got out to a lead and seemed in control of the match until Smith ran a sizable bluff that saw him capture the momentum and later take the lead. As the stacks got shallower Mateos’ tournament experience seemed to shine through and he was able the regain the advantage. On the final hand of the tournament Smith limped in with blinds at 50,000-100,000 and and Mateos raised to 300,000. Smith called and the flop brought the A93. Mateos bet out for 200,000 and Smith moved all in for roughly 1,300,000. Mateos made the call with the 52 for a straight draw and flush draw while Smith had only the Q8. The Q on the turn paired Smith but gave Mateos the flush, locking up the pot and the title for him. The K on the river was a mere formality and Smith was eliminated in second place for the second straight year.

Plenty of notable poker professionals made the money in this tournament, as you’d expect from a $10,000 championship event. Among those to cash were semifinalists Ryan Riess and Charlie Carrel ($112,379), quarterfinalists Olivier Busquet and Ryan Fee ($54,986), and round-of-16 finishers Dan Smith, Chris Moore, Jason Les, Taylor Paur, Russell Thomas, Dario Sammartino and Joe McKeehen ($26,711).

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded to the top four finishers in this event (the top 16 finishers made the money):

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2017 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

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