World Series of Poker -- Ayaz Mahmood Wins Event No. 35 ($10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Heads-Up Championship)38-Year-Old Captures First Bracelet and $625,682 |
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Ayaz Mahmood won the premier heads-up tournament of the calendar year early Tuesday morning at the 2010 World Series of Poker.
Mahmood was the last man standing in event No. 35 ($10,000 no-limit hold’em heads-up championship) after making his way through eight different opponents.
His path to the bracelet and $625,682 went through John Duthie, Nathan Doudney, James Collopy, Kevin Saul, Brian Rast, Faraz Jaka, Jason Somerville and finally Moritz Schmejkal.
The first match of the best-of-three contest versus Schmejkal was grueling — a six hour back-and-forth battle. Mahmood went up 1-0 early Monday morning before tournament officials let the duo hit the pause button until the evening.
The second match took almost five hours. Mahmood finished off his opponent in a similar manner as he did in the first match — overcoming Schmejkal’s large advantage on the flop.
With the blinds 60,000-120,000, Schmejkal bet 250,000 from the button and Mahmood called. The flop came A
10
9
and Mahmood checked. Schmejkal bet 250,000 and Mahmood check-raised to 600,000. Schmejkal reraised 1,000,000. Mahmood moved all in. Schejkal called the additional 1,455,000 to put himself at risk. He exposed the A 6
while Mahmood tabled the Q 10. Schmejkal was ahead with his pair of aces. The J that fell on the river gave Mahmood more outs. One of them came in the form of the K giving Mahmood broadway and the victory.
The win marks Mahmood’s eighteenth WSOP cash and fourth final table, bringing his career tournament earnings to $1,333,566.
Although he was eliminated in round five by Vanessa Rousso, Vivek Rajkumar made another strong showing in a heads-up event. The poker pro won the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic heads-up championship and almost defended the following year, finishing in second. Rajkumar cashed in 14th place at the WSOP’s 2010 heads-up championship, proving he’s one of the top competitors in the poker world at the format.
Rousso, the 2009 NBC Heads-Up Championship invitational runner-up, cashed in fifth for $92,580.
Here is a look at the final eight finishers:
1. Ayaz Mahmood — $625,682
2. Moritz Schmejkal — $386,636
3. Jason Somerville — $214,289
4. Alexander Kostritsyn — $214,289
5. Vanessa Rousso — $92,580
6. Faraz Jaka — $92,580
7. Ludovic Lacay — $92,580
8. Kido Pham — $92,580
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