Event #15: $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship

Event #15, the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship, began with 129 players. After 128 matches, only one emerged with an undefeated record. 22-year-old Adrian Mateos outlasted the field, capturing his third World Series of Poker gold bracelet and a $324,470 pay day. Now the youngest player ever to have won three bracelets, Mateos has earned himself a place in WSOP history.

"It's insane that I have three bracelets," Mateos 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 added that this bracelet was a different experience because it was a special event. His previous two bracelets came in full ring no-limit hold'em tournaments.

"There's not many heads-up events in the year, but I really want to play," he said. "I was really focused for every round to win and I really like to play heads-up so it's really fun."

Let's recap his road to victory, shall we?

Mateos received a bye in the initial "play-in" round, and then defeated six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu in the Round of 128. With a five-high straight showing on the board, Mateos held the absolute nuts with seven-six and bested Negreanu, who had initially flopped the wheel. His next opponent was Ian O'Hara, and Mateos scored a swift victory to advance to the Round of 32 the following day.

His opponent to begin Day 2 was Eric Wasserson, and the winner would be guaranteed a min-cash. Mateos took an early lead in the match, and eventually sealed the deal when his pocket threes won a race against Wasserson's ace-queen. A Round of 16 duel with Taylor Paur followed. Holding the lead, Mateos got his chips in and trailed slightly with queen-jack against Paur's ace-four. However, two queens found the board and Mateos locked up a seat in the Round of 8. Fellow two-time bracelet winner Ryan Hughes was his next opponent, and Hughes had Mateos on the ropes early into the match. Down nearly 10:1 in chips, Mateos battled back in a big way. He doubled up four times, before his king-three bested Hughes' ace-ten. With that, Mateos punched his ticket to the Final Four.

He faced off against Charlie Carrel, in what turned out to be a relatively fast 37-hand match. Mateos was trailing early, but found some momentum after picking off a bluff with king high. Three hands later, Carrel bluffed again and Mateos called for his tournament life with third pair. Now with a commanding chip lead, Mateos closed it out three hands later when his ace-king held up against ace-ten to earn a seat in the championship match.

Awaiting Mateos was 70-year-old John Smith. The U.S. Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient finished runner-up in this event last summer and had become a fan favorite among the masses in the Brasilia Room. Mateos held the lead for a good portion of the match before Smith mounted a comeback in the mid-to-late stages. However, Mateos retook the lead and didn't relinquish it again. On the final hand with an ace-high flop showing, Smith got his remaining chips into the middle with queen high against Mateos who held straight and flush draws. A spade landed on the turn, locking up the victory for Mateos.

Mateos said after the match that he was really impressed with the way Smith played in the match.

"He plays really different from a lot of players but that worked for him. It's really tough to play against him; he makes different plays every hand. He changed his game every hand. He's really hard to read."

For Smith, the plan is to keep playing the event he has had so much success in over the past two years.

"I'll be back next year. Unfinished business. Maybe I can get three seconds," he joked afterward.

That wraps up our coverage of the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em event. Keep your browser locked to PokerNews.com through the duration of the World Series of Poker!

Hand #60: Adrian Mateos (with   ) raised to 200,000 and John Smith (with [Qd5h) called to see a flop of    . Smith checked, Mateos continued for 130,000 and that won the pot.

Hand #61: Smith (with   ) min-raised to 160,000 and Mateos (with   ) called. On a flop of    , Mateos checked and Smith bet 225,000. Mateos called and check-called the very same bet of 225,000 on the   turn. The Spaniard checked the   on the river and Smith bet 225,000 once more. Mateos called and Smith mucked his cards to forfeit the pot.

Hand #62: Mateos (with   ) raised to 200,000 and Smith (with   ) called. On the     flop, Smith bet 250,000 and Mateos claimed the pot uncontested with a raise to 715,000.

Hand #63: Smith (with   ) raised to 250,000 and Mateos folded   .

Hand #64: Mateos (with   ) opened to 200,000 and Smith (with   ) called. The flop came     and Smith checked, Mateos bet 130,000 and was called by Smith. The   turn went check, check, and Smith bet the   river for 310,000. After some consideration, Mateos folded and Smith stopped the run of his opponent.

Adrian Mateos	4,450,000	1,150,000
John Smith	1,950,000	-1,150,000

Hand #55: Mateos received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #56: Smith received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #57: Smith raised to 130,000 and Mateos folded.

Hand #58: Mateos (with   ) raised to 150,000 and Smith (with   ) called. Smith check-folded to a bet from Mateos on a     flop.

Hand #59: Smith (with   ) raised to 125,000 and Mateos (with   ) called. The flop was     and both players checked. The turn was the  . Mateos bet 175,000 and Smith called. The river was the   and Mateos checked. Smith bet 500,000 and Mateos called. Smith mucked and Mateos took down the pot.

Adrian Mateos	3,300,000	850,000
John Smith	3,100,000	-850,000

Hand #49: John Smith folded and Adrian Mateos received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #50: Mateos (with   ) raised to 150,000 and Smith (with   ) called to see a flop of    . Smith checked, Mateos continued for 100,000 and Smith called. The same action took place on the   turn for 425,000 and Smith then checked the   on the river.

Mateos bet 520,000 and Smith check-min-raised to 1,040,000 to send Mateos in the think tank. The Spaniard stared at the board and his opponent, and eventually elected to fold.

John Smith	3,936,000	1,165,000
Adrian Mateos	2,464,000	-1,165,000

Hand #43: Smith (with   ) called and Mateos (with   ) checked. The flop was    . Mateos checked and then folded to a bet of 125,000 from his opponent.

Hand #44: Smith received a walk in the big blind with   .

Hand #45: Smith (with   ) raised to 125,000 and Mateos folded.

Hand #46: Mateos (with   ) raised to 100,000 and Smith (with   ) called. Smith check-folded to Mateos on a     board.

Hand #47: Smith (with   ) raised to 150,000 and Mateos folded.

Hand #48: Mateos (with   ) raised to 100,000 and Smith (with   ) called. The flop was     and Smith check-called a bet of 75,000 from Mateos. The turn was the   and Smith bet 150,000.

Mateos then raised to 500,000 and Smith called. The river was the   and Smith checked. Mateos bet 850,000.

"Do you want me to call?" asked Smith, "I fold," he said, folding his hand face up.

Adrian Mateos	3,629,000	179,000
John Smith	2,771,000	-179,000

Hand #38: Adrian Mateos raised to 100,000 and John Smith three-bet to 200,000 in order to force a fold.

Hand #39: Smith raised to 175,000 and Mateos called. The flop came     and Mateos checked. Smith bet 200,000 and that shut down all further action.

Hand #40: Mateos raised to 100,000 and Smith defended the big blind. The flop showed     and Smith check-called a bet worth 75,000. After the   turn, Smith bet 150,000 and Mateos folded.

Hand #41: Smith (with   ) made it 125,000 to go and Mateos (with   ) called. The     flop saw Mateos check, Smith bet 175,000 and Mateos call. Both then checked the   turn and the   river. Mateos flipped over his    and that was good enough to win the pot.

Hand #42: Mateos (with   ) raised to 100,000 and Smith (with   ) called. On the     flop, Smith bet 150,000 and Mateos called. The   river was checked and Smith then bet the   river for 301,000. Mateos eventually called and Smith showed his    for trips fives to win the pot.

Adrian Mateos	3,450,000	50,000
John Smith	2,950,000	-50,000

Hand #25: John Smith limped in and Adrian Mateos (with   ) raised to 100,000 in order to force a fold.

Hand #26: Mateos (with   ) raised to 75,000 and Smith (with   ) called. On the     flop, Smith bet 155,000 and Mateos folded.

Hand #27: Smith (with   ) raised to 75,000 and Mateos (with   ) three-bet to 275,000, forcing a fold from Smith.

Hand #28: Mateos (with   ) made it 75,000 to go and Smith (with   ) called. On a flop of    , Smith checked and folded to a bet of 50,000 by Mateos.

Hand #29: Smith (with   ) raised to 75,000 and Mateos (with   ) called. The flop came     and both players checked. On the   turn, Mateos bet 100,000 and Smith called before the   river was checked. Smith claimed the pot with with    for sixes and threes

Hand #30: Smith received a walk with   .

Hand #31: Smith (with   ) raised to 75,000 and Mateos (with   ) called. The flop of     went check, check, and Mateos bet the   turn for 100,000. Smith called and the   river completed the board. Mateos bet 275,000 and Smith took some time before announcing a raise to 775,000.

While Mateos was still to act, Smith turned around to the rail and said, "Everybody is so silent." The rail responded with a "Yeah! John Smith!" and Mateos called soon after. Smith showed his    for trips and won a big pot.

Adrian Mateos	3,450,000	-1,050,000
John Smith	2,950,000	1,050,000

Hand #18: Mateos (with   ) raised to 60,000 and Smith (with   ) called. The flop was     and Smith check-called a bet of 40,000. Both players checked the   on the turn before the river was the  . Smith bet 50,000 and Mateos folded.

Hand #19: Smith (with   ) raised to 75,000 and Mateos (with   ) called. The flop was     and both players checked. The turn was the   and Mateos check-folded to a bet of 125,000 from his opponent.

Hand #20: Mateos (with   ) raised to 60,000 and Smith (with   ) called. Smith bet 130,000 on a     board and Mateos folded.

Hand #21: Smith raised to 85,000 with    and Mateos folded   .

Hand #22: Mateos (with   ) raised to 60,000 and Smith (with   ) called. The flop was     and Smith check-called a bet of 40,000. The turn was the   and Smith bet 125,000 and Mateos called. The river was the  . Smith bet 150,000, Mateos called and Smith mucked. Mateos took it down.

Hand #23: Smith (with   ) raised to 75,000 and Mateos (with   ) called. The pair checked a flop of     and the turn brought the  . Mateos check-called a bet of 150,000 from Smith and the river was the  . Both players checked. Smith showed his    for a pair of fives, but Mateos had him out-kicked with his   .

Hand #24: Mateos (with   ) raised to 60,000 and Smith (with   ) called. The flop was     and Smith check-called a bet of 40,000 from Mateos. The turn was the   and Smith check-called a bet of 160,000 from Mateos. The river was the   and Smith led for 150,000. Mateos raised to 520,000 and Smith folded.

Adrian Mateos	4,500,000	630,000
John Smith	1,900,000	-630,000