Event #10: $1,500 Limit Hold'em

It took 121 hands of heads-up play, but we finally have a winner in Event #10: $1,500 Limit Hold'em, Brent Wheeler. Wheeler bested Mark Mierkalns to earn $191,605 and his first career gold bracelet. The Chicagoan now has over three quarters of a million dollars in career tournament earnings and 14 World Series of Poker cashes.

The third and final day began with 19 players, and leading the way was the only bracelet winner remaining; Eric Froehlich. Jeff Shulman, who entered the day with just a few big bets, was the first to bust, and from there we lost Brandon Guss, Thomas Blizniak, Melanie Banfield , and Binh Ly.

Ly was one of the leaders on the money bubble, but fell down the counts during the latter stages of the evening. On Day 3 he busted to Grayson Scoggin, who turned a pair of kings against Ly's ace-high. The river was a blank, and Ly was eliminated.

Following Ly out the door were Morgan Newman, John Zipperer, Jack Jiang, and Aaron Ogus.

The unofficial final table lasted for longer than an hour, until finally Ahmed Mohamed busted in 10th place. Mohamed got into a flip with ace-king against Malissia Zapata's pocket queens, and the queens held up.

The first player to bust at the official final table was Froehlich. After taking a few hits, including one hand where Chiduziem Obi ran down a wheel, Froehlich was in for less than a big blind. Unfortunately, he was unable to survive against two opponents, busting in ninth place.

Alex Queen, Brian Nichols, and William James were the next three players to hit the rail. Queen and Nichols were very short stacked when they exited, while James lost a series of pots at the start of Level 24. Finally, James was all in against two opponents, and lost to Mierkalns who rivered a pair of tens.

Grayson Scoggin, who was playing in his first WSOP event, finished in fifth, Obi busted in fourth, and Zapata took her leave in third place.

Wheeler, who entered the final table seventh in chips, started heads-up play with a small lead, and began to run away with it. Then suddenly, in Level 27, the pendulum swung. Mierkalns built a more than 2:1 chip lead, but Wheeler came storming back. In the end, Wheeler finished the deed in Level 28, and you can read that hand below.

Congratulations to Wheeler for shipping the 10th bracelet awarded this summer. There are still 52 more up for grabs, so be sure to check back to PokerNews for all of your exclusive live tournament updates from the 44th annual WSOP!

Hand #231: Mark Mierkalns got a walk.

Hand #232: Mierkalns raised, Brent Wheeler called. The flop came    . Wheeler check-called. The turn was  . Wheeler check-called. The river was  . Wheeler bet, Mierkalns called. Wheeler showed   .

Hands #233-236: The players received walks.

Hand #237: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Both players checked. The turn came  . Both players checked. The river came  . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler folded.

Hand #238: Mierkalns called, Wheeler checked. The flop came    . Wheeler check-folded.

Hand #239: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns folded.

Hand #220: On the 100th hand of heads-up play, Mark Mierkalns raised, and Brent Wheeler folded.

Hand #221: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Mierkalns check-called. The turn came  . Mierkalns check-folded.

Hand #222: Mierkalns raised, Wheeler called. The flop came    . Wheeler check-raised. Mierkalns called. The turn came  . Wheeler check-called. Both players checked the  . Wheeler showed   .

Hand #223: Mierkalns got a walk.

Hand #224: Mierkalns raised, Wheeler folded.

Hand #225: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns reraised, Wheeler called. The flop came    . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler called. The turn came  . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler raised and Mierkalns called. The river came  , and Mierkalns check-called. He showed   .

Brent Wheeler	1,750,000	-190,000
Mark Mierkalns	1,150,000	190,000

Hand #209: Mark Mierkalns got a walk.

Hand #210: Mierkalns raised, Brent Wheeler called. The flop came    . Wheeler check-folded.

Hand #211: Mierkalns got a walk.

Hand #212: Mierkalns raised, Wheeler raised and Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Wheeler bet, Mierkalns called. The turn came  . Wheeler check-called. The river came  . Wheeler check-called. Mierkalns showed   .

Hand #213: Mierkalns got another walk.

Hand #201: Mark Mierkalns got a walk.

Hand #202: Mierkalns raised, Brent Wheeler reraised, Mierkalns reraised and Wheeler capped. The flop came    . Wheeler bet, Mierkalns called. The turn came  . Wheeler bet, Mierkalns folded.

Hand #203: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Both players checked. The turn came  . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler called. Both players checked the  . Wheeler showed ace-high to win.

Hand #204: Wheeler got a walk.

Hand #205: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Mierkalns check-called. The turn came  . Both players checked. The river came  . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler folded.

Hand #193: Brent Wheeler raised, Mark Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler raised and Mierkalns called. The turn came  . Both checked. The river came  . Mierkalns bet, and Wheeler folded.

Hand #194: Mierkalns called, Wheeler checked. The flop came    . Wheeler check-raised, and Mierkalns called. The turn came  . Wheeler bet, Mierkalns raised and Wheeler folded.

Hand #195: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Mierkalns check-called. They checked through the   and  , and Wheeler took the pot with queen-high.

Hand #187: Brent Wheeler raised, Mark Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler raised and Mierkalns folded.

Hand #188: Mierkalns called, Wheeler checked. The flop came    . Wheeler checked, Mierkalns bet and Wheeler folded.

Hand #189: Wheeler raised, Mierkalns called. The flop came    . Mierkalns check-folded.

Hand #190: Mierkalns raised, Wheeler called. The flop came    . Wheeler check-folded.

Hand #183: Brent Wheeler called, Mark Mierkalns raised and Wheeler called. The flop came    . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler called. The turn came  . Mierkalns bet, Wheeler folded.

Hand #184: Mierkalns called, Wheeler checked. The flop came    . Wheeler bet, Mierkalns called. The turn came  . Wheeler check-called. He did so again on the   river. Mierkalns showed    for a full house.

Mark Mierkalns	1,850,000	450,000
Brent Wheeler	1,050,000	-450,000

Hand #176: Mark Mierkalns raised and won the pot.

Hand #177: Mierkalns received a walk.

Hand #178: Brent Wheeler three-bet, Mierkalns called, and Wheeler led out on a flop of    . Mierkalns raised, and Wheeler called. Wheeler check-called bets on the turn ( ) and the river ( ), then mucked when Mierkalns showed    for the wheel.

Hand #179: Wheeler raised, then called bets on the flop (   ) and the turn ( ). Both players checked when the   completed the board, and Mierkalns won with   .

The players are now on a 20-minute break. Here are the official counts:

Brent Wheeler	1,850,000	-550,000
Mark Mierkalns	1,050,000	550,000

Hand #166: Brent Wheeler called a raise from Mark Mierkalns, and both players checked on the     flop. Wheeler check-folded to a bet when the   turned.

Hand #167: Mierkalns called a raise, the pair checked on the flop (   ) and the turn ( ), and the river was the  . Mierkalns led out, Wheeler called, and Mierkalns won with    for a straight.

Hand #168: Wheeler called a raised, check-called a bet on the     flop, and check-raised when the   turned. Mierkalns folded.

Hand #169: Mierkalns received a walk.

Hand #170: Wheeler called a raise then check-folded to a bet on the     flop.

Hand #171: Mierkalns called a raise, then check-raised on a flop of    . Wheeler called. The turn was the  , Mierkalns led out, and Wheeler raised. Mierkalns called. Both players checked when the   completed the board, and Mierkalns showed    for the nut-flush.

"You missed a bet!" one of his friends joked from the rail.

Brent Wheeler	1,705,000	-400,000
Mark Mierkalns	1,200,000	310,000