Adrian Mateos is among the brightest representatives of the youngest generation of poker professionals and last night the player made another statement to solidify his reputation. The 22-year-old Spaniard won the 2017 WSOP $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship, claiming $336,656 in prize money and his third-ever gold bracelet.
He secured himself an important spot in the WSOP’s rich history as the youngest ever player to collect three gold pieces. Mateos won his other two bracelets in 2013, when he topped the field of the WSOP Europe €10,450 Main Event, and in 2016, when he emerged victorious in the $1,500 Summer Solstice No-Limit Hold’em.
The Spanish poker pro came into this year’s edition of the WSOP fresh from a victory in the PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo €50,000 High Roller. He took down the event in late April to scoop a total of €908,000. Here it is also important to note that Mateos is a one-time EPT Grand Final Main Event winner. He won the 2015 edition of the prestigious event.
During this year’s WSOP Head-Up Championship, Mateos entered an elite field of a total of 129 entries. Over the course of three days of play, the player managed to eliminate Daniel Negreanu in the 128-player round, Ian O’Hara in the round of 64, Eric Wasserson in the round of 32, Taylor Paur in the round of 16, Ryan Hughes in the round of 8, Charlie Carrel in the round of 4, and finally US Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient John Smith.
Smith became a rail-favorite last summer when he finished runner-up in that same event. The player was determined to win the tournament this time and for quite a while everyone believed that he would do it. Smith eventually had to settle for $208,154 for his second-place finish but he did not give up without putting up a good fight.
The heads-up duel between Smith and Mateos lasted two and a half hours, during which the chip lead switched hands a couple of times.
The moment of victory for the young Spaniard came on Hand #73 of the event’s final heads-up match. Smith limped in pre-flop and Mateos raised to 300,000. Smith called to see the [As][9s][3h] flop. Mateos bet 200,000 and Smith moved all in for his final 1.3 million. Mateos called after a moment of deliberation.
Smith showed [Qh][8d] against Mateos’ [5s][2s]. Smith’s rail shouted for a Queen, while Mateos’ prayed for a spade. The board delivered [Qs] on the turn, which practically determined the outcome of the game. The [Kc] on the river only sealed Mateos’ triumph.
