Back in the day when cash games dominated the poker landscape, heads-up play was something of a rarity. The format was mostly reserved for embittered one-on-one confrontations between rival players gambling huge sums on their superior ability. With the rise of tournament poker, the need to think more rationally about heads up play became apparent. The ability to best a single opponent was no more valuable than in the World Series of Poker Event #35. The only heads-up contest at this year’s WSOP was a big one, sporting a $10,000 buy-in and the title of Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

Two hundred and fifty six high class professionals arrived with their wallets at the ready, building a total prize pool of $2,406,400. Many of those big names were unable to make it through the first day, with the likes of Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, and Howard Lederer all falling by the wayside. The 32 money spots were in sight on Day 2, but Phil Ivey, Terrence Chan, and Gabe Kaplan were among those who just missed out. The remaining combatants played down to the final 8 before calling it a night. Pros who did not make it to Day 3, but did leave the event richer, included: Antonio Esfandiari ($17,987), David Williams ($17,987), Sorel Mizzi ($17,987), Vivek Rajkumar ($38,424), Bertrand Grospellier ($38,424), Phil Gordon ($38,424), and Gavin Smith ($38,424).

The most feared player going into Day 3 was Vanessa Rousso. The comely pro has form in heads up events, having placed 2nd in the 2009 NBC Heads Up Championship. Unfortunately, she could make it no further than 5th place, her exit cushioned nicely by a $94,956 payday. French pro Ludovic Lacay also made it into the final 8, but joined Vanessa in 5th with $94,956.

The final tête-à-tête was between Ayaz Mahmood and Ernst Schemjkal. Unlike the rest of the tournament, this was a best of three contest. Although the tournament was scheduled to end on Day 3, a six hour first round meant that the remaining contests were delayed until the following evening. Mahmood battled hard to win the first round and returned for Day 4 with a tangible advantage. After some topsy-turvy play he was able to press home for the victory, besting his Schemjkal’s top pair with a runner-runner Broadway straight. Schemjkal picked up $386,900 for 2nd place, while Mahmood collected $625,682 and a shiny gold bracelet.

Mahmood (now based in the United States) became the first ever WSOP bracelet winner to have been born in Bangladesh. After a brief career as a furniture salesman, he turned to the more glamorous world of professional poker. The 38-year-old has made his home on the felt for more than 10 years, with a decent amount of success. This was his 18th WSOP cash, an impressive collection which has contributed to over $1.3 million in live tournament earnings. His Event #35 cash is easily the biggest of his career, topping his previous high-score of $237,865 for 37th in the 2007 WSOP $10,000 NLHE World Championship.

Mahmood was delighted to pick up his first piece of World Series jewelry, despite not really being a No Limit expert. “Actually I’m a PLO player. This is my first time in my life playing a $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Heads-up tournament,” he said. On the other hand, he has plenty of heads up expertise. “In the last year, year and a half I’ve been playing a lot of heads-up PLO. I’ve been challenging some players to play with me and I’ve been very successful.”

Full payouts for WSOP Event #35 were as follows:

1. Ayaz Mahmood ($625,682)
2. Ernst Schmejkal ($386,636)
3. Jason Somerville ($214,289)
3. Alexander Kostritsyn ($214,289)
5. Vanessa Rousso ($92,580)
5. Faraz Jaka ($92,580)
5. Ludovic Lacay ($92,580)
5. Kido Pham ($92,580)
9. Gavin Smith ($38,424)
9. Phil Gordon ($38,424)
9. Martin Kabrhel ($38,424)
9. Bertrand Grospellier ($38,424)
9. Alexander Kravchenko ($38,424)
9. Vivek Rajkumar ($38,424)
9. Chris Moorman ($38,424)
9. Brian Rast ($38,424)
17. Maxim Lykov ($17,987)
17. Melanie Weisner ($17,987)
17. Amritraj Singh ($17,987)
17. Keith Block ($17,987)
17. Samuel Stein ($17,987)
17. Sorel Mizzi ($17,987)
17. Michael Glasser ($17,987)
17. Kevin Saul ($17,987)
17. David Williams ($17,987)
17. Timothy Adams ($17,987)
17. Nicholas Rampone ($17,987)
17. Scott Clements ($17,987)
17. Darren Woods ($17,987)
17. Antonio Esfandiari ($17,987)
17. Anton Kozlovskiy ($17,987)
17. Julian Herold ($17,987)