Davide Suriano Wins the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship ($335,553)!
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We began Event #40, the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship, with 136 players. After 135 matches, only one emerged with an undefeated record. 25-year-old Davide Suriano outlasted the field, capturing his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet and a $335,553 pay day. While Suriano was not among the elite names at the start of the event, he beat his fair share of the game's best to capture the title.
Let's recap his road to victory, shall we?
Suriano received a bye in the play-in round, automatically sending him to the round of 128 where he faced Scott Seiver. A short-stacked Seiver got his chips in with 
against Suriano's 
. A king on the river fell to give Suriano the victory, setting up a match against Dan Cates in the Round of 64. The chips went in very early and Suriano trailed with 
against Cates' 
, but the board ran out 
, giving Suriano a set to earn a seat against Shane Moran in the Round of 32. After gaining the upper hand, Suriano locked up the min-cash when his 
held up against Moran's .
With Day 1 in his rearview mirror, Suriano began Day 2 by facing Serkan Kurnaz. In what turned out to be the longest match in the Round of 16, Suriano closed it out when Kurnaz shoved the river of a 
board with 
. Suriano called with 
for a full house to advance to the Round of 8 for a date with online heads-up specialist Ankush Mandavia. Suriano made relatively quick work of Mandvaia, sealing the deal when his held against Mandavia's 
. The next round brought another heads-up phenom in Daniel Colman, but once again Suriano controlled the pace of the match. He locked up the victory when his 
topped Colman's 
. Suriano flopped a set, turned a full house and was on his way to the final for a match with Sam Stein.
In what many expected to be a slow, long and drawn out heads-up duel, Suriano put the pedal to the medal immediately. He never once surrendered the chip lead and closed it out in just 36 hands.
"This victory is going to change my life," Suriano told our own Remko Rinkema after the match.
Here is complete look at Suriano's path to victory:
| Round | Opponent Defeated |
|---|---|
| Round of 128 | Scott Seiver |
| Round of 64 | Dan Cates |
| Round of 32 | Shane Moran |
| Round of 16 | Serkan Kurnaz |
| Round of 8 | Ankush Mandavia |
| Round of 4 | Daniel Colman |
| Finals | Sam Stein |
Congratulations to Davide Suriano on his excellent achievement and thank you for following our hand-for-hand coverage of his victory!