Ayaz Mahmood Becomes the First Bangladeshi Ever to Win a WSOP Gold Bracelet

There were a total of 256 entries in this year’s Heads Up No Limit Hold’em event with 32 in-the-money finishers and a prize pool that totaled almost 2.5 million dollars in cash. Mahmood emerged victorious after winning nine straight heads up matches in a four day period. The longest of these matches proved to be the first finale heads up, which lasted almost six and a half hours, making it the longest in WSOP history. The final heads up match pitted the new Champion against German player Ernst Shmejkal, who came in second, collecting a total of $386,900 .

Several previous WSOP gold bracelet winners cashed at this event. In fact players such as Scott Clemens, David Williams, Antonio Esfandiari and Alexander Kravchenko all collected some of the winnings. For Mahmood, who had never before claimed a bracelet, this was a huge win. Despite playing on the tournament trail for the last ten years, this is the first time he has managed to secure a victory. This was also, by far the largest payout he has ever received from any poker room event. His outstanding performance at this year’s WSOP will no doubt serve as a source of pride and inspiration to his friends, family and countrymen.