Nik Persaud came out on top of a 28-player field to win the 2010 World Heads Up Poker Championship. His first place finish earned him a prize of £30,000.
The relatively small field and the £2,000 buy-in kept the prize pool fairly small. However, the tournament did attract a reasonably strong field, thanks to the prestigious nature of the event. Several notable players took part, including JP Kelly, Jeff Kimber, and Victoria Coren.
Persaud is a notable name in English poker circles, and has cashed twice in the World Series of Poker’s Main Event. His latest win brings his lifetime cashes up to nearly $400,000.
In the finals, Persaud was matched up against Leon Louis, another Englishman who has had limited success in local tournaments. On the final hand, Louis was put all in with 55 on a 764 flop, and was slightly ahead of Persaud, who held 98. Persaud won the hand the hard way, as a 7 and 6 hit the turn and river, making the board pair twice; Louis’ pair of fives no longer played, and Persaud’s 9 kicker was enough to pick up the pot.
For second place, Louis earned £15,000. Kimber and Toby Lewis also cashed, each earning £5,500 for losing in the semifinals.
The World Heads-Up Poker Championship has been held each year since 2001, at various locations throughout Europe. Previous winners include Bruno Fitoussi, John Cernuto, Kimber, and Kirill Gerasimov.
While early versions of the tournament has attracted some of the biggest names in the poker world, and also funds the relatively high price, as the tournament declined in recent years, due in part to being overshadowed by NBC National Heads-Up Championship.