Mike Matusow Wins 2013 NBC HU Poker Championship For $750k

Mike Matusow has triumphed at the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, after emerging top of the 64 player field to lift the trophy, and collect the $750,000 first place prize.
The invitation-only event was packed with the best poker players in the game, each of whom put up $25,000 of their own money for a shot at the title. Eventually, Mike Matusow would win his six matches, including the final against Phil Hellmuth, to take his life time earnings to an impressive $8,661,611, after which he exclaimed:
“I’m on top of the world right now. There is nothing that feels better than winning a tournament. Nothing. I hadn’t won one since 2008. I have only played about 40 since then, and these guys play about 40 a week. But, you know man, I feel good.”
On the way to his remarkable victory, the 44 year old pro first defeated Michael Mizrachi in the first round, followed by Viktor Blom, Barry Greenstein, John Hennigan, Scott Seiver and then Phil Hellmuth in the final.
Phil Hellmuth, too, had a difficult path to the final and had to first overcome such players as Mike Sexton, Justin Smith, David Sands, Eugene Katchalov and Joe Serock.
In the best of three matches final, Mike Matusow subsequently took the first match, before match two saw Hellmuth even the score, helped along by a preflop race in which his A-K came good against Matusow’s K-K.
The final match then took just 25 minutes with the defining hand occurring after Hellmuth was dealt Ks-10h to Matusow’s 8d-4d. Matusow subsequently called Hellmuth’s check-raise all-in on a Kd-Js-2d-6s board, only to see a Qd land on the river to complete his flush draw.
Phil Hellmuth collected $300,000 for his runner-up finish, while Matusow was crowned the winner. Heaping praise on his good friend, Hellmuth commented: “The world doesn’t understand how great a guy Mike is. I tip my hat to him.”
The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Payouts were as follows:
1st Mike Matusow – $750,000
2nd Phil Hellmuth – $300,000
3th Scott Seiver – $100,000
4th Joe Serock – $100,000
5th Eugene Katchalov – $50,000
6th Brian Hastings – $50,000
7th John Hennigan – $50,000
8th Daniel Cates – $50,000
9th David “Doc” Sands – $25,000
10th Dan Smith – $25,000
11th Tom Dwan – $25,000
12th Joseph Cheong – $25,000
13th Antonio Esfandiari – $25,000
14th Barry Greenstein – $25,000
15th Vanessa Rousso – $25,000
16th Phil Ivey – $25,000