"Rampage" defeats Mateos to win his second gold medal at the WSOP $5K Championship.

Ethan "Rampage" Yau had such a wonderful summer.

After winning over $1.3 million in high-stakes cash games, the popular poker video blogger has now secured his second World Series of Poker bracelet – defeating Adrian Mateos heads-up in the WSOP Online Mixed Event #16:$5K to win $228,825. The event attracted 226 entries and had a total prize pool of $1,130,000.

This hybrid tournament was first held online, with the final table taking place at the Paris Ballroom in Las Vegas. Yau emerged victorious from one of the summer's toughest events. Joining Mateos at the final table were Nick Schulman, Shannon Shorr, Pedro Neves, and Dejan Kaladjurdjevic.

This victory also makes Yau the first player to defeat Mateos in a WSOP bracelet heads-up match. The Spanish superstar had previously maintained a perfect 6-0 record in bracelet battles, but this time he could only settle for second place with $175,150 in prize money.

This is another deep run in Mateos’ extraordinary summer – he won the $250,000 Super High Roller earlier in the series, bringing his live tournament winnings to over $10 million since May.

$5K Championship Final Table Results

"This proves that I did some things right."

In a post-victory interview, Yau saw a tweet he posted six years ago—shortly after winning his first WSOP gold bracelet during the pandemic (a $500 online event). Reflecting on that moment, he smiled and reflected on the changes over the years.

"Back then, I was just an ordinary person who wanted to make a poker film, playing about one-third of the games," Yau said. "Looking back, that's a core memory because it was the first time I was interviewed in the poker world."

The conversation then turned to the present—Yau had just experienced a $1.3 million cash game and became the first player to defeat Mateos in a WSOP bracelet heads-up match.

"I used to have imposter syndrome when I played poker," he said. "I won some things early on, but recently I've been going through a drought of winning titles."

"Participating in a $5K online buy-in tournament, with the field full of the world's top players, and ultimately emerging victorious... that definitely proves I did some things right. Obviously, there was a lot of luck involved, but it feels great to beat some of the best players when you're lucky."

Yau faces one of the most feared opponents in the poker world in heads-up play, but he is not without help.

His friend and high-stakes professional player, Justin Saliba, watched the match from the sidelines and offered advice before the final showdown began.

“Saliba has always been a very close friend and poker mentor to me,” Yau said. “He gave me some guidance because I didn’t have much heads-up experience. He gave me advice on how to play properly and not completely mess things up.”

These suggestions proved invaluable – Yau prevented Mateos from winning his seventh gold bracelet, a major upset for many.

Although winning the gold bracelet marked the perfect end to one of the best periods in Yau's poker career, he admitted that he had no plans for any lavish celebrations or more tournaments.

"I haven't played many live tournaments this summer," he said. "I've spent most of my time playing online from home, and this result was quite good."

Instead, Yau said he planned to attend a charity gala that evening.

"There's a charity gala tonight, so it would be great to be able to attend and give back to the community."

How Yau won the gold bracelet

Schulman was the first player to be eliminated – he went all-in with A-6 against Mateos’ pocket 3s and failed to improve, finishing sixth with $50,850.

Yau was the next player to face the risk, but he successfully doubled up against Kaladjurdjevic to take the chip lead—his AQ beat QJ. Shortly after, Yau defeated AQ with pocket 10s, eliminating Neves in fifth place.

Shorr then swept Kaladjurdjevic out with an overwhelming A to finish fourth, before finishing third himself, paving the way for a heads-up showdown between Yau and Mateos.

Yau doubled up in an Ace-high duel, reducing Mateos to just nine big blinds. However, the Spaniard survived several all-in duels and fought back fiercely. Ultimately, Yau regained control and secured the victory when his pocket queens beat Mateos's T-9.

For a player who builds an audience by filming $1/$3 cash games and sharing every step of his poker journey, defeating Mateos in heads-up play to win the gold bracelet is another new chapter that almost no one could have imagined six years ago.

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