2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
$20,000 Heads-Up Championship
Day: 3
Ferguson Retakes the Chip Lead
A third nine on the flop locked up the hand for "Jesus," who now has a slight chip advantage over his quarterfinal nemesis.
Nines Prove to be Big Against Little
A flop of showed no promise for Little. The turn brought , and the river the which left Little on the outside looking in. Jonathan received a nice round of applause for his solid showing in his first Heads-Up Championship appearance.
Jesus will face the winner of Phil Ivey v. Gus Hansen in the semifinals.
Ivey League Play
Phil Ivey Disposes of The Great Dane
Drawing to a running full house or straight flush, Hansen conceded defeat after the turn brought the , eliminating his chances to hit either miracle draw.
Ivey's win sets up another match-up of Team FullTilt pros, Ivey v. Chris Ferguson.
Intermission
When we return, the semi-finalists will take to the felt hoping to earn a spot at the best-of-three final table and a chance to win over half a million dollars.
Here are your semi-final pairings:
Phil Ivey v. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
and
Huck Seed v. Andy Bloch
PokerNews Video: Chris Ferguson
For this interview and other video clips from the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championships, click here.
Win and You're In
Players will start with 320,000 in chips and the blinds kick off at 1,500-3,000.
Slow Start
We're nearing the end of the second blind level and Chris Ferguson has a slight lead over opponent Phil Ivey, while Andy Bloch and Huck Seed are relatively close in chips.
Ferguson Eliminates Ivey; Advances to a Record Third NBC Heads-Up Final
Though behind, Ivey had ten outs with one card to come to hit a straight or a set to stay alive, but the on the river cemented a victory for Ferguson, who, with the win, advances to a record third National Heads-Up Championship final.
We've also been told by the NBC production crew that Ferguson has more career wins in this tournament (15) than any other player.
Phil Ivey will take home $125,000 for his efforts - not bad for three days work.
Ferguson will face the winner of the Andy Bloch v. Huck Seed match, which is currently all knotted up.