$20,000 Heads-Up Championship | 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

03-02-2008 14:38 UTC-7

Blinds are Up

[user65508]

Blinds are now 1,500-3,000. Chris Ferguson has breathed some life back into his stack and match with Jonathan Little, while Phil Ivey remains ahead of Gus Hansen in chip totals.

Tags: Jonathan Little

03-02-2008 14:54 UTC-7

Ferguson Retakes the Chip Lead

[user38449]

Chris Ferguson moved the last of his chips into the middle pre-flop holding pocket nines and found himself in excellent shape against Jonathan Little's pocket fours.

A third nine on the flop locked up the hand for "Jesus," who now has a slight chip advantage over his quarterfinal nemesis.

Tags: Chris Ferguson Jonathan Little

03-02-2008 15:08 UTC-7

Nines Prove to be Big Against Little

[user65508]

Jonathan Little shoved his remaining stack into the middle against Chris "Jesus" Ferguson pre-flop, holding {7-Diamonds}

against another pocket pair of nines for Ferguson.

A flop of {3-Hearts}

showed no promise for Little. The turn brought {5-Hearts}

, and the river the {4-Clubs}

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.

Tags: Chris Ferguson

03-02-2008 15:11 UTC-7

Ivey League Play

[user38449]

Over the past fifteen minutes, Phil Ivey has gradually increased his chip lead over fellow Team FullTilt pro Gus Hansen and seems to be building momentum heading into the higher blind levels, where the action typically heats up.

Tags: Phil Ivey

03-02-2008 15:22 UTC-7

Phil Ivey Disposes of The Great Dane

[user65508]

Gus Hansen knew he was in big trouble after Phil Ivey quickly called is all-in bet on a flop of {9-Hearts}

. When they tabled the cards, Ivey revealed a made king-high flush leaving Hansen, who showed {10-Hearts}

, in a grim predicament.

Drawing to a running full house or straight flush, Hansen conceded defeat after the turn brought the {8-Clubs}

, eliminating his chances to hit either miracle draw.

Ivey's win sets up another match-up of Team FullTilt pros, Ivey v. Chris Ferguson.

Tags: Gus Hansen

03-02-2008 15:30 UTC-7

Intermission

[user38449]

With all four quarterfinal matches in the book, the tournament has been paused until 4:00 p.m. local time.

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

03-02-2008 16:56 UTC-7

PokerNews Video: Chris Ferguson

[user38449]

PokerNews/PokerRoad presenter Amanda Leatherman caught up with semifinalist Chris "Jesus" Ferguson after his fourth round victory over 23-year-old Jonathan Little. Amanda talked with Chris about his journey to the final four and asked him who he'd rather face in the semis (his choices at the time were Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen).

For this interview and other video clips from the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championships, click here.

Tags: Chris Ferguson

03-02-2008 17:10 UTC-7

Win and You're In

[user65508]

The semifinals are underway. Both pairings are playing just a few feet away from each other, with Chris "Jesus" Ferguson v. Phil Ivey set up at the feature table and Andy Bloch v. Huck Seed on the other.

Players will start with 320,000 in chips and the blinds kick off at 1,500-3,000.

03-02-2008 17:40 UTC-7

Slow Start

[user38449]

As has been the case in a majority of the matches that have transpired throughout the course of the tournament, the first couple of blind levels have come and gone, with little significant action to report on.

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.

03-02-2008 17:51 UTC-7

Ferguson Eliminates Ivey; Advances to a Record Third NBC Heads-Up Final

[user38449]

Phil Ivey moved all in on a board showing {9-Diamonds}

, sending Chris Ferguson into the tank. After a solid minute passed, Ferguson made the call, tabling a pocket pair of eights; Ivey revealed pocket sixes.

Though behind, Ivey had ten outs with one card to come to hit a straight or a set to stay alive, but the {Q-Hearts}

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.

Tags: Chris Ferguson Phil Ivey