2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

$20,000 Heads-Up Championship
Day: 1
Event Info

2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
jj
Prize
$500,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$20,000
Prize Pool
$1,500,000
Entries
64

2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

An annual fan-favorite, the 2008 version of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship held its pairings party Thursday night at PURE nightclub, inside Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will also serve as the tournament's host venue.

A majority of the players in this year's field of 64 - a frighteningly talented collection of professional, celebrity and amateur stars - rendezvoused on the red carpet before popping into the party to find out who they'd be playing in the first round of the tournament.

As in years past, the field has been divided into four mini-brackets: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades and is structured quite similarly to the NCAA Final Four Tournament, minus the play-in game.

Players in the Hearts bracket have the honors and are scheduled to tee off at 10:15 a.m. this afternoon (PST), followed by the Diamonds bracket at 1:15 p.m., Clubs at 4:15 p.m. and finally, the Spades bracket, which starts later this evening at 6:45 p.m.

PokerNews will be on site for the duration of the event, bringing you complete coverage of the tournament with our live blog, video interviews and photos direct from the tournament floor. Coverage begins at 10:15 a.m.; we'll see you then!

Hearts - 10:15 a.m.

{A-Hearts}{K-Hearts}{Q-Hearts}{J-Hearts}{10-Hearts}

Vanessa Rousso
v.
Antonio Esfandiari

Shannon Elizabeth
v.
Andy Bloch

Todd Brunson
v.
Scott Fischman

Jamie Gold
v.
Tom Kelly

Ted Forrest
v.
Orel Hershiser

Allen Cunningham
v.
Chad Brown

Jean-Robert Bellande
v.
Sam Grizzle

Freddy Deeb
v.
Paul Wasicka

{A-Hearts}{K-Hearts}{Q-Hearts}{J-Hearts}{10-Hearts}

Diamonds - 1:15 p.m.

{A-Diamonds}{K-Diamonds}{Q-Diamonds}{J-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}

Jason Alexander
v.
Huck Seed

David Pham
v.
Brian Townsend

Clonie Gowen
v.
Jennifer Tilly

Daniel Negreanu
v.
Michael Mizrachi

Barry Greenstein
v.
Howard Lederer

David Benyamine
v.
Jennifer Harman

Sam Farha
v.
Doyle Brunson

Erick Lindgren
v.
Eli Elezra

{A-Diamonds}{K-Diamonds}{Q-Diamonds}{J-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}

Clubs - 4:15 p.m.

{A-Clubs}{K-Clubs}{Q-Clubs}{J-Clubs}{10-Clubs}

Johnathan Little
v.
Erik Seidel

Patrik Antonius
v.
Gabe Kaplan

Greg Raymer
v.
Hooman Nikzad

Kenny Tran
v.
Scott Clements

Mike Matusow
v.
Joseph Hachem

Tom Dwan
v.
Phil Hellmuth

Tom Schneider
v.
Gavin Smith

Chris Ferguson
v.
John Juanda

{A-Clubs}{K-Clubs}{Q-Clubs}{J-Clubs}{10-Clubs}

Spades - 6:45 p.m.

{A-Spades}{K-Spades}{Q-Spades}{J-Spades}{10-Spades}

Don Cheadle
v.
Gus Hansen

Scotty Nguyen
v.
Bill Edler

Jerry Yang
v.
Chris Moneymaker

David Singer
v.
Phil Laak

Phil Ivey
v.
Alisha Kunze

David Williams
v.
Johnny Chan

Daniel Schreiber
v.
T.J. Cloutier

Annie Duke
v.
J.C. Tran

{A-Spades}{K-Spades}{Q-Spades}{J-Spades}{10-Spades}

Final Preparations

The NBC production team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the set and we've been told that the first cards should be in the air by 11:30 a.m. local time.

Shuffle Up and Deal

The pre-tournament hubbub has settled and all of the players in the Hearts bracket have taken their seats. NBC hostess Leeann Tweeden has just finished introducing the players to the cameras and we're officially underway!

The Format

The structure of the first round is simple: win and you're in. The blinds will start at 150-300 and increase every fifteen minutes. The players will start out with 20,000 in chips.

Chad Brown Eliminated

Chad Brown - 1st elimination of the day
Chad Brown - 1st elimination of the day
Last year's runner-up and the first casualty of this year's event, consummate tournament pro Chad Brown has been eliminated from the competition by fellow pro Allen Cunningham.

Tags: Chad Brown

A New Champ for '08

Paul Wasicka gets miked up before the start of play
Paul Wasicka gets miked up before the start of play
Paul Wasicka, last year's National Heads-Up Poker Champion, has just been eliminated from the tournament by last year's $50,000 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. champion Freddy Deeb.

Holding pocket tens, Wasicka led out with a smallish bet when the flop came 8-8-5 and Deeb made the call with A-J. The turn paired Deeb's jack and Wasicka open-shoved all in. Deeb made the call and the river blanked out, putting an end to potential back-to-back championships for Wasicka.

Tags: Paul Wasicka