$20,000 Heads-up Championship Day 2 | 2010 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship

03-06-2010 15:36 UTC-12

Still Here!

[user75032]

Don't worry, we're still here and we've resolved some internet connectivity issues we've had on the tournament floor. The truth is that the two remaining matches are playing small-ball pots now. Since we're limited to our media desk it's hard to catch much of the action unless it's announced.

Scotty Nguyen looks like he might be leading Gabe Kaplan. We can't get a good look at the stacks of Jason Mercier or Phil Laak.

03-06-2010 15:15 UTC-12

Chris Moneymaker Eliminated ($25,000)

[user108095]

Shortly after losing most of his stack to Erik Seidel, Chris Moneymaker pushed his remaining 30,000 into the middle and put himself at risk when Seidel made the call.

Moneymaker showed {8-Diamonds}

while Seidel tabled {A-Spades}

. Neither player improved on a board of {3-Diamonds}

, and Seidel's ace-high stood up as the final cards fell {3-Spades}

.

Seidel advances to the Elite 8 while Moneymaker earns $25,000.

03-06-2010 15:08 UTC-12

Moneymaker Stumbles

[user75032]

"Perennial underdog" Chris Moneymaker (as hostess Leann Tweeden described him) has just relinquished the chip lead in his match by a piece of bad luck. He and opponent Erik Seidel were all in on a flop of {K-Clubs}

. Moneymaker had top pair with {K-Hearts}

, but Seidel flopped the joint with {Q-?}

. The board blanked out {6-Spades}

and

.

Seidel now has an approximately 4-to-1 chip lead in the match.

Tags: Chris Moneymaker Erik Seidel

03-06-2010 15:02 UTC-12

Someone Get Laak Some Flash Cards

[user75032]

While Phil Laak and Jason Mercier are being moved from one of the outer tables to the secondary feature table, Phil Laak is looking for vocabulary help from companion Jen Tilly.

"What's that word that means hanging on?" Laak asked. "Temerity?"

"Tenacity," Tilly replied.

Laak seemed confused. "Tenacity? What's temerity then?"

"It's something like nerve," said Tilly.

"Temerity. That's a good word too. But I was thinking of tenacity. I'm always looking for a place to use that."

We'll see if Laak has the temerity to put Mercier all in any time soon, or whether Lack will need to find his tenacity to take the match to the limit.

03-06-2010 14:59 UTC-12

Jamie Gold Eliminated ($25,000)

[user108095]

Jamie Gold's quest to become the 2010 NBC National Heads-Up Champion came to an end at the hand of Peter Eastgate.

Gold moved all in on a board of {5-Clubs}

and Eastgate took a few seconds to consider his action before calling. Gold showed {q-Hearts}

for second pair while Eastgate held {Q-Spades}

for top pair.

The {6-Hearts}

on the river was no help to Gold who left in 16th spot with $25,000. Eastgate will return to action tomorrow when the Elite 8 kicks off.

03-06-2010 14:50 UTC-12

Two Plus Two

[user75032]

The four tables currently in action split neatly into the chatty and not-chatty categories. Gabe Kaplan and Scotty Nguyen are talking up a storm on the feature table, about what we can't tell from here. On one of the outer tables, Phil Laak and Jason Mercier seem to be discussing some nuances of playing live, high-stakes cash games.

The other two matches -- Chris Moneymaker against Erik Seidel and Jamie Gold against Peter Eastgate -- are being played in almost total silence.

03-06-2010 14:42 UTC-12

What's Scotty Drinking?

[user108095]

It's not unusual to Scotty Nguyen down a beer - or three - on national TV, so the fact that he has a couple of bottles on the side table next to him should come as no surprise.

What is surprising, though, is that Scotty appears to be pacing himself more than usual by drinking what, from our vantage point, appear to be O'Doul's "near beers".

We can only wait and see what effect the change has on his play.

03-06-2010 14:32 UTC-12

Cards Are Flying

[user108095]

The dinner break is over and players in the Spades and Clubs bracket have returned for the start of the Sweet 16.

Gabe Kaplan and Scotty Nguyen are at the feature table, while the outer tables host these match-ups:

Jason Mercier vs. Phil Laak
Peter Eastgate vs. Jamie Gold
Chris Moneymaker vs. Erik Seidel

03-06-2010 13:06 UTC-12

Break Time

[user75032]

The crew is now on a dinner break. The media guide says we'll return at 6:45 for the Clubs and Spades Sweet 16 matches. Here's who will be back at that time:

{A-Clubs}

Clubs

Chris Moneymaker (2003 WSOP ME winner) v. Erik Seidel (1988 WSOP ME runner-up)
Peter Eastgate (2008 WSOP ME winner) v. Jamie Gold (2006 WSOP ME winner)

{A-Spades}

Spades

Scotty Nguyen (1998 WSOP ME winner) v. Gabe Kaplan
Jason Mercier v. Phil Laak

The final flight of matches will start around 9pm local time with these eight players:

{A-Hearts}

Hearts

Eli Elezra v. Dennis Phillips
Doyle Brunson (2x WSOP ME winner) v. Annette Obrestad (2008 WSOP-E ME winner)

{A-Diamonds}

Diamonds

Barry Greenstein v. Jerry Yang (2007 WSOP ME winner)
Annie Duke v. Paul Wasicka (2006 WSOP ME runner-up)

03-06-2010 13:00 UTC-12

Wasicka the Last into the Money

[user75032]

No sooner than Barry Greenstein had eliminated Sammy Farha then Paul Wasicka and Gus Hansen were all in pre-flop on the last remaining table. Wasicka had the lead in the match and in the hand, tabling {A-Clubs}

against Hansen's {K-Hearts}

.

Wasicka made top pair on the flop, {9-Hearts}

, but Hansen had one over-card and an inside straight draw. He improved that draw to an up-and-down straight draw with the {10-Diamonds}

turn. The river {7-Diamonds}

made a pair of sevens for Hansen but that was not enough to avoid elimination. He's out.

The Round of 32 has now concluded. Wasicka is the sole remaining former NBC champion in the field.

Tags: Paul Wasicka