2011 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

With the elimination of Doyle Brunson, the producers had their choice of moving the Mahmood-Duhamel match or the Katchalov-Oppenheim match to the feature table. They've chosen Katchalov and Oppenheim.

Despite being down early, Jonathan Duhamel fought back to take over the chip lead from Ayaz Mahmood. On the final hand of their match, Mahmood re-raised all in pre-flop with . Duhamel went for the kill with and had to be surprised to find himself ahead in the hand.

A flop of made the possibility of a chopped pot a strong likelihood, but Duhamel turned a pair with the . That left Mahmood looking for a chop on the river. The did not create a chop; it allowed Duhamel to drag the pot and eliminate the 2010 WSOP Heads-Up Champion Mahmood.

Tags: Ayaz MahmoodJonathan Duhamel

A short-stacked Eugene Katchalov got it all in pre-flop against David Oppenheim. Katchalov had , a slightly better ace than Oppenheim's . Katchalov's rail predicted two eights on the flop, but it was Oppenheim who paired up, . ("Goddammit," said the rail.) The turn and river eliminated the boy from Brooklyn and sent Oppenheim on to Day 3 tomorrow.

Tags: David OppenheimEugene Katchalov

Ahead 160-40 in the match (we think, maybe), Jason Mercier got his stack in pre-flop with . He was drawing against Olivier Busquet's .

"What do we need?" Mercier's rail called out. (A jack.) "Are we ahead?" (No.)

The flop came all spades, . Things were looking grim for Mercier on the turn, but the river fell to create a chopped pot. Mercier couldn't suppress a laugh.

"Good. Now make sure you get it in really bad next time," came the call from the rail.

Jason Mercier's rail cheered him to a come-from-behind chop, then requested that next time he get it in really badly. And he listened. Mercier, who led Olivier Busquet 160,000 to 40,000, put Busquet to the test with the monstrous . Mercier was going to need a whole lot of help from the peanut gallery (and the deck) to run down LivB's and end the match.

The flop was not what Brent Hanks and Ben Lamb, Mercier's well-hydrated friends, were calling for. The got a murmur, as a runner-runner straight would be just Jason's style. But the bricked. Busquet moved up to 80,000.

Tags: Jason MercierOlivier Busquet

For the second hand in a row Olivier Busquet and Jason Mercier had the chips in pre-flop. Mercier had a small chip lead, approximately 120,000 to 80,000. He also had the best hand with against Busquet's .

"Is this for the win?" Mercier's boisterous rail asked. Indeed it was, but Busquet flopped a pair of kings, , then held on through the turn and river.

Tags: Jason MercierOlivier Busquet

Down to 40,000 with blinds prohibitive, Jason Mercier open-shipped his button. Olivier Busquet called with ; Mercier could only muster the lowly . Busquet, in a commanding lead, crushed Mercier with a flop of , making two pair, kings and jacks. Mercier did not get running treys or running fours out of the turn and river. He is eliminated and collects $30,000 in prize money.

The tournament is on a short break. When play resumes in 20 minutes, we'll have one last round of matches for the day. Who will be the other four players to return for the quarterfinals tomorrow? The Hearts/Diamonds Round of 16 matches will see these players square off:

Andrew Robl v. James Bord
Michael Mizrachi v. David Benyamine
Phil Galfond v. Vanessa Selbst
Erik Seidel v. Phil Gordon

Cards are in the air for the Hearts/Diamonds Round of 16. Michael Mizrachi and David Benyamine are at the feature table; Phil Galfond and Vanessa Selbst are at the secondary feature table.

As a continuing special favor to Phil Gordon, we will be providing as many Phil Gordon updates as the action allows. Currently the Phil Gordon update count for the day stands at 1.

This made-for-tv tournament has a very fast structure. It's not often you'll see a player 4-bet and then fold but that's exactly what James Bord debated for several minutes at one of the back tables. Bord opened his button with a raise that Andrew Robl re-raised. Bord then four-bet, prompting Robl to five-bet shove. Bord tanked, and tanked, and tanked some more. He asked the dealer to count down Robl's stack, after which Robl pulled his hoodie on and bowed his head. Robl had the narrow chip lead when Bord finally called.

Showdown:
Bord:
Robl:

Bord found himself in the unenviable position of being more or less pot committed with ace-ten. He was behind Robl's ace-king and remained behind throughout the entire board, . Robl will return tomorrow to continue his quest for $750,000.

Tags: Andrew RoblJames Bord