The blinds are now at 5,000-10,000, which should prompt a bit more action.
2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
$20,000 Heads-Up Championship
Day: 3
Event Info
2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
Final Results
Event Info
Buy-in
$20,000
Prize Pool
$1,500,000
Entries
64
Players Left 1 / 64
Filter
(1)
The blinds are now at 5,000-10,000, which should prompt a bit more action.
, while Huck Seed tabled 
. The race was on and by the turn, the board read
with Huck in the lead, one card, a non-ace or queen, away from doubling up. The infamous river card was the 
, sending Huck to the rail for the remainder of the tournament. Huck will take home $125,000 in prize money for his semi-final performance. With the win, Andy Bloch advances to his first NBC Heads-Up Championship and will have his hands full with three-time finalist Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.
Both players are known for implementing mathematics into their poker games, so this match could depend heavily on invisible numbers and speedy calculations. Also of note, Bloch is a former member of the infamous MIT blackjack team, which is the subject of the upcoming movie “21.”
Chris Ferguson has reached the finals of this event in an amazing three out of four events. A win here today and Ferguson solidifies his position as the most dominant player in NBC Heads-Up history; a loss relegates his status to that of the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s. Bloch is hoping to record his largest payday since a televised victory in the 2006 Pro-Am Equalizer tournament at the South Point Hotel and Casino where he took home $500,000 in prize money.
The stage is set for what should be a thrilling finale. Stay with us for the conclusion of the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championships.
Play is scheduled to recommence in ~10 minutes.
and Chris Ferguson made the call. When the hit the board on the turn, Jesus, slightly ahead in chips, shoved his stack into the middle putting Bloch to a decision for all of his chips. Andy made the call holding
, good for a made flush, and the 
on the river could not save "Jesus" who had revealed pocket eights for a set.Bloch took a monster chip lead in the match with the win.
, Chris Ferguson, holding 
, made a stand with his few remaining chips and Andy Bloch quickly called with 
.Finding himself behind with the turn and river to come "Jesus" found no 4th or 5th street miracles as the board filled out with blanks:
and 
. With the win, Bloch takes a 1-0 lead in this best of three series.
The players have been released for a quick 10-minute break. The second match will begin shortly.
Stay with us to find out if "Jesus" can block a Bloch sweep in the finale and force a rubber match to decide the title.
The blinds have just jumped to 15,000-30,000, so perhaps a change of pace is in the near future.
