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

03-06-2010 17:12 UTC-12

Barry Greenstein Eliminated ($25,000)

Well it seems that 2007 WSOP Main Event champion was able to successfully wear down Barry Greenstein. Greenstein moved in as a short stack several times without being called by Yang. Finally, with 17,400, he moved in again and this time Yang called.

Yang had the lead in the match and also tabled the best hand. His {A-Spades}

was in the lead against Greenstein's {10-Clubs}

. The flop came with two matching queens for Yang, {Q-Diamonds}

. He seemed to shake his head slightly "no", as if he couldn't believe his good fortune.

But Greenstein still had outs to a straight. He missed them with blanks {5-Hearts}

and

on the river. He'll earn $25,000 for his finish, while Yang will be back tomorrow.

03-06-2010 17:11 UTC-12

Doyle Doubles Up

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Our first all in and call of this session just took place on the feature table when Doyle Brunson moved in against Annette Obrestad on a board of {7-Diamonds}

.

Annette showed {6-Spades}

for an up-and-down straight draw against Doyle's two pair with {J-Diamonds}

. The turn brought the {K-Diamonds}

and Doyle found the {J-Hearts}

on the river to make the full house.

He now has a commanding chip lead in the match.

03-06-2010 16:57 UTC-12

Cruising Along

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Blinds at most tables are now up to 1,000 and 2,000. That reduces the starting stack of 80,000 chips for this round to 40 big blinds. That's not short but it should start to stimulate a bit more play than we've seen in the first 30 minutes.

"The trash talking is running rampant at each table," joked MOC Jordan Siegel, noting an absolute dearth of any table talk.

03-06-2010 16:42 UTC-12

An Eerie Quiet

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This group of matches seems to be the quietest of the day so far. There hasn't been much excitement yet, and even MOC Jorden Siegel is noticeably absent.

During the group photo, Dennis Phillips joked with Annie Duke that all of the tall players were eliminated. "Everyone over 6'2 is out of the tournament," he beamed.

Duke corrected him that Erik Seidel has made it through to the Elite Eight. When Doyle Brunson joined them on set a few moments later, he remarked how tall he now feels.

03-06-2010 16:26 UTC-12

Shuffle Up and Deal

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Our last four matches of the night are now underway. Stick around for all the action and see who advances to the Elite 8.

03-06-2010 16:16 UTC-12

Getting Set

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The last flight of the night is getting ready to start, with players gathering for a group photo before moving to their respective tables.

Up front, we'll see Doyle Brunson take on Annette Obrestad on the feature table. Behind them, Dennis Phillips will face Eli Elezra, Jerry Yang will take on Barry Greenstein, and Annie Duke and Paul Wasicka will face off at the secondary feature table.

Cards should be in the air in just a few minutes.

03-06-2010 15:58 UTC-12

Short Break

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The Clubs and Spades Sweet Sixteen matches have ended. Tomorrow Peter Eastgate will meet Erik Seidel for the Clubs Bracket final, while Scotty Nguyen will square off against Jason Mercier in the Spades Bracket final.

We're on a fifteen-minute break right now, but before they dim the lights on the set we'll have one more flight of matches. The Hearts and Diamonds Sweet Sixteen matches are on tap:

{A-Hearts}

Hearts

Eli Elezra v. Dennis Phillips
Doyle Brunson v. Annette Obrestad

{A-Diamonds}

Diamonds

Barry Greenstein v. Jerry Yang
Annie Duke v. Paul Wasicka

03-06-2010 15:57 UTC-12

Gabe Kaplan Eliminated ($25,000)

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Gabe Kaplan and Scotty Nguyen staged a protracted battle, but in the end, it had to end. And it did when Kaplan moved all in on a board of {6-Clubs}

.

Scotty called with the {A-Spades}

and was behind Kaplan's {A-Clubs}

, but running hearts - the {7-Hearts}

and

- gave Scotty the flush and the win. He advances to the Elite 8 while Kaplan goes home with $25,000.

03-06-2010 15:51 UTC-12

Phil Laak Eliminated ($25,000)

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Finally, some excitement on the set of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Jason Mercier, now holding the chip lead against Phil Laak, open-shoved all in. Phil Laak thought things over and then decided to call. Reveal your cards, gentlemen!

Mercier: {5-Clubs}

Laak:

Laak would need some help, and he got it immediately on the flop. It was a king in the window, {K-Diamonds}

. Cheers erupted in the gallery for one of the few times during the last two days. The turn {8-Hearts}

left Mercier looking for a five, and only a five, to end the match.

Laak took Mercier's two black fives and put one above the spot where the river would fall and one below it. The dealer burned and turned... the {5-Diamonds}

!

There were roars of disbelief on the set and even Laak looked a little shell-shocked. Mercier grinned that same mischievous grin we saw after he rivered Pieter de Korver in the Round of 32.

Laak came to the side of the set to receive a consolation hug from companion Jennifer Tilly. Someone else on the rail told Phil not to worry, "God still loves you. He really does."

"Not as much as He loves Jason," joked Tilly. "Jason! You should be ashamed of yourself!" she added.

Ashamed or not, Mercier is through to the Elite Eight. Laak departs with $25,000.

03-06-2010 15:43 UTC-12

Mercier Doubles Up

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Jason Mercier is finally off his short stack.

After pushing three times before and forcing folds from Phil Laak, Mercier moved in again with {A-Spades}

and got called by Laak's {K-Spades}

Neither player connected on the flop of {3-Hearts}

and Mercier had Laak drawing dead when he caught the {A-Clubs}

on the turn. The {3-Spades}

on the river was meaningless, and Mercier took the lead in the match.

After the hand, Jennifer Tilly offered Laak some encouragement from the rail, saying "You can do it. You just have to get set over set."

Laak's response: "How about ace high?"