2010 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship

$20,000 Heads-up Championship
Day: 3
123
Event Info

2010 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
9♠9♥
Prize
$500,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$20,000
Prize Pool
$1,280,000
Entries
64
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Annie Duke Takes 1-0 Lead on Erik Seidel

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Annie Duke turned the tide against Erik Seidel by winning a few small pots and also showing down a flush on the river and a straight on the river to win medium-sized pots. Those chips propelled her to a 3-to-1 chip advantage.

With blinds increasing, the two players got all in on a flop of {7-Hearts} {k-Spades} {J-Spades}. Duke had flopped top pair, {A-Spades} {K-Diamonds}, and was looking to fade Seidel's flush draw, {6-Spades} {8-Spades}. Neither the turn {J-Hearts} nor the river {A-Hearts} were spades, allowing an exuberant Duke to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-three match.

We'll now reset the chip stacks to 640,000 each and rewind the blinds to the starting 3,000-6,000. Cards will be in the air in just a few minutes.

Tags: Annie DukeErik Seidel

The Tide Has Turned

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Annie Duke on Day 2
Annie Duke on Day 2
Annie Duke has turned the tables on Erik Seidel and now appears to have a sizable chip lead after winning a few pots.

In her last hand, Duke won 75,000 on a board of {4-Clubs}{6-Clubs}{2-Hearts}{7-Clubs}{3-Spades} and won the hand after showing a {5-?} for the straight.

Our Gallery

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One thing that strikes us when looking around the gallery is that it's a bit older than we would expect. During the last five years poker has very much become a young person's game. Yet the gallery for this TV final table is filled with people that we would estimate are in their 50s or older. Many of them are proudly sporting orange GoDaddy.com hats passed out by the producers before the start of the match.

Seidel Chipping Up

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There haven't been any big pots so far, but Erik Seidel seems to be winning more of the smaller ones and appears to be slowly building up his chip stack.

Early Edge to Seidel

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With twenty minutes of play in the books, the early edge goes to Erik Seidel. He's opened up a small lead over his good friend Annie Duke, all under the watchful eyes of two Roman centurions.

Slow and Steady

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As expected, neither Erik Seidel nor Annie Duke has come out blazing in the first of these three finals matches.

Both players have similar styles and are keeping the pots small here in the early going. That said, it's obvious that Annie feels comfortable playing against her good friend, as she's smiling and laughing more than we've seen previously today.

Let the Finals Begin

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...And then there were two. Erik Seidel and Annie Duke
...And then there were two. Erik Seidel and Annie Duke
Annie Duke and Erik Seidel have taken their seats at the final table where they'll play a best-of-three match to determine who walks away with the title of 2010 NBC National Heads-Up Champion and $500,000 in first-place money.

Cards are in the air and we're underway.

It's Duke and Seidel in the Finals

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With the conclusion of the lengthy Nguyen-Seidel semi-final match, we're ready for the best-of-three finals. Annie Duke will square off against Erik Seidel for $500,000 and the title of champion.

Prior to his run this year, Seidel was 0-5 lifetime in this tournament. Duke also had not been an excellent performer, with a lifetime record of 1-5 and no previous cashes. Now each one is on the cusp of winning a half million dollars.

The set is being re-configured for the finals. We'll probably be ready to go in about thirty minutes.

Scotty Nguyen Eliminated ($125,000)

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Scotty Nguyen leaves with $125,000
Scotty Nguyen leaves with $125,000
What started as a quiet hand turned into a big pot and a trip to the final table for Erik Seidel.

Both Nguyen and Seidel checked the flop of {9-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}{5-Hearts}, and checked again when the {7-Diamonds} hit the turn. The river {9-Spades} brought a bet of 100,000 from Scotty and an all-in raise from Seidel.

Scotty thought the hand through for a few seconds before saying, "OK, I call baby," only to find that his {K-Hearts}{9-Diamonds} was dead against Seidel's full house with the {9-Clubs}{7-Spades}.

Nguyen leaves with $125,000 while Seidel will play Annie Duke for the $500,000 first-place prize.

Dennis Phillips Eliminated ($125,000)

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Dennis Phillips - eliminated
Dennis Phillips - eliminated
After Dennis Phillips doubled through Annie Duke, their match was close to even. With blinds up to 10,000 and 20,000 it could go either way.

Fitting, then that the final hand was a race. Phillips was at risk with {A-Diamonds} {8-Spades}; Duke had a slight edge with {7-Hearts} {7-Diamonds}

Duke looked pained to watch the board roll out {9-Diamonds} {3-Diamonds} {2-Hearts} {6-Clubs} {4-Hearts}, but it was a clear board for her. Phillips flashed his trademark style and offered Duke a hug.

In his post-match interview, Phillips said, "I had a blast." For her part, Duke said that Phillips had her confused throughout the match. She felt she made many mistakes during the match and was fortunate to emerge victorious.

Phillips will leave with $125,000. Duke is off to the finals, where she will play the winner of the Scotty Nguyen-Erik Seidel match.

Tags: Annie DukeDennis Phillips