The 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship kicks off on Friday from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Last night, a drawing party at PURE Nightclub at the casino determined the initial pairings for the group of 64 players. The single elimination tournament will crown a champion on Sunday and awards a $1.5 million prize pool. Let’s take a look at the 32 first round matches.
Don Cheadle versus David Pham
Paul Wasicka versus Nicholas Joy
Jennifer Tilly versus Phil Ivey
Doyle Brunson versus Vanessa Rousso
Hevad Khan versus Scotty Nguyen
Ted Forrest versus Orel Hershiser
Daniel Negreanu versus Chris Moneymaker
Mike Matusow versus Dario Minieri
Gabe Kaplan versus Chris Ferguson
John Juanda versus Joe Hachem
Ilari Sahamies versus Gavin Smith
Fred Collins versus Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier
Jeffrey Ishbia versus Leon Yanovski
Mike Sexton versus Phil Hellmuth
Gavin Griffin versus Tom Dwan
Barry Greenstein versus Blandino Gines
Johnny Chan versus Eli Elezra
Erick Lindgren versus Howard Lederer
J.C. Tran versus David Williams
Jamie Gold versus Scott Fischman
Erik Seidel versus John “The Razor” Phan
Jerry Yang versus Clonie Gowen
Allen Cunningham versus Sam Farha
Andy Bloch versus Peter Eastgate
Kenny Tran versus Antonio Esfandiari
Greg Raymer versus Jennifer Harman
Kenny Yeh versus Phil Laak
Vanessa Selbst versus Layne Flack
David Benyamine versus Gus Hansen
Huck Seed versus Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little
Chad Brown versus Glen Chorny
Annie Duke versus Brad Garrett
Vanessa Rousso was named the newest Go Daddy girl just before the festivities kicked off at PURE last night. In the first round of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, she’ll square off against “Texas Dolly,” Doyle Brunson, a 10-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner. Rousso is a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro. Two marquee names at Stars, Daniel Negreanu and Chris Moneymaker, will duke it out in the first round. Moneymaker is regarded by many as the man who ignited the modern poker boom. The aptly named accountant from Tennessee won a satellite to the 2003 WSOP Main Event on PokerStars. The amateur promptly took down the world’s most prestigious tournament for $2.5 million, defeating Sam Farha heads-up.
Hevad Khan‘s first round match-up pits him against Scotty Nguyen. The two outspoken poker players will likely put on quite a show for fans. Nguyen won the 2008 HORSE Championship at the WSOP while allegedly inebriated, while Khan’s excessive celebrations during the 2007 WSOP Main Event were enough for Harrah’s to institute a stricter player conduct rule last year. Khan took sixth in the tournament; Nguyen was crowned champion of the HORSE event.
Many in the Caesars poker room will have their eyes on the match between Tom Dwan and Gavin Griffin. The latter is one of the most decorated tournament poker pros in the game. Griffin is the only poker player ever to capture titles on the World Poker Tour, European Poker Tour, and WSOP. Dwan is one of the world’s foremost high-stakes cash game players. His Million Dollar Challenge pits him against Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and David Benyamine (Ivey and Benyamine also appear in the field).
The match-up of John Juanda against Joe Hachem pits two former World Champions against each other. Juanda emerged victorious from the field of the 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event. Hachem barreled his way to victory during the 2005 WSOP Main Event on the other side of “The Pond” in Las Vegas. Juanda owns a total of four bracelets and over $3.4 million in career WSOP earnings; Hachem’s victory in 2005 was worth over twice that amount.
If Ivey and Brunson were to win their opening matches, they would face each other in Round 2. It would be a bout featuring winners of 15 WSOP bracelets. The National Heads-Up Poker Championship will air on NBC over six consecutive Sundays starting on April 12th.
