PHIL HELLMUTH IS THE 2005 NATIONAL HEADS-UP POKER CHAMPION

The final match between Phil Hellmuth and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson got underway a little after midnight. Both players being very careful to avoid a fatal trap while they mapped each other from behind very dark reflective shades. Phil begins to take down Chris’ stacks and soon had a commanding chip lead. Ferguson finally pushed all-in and Phil quickly called turning over a pair of nines to Ferguson’s J,5 of spades. The flop came 10h, 4h, 8c giving Phil the lead with his nines and no help for Chris. The turn brought another 8h and the river was a 6c giving Phil the win.

The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship final table format is a best of three matches. The players start with $640K in chips and blinds of $4K-$8K in each match. The second match got under way after a short break while the table was set up. This time it was Chris’ turn to quickly take all of Phil’s chips when he caught a river nine for a full beating Phil’s pat wheel. Needless to say the crowd exploded and so did Phil. This was only minutes into the match. Chris easily took the remainder of a dejected Phil’s short stack and evened up the contest at 1 and 1. It all comes down to the third match to decide the winner of this first ever NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

The third and deciding match got under way after Phil took a few minutes to cool off and collect himself after watching the championship jerked away from his grasp with a river boat 9. He left the tournament area and did his match interview outside. Chris remained calm and confident and never strayed from his “A” game. It was evident that the bad beat had taken a heavy toll on Hellmuth and he struggled to regain and retain his composure. Phil finally settles down and makes a concentrated push to win the championship, even joking with the crowd as his confidence returns. Phil goes all-in and doubles up, then does it again to climb to just over a million in chips and a commanding lead over Ferguson’s approximate $200K. A reversal of fortunes. Chris hangs tough and begins to rebuild his stack, then goes all-in with a K,6 suited and Phil Hellmuth finally
ends the marathon marathon match when his pocket Queens hold up. Phil Hellmuth is the 2005 National Heads-Up Poker Champion. Remember, you can catch all the action and drama on the NBC show scheduled to begin airing on May 1st. This tournament should set the new standard for a professional poker tournament telecast.

More photos of tonight’s action can be seen by continuing reading.