Fresh off of the finish of its ninth Full Tilt Online Poker Series, the online poker site is gearing up for its second Heads-Up World Championship. The $25,000 buy-in tournament will begin at 3:00pm ET (15:00 GMT) on Saturday, September 6th. A winner will be crowned the very next day. This time around, the name of the game is Pot Limit Omaha, which will not only attract a wealth of new players, but will also provide an excellent opportunity for young poker players to learn about this advanced game from some of their favorite pros.
The original Heads-Up World Championship was held in May on Full Tilt Poker. There were 64 total entrants in order to create the “perfect bracket” for heads-up play. In the end, poker pro David Singer defeated Full Tilt member “Whitelime” heads up. Singer’s reward was a healthy $560,000, by far one of the largest first place prizes ever dished out online. Singer defeated “OMGClayAiken,” Brandon Adams, “Buck99,” “MASTRBLASTR,” and Brian Hastings en route to victory. Adams was among the final players in the $10,000 buy-in Heads-Up World Championship event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. He finished sixth and took home $54,144. Adams also finished 69th in the 2007 WSOP Main Event for $130,288.
It was no surprise to anyone that Singer had success in the original Full Tilt Poker Heads-Up Championship. He’s been a force on the live tournament circuit, notching two final tables in Season IV of the World Poker Tour. That season, Singer finished sixth in the Borgata Poker Open for $249,775. He followed that up with a third place finish in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $436,200. His career WPT earnings nearly top $900,000. The momentum from the Heads-Up Championship victory propelled him to his first WSOP bracelet in 2008, when he took down a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event for $214,122.
Already slated to play in the Heads-Up Championship are Full Tilt Poker pros Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, and Patrik Antonius. Ivey has to be the favorite in the field. Two of his five World Series of Poker bracelets have come in Pot Limit Omaha events, one each in 2000 and 2005. His career WSOP winnings are over $3.4 million. Hansen has five total WSOP and WSOP Europe cashes; all have come in $10,000 buy-in events, but none are in Pot Limit Omaha. He had three WPT victories in the first two seasons, one each in the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic, L.A. Poker Classic, and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. His career WPT earnings top $4 million.
In May’s Heads-Up Championship, Ivey was defeated in the first round by Whitelime. Hansen was also ousted in the first round by PR1NNYRAID. Those who had deep runs in May included Andy Bloch, Peter “Nordberg” Feldman, Howard Lederer, and ActionJeff. This time around, Full Tilt Poker is offering “sweat tournaments” which offer $5,000 in added prizes. While a player’s final two rounds of heads-up matches are taking place on Sunday, September 7th, visit the Tournament Lobby and join the sweat tournament that’s named for the player who you think will win it all. According to Full Tilt’s website, “If you reach the final table in your chosen tournament and your pro wins the $25K Heads-Up World Championship, you’ll receive a share of a $5,000 bonus in addition to your prize money.” Each sweat tournament has a buy-in of $11.
Video highlights will be available on the online poker room’s website in case you missed any of the action. Satellites into the $25,000 Heads-Up Pot Limit Omaha Championship are currently running on Full Tilt Poker. It’s important to note that once a player registers for the Heads-Up Championship, he or she is not able to un-register.
