Last year, Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel fell to Annie Duke in the finals of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Despite the loss, the tournament marked a victory of sorts for Seidel, who had entered the 2010 running with a 0-5 record in the made-for-television event. Now, Seidel has won 11 of his last 12 National Heads-Up Poker Championship matches after taking down the 2011 title and a $750,000 payday last night.
Seidel commented in a press release distributed by NBC officials on Monday, “I have competed in the NHPC since 2005 and lost to Annie Duke in the finals at last year’s tournament, so my win today is truly special. It is always exciting to compete against my fellow poker players who showcased great skill on the tables this year.” He added via his Twitter account, “Don’t know what to say… Thanks everyone! 2011 has been an insane ride so far.”
“Insane ride” is an understatement from Seidel, who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame last November. In January, Seidel took fourth in the $25,000 High Roller Event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $295,000. Then, it was on to Australia, where he took third in an AUD $100,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament for over USD $600,000.
The crowning glory of Seidel’s trip “Down Under” was a win in the AUD $250,000 Super High Roller Event for USD $2.4 million, a title that helped him shoot up poker’s all-time money list, albeit not without some controversy from the community due to its buy-in and composition of Full Tilt Poker pros.
According to the Hendon Mob, Seidel now tops poker’s all-time money list at $14.7 million, having just surpassed Daniel Negreanu’s $14.1 million. Six months ago, Seidel was 11th on the leaderboard.
Seidel swept PokerStars pro and 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker in the finals of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. The run marked the first major success for “The Man Who Started It All” in the single-elimination tournament.
In 2005, Moneymaker survived to the second round, where J.C. Train sent him packing. In 2006, he lost to Tuan Le in the opening round; he suffered the same fate against fellow Main Event winner Joe Hachem one year later. In 2008, another Main Event champion, Jerry Yang, relegated Moneymaker to the rail in the first round and, in 2009, Negreanu was his executioner in the opening match. Last year, Seidel eliminated Moneymaker in Sweet 16 of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.
Seidel defeated Victory Poker pro Andrew “good2cu” Robl in the Final Four, while Moneymaker bested reigning WSOP Main Event victor Jonathan Duhamel. In the finals, which are played in a best-of-three format, Seidel booked two straight wins for the sweep and a $750,000 top prize. For his second place finish, Moneymaker banked $300,000, which, according to the Hendon Mob, marks only the fourth six-figure score of his career.
Moneymaker’s road to the finals included wins over John Racener, Dan “jungleman12” Cates, Doyle Brunson, David Oppenheim, and Duhamel. Seidel bested Allen Cunningham, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Vanessa Selbst, and Robl to set up the showdown with the 2003 Main Event champ.
If the tournament sounds like a hoot, then check it out when it begins airing on Sundays on NBC in mid-April. Here’s when you can catch the 2011 National Heads-Up Poker Championship:
April 17th: Noon to 1:00pm ET
April 24th: Noon to 2:00pm ET
May 1st: Noon to 2:00pm ET
May 8th: Noon to 2:00pm ET
May 15th: Noon to 2:00pm ET
May 22nd: Noon to 3:00pm ET
