Duke is the first woman to win this event

This year’s 2010 NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship was a year of upsets, surprises and all-around bracket busters, it was only fitting that the final match came down to two players who have historically not done well in this event. The two longtime friends, Erik Seidel and Annie Duke, seemed content just to be playing in the finals together at first, but as the three match slugfest drug on, you could tell that both players were playing their best poker in an effort to win the prestigious title. In the end, it was Duke who prevailed over Seidel, but even she conceded that the tournament came down to a single lucky hand and that both players put on stellar performances over the past three days that both can look back on and be proud of.

Just how exactly did Duke overcome a major chip deficit to rally back to victory? Well, here is a breakdown of each of the three final round matches so you can see for yourself:

Match #1
The first match went to Annie Duke, who picked up several sizeable pots early on to pull to the chip lead. After almost an hour of play, the two got it all-in on a flop of KJ7. Duke held AK for top apir with top kicker while Seidel showed 68 for a flush draw. The turn brought the J and the river the A to make two pair for Duke and leave Seidel in a must-win situation heading into the second match.

Match #2
The pressure was on Seidel as he was put in a must-win situation in order to stay alive in the event and he really stepped up to the occasion. After the match was over, Duke told the event’s host Leanne Tweeden that Seidel, “played circles around [her],” to pull even in the best of three format. Seidel took down several big pots to leave Duke extremely short-stacked. She managed to double up once when her 47 outflopped Seidel’s KT, but Duke would have no such luck the second time she got all her chips in the middle. She held K5 to Seidel’s 78. Duke still had the best of it after the 964 flop, but the 5 on the turn made Seidel a nine-high straight. Duke did pick up a heart draw on the turn, but the 9 on the river gave the pot to Seidel and pushed the finals to a third match.

Match #3
Duke and Seidel were chatty during their first match, but when it came down to the nitty gritty, the two played in virtual silence, focused on claiming the top prize. Seidel pulled out to the lead and, as the blinds grew increasingly higher, Duke was left with no choice but to shove all-in. Her all-in move went uncalled several times, but finally Seidel picked up a big hand and the cards were turned face up. Duke showed Q9 while Seidel held AK. The flop fell Q84 giving Duke top pair and the 9 on the turn left Seidel drawing dead. The river was a meaningless 8 and Duke doubled up to take a substantial chip lead. A few hands later, the duo was all-in again, this time with Seidel holding A2 to Duke’s 99. The 876 flop gave Duke an overpair and a straight draw and the 5 on the turn made her straight. Seidel’s only hope was to draw to a chop, which did not happen as the river brought the 8 to give Duke the hand, the match and the victory worth $500,000.

Duke is the first female winner in this event’s six-year history, though Vanessa Rousso did come close last year, finishing in 2nd place to Huck Seed. Duke was elated following her big win and gave endless props to Seidel and his poker skills. She also couldn’t resist reminding the crowd that the last time she was on NBC she had to finish in second place (for those who didn’t watch “Celebrity Apprentice”, Duke was runner-up to comedienne Joan Rivers), so it was certainly nice to come out on top this time around.

Here are the in-the-money results from the event:

1st: Annie Duke - $500,000
2nd: Erik Seidel - $250,000
3rd: Scotty Nguyen - $125,000
4th: Dennis Phillips - $125,000
5th: Jerry Yang - $75,000
6th: Doyle Brunson - $75,000
7th: Jason Mercier - $75,000
8th: Peter Eastgate - $75,000
9th: Paul Wasicka - $25,000
10th: Eli Elezra - $25,000
11th: Annette Obrestad - $25,000
12th: Barry Greenstein - $25,000
13th: Gabe Kaplan – $25,000
14th: Phil Laak - $25,000
15th: Chris Moneymaker - $25,000
16th: Jamie Gold - $25,000

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