Caesars Palace Once Again Hosting Heads-Up Championship
The National heads-Up Poker Championship will have a different feel to it when it returns to Caesars Palace this year. Over the eight-year run of the event, online poker sites have played a major part in the production of the tournament, but that will change in 2013.
With online poker sites being the target of a federal crackdown over the past couple of years, the old sponsors no longer will be promoting the tourney. Instead, the World Series of Poker brand, which has been the beneficiary of the crackdown, will be the naming sponsor.
The event itself features some of the top players in the game. Last year poker legend Erik Seidel won the 64-player tournament, and he will be looking to repeat as champion this spring. Chris Moneymaker was the runner-up in a battle featuring two former WSOP Main Event champions.
The top players in the game annually participate in the Heads-Up event, and this year will be no exception. Antonio Esfandiari, who became the richest player in the history of the sport with his win in the $1 million buy-in event last summer at the WSOP, has played in the past and is expected to be in the field come March.
The Heads-Up Championship features 64 players in a bracket-style tournament. College basketball made the 64-team bracket style popular, and poker has adopted the plan for the Heads-Up tournament. The players are seeded, and face off round after round until the final two player go heads-up for the title.
NBC Sports Network and NBC will each air three telecasts of the tournament. The championship match will be aired on April 20th.
The event returns to Caesars Palace after a one-year hiatus.