2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

$20,000 Heads-up Championship
Day: 3
Event Info

2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k7
Prize
$500,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$20,000
Entries
64

Seed v. Farha Update

Tournament Emcee Jordan Siegel just announced that Sammy Farha is currently leading in his match against Huck Seed by a count of 420,000 to 220,000.

The blinds are now at 15,000/30,000.

Rousso Eliminates Grospellier, Moves on to Final

Railbirds craning to see the final hand.
Railbirds craning to see the final hand.
Bertrand Grospellier and Vanessa Rousso were all in, and again the crowd rushed the table. Grospellier was quite short after losing the last pot and could only muster up {K-Clubs} {6-Clubs}. He was against Rousso's {7-Spades} {7-Clubs}.

"Insurance!" called out Sam Farha from within the press of spectators.

The flop was all small cards, {2-Diamonds} {4-Diamonds} {5-Clubs}. Grospellier paired sixes with the {6-Spades} turn, but that wasn't enough to overtake Rousso. He would need to improve again on the river. The dealer burned and turned the {8-Hearts}, making an unnecessary straight for Rousso. She dragged the pot and eliminated Grospellier from the tournament.

After the win, Rousso turned around and was greeted with a huge bear hug by Chad Brown. She now will await the winner of the Seed-Farha match to see who will be crowned the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker champion.

Tags: Bertrand GrospellierVanessa Rousso

Rousso Doubles Up Again

The entire crowd rushed the back table after Vanessa Rousso and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier got all the chips in preflop. Rousso's hand, {A-Hearts} {K-Hearts}, had the lead on Grospellier's {J-Diamonds} {10-Diamonds}. Neither player improved on a flop of {8-Diamonds} {4-Clubs} {2-Spades}, but the turn was a perfect drama card. It fell {K-Diamonds}, drawing a dramatic gasp from the crowd. Rousso had top pair but Grospellier picked up a flush draw. With everyone craning to see the table, the dealer burned and turn a blank, the {9-Spades}, for the river.

ElkY had the chip lead going into the hand. He is now the short stack.

Tags: Bertrand GrospellierVanessa Rousso

Not Much Time Left

Blinds for each match have moved up to 10,000 and 20,000. Bertrand Grospellier leads Vanessa Rousso at the back table; Huck Seed is still barely in front of Sam Farha at the front table. One would assume that with only 640,000 chips on each table, neither match will last much longer.

Grinding Away

Neither Sam Farha nor Bertrand Grospellier is giving up the ghost without a fight. Each has continued to chip away at his opponent, narrowing the chip deficit against him. Grospellier is almost level with Rousso again after losing a huge all-in pot earlier when he missed a combination straight-and-flush draw against Rousso's overpair.

Rousso Ducks, Dodges and Weaves Her Way to a Double-Up

Vanessa Rousso
Vanessa Rousso
All the money went in on a flop of {10-Diamonds} {8-Hearts} {5-Diamonds} between Bertrand Grospellier and Vanessa Rousso. Rousso had the best hand, {K-Diamonds} {K-Hearts}, but Grospellier had the best draw with {J-Diamonds} {9-Diamonds}. Grospellier would take the pot, and the match, with any diamond, any queen, or any seven. The turn paired the board {8-Clubs} and the river blanked {6-Spades}, giving Rousso a huge double-up. She now has the chip advantage against Grospellier.

Tags: Bertrand GrospellierVanessa Rousso

Scoreboard Update

The four players continue to circle and jab. Sam Farha has closed the gap between him and Huck Seed, bringing the match virtually dead even. At the back table, Bertrand Grospellier continues to lead Vanessa Rousso. Blinds just went up to 5,000 and 10,000. That's going to create some pressure and some action.

A New Career for Negreanu

Producer Mori Eskandani just gave Daniel Negreanu a microphone. Negreanu is calling the action in the match between Huck Seed and Sam Farha and joking around with Farha.

"I'd love to get in this match right now," remarked Negreanu in response to an inaudible comment from Farha. "You look like you're steaming."

He took a quick look back at the match between Bertrand Grospellier and Vanessa Rousso, a match Grospellier leads. "See, I had her like that too," Negreanu told Grospellier as he pointed at Grospellier's two-to-one chip advantage. "It didn't work."