Poker's March Madness

March Madness started early for the poker world this year, as some of the top tournament players in the world gathered at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to participate in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in early March. A full week before college basketball began its 64-team NCAA tournament, poker pitted 64 players against each other in four regional brackets named after the suits in a deck of cards: spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds.

The event started with a Friday night party, where all the players gathered for a press event to draw random bracket assignments. The invitational field consisted primarily of top players, with a few celebrity players thrown into the mix (this was being taped for television, after all). Some of the fun first-round matchups were two-time World Series of Poker Champion Johnny Chan against actor James Woods, and Card Player 2004 Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu against Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. There were also some intriguing matches, like John Hennigan vs. Layne Flack, Phil Ivey vs. David Sklansky, Phil Hellmuth vs. Men Nguyen, and Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari vs. Howard "The Professor" Lederer.

The tournament took place over a single weekend. Saturday started with all 64 players, and ended with the "Sweet 16," who advanced to Sunday to play down to a single champion. There were eight tables in play simultaneously, but the beautiful layout of the set gave the audience some of the best views and the closest access they'll ever experience during a televised tournament. There was a large circular center stage for the featured table, with seven other tables laid out in a semicircle around the edge. This gave the TV crew easy access to all of the tables without intruding on the audience's view, and the spectators provided a great backdrop. This tournament should look amazing on television.

Saturday ended with the following 16 players surviving: Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Mike Sexton, T.J. Cloutier, Carlos Mortensen, Phil Hellmuth, Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, Antonio Esfandiari, Ted Forrest, Scott Fischman, Hasan Habib, Lyle Berman, David Sklansky, Mimi Tran, John Hennigan, and Huck Seed. After the first two rounds on Sunday, it was down to the "Final Four": Phil Hellmuth vs. Antonio Esfandiari, and T.J. Cloutier vs. Chris Ferguson.

With all of these great players assembled, there were no easy brackets. But, Esfandiari had a particularly tough road to the semifinals, coming back from a huge deficit in round one, where he was down to $900 in chips against Howard Lederer's $39,100. He then had to battle through Daniel Negreanu, Ted Forrest, and Scott Fischman to make the Final Four. Antonio was playing fantastic poker all weekend, and he had Hellmuth reeling early in their semifinal match. At one point, Hellmuth was telling announcer Ali Nejad how tough Antonio was playing, and he stopped to ask T.J. Cloutier if he'd like to switch places. Cloutier immediately responded, "You think it's easy over here?" Hellmuth managed to battle back to defeat Antonio, and Cloutier definitely did not have an easy time of it, as Chris Ferguson eliminated Cloutier to advance to the final table.

After two full days of excellent heads-up poker between the game's greatest players, NBC was blessed with final-table action that couldn't have been scripted any better. It was heads up between two former World Series of Poker champions, and they happened to be two of the most famous players in the game.

Each heads-up match throughout the tournament was one game, after which the winner advanced and the loser went home. However, the final table was played in a best two-out-of-three format. The audience was invited onstage to sit around the final table, just a few feet behind the players. It was a very late night, with the final table starting after midnight, but the fans who stuck around were rewarded with an unforgettable experience.

Hellmuth took control of the first game early, and went on to win it with his trademark hand – pocket nines. Game two was a blur. Just five minutes into it, with the board showing 9-5-2-4 with three hearts, Ferguson checked, Hellmuth bet, and Ferguson raised. Hellmuth pushed all in, and Ferguson stopped to think for about five more minutes before calling. Ferguson turned over 9-2 for two pair, but Phil had a fantastic hand – A-3, with the A, giving him a straight with the nut-flush draw as a bonus. When Ferguson spiked a 9 on the river to make a full house, the crowd exploded into cheers as Hellmuth fell to his knees, knowing he was just one card away from winning a major championship. Ferguson remained calm through the chaos, knowing it would come down to a decisive game three.

Ferguson took the early lead in the final game, and Hellmuth was still rattled by the sudden turnaround in game two. Hellmuth was riding a very short stack at one point, when he doubled up to survive an all-in bet, and the pro-Ferguson crowd groaned. Hellmuth asked, "You don't want to go home yet, do you?" Amid a chorus of nos, one spectator said, "But we do want to go home soon!" Game three was an exciting match, as Hellmuth slowly battled back to even, and then won the game – and the entire tournament – with pocket queens.

Hellmuth probably hasn't been this excited about a poker victory since he won it all at the World Series of Poker back in 1989. "The money's great, but it's about the title. I'd rather have this," he said, indicating the trophy, "than this," and he pointed to the giant check. Ever since poker exploded on television a few years ago, Hellmuth hasn't had any major victories, as his fans and fellow players remind him. His most excruciating loss was at the ESPN Tournament of Champions, where he finished second to Annie Duke. She received $2 million for first place; Hellmuth received nothing for second.

But this time, he had done it. He outlasted a field of 64 of the best players in the world, and came out on top in an event that will be seen by millions on a major broadcast network (NBC). Hellmuth was so happy that he ordered 15 bottles of Dom Perignon to share a toast with all the fans who stayed to watch the final table. As he was standing with Chris Ferguson after the toast, Hellmuth said, "We're back. I think everyone had forgotten about us." A fan pointed out that they are two of the most famous poker players. "I don't mean the public," said Phil. "I'm referring to the poker world."

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship went so well that NBC decided to expand its coverage from five hours to eight hours, with two additional episodes. Here are a few extra things to watch for when the tournament airs on TV: Johnny Chan's orange vs. James Woods' grapefruit, Paul Phillips wearing a "Phil Hellmuth" jersey while playing against Phil Hellmuth, actress Shannon Elizabeth showing up to root for Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu changing basketball jerseys, and Phil Hellmuth's emotional roller-coaster ride at the final table.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship will air on NBC on the following weekends in May:

Sunday, May 1: Noon – 1 p.m. ET

Saturday, May 7: 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 8: Noon – 1 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 15: Noon – 1 p.m. ET

Saturday, May 21: 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 22: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET

(Championship Special)