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National Heads-Up Poker Championship Players Set

The 63 Players Have Accepted the Invitations

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The final list of 63 players invited to compete in the third NBC's National Heads-Up Championship has been set.

The NHPC takes place at Caesars Las Vegas March 1-4. Last year's defending champ, Ted Forrest, will be there, as will Phil Hellmuth, who won the first edition of the NHPC in 2005. Chris Ferguson, who made it to the finals both years, will also play.

There's one notable absence on the list. The most famous player in the world, Doyle Brunson, will not play this year.

Several celebrities received and accepted invites this year. They include Don Cheadle, Shannon Elizabeth, and Jennifer Tilly. Card Player's Jeff Shulman will also play.

A drawing party will take place March 1, and the tournament begins with its single-table elimination matches the next day. Players will try to be one of the two last players standing, and then will play a best-of-three match to determine the winner.

The tournament will be shown on NBC starting in April. The broadcast schedule is as follows:

April 8 - Noon to 1 p.m. ET (3-4 p.m. PT)
April 15 - Noon to 1 p.m. ET (3-4 p.m. PT)
April 22 - Noon to 1 p.m. ET (3-4 p.m. PT)
April 29 - Noon to 2 p.m. ET (3-5 p.m. PT)
May 6 - Noon to 2 p.m. ET (3-5 p.m. PT)
May 13 - Noon to 2 p.m. ET (4-6 p.m. PT)
May 20 - Noon to 3 p.m. ET (3-6 p.m. PT)

And here's the complete list of players:

  • Rene Angelil
  • Patrik Antonius
  • David Benyamine
  • Andy Bloch
  • Brad Booth
  • Humberto Brenes
  • Todd Brunson
  • Chad Brown
  • Johnny Chan
  • Don Cheadle
  • T.J. Cloutier
  • Allen Cunningham
  • Paul Darden
  • John D'Agostino
  • Annie Duke
  • Eli Elezra
  • Shannon Elizabeth
  • Antonio Esfandiari
  • Sam Farha
  • Chris Ferguson
  • Scott Fischman
  • Ted Forrest
  • Kristy Gazes
  • Jamie Gold
  • Barry Greenstein
  • Phil Gordon
  • Clonie Gowen
  • Joe Hachem
  • Gus Hansen
  • Jennifer Harman
  • Phil Hellmuth
  • Phil Ivey
  • John Juanda
  • Gabe Kaplan
  • Phil Laak
  • Howard Lederer
  • Nam Le
  • Tuan Le
  • Erick Lindgren
  • Jeff Madsen
  • Mike Matusow
  • Isabelle Mercier
  • John Michael
  • Michael Mizrachi
  • Chris Moneymaker
  • Carlos Mortensen
  • Yosh Nakano
  • Daniel Negreanu
  • Scotty Nguyen
  • Greg Raymer
  • Chip Reese
  • Vanessa Russo
  • Huck Seed
  • Erik Seidel
  • Shawn Sheikhan
  • Jeff Shulman
  • Gavin Smith
  • Jennifer Tilly
  • JC Tran
  • Marco Traniello
  • Cyndy Violette
  • David Williams
  • Steve Zolotow
The final player will qualify through an online poker promotion at the show's website that takes place right before the event.