Eight Players Remain In National Heads-Up Poker Championship

The quarterfinal matches are set at the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, leaving an Elite Eight made up of established stars and less familiar faces to battle it out for $750,000.

Each of the quarterfinal matches presents a compelling matchup in its own way. In the Clubs Bracket, Oliver Busquet – perhaps best known by his online handle “livb112” – is facing off against Jonathan Duhamel, who is fresh off winning the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. Busquet is one of online poker’s top heads-up players, while Duhamel is looking to continue his momentum off of winning the world’s most prestigious poker tournament.

The Spades Bracket sees David Oppenheim take on Chris Moneymaker, who had to defeat Doyle Brunson to make it to the round of eight. Moneymaker is often seen as the creator of the poker boom, and is looking to prove critics who question his overall poker skills wrong.

In the Hearts Bracket, Andrew Robl will take on David Benyamine. Robl has performed admirably in his last-minute role as a replacement, while David Benyamine has fought through a murderer’s row of poker pros to get to this far, defeating Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, and Michael Mizrachi.

Finally, the Diamonds Bracket will see a battle of youth vs. experience, though nobody will question the credentials of either player. Rising star Vanessa Selbst takes on one of the most successful tournament players of all time in Erik Seidel, with the winner likely being considered the favorite to win the tournament by many fans.

All of the players still in the tournament are guaranteed to make at least $75,000. Players eliminated in the previous round each won $30,000; these players included James Bord, Doyle Brunson, Phil Galfond, Phil Gordon, Eugene Katchalov, Ayaz Mahmood, Jason Mercier, and Michael Mizrachi.