National Heads-Up Poker Championship

The single-elimination tournament is modeled after college basketball tournaments. Players who win a match advance to the next round; the player who wins six matches is crowned champion. The first round is seeded randomly the night before the tournament begins. Players are divided into four brackets – Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades. A participant advances by winning a heads-up match against his or her randomly drawn opponent. The structure of the brackets then determines every match thereafter. The semifinals consist of one player from each bracket, with the winner of the Spades bracket playing the winner of the Clubs bracket, and the winner of the Hearts bracket matched up against the winner of the Diamonds bracket. A best-of-three final match then determines which of the two finalists is crowned champion. ==Brief history==

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is an invitation-only event. In contrast, the World Heads-Up Poker Championship is an open event with a maximum participation of 128 players. The 2005 event took place at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas between March 4 and 6. It aired weekly on NBC from May 1 to 22 with commentary from Gabe Kaplan and Matt Vasgersian. The 2006 edition took place from March 4 to 6 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. NBC began its coverage by broadcasting one part of the opening round on April 16. The semi-final and championship matches aired May 21. Kaplan and Vasgersian returned as commentators. The 2007 edition was broadcast from April 8 to May 20. Ali Nejad took Gabe Kaplan's spot as commentator due to Kaplan competing in the tournament. The 2025 edition was filmed in August 2025 at the PokerGO Studio at Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The show premiered on Peacock from December 4 to 18, 2025. Ali Nejad returned to the commentary booth alongside PokerStars' Joe Stapleton, while Jeff Platt was on sideline duties. It began airing on PokerGO on February 2, 2026. ==Results==