National Heads-Up Poker Championship

National Heads-Up Poker Championship
Created byNBC Sports
Narrated byAli Nejad and Matt Vasgersian
Country of originUnited States
Production
Production locationsGolden Nugget Las Vegas (2005),
Caesars Palace (2006 - 2013)
Running time60 minutes (including commercials)
Original release
NetworkNBC
Release2005 (2005) –
2013 (2013) (no 2012 event)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship was an annual poker tournament held in the United States and produced by the NBC television network.[1] It is a $25,000 "buy-in" invitation-only tournament[2] organized as a series of one-on-one games of no limit Texas hold 'em matches. The participants include many of the world's most successful poker players, as well as celebrities.

The championship was the first poker event to be televised on and produced by a major U.S. television network.[1]

In October 2011, NBC announced that the National Heads-Up Poker Championship would not return in 2012, ending the championship's seven-year run.[3] After a one-year hiatus, the tournament returned for a final time in 2013.[4] The $25,000 buy-in event ran from Jan. 24 through 26 at Caesars Palace, the same venue where the event was held from 2006 through 2011.

In February 2014, NBC announced the National Heads-Up Poker Championship would not return in 2014.

The Heads-Up Championship had been sponsored by online poker companies before Black Friday. The World Series of Poker (WSOP.com) is the new presenting sponsor.[5]

  1. ^ a b NBC Spot in the Cards for Poker Tourney February 2005 article from the Las Vegas Sun
  2. ^ NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Inks Four-year Deal with Caesars, a May 2008 article from pokernews.com
  3. ^ "NBC Cancels National Heads-Up Poker Championship". PokerNews. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  4. ^ "NBC Brings Back National Heads-Up Poker Championship". PokerNews. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  5. ^ "National Heads-Up Poker Championship returns to Caesars Palace". Retrieved 14 January 2013.