Ted Forrest Wins National Heads-Up Poker Championship

Renowned cash game player, Ted Forrest, finished atop the field of 64 in poker’s version of March Madness, becoming the second champion of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship (NHPC), held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Chris Ferguson finished as runner-up again (he lost to Phil Hellmuth last year). Forrest walked away with a $500,000 first place check, while Ferguson grossed $250,000.

The NHPC was a surprise hit last year and players were eager to take another shot at being this year’s one-on-one king or queen. Unlike the NCAA basketball tournament, however, there were no seeds, so nobody had an easy road to the Final Four, or even to the second round. Marquee match-ups were plentiful in the first round: Chip Reese vs. Phil Hellmuth, Freddy Deeb vs. Chris Ferguson, Cyndy Violette vs. Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest vs. Erik Seidel, Howard Lederer vs. Allen Cunningham, John Juanda vs. Doyle Brunson, and Mark Seif vs. Michael Mizrachi, just to name a few.

The tournament was down to the quarter-finals on Monday, with Forrest squaring off against Sam Farha, Daniel Negreanu vs. Sean Sheikhan, Ferguson vs. James McManus, and Greenstein vs. Huck Seed. Surprise winners Sheikhan and Seed advanced to the semis to face Forrest and Ferguson, respectively.


The final match was a best of three between Forrest and Ferguson. As mentioned earlier, Ferguson was in this same position last year, so we was most definitely looking to make a one place improvement. He was able to take the first match in only an hour, even after being out-chipped 10-to-1 at one point.

It took less than 40 minutes for Forrest to win the second match, as he accomplished what all poker players aim to accomplish – he lost the small pots and won the big ones.

Forrest was able to keep the momentum going and only took about another hour to win the championship. On the final hand, Forrest moved all-in pre-flop with K-7 and was called by Ferguson (who was therefore all-in) with Q-J. Both men paired their top card, but Ferguson received no help on the turn or river and was eliminated.

The tournament will be broadcast on NBC in May. For the complete television schedule, visit the NHPC website.

Originally published March 8, 2006