Tournament: Annie Duke wins National Heads-Up Poker Championship

Annie Duke, one of the top female poker players in the world, cemented her reputation by winning the Sixth Annual National Heads-Up Poker Championship. She defeated former World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up Erik Seidel two matches to one in their best-of-three series for the title. Duke won the first prize of US$500,000, while Seidel earned US$250,000 for his second-place finish.

Duke became the first woman to win the single-elimination tournament, but she did not have an easy path to the title. Among the opponents in her six matches were five WSOP Main Event finalists, including 2007 Champion Jerry Yang. The only non-finalist was her first-round opponent Andy Bloch, who has two World Poker Tour final tables on his resume.

In her second-round match, she eliminated 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon. Her third-round match was a tough contest against 2006 WSOP Main Event runner-up and 2007 Heads-up Champion Paul Wasicka. Duke was nearly eliminated several times during the match, including once when she went all-in with ace-ten offsuit. She caught a straight on the river to crack Wasicka's pocket aces in a dramatic finish.

Duke's road to the top did not get any easier in her quarterfinal match against Yang. The former champion doubled up through Duke several times and built a substantial lead before she was able to outlast him and force him into costly mistakes. After her victory against Yang, she defeated 2008 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Dennis Phillips for a spot in the final match.

Seidel's road may have been the toughest of any player's ever to reach the finals of this prestigious event. Of the five opponents he defeated, four of them were former WSOP Main Event Champions: Huck Seed (1996) in the first round, Chris Moneymaker (2003) in the third round, Peter Eastgate (2008) in the quarterfinals and Scotty Nguyen (1998) in the semifinals. His second-round opponent, David Williams, was the runner-up in the 2004 Main Event.

Duke took the first match from Seidel, who has a sponsorship agreement with Full Tilt Poker along with Duke's brother, Howard Lederer. Seidel evened the score at one match apiece, but Duke took down the deciding match with pocket nines that improved to a straight.

The matches will be televised in the US on NBC starting 18 April. The final matches will be broadcast on 23 May.

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