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The World Series of Poker was the one that started it all. The World Poker Tour brought poker into the houses of the world. It was NBC’s National Heads-up Poker Championship, however, that signaled that we’d arrived.
The National Broadcasting Company saw the massive success that ESPN and the Travel Channel were enjoying. In a season of disappointing dramas and mock-Survivor reality shows, poker had been the one bright spot, combining reality television with game show adrenaline. NBC made the leap and beat the other networks to it.
The NBC setup was different from poker’s previous hits. Recognizing that many poker personalities were now penetrating the mainstream, they went with an invite-only, heads-up format in which two of the game’s biggest stars would be isolated at each table. This would force their personalities to flow and more hands to be played.
For the players, it was a dream opportunity. Thrive and you’d instantly pierce the public psyche — it was a branding dream. No invites were turned down; this was too big a deal. A few celebrities thrown in to lure people to the TV sets made it even better. Poker had hit the big time, and this was the chance to reap the rewards.
The event began with a drawing of brackets that gave the producers a couple of dream first-round matches, with the charismatic Daniel Negreanu against LA Lakers owner Jerry Buss, while actor James Woods faced the legend Johnny Chan. It was just the fun start NBC hoped for when they made the celebrity invites, but soon another star would take the reins.
Phil Hellmuth entered play flustered. When the pre-tournament odds were posted, his name was far from the top of the list and he took it as an insult. He made the event his mission and immediately started storming the field. He defeated Men “The Master” Nguyen in round 64, before beating Paul Phillips in the featured match in round 32. After that, it was hard to get him off camera.
Phil went through former best friend Huck Seed and Lyle Berman to make the semi-finals, where he’d face one of his many nemeses in Antonio Esfandiari. In the other semi, the equally identifiable Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was defeating TJ Cloutier. Phil took out Antonio, creating a dream all-star final.
Hellmuth took the first match in the best-two-of-three final and seemed poised to make it a sweep. He had the chip lead when he found A♣3♠ in the small blind. All tournament long he’d played passively, allowing his opponents to do the betting for him, so he limped and then called when Jesus raised with his 9♥2♣ from the big blind.
With the pot now $56k, Ferguson bet out $40k when his rags hit two pair on the flop of 2♥5♥9♣. The bet was meant to entice a raise from Hellmuth, who might mistake Chris’s play as a continuation bet. With Phil believing that any four or ace would likely giving him the win, he called the bet, seemingly falling into Ferguson’s trap.
The 4♥ on the turn was the best card in the deck for Hellmuth. Giving him the unlikely inside straight, it also set him up with the innocentlooking nut flush draw. Ferguson checked and Hellmuth bet $40k. Chris, needing to figure out where he was at in the hand, raised to $120k.
When Hellmuth reraised all in, Jesus muttered, “The way I played this hand, I deserve to lose all my money,” and called. It was a strange play because he could have bet more on the check-raise if he was going to call, and he could have gotten away from Hellmuth’s huge show of strength with flush and straight draws on the table.
Phil could taste the victory. He sprang from the table and started pacing. Jesus needed either a two or nine, giving him an 11% shot of winning the pot. He defied the odds, hitting the 9♦ on the river.
Hellmuth collapsed. Literally. He fell to the floor, posterior pointed upwards as his face pressed the ground, hands linked behind his head. He finally got back up and lost the rest of his chips before taking a long walk. Still steamed, he came back and, putting it behind him, defeated Ferguson in the third and final round to take the championship.
For Phil, it was vindication. After a yearlong victory drought, he was on top of the world, defying the odds makers and taking the spotlight. The event had inadvertently become a celebration of the Poker Brat. It made him poker’s most identifiable face. He remains so today.
Gary Wise’s musings on the WPT, WSOP, Heads-up Championship and all the rest can be found at www.wisehandpoker.com.
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