The 2026 National Heads-Up Poker Championship bracket is set. 64 invited players at a $25,000 buy-in began filming on April 30 at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, with Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Tom Dwan all returning after skipping the 2025 edition.
Defending champion Sam Soverel opens his title defense against Kasey Lyn Mills. Soverel beat Keith Lehr 2-1 in last year’s Final for $500,000, the first NHUPC crown awarded since Mike Matusow won in 2013.
The event is presented by PokerStars and produced by PokerGO, which acquired the NHUPC brand from NBC Sports in 2025. Episodes will air on Peacock this summer before moving to PokerGO.
Full 2026 National Heads-Up Championship Bracket
All 32 Round-of-64 matchups were drawn randomly the night before play began. The bracket splits into four suit-themed quadrants.
Spades
| Liv Boeree | Jeremy Ausmus |
| Tom Dwan | Randy “3Coin” Sadler |
| Cary Katz | Steven Jones |
| Jimmy D’Ambrosio | Kirk Brown |
| Turbo Nguyen | Shaun Deeb |
| Andrew Pacheco | Jesse Lonis |
| Erick Lindgren | Eric Persson |
| Luiz “Brazil God” Rizental | Doug Polk |
Clubs
| Victoria Livschitz | Chris “Big Huni” Hunichen |
| Phil Laak | Chino Rheem |
| Josh Arieh | Phil Hellmuth |
| Ben Lamb | Jared Bleznick |
| Andrew Robl | Keith Lehr |
| Randall Emmett | Robbi Jade Lew |
| Sam Soverel | Kasey Lyn Mills |
| Daniel Negreanu | Dan Sepiol |
Diamonds
| Nick Schulman | Sam “Senor Tilt” Kiki |
| Matthew Wantman | Kelly Lucas |
| Alan Keating | Jeff Gross |
| David “ODB” Baker | Jason Mercier |
| Marius Gierse | Vanessa Selbst |
| Alex Foxen | Erik Seidel |
| Nicholas Rigby | Dan Shak |
| Brandon Steven | Justin Gavri |
Hearts
| Scott Seiver | Justin Young |
| Jeff Platt | Sam Laskowitz |
| Igor Kurganov | Phillip Frankland Lee |
| Kristen Foxen | Ryan Bartlett |
| Vinny Lingham | Matt Hanks |
| Jeremy Becker | Dan “Jungleman” Cates |
| Gabriel Andrade | Darin Feinstein |
| Seth Davies | Sean Winter |
Six match wins are needed to claim the title. The semifinals pair the Spades winner against Clubs and Hearts against Diamonds, with a best-of-three Final.
Seven Matchups to Watch
Phil Hellmuth vs Josh Arieh (Clubs)
The 2005 NHUPC champion and 2013 runner-up drew one of the toughest possible openers. Hellmuth’s NHUPC history includes a first-round loss to Tom Dwan in 2008 that became one of poker television’s most replayed blowups.
17-time WSOP bracelet winner Hellmuth faces Josh Arieh, who holds seven WSOP bracelets, the 2021 WSOP Player of the Year title, and over $14.7 million in live tournament cashes.
Daniel Negreanu vs Dan Sepiol (Clubs)
Daniel Negreanu was a fixture of the NBC-era NHUPC but never took home the title. The GGPoker ambassador skipped the 2025 reboot.
His draw is dangerous. Dan Sepiol won the 2023 WPT World Championship at the Wynn for $5,282,954 from a 3,835-entry field, one of the biggest scores in WPT history. It gives two-time WSOP Player of the Year Negreanu one of the tougher draws in the bracket.
Tom Dwan vs Randy “3Coin” Sadler (Spades)
High-stakes cash game legend Tom Dwan returns to the NHUPC for the first time since 2013. His 2008 first-round win over Hellmuth, where he cracked pocket aces and triggered a televised meltdown, remains one of the format’s defining moments.
His opponent is Randy “3Coin” Sadler, a 60-something Texan entrepreneur and televised-poker regular. Sadler’s family sold Sadler’s Smokehouse to Hormel for $270 million in 2020, and he’s built a reputation for outrageous bluffs on Hustler Casino Live.
Erik Seidel vs Alex Foxen (Diamonds)
A pure generational clash. Erik Seidel brings 10 WSOP bracelets, $46 million in live cashes and the 2011 NHUPC title. He was described as “recently semi-retired” during the 2026 bracket draw.
PokerGO Tour record holder Alex Foxen sits on 13 PGT titles (tied with Soverel for the all-time record) and over $54 million in tracked cashes. He’s coming off wins at the MSPT Poker Bowl X and a $10,000 PGT event in January 2026.
Liv Boeree vs Jeremy Ausmus (Spades)
Former EPT San Remo champion Liv Boeree‘s comeback has been spectacular. In December 2024, she finished fourth in the WSOP Paradise $25,000 Super Main Event for $2,800,000, the largest live cash by a female poker player in history.
Her opener is brutal. Jeremy Ausmus holds six WSOP bracelets, won the 2024 PokerGO Tour Player of the Year, and sits on over $28 million in live cashes. Boeree and her husband Igor Kurganov are both in the 2026 field (Kurganov draws Phillip Frankland Lee in Hearts).
Erick Lindgren vs Eric Persson (Spades)
Two very different trajectories. Erick Lindgren holds two WSOP bracelets, two WPT titles and the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year award, with over $11.3 million in cashes. He spent years publicly rebuilding after well-documented debt issues.
Eric Persson, the Maverick Gaming founder, built his poker profile through volatile clashes with Hellmuth on the PokerGO Heads-Up Showdown and a High Stakes Duel 4 match against Negreanu. He brings bankroll, entertainment value and zero fear of confrontation.
Other Notable Draws
The bracket has depth beyond the headline matchups. All-time female live earnings leader Vanessa Selbst faces German high roller Marius Gierse in Diamonds. Doug Polk draws 2025 NHUPC quarterfinalist Luiz “Brazil God” Rizental in Spades.
Randall Emmett opens against Hustler Casino Live regular Robbi Jade Lew in Clubs. Dan “Jungleman” Cates, Scott Seiver, Jason Mercier and Alan Keating are all locked into pro-on-pro first-round clashes.
Kristen Foxen sits in Hearts while husband Alex is in Diamonds, putting them on opposite sides of the draw. PokerGO sideline reporter Jeff Platt is also in the 2026 field as a player.
Spoiler risk: Filming wrapped over several days starting April 30, so all results already exist under non-disclosure agreements. In 2025, the winner leaked early via social media and Polymarket trading. Expect similar spoiler risks before the Peacock premiere.
NHUPC History and Past Champions
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship debuted in 2005 at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas as the first poker event produced by a major US broadcast network. NBC ran it annually through 2011 before cancelling after the Black Friday online poker indictments.
A one-off 2013 edition at Caesars Palace was the last until PokerGO revived the brand in 2025 with PokerStars as presenting sponsor. Soverel’s run to the title brought the NHUPC back into mainstream poker conversation.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Phil Hellmuth | Chris Ferguson | 2-1 |
| 2006 | Ted Forrest | Chris Ferguson | 2-1 |
| 2007 | Paul Wasicka | Chad Brown | 2-0 |
| 2008 | Chris Ferguson | Andy Bloch | 2-1 |
| 2009 | Huck Seed | Vanessa Rousso | 2-0 |
| 2010 | Annie Duke | Erik Seidel | 2-1 |
| 2011 | Erik Seidel | Chris Moneymaker | 2-0 |
| 2013 | Mike Matusow | Phil Hellmuth | 2-1 |
| 2025 | Sam Soverel | Keith Lehr | 2-1 |
The format has stayed consistent across eras: single-elimination, NCAA-style bracket, four suit-themed quadrants, best-of-three Final.
The 2025 prize structure paid $500,000 for first and $275,000 for the runner-up. Semifinalists earned $150,000 each, the Elite Eight collected $75,000, and reaching the Sweet 16 guaranteed a $25,000 buy-in refund.
PokerGO has not published the 2026 payout structure as of May 2026.
How to Watch the 2026 National Heads-Up Poker Championship
The 2026 NHUPC will premiere on Peacock this summer, with episodes later moving to PokerGO. No specific air date has been announced.
In 2025, the premiere window ran December 4 to 18 on Peacock before landing on PokerGO on February 2, 2026. A similar staggered rollout is expected for the 2026 season. Ali Nejad and Joe Stapleton called the 2025 booth; no 2026 commentary team has been confirmed.
For updates as the 2026 premiere approaches, follow our latest poker news.
