National Heads-Up Poker Championship returns to NBC Sports Network beginning March 14

NEW YORK -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- NBC Sports Group today announced the return of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship to NBC and NBC Sports Network. Coverage of the invitational tournament from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev., includes three original airings on NBC and three on NBC Sports Network beginning March 14 at 9 p.m. ET.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship features 64 of the world's most compelling poker players as they compete in a series of Heads-Up matches (one-on-one games of No Limit Texas Hold'em). The tournament is a single-elimination, bracket-style format modeled after the NCAA Basketball tournament. A player wins a match and advances to the next round; wins six matches and becomes the National Heads-Up Poker Champion.

This year’s event marks the eighth installment of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. For the seventh time, the tournament will be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev., a resort with a long history of exclusive poker tournaments and cash games. The reigning champion is eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel, who defeated 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker to win the title. Previous Heads-Up Poker Championship competitors have included Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Antonio Esfandiari.