Annette_15, treysfull21 Advance in National Heads-Up Poker Championship

First round action in the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship has come to a conclusion and several members of the online poker community remain in the hunt for the $500,000 top prize. Jason treysfull21 Mercier, a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro, outlasted Daniel Negreanu in the opening pairing. Also moving on is Annette Annette_15 Obrestad (pictured at right), who won a pitcher’s duel against baseball legend Orel Hershisher in the round of 64. A total of 32 players remain and 16 will be left standing when play concludes.

Obrestad gets a gem of a match-up in the second round, as she’ll take on UB.com pro and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. “The Poker Brat” defeated Howard Lederer on Friday, as two of the industry’s most influential figures battled it out. Obrestad was already looking forward to her match against Hellmuth, Tweeting, “Won my match. Guess who im playing tomorrow.... Thats right... @philhellmuth. Sigh lol.” Hellmuth made the round of 16 in the tournament’s 2009 installment.

Mercier (pictured at left) won his match after Negreanu moved all-in on a board reading J-3-3-2 holding pocket fives for two pair. However, Mercier showed pocket queens for a better two pair and Negreanu never caught up. Mercier will try to fend off reigning European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final winner Pieter de Korver in the round of 32. Negreanu reached the Elite Eight of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship last year, where he fell to eventual runner-up Vanessa Rousso. Like Obrestad, Mercier is making his debut in the made-for-television heads-up contest.

Joe jcada99 Cada (pictured at right) had a short-lived appearance in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, falling to Bodog pro David Williams. In his final hand, Cada was all-in with A-J in a race against Williams’ pocket sevens. The board ran out 6-2-10-Q-2, propelling Williams into a second round match-up against eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel. Cada finished 11th in the $25,000 High-Roller event held during the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas and banked $51,000.

Eric basebaldy Baldwin (pictured at left) fell to Leo Wolpert yesterday in the opening round of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Baldwin was eliminated in especially brutal fashion after doubling up Wolpert with pocket queens against Wolpert’s Q-10. The flop came J-K-6, giving Wolpert an open-ended straight draw, which came to fruition when a nine hit on the turn. The hand crippled Baldwin’s stack and he was eliminated shortly thereafter. Baldwin, a UB.com pro, is now 0-1 all-time in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

One of the buzz-worthy hands of the day went to Annie Duke (pictured at right), who was all-in with pocket tens against Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch’s K-Q of diamonds. Bloch made top pair after the flop came 3-3-K, but Duke spiked a two-outer on the river to move on. According to coverage found on PokerNews, comments from the peanut gallery included the following from Mike Matusow: "Oh my, Annie Duke never hits a card like that. That's not possible." Duke will now compete against Maryland logger Darvin Moon, who once again sported a New Orleans Saints hat and Wheeling Island Casino shirt. Here are the pairings for Day 2:

Clubs Bracket
Chris Moneymaker vs Leo Wolpert
David Williams vs Erik Seidel
Erick Lindgren vs Peter Eastgate
Stephen Quinn vs Jamie Gold

Spades Bracket
Phil Ivey vs Scotty Nguyen
Joe Hachem vs Gabe Kaplan
Jason treysfull21 Mercier vs Pieter de Korver
Phil Gordon vs Phil Laak

Hearts Bracket
Allen Cunningham vs Eli Elezra
Chris Ferguson vs Dennis Phillips
Doyle Brunson vs Don Cheadle
Phil Hellmuth vs Annette Annette_15 Obrestad

Diamonds Bracket
Barry barryg1 Greenstein vs Sammy Farha
Jennifer Harman vs Jerry Yang
Darvin Moon vs Annie Duke
Paul Wasicka vs Gus Hansen

The field of 32 players will be halved today to 16 when play starts at 1:00pm PT. Then, the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will take place on Sunday from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.