- The NBC National Heads-Up Championship will not take place in 2014 according to a statement by Mori Eskandani, President of POKER PROductions.
- Though no specific explanation for its absence was given, Eskandani did state that he has “good reason to believe that the future of the series will be bright.”
The NBC National Heads-Up Championship will not take place in 2014 according to Mori Eskandani, President of POKER PROductions.
In a statement to PokerNews last week, Eskandani confirmed that the made for TV tournament “will not be on calendar this year.” Though no specific explanation for its absence was given, Eskandani did state that he has “good reason to believe that the future of the series will be bright.”
Eskandani told to CardPlayer that the decision to forego the 64 player tournament this year was made by the network, but there will be “some really exciting news” about the future of the tournament released later this month.
The $20k buyin event is primarily by invitation only—although some spots for have been available for satellite winners—allowing the producers to handpick the biggest and brightest the poker world has to offer. The addition of mainstream celebrities sprinkled in among the poker elite has been a successful formula that has been popular with poker fans up until now.
The NHPC was last removed from the broadcast schedule in 2012 following the events of April 15, 2011, known as Black Friday, when the US government indicted operators of the three biggest online poker networks. The show returned from its hiatus last year with a spectacular match to decide the championship between Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow. “The Mouth” would go on to win the $750,000 first place prize.
