Hellmuth, Dwan, and Negreanu Return to National Heads-Up Poker Championship

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Connor Richards

Senior Editor U.S.

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Apr 30, 2026 3 min read

Table Of Contents

• Poker Superstars Are Back
• Spades Bracket
• Hearts Bracket
• Clubs Bracket
• Diamond Bracket

Less than a year after the reboot of the classic $25,000 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, another group of 64 poker pros, celebrities and content creators gathered in the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas for another shot at a title in the $25,000 buy-in event.

American high-stakes pro Sam Soverel won last year's event — the first edition in 12 years — and he is back this year competing against four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring winner Kasey Lynn Mills. But that isn't the only matchup to keep an eye on.

Read About the 2025 National Heads-Up Poker Championship

Poker Superstars Are Back

Poker Hall of Famers Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu were notably absent from last year's National Heads-Up Poker Championship, as was poker legend Tom Dwan, who once triggered an all-time Hellmuth blow-up after cracking his aces in the 2010 edition.

But all three poker superstars are competing this year, with Hellmuth, who won the event in 2005 and finished runner-up in 2013, getting matched up against seven-time bracelet winner Josh Arieh and Negreanu facing 2023 WPT World Championship winner Dan Sepiol. Dwan, meanwhile, will face off against Randy “3Coin” Sadler.

Phil Hellmuth

There are no shortage of interesting lineups to look out for. For example, recently semi-retired Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel will face off against high-stakes end-boss Alex Foxen, who is fresh off of winning a record-tying 13th PokerGO title inside the PokerGO Studio.

Speaking of players on fire right now, Pittsburgh ambassador Nicholas Rigby, who recently won a handful of RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) rings, got matched up against poker veteran Dan Shak.

Other notable lineups include Poker Hall of Famer Nick Schulman against Sam "SeniorTilt" Kiki, poker legend Vanessa Selbst against online wizard Marius Gierse, six-time bracelet winner Jason Mercier against four-time bracelet winner David "ODB" Baker, and Brazil God against content creator Doug Polk, who has plenty to be happy about after a major legal victory this week for his Lodge Card Club.

Doug Polk

The National Heads-Up Poker Champion was previously on NBC before moving to Peacock for last year's edition. Like in 2025, the episodes will premiere on Peacock and will later air on PokerGO. The episodes are expected to be released this summer.

The heads-up matches kicked off today inside the PokerGO Studio. PokerNews_ will avoid any spoilers before the matches air on TV.

Each match-up in the Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds brackets are available below.