New Orleans, LA – Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em has become a popular poker variant in recent years. The World Series of Poker has offered a gold bracelet in heads-up competition every year since 2006. The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship also debuted a few years ago and has been a successful attraction for both players and poker fans alike. Heads-up play is also very popular online.
The most recent tournament held on the WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans was a Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em event. The tournament was won by one of Europe’s top poker pros, Richard Toth -- from Miskolc, Hungary. He picked up the first place prize amounting to $9,114. More important perhaps for Toth was the gold ring he received, symbolizing his first-ever WSOP-related victory.
“I am thrilled to come here and win,” Toth said afterward. “I love it here in New Orleans. It is one of my favorite places. Great food, and the poker is good here, too.”
This marked Toth’s first win on U.S. soil after achieving great success in Europe and coming close to victory at the WSOP in Las Vegas. He previously won two tournaments held in Austria. He also finished second in a No-Limit Hold’em WSOP event in 2006 (worth $330,000). With this win, he now has in excess of $1 million in live poker tournament winnings.
This was the eighth gold ring event (of 19) on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $300 (+40) buy-in tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 11th and 12th. The top 16 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $33,746.
The tournament was initially set up to accommodate 64 players, similar in format to the NCAA college basketball championship brackets (a.k.a. “March Madness”). However, due to increased player interest and participation, the field was expanded to 116 players and another round of play was added. A few of players received a first-round bye due to the odd starting number (Note: The bye was determined by a random draw).
Players were required to win a series of Heads-Up freezeouts, which were single-elimination during the first five rounds. Only the winners of each match advanced to the next round. The champion was required to win either 8 or 9 matches, depending
on if he received a bye. Once play reached the final four, the heads-up competition became the best two-out-of three matches.
The Heads-Up finale pitted two poker pros against each other. Richard Toth (Miskolc, Hungary) faced off against Dan Walsh (Powder Springs, GA).
The first match went to Toth, who defeated Walsh in about 30 minutes. He enjoyed a chip advantage most of the way and won the final hand of the match with
against Walsh’s
. Walsh was visibly disgusted with the situation and became even more repulsed when a nine flopped, giving Toth top set. Walsh watched helplessly as the board ran out:
Score it 1-0 in favor of Toth.Walsh made a strong comeback in the second match and won in about 45-minutes time. He had his opponent all-in on a few occasions, and finally evened the score by scooping the key pot with a club flush. On that hand, Walsh was dealt Kc 5c. Toth had As 8d. Walsh had his opponent all in and was drawing to a flush and a pair with two clubs on board. A third club fell on the river as the final board showed 3c 2c 2h 6s 9c.
Walsh and Toth were tied 1-1 going into the decisive game.The third and final match went to Toth. The finale lasted only about 20 minutes. In fact, the last hand was an absolute nightmare for Walsh who simply could not get away from a hand that would have likely won any other heads-up match. On the final hand of the tournament, Toth was dealt
. Walsh was dealt
. Toth finally put his opponent all-in on the river and Walsh was delighted to call holding top set and top kicker. But Walsh showed a full house with the board of:
Runner Up: Dan Walsh
The runner up was Dan Walsh, a poker pro from Powder Springs, GA. He is 34-years-old and previously worked in IT. He made two final tables at last year’s WSOP Circuit held at Harrah’s New Orleans, including fifth place in the championship event. Second place paid $5,738.
First Place: Hungarian Pro Takes Heads-Up Championship
The winner Richard Toth is a 31-year-old poker pro from Miskolc, Hungary. He holds a B.A. in political science, but has been a full-time poker pro for the past several years. He plays mostly in Europe and has more than a dozen cashes in majors held in several different countries. He won the most recent WPT championship held in Slovakia, and took third place in the EPT’s Copenhagen championship. <br><br>Toth has also cashed ten times at the WSOP in Las Vegas. He also cashed for the second time at this year’s WSOP Circuit series in New Orleans after coming in 18th-place in a precious event. Toth’s first American win paid $9,114 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
An interview with Toth at tableside, moments after his win can be seen at the link above.
Attendance at this year’s tournament at Harrah’s New Orleans continues to run ahead of last year’s numbers. Through the conclusion of Event #8, overall tournament attendance is up 11 percent over the same point last year.