The 2025 National Heads-Up Poker Championship has returned in 2025 with a $25,000 buy-in, a new sponsor and a whole lot of excitement. Last night, the first-round draw took place in Las Vegas, and we’ve got all the news on who faces who.

With stars such as Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, Liv Boeree, Josh Arieh, Victoria Livschitz, Shaun Deeb, Jason Koon, Matt Salsberg, Erik Seidel and Chris Moneymaker all in the draw, Jeff Platt hosted a wild night at the PokerGO Studio at ARIA on the Sin City Strip.

The Return of a Poker Tradition

“The National Heads-Up Poker Championship helped define the golden era of televised poker.” ~ Mori Eskandani

Many poker fans missed the $25k WSOP Heads-Up Championship on the schedule this summer in Las Vegas but the announcement that PokerGO and PokerStars had collaborated on a return to action for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship (NHUPC) cheered everyone in the game up. The battle, which will be filmed then broadcast exclusively on Peacock in the United States in the fall will then be added to the on-demand services of both PokerGO and ‘Stars at a later date.

With the bracket for 64 players putting some huge names in the mix, excitement built ahead of the draw that would set out the bracket-style format, with each match a straight heads-up shootout that puts one player through to the next knockout round and sends another home.

“The National Heads-Up Poker Championship helped define the golden era of televised poker,” Mori Eskandani, President of PokerGO, said. “We’re proud to partner with PokerStars to bring back a truly iconic brand and share it with a new generation of fans.”

Global Poker Award winner Francine Watson, the Associate Director for Content & Creative Services at ‘Stars, concurred.

“Bringing back shows like the National Heads-Up Poker Championship is one of the most exciting ways to reignite interest in poker,” she said. “With a mix of celebrities and top pros, it’s the kind of event that draws in poker enthusiasts while appealing to the masses.”

Poker Legends and Celebrities Find Out First Round Fate

“Who runs better than The Grinder?!”

With an exciting set of first round matches on the horizon, the big match-ups came flying out from the first draw, with Jeff Platt hosting the evening’s entertainment in his usual masterful manner. The NFL football legend Richard Seymour’s first round match against Matt Berkey was one of the earliest matches to come out.

An intriguing first round clash arose between two female poker ballers, Kasey Lyn Mills, a.k.a. ‘Poker Momma’ and Esther ‘E-Tay’ Taylor, whose inspiring run in this year’s Poker Players Championship put female professionals on the high roller map. Another female poker boss and well-known poker author Maria Konnikova will take on ‘Boston Rob’ Mariano, who announced to the room: “I’m definitely a dog!” upon hearing the draw.

An old-school battle between Justin Young and Phil Laak will be worth watching for the anecdotes alone, while Brian Rast will be a slim favorite against the hugely respected Ren Lin. Matt Salsberg, a former World Poker Tour Player of the Year, takes on Johnnie ‘Vibes’ Moreno, as two men with larger-than-life personalities will ensure one of poker’s good guys makes Round 2.

The TV writer Salsberg had plenty to say when the draw came out for the current world champion. Michael Mizrachi has won the WSOP Main Event, the Poker Players Championship and virtually every hand he’s played in the last month and his first-round draw was kind to say the least as ‘The Grinder’ was matched with 3Coin’s Randy Sadler.

“Who runs better than Grinder?!” Salsberg shouted, prompting laughter from the audience.

PokerStake Players Face Tough Draws

Among the many poker legends and celebrities that are putting down $25,000 of their own money to take part are several PokerStake players. The 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel, who this week told us his poker strengths and weaknesses as well as what his last meal would be in his 15 Bigs interview, will take on experienced professional Andrew Robl in Round 1.

Josh Arieh will have a tough task in reaching Round 2 also, meeting with PokerGO owner and recent bracelet winner Cary Katz. Arieh, a six-time WSOP bracelet winner himself, will be a slight favorite, but Katz is in superb form and both men will go all-out for progress. Victoria Livschitz, meanwhile, faces Arieh’s good friend and fellow Game of Gold star, David Williams. Livschitz, who said in the pre-draw discussions that she wanted to face one of the best to test herself definitely got her wish.

There are plenty of other mouthwatering clashes to look forward to, with Doug Polk taking on Xuan Liu, Jason Koon drawing Erick ‘E-Dog’ Lindgren, Igor Kurganov battling Chris Moneymaker and Kurganov’s partner Liv Boeree taking on Kevin Pollack. Perhaps one of the most fascinating battles we found in the first-round draw was when Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow drew many poker players’ most-feared opponent Stephen Chidwick.

The humble and measured British poker legend, who recently put out an incredibly open social media post about dealing with autistic traits in his life, could hardly strike a more opposite proposition than the  brash and outspoken Matusow. How they play against each other and who makes it through that duel will be one to watch.