The Top 5 Greatest Heads-Up Matches

This week we take a look at the best heads-up grudge matches that got the poker world talking.

5.Phil Ivey vs Paul Jackson

The entire match may not quite be remembered as the greatest, but this one hand will always have a place as one of the most memorable hands ever televised. Phil Ivey was heads up against UK pro Paul Jackson in this crazy hand from the Monte Carlo Millions (Which Ivey went on to win).

4.The Durrrrr Challenges

Tom Dwan

Proving he was one of the best, if not the best, in the world Tom 'Durrrr' Dwan put his money where his mouth was with the Durrrrr challenge.

The terms were, he would play anyone in the world heads-up for 50,000 hands across four simultaneous tables of $200/$400, No Limit or PLO.

If after 50,000 hands Durrrr was up, he won an additional $500k from his opponent, if he was down he would pay them $1.5 million.

Patrik Antonius was the first to take up Dwan, and was later followed by Daniel junglemandan Cates. At the time of writing, Dwan is up $2 million vs Antonius, and down $1.2 million vs Cates.

Both challenges didn't quite live up to expectations from a railbirds point of view, but they really set the bench mark for heads-up challenges.

As both battles and funds were on Full Tilt Poker, nobody knows if they will ever conclude.

3.Johnny Moss vs Nick the Greek

Before heads-up matches were the norm, three-time WSOP champion Johnny Moss had an epic heads-up match with Nick the Greek Dandolos.

It is hard to know what to believe as there is a lot of mythology and folklore surrounding this match that took place in 1949.

By most accounts, it took five months of playing every day, where Moss ended up between $2 to $4 million up at the end of play, forcing Nick the Greek to utter the immortal line "Mr Moss, I have to let you go".

Although the full story may never be clear, there is little doubt that this match lit the fuse for a rich tradition of heads-up grudge matches in the future.

2.Andy Beal vs the Corporation

No doubt the biggest heads-up match of all time saw billionaire businessman Andy Beal taking on the best players in the world between 2001 and 2006.

The syndicate of players became known as 'The Corporation' and included Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Barry Greenstein, Gus Hansen, and Phil Ivey - who all pooled their money to face Beal.

Beal had hoped that by raising the stakes to dizzy heights such as $100,000/$200,000 limit and playing first thing in the morning, it would take the Corporation out of their comfort zone.

The Corporation did not have their own way by any means, and often would get broke by Beal. In 2006 for example, Beal won $13.6 million from the Corporation, only to lose $16.6 million to Phil Ivey later that month.

There always rumours flying around that Beal will return to take on the Corporation once again, but it is yet to happen. The whole story is chronicled brilliantly in  Michael Craig's book, The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time.

1.Isildur1 vs Everyone

Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom

Isildur1 may not command the headlines anymore like he did a couple of years ago, but there was a time where he was the only thing any of us were talking about.

In 2009 an unknown Swedish player appeared playing heads up against a string of high profile players at the $100/$200 tables.

His overly aggressive style attracted a lot of attention from the rail birds and soon he found himself more than $3 million up.

During the peak of his ascension, he was found sitting at six $500/$1000 tables waiting for anyone to accept the challenge. This was quickly accepted by Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom Dwan (Considered by many to be the best three online cash players in the world) - often all at the same time.

Isildur peaked at around $6 million of winnings, before going on one of the epic downswings of all time. This included losing $3.2 million to Phil Ivey in a week, $3 million to Antonius in a day, won $2 million back the next day, and finally lost $4.2 million to Brian Hastings a month later.

That final loss was controversial as it transpired that Hastings had shared hand information with Brian Townsend and Cole South, which was one of many plot twists that surrounded this unknown Swede who got the poker world talking.

by Barry Carter