The 2026 Nationwide Heads-Up Poker Championship bracket is about. 64 invited gamers at a $25,000 buy-in started filming on April 30 on the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, with Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Tom Dwan all returning after skipping the 2025 version.
Defending champion Sam Soverel opens his title protection towards Kasey Lyn Mills. Soverel beat Keith Lehr 2-1 in final yr’s Ultimate for $500,000, the primary NHUPC crown awarded since Mike Matusow received in 2013.
The occasion is introduced by PokerStars and produced by PokerGO, which acquired the NHUPC model from NBC Sports activities in 2025. Episodes will air on Peacock this summer time earlier than shifting to PokerGO.
Full 2026 Nationwide Heads-Up Championship Bracket
All 32 Spherical-of-64 matchups had been drawn randomly the night time earlier than play started. The bracket splits into 4 suit-themed quadrants.
Spades
Golf equipment
Diamonds
Hearts
Six match wins are wanted to say the title. The semifinals pair the Spades winner towards Golf equipment and Hearts towards Diamonds, with a best-of-three Ultimate.
Seven Matchups to Watch
Phil Hellmuth vs Josh Arieh (Golf equipment)
The 2005 NHUPC champion and 2013 runner-up drew one of many hardest attainable openers. Hellmuth’s NHUPC historical past features a first-round loss to Tom Dwan in 2008 that turned one among poker tv’s most replayed blowups.
17-time WSOP bracelet winner Hellmuth faces Josh Arieh, who holds seven WSOP bracelets, the 2021 WSOP Participant of the 12 months title, and over $14.7 million in stay event cashes.
Daniel Negreanu vs Dan Sepiol (Golf equipment)
Daniel Negreanu was a fixture of the NBC-era NHUPC however by no means took residence the title. The GGPoker ambassador skipped the 2025 reboot.
His draw is harmful. Dan Sepiol received the 2023 WPT World Championship on the Wynn for $5,282,954 from a 3,835-entry subject, one of many largest scores in WPT historical past. It offers two-time WSOP Participant of the 12 months Negreanu one of many more durable attracts within the bracket.
Tom Dwan vs Randy “3Coin” Sadler (Spades)
Excessive-stakes money sport legend Tom Dwan returns to the NHUPC for the primary time since 2013. His 2008 first-round win over Hellmuth, the place he cracked pocket aces and triggered a televised meltdown, stays one of many format’s defining moments.
His opponent is Randy “3Coin” Sadler, a 60-something Texan entrepreneur and televised-poker common. Sadler’s household bought Sadler’s Smokehouse to Hormel for $270 million in 2020, and he’s constructed a status for outrageous bluffs on Hustler On line casino Stay.
Erik Seidel vs Alex Foxen (Diamonds)
A pure generational conflict. Erik Seidel brings 10 WSOP bracelets, $46 million in stay cashes and the 2011 NHUPC title. He was described as “lately semi-retired” throughout the 2026 bracket draw.
PokerGO Tour file holder Alex Foxen sits on 13 PGT titles (tied with Soverel for the all-time file) and over $54 million in tracked cashes. He’s coming off wins on the MSPT Poker Bowl X and a $10,000 PGT occasion in January 2026.
Liv Boeree vs Jeremy Ausmus (Spades)
Former EPT San Remo champion Liv Boeree‘s comeback has been spectacular. In December 2024, she completed fourth within the WSOP Paradise $25,000 Tremendous Most important Occasion for $2,800,000, the most important stay money by a feminine poker participant in historical past.
Her opener is brutal. Jeremy Ausmus holds six WSOP bracelets, received the 2024 PokerGO Tour Participant of the 12 months, and sits on over $28 million in stay cashes. Boeree and her husband Igor Kurganov are each within the 2026 subject (Kurganov attracts Phillip Frankland Lee in Hearts).
Erick Lindgren vs Eric Persson (Spades)
Two very completely different trajectories. Erick Lindgren holds two WSOP bracelets, two WPT titles and the 2008 WSOP Participant of the 12 months award, with over $11.3 million in cashes. He spent years publicly rebuilding after well-documented debt points.
Eric Persson, the Maverick Gaming founder, constructed his poker profile by risky clashes with Hellmuth on the PokerGO Heads-Up Showdown and a Excessive Stakes Duel 4 match towards Negreanu. He brings bankroll, leisure worth and nil concern of confrontation.
Different Notable Attracts
The bracket has depth past the headline matchups. All-time feminine stay earnings chief Vanessa Selbst faces German excessive curler Marius Gierse in Diamonds. Doug Polk attracts 2025 NHUPC quarterfinalist Luiz “Brazil God” Rizental in Spades.
Randall Emmett opens towards Hustler On line casino Stay common Robbi Jade Lew in Golf equipment. Dan “Jungleman” Cates, Scott Seiver, Jason Mercier and Alan Keating are all locked into pro-on-pro first-round clashes.
Kristen Foxen sits in Hearts whereas husband Alex is in Diamonds, placing them on reverse sides of the draw. PokerGO sideline reporter Jeff Platt can be within the 2026 subject as a participant.
