LAS VEGAS - As the 2011 National Heads-Up Poker Championship approaches, here are some fun facts about this year’s tournament that are sure to make handicapping it all the more difficult:

There are 20 players who received automatic invitations into the 2011 event according to the criteria established after the 2008 event. Of these 20, 17 accepted, including 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate, who took a hiatus from the game in June 2010. 2007 NHPC Champion Paul Wasicka, 2009 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Cada, and 2010 NHPC Champion Annie Duke could not participate.

Those players receiving automatic invitations are previous NHPC winners from the last five years Huckleberry Seed (2009), Chris Ferguson (2008), and Ted Forrest (2006); the previous two NHPC runners-up Erik Seidel (2010) and Vanessa Rousso (2009); the defending NHPC semifinalists Scotty Nguyen and Dennis Phillips; and two of the three previous WSOP Main Event Champions Jonathan Duhamel (2010) and Peter Eastgate (2008).

Also receiving automatic invitations are the 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener; 2010 WSOP multi-bracelet winner and Player of the Year Frank Kassela; 2010 WSOP Heads-Up Champion Ayaz Mahmood; WSOPE Main Event winner James Bord; the reigning WPT Player of the Year Faraz Jaka; the reigning EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo winner Nicolas Chouity; the 2010 Card Player magazine Player of the Year Thomas Marchese; and the 2010 Bluff magazine Player of the Year Sorel Mizzi.

There are 20 players in this year’s field who are making their NHPC debut. They are pros Liv Boeree, James Bord, Olivier Busquet, Daniel Cates, Nicolas Chouity, Jonathan Duhamel, Phil Galfond, Faraz Jaka, Frank Kassela, Eugene Katchalov, Ayaz Mahmood, Thomas Marchese, Sorel Mizzi, David Peat, Dwyte Pilgrim, John Racener, and Sam Trickett; celebrity Emmitt Smith; and Caesars Palace qualifiers Melburn Whitmire and pro Justin Young.

There are no online qualifiers in 2011, leaving the field open for more pros and in so doing making it arguably the toughest field ever assembled. Other than the celebrities, only qualifier Melburn Whitmire is a true amateur.

Many of the newcomers this year had exceptional years in 2010. For example, Thomas Marchese won the Card Player magazine Player of the Year award by making 11 final tables in 2010, winning 2 tournaments and registering 16 cashes worth $2.11 million. Canada’s Jonathan Duhamel won the 2010 WSOP Main Event by defeating a field of 7318 players. And Sorel Mizzi won the Bluff magazine Player of the Year honors by making 19 final tables, winning 5 tournaments, and having 26 cashes worth $1.89 million.

In addition to Emmitt Smith, returning celebrities participating this year include Jennifer Tilly (6th appearance), Don Cheadle (5th appearance), and Jason Alexander (2nd appearance). Tilly is 0-5 lifetime in the NHPC, Cheadle is 3-4, and Alexander is 0-1.

There are 16 players this year who have played in all 6 previous years. They are Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Barry Greenstein, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, Greg Raymer, Huckleberry Seed, Erik Seidel, and David Williams.
Of these 16 players, only Barry Greenstein has won his opening round match in each year of the NHPC.

There are 11 WSOP Main Event Champions competing in this year’s event. They are two-time winner Doyle Brunson (1976, 1977), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Huckleberry Seed (1996), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Chris Ferguson (2000), Carlos Mortensen (2001), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Jonathan Duhamel (2010).

There are 7 women playing this year: Liv Boeree, Jennifer Harman, Annette Obrestad, Vanessa Rousso, Kara Scott, Vanessa Selbst, and Jennifer Tilly. There were also 7 in 2010, 6 in 2009, 7 in 2008, 9 in 2007, 5 in 2006, and 6 in 2005.

There are 10 returning players who are yet to make the money in the NHPC. They are Jason Alexander (0-1), Patrik Antonius (0-3), Eric Baldwin (0-1), Don Cheadle (3-4), Allen Cunningham (3-5), Joe Hachem (2-4), Jennifer Harman (3-5), Kara Scott (0-1), Vanessa Selbst (0-1), and Jennifer Tilly (0-5).

Only one player made the money in each of the first five years, and that was Huckleberry Seed. No player made the money in all six previous years.

Nine of the top ten leading live tournament money winners of all time are competing. They are #1 Daniel Negreanu ($14.11 million), #2 Erik Seidel ($13.94 million), #3 Phil Ivey ($13.85 million), 5 Phil Hellmuth ($11.44 million), #6 John Juanda ($11.38 million), #7 Scotty Nguyen ($11.34 million), #8 Michael Mizrachi ($11.16 million), #9 Joe Hachem ($10.97 million), and #10 Allen Cunningham ($10.94 million).

Of the top 10 money winners in 2010 in live tournament play, 6 are playing in this event. They are Jonathan Duhamel (#1, $8.98 million), John Racener (#2, $5.90 million), Michael Mizrachi (#4, $4.04 million), Vanessa Selbst (#6, $2.69 million), Nicolas Chouity (#8, $2.36 million), and Thomas Marchese (#9, $2.11 million).

Six of the previous eight WPT Players of the Year are in attendance. They are Howard Lederer (Season 1), Erick Lindgren (Season 2), Daniel Negreanu (Season 3), Gavin Smith (Season 4), Bertrand Grospellier (Season 7), and Faraz Jaka (Season 8).

This year’s youngest player is Daniel Cates at the age of 21. Only 4 players have ever played in the NHPC when they were just 21, the other three being Jeff Madsen (2007), Tom Dwan (2008), and Annette Obrestad (2010). The elder statesman again is Doyle Brunson, who is now 77.

Amazingly, only 7 rematches have ever occurred over the course of the 378 matches that have taken place over the previous six years in this event.

There are 3 Poker Hall of Fame members playing in 2011. They are Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, and Erik Seidel. Brunson was inducted in 1988, Hellmuth in 2007, and Seidel in 2010. There are currently 40 members in the Hall of Fame, 18 of whom are still living.

There are 17 different countries of origin among the players represented: United States (39), Canada (5), England (3), Denmark (2), France (2), Lebanon (2), Bangladesh (1), Finland (1), Ecuador (1), Guyana (1), Indonesia (1), Iran (1), Ireland (1), Israel (1), Norway (1), Ukraine (1), and Vietnam (1).

Poker is a game that can be played by all ages. In this year’s field, there are 19 players between the ages of 21-29, 22 between the ages of 30-39, 15 between the ages of 40-49, 6 between the ages of 50-59, 0 between the ages of 60-69, and 2 over 70. The average age of the players is 36.6 years.

An amazing 56 of the 64 players competing have lifetime live tournament winnings of at least $1 million. That means that all of the players with the exception of the four celebrities (Cheadle, Alexander, Smith, and Tilly), one qualifier (Whitmire), and three pros (Scott, Cates, and Peat) have exceeded $1 million in live tournament winnings.

This year’s field has won a total of 103 World Series of Poker bracelets, 12 WSOP Main Events, 31 WPT open championships, and 5 European Poker Tour titles. In addition, 38 of the 64 players have won at least 1 WSOP bracelet. If that’s not impressive enough, the field has also collectively amassed more than $327 million in lifetime live tournament winnings, $31 million more than last year’s field!

Dennis Oehring serves as the Public Relations Coordinator for the firm POKER PROductions.