Heads-up poker offers plenty of paths to victory.
Alan Keating decided to take an unconventional one in his first-round match against Andrew Lichtenberger. And it worked.
“I know he’s all about the energy,” Keating said. “So my plan was to get in his head in a way that would only work with him — by convincing him I had this big aura, this big positive energy, that I was destined to win.
“I just kept repeating it, over and over, until he thought I was psy-opping him — which I was. I think it got into his head, and he accepted that the universe wanted me to win the match.”
The win left Keating five matches away from his first gold bracelet in the $25K Heads-Up Championship at the WSOP, but his run ended abruptly in Round 2 at the hands of David Chen.
It was always going to be a long shot for Keating. "I’ve never played a heads-up tournament," he admitted. "I don’t think I’ve even played heads-up cash deliberately. I’m a little less experienced."
Crushers are crushed
A little less experienced is an understatement — today's field was stacked. You know when there's a cap of 64 players and the final two to register are Alex and Kristen Foxen that it's going to be a tough day.
One of the biggest match-ups in Round 2 was Alex Foxen vs. Phil Ivey. That would be a worthy final, and we had a ringside seat as Foxen came out on top of the heavyweight battle.
Another outsider with a dream – Frankie C — was already gone by this point, dispatched in the first round by 'Westside' Wesley Fei. Fei was then knocked out in Round 2 by Brandon Brown.
The dream is still alive for Patrick Leonard.
"Heads-up is a little like a boxing match," the Brit said after winning his first-round match. "It's not like a tournament with 20 or 100 people. You have to play every pot well."
And did he? "It was tough," he admitted. "I spent a lot of time yesterday preparing, as if I was going to play against a GTO robot, someone with more experience than me. As it was, I played someone very good but who played more unconventionally. I wasn't really prepared for that."
Leonard went on to beat Brock Wilson for his place in the last 16.
Kristen Foxen didn't make it to Day 2. Nor did Jeremy Ausmus, Scott Seiver, Jesse Lonis, or Faraz Jaka.
2025 WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship final 16
The final 16 know who they're facing, and they also know they're only four wins away from the $500,000 first prize and bracelet. Eight players will leave with nothing. Play reconvenes at 12pm PT.
- Kevin Rabichow vs. Artur Martirosian
- Alex Foxen vs. Thomas Eychenne
- Chance Kornuth vs. Killian Desnos
- Michael Shi vs. Matthew Wantman
- Richard Green vs. David Chen
- Brandon Brown vs. Aliaksei Boika
- Patrick Leonard vs. Martin Zamani
- Joao Vieira vs. Harvey Castro
