The 2006 World Heads-Up Finals

As in previous years at the World Heads-Up Finals, we lost an extraordinary number of big names in round one. To name just a few, Marcel Lüske, Dave Ulliott, Dave Colclough, Bruno Fitoussi, and Steve Vladar were out basically before the event had even started. Also, reigning champion Peter Gunnarson didn't last long, and 2005 European Poker Champion Rob Hollink was the first of all players to go out.

This led to the strange situation that not a single big favorite was left in the tourney once we had gotten to the money – including former World Champion Carlos Mortensen, who was eliminated by Paul Jackson. From then on, "Actionjack" looked like the favorite to win here, but the highly unpredictable Tsai Chen from Holland seemed to be on a roll, as well.

In the final match, Paul faced the very strong Isaac Mayolas De Vega. Isaac had played extremely well throughout the tournament, with a solid but highly aggressive game and a good table image. In his semifinal, he totally crushed Tsai Chen in less than 15 minutes. The final itself was not all that exciting, though, because Paul wanted to keep the pots small and Isaac did not want to give his strong opponent the chance to double up. Mayolas protected his chip lead like a mother protects her children, and as a result, there were many uncontested pots.

In the end, he was rewarded for this strategy when the short-stacked Jackson moved in on the flop with middle pair/no kicker, and was called by top pair/decent kicker/gutshot. (8-4 versus J-10 on a 10-8-7 flop). The best hand held up, and the 25-year-old Barcelona Kid, a likeable young man and an excellent player, was our second Spanish winner in the past three years. Congratulations to De Vegas for winning the title and €125,000, and also congratulations to the organization for yet another well-organized, sold-out event.

Final results were as follows:

1. Isaac Mayolas De Vega (Spain) €125,000

2. Paul Jackson (England) €60,000

3. George Danzer (Germany) €25,000

3. Tsai Chen (Holland) €25,000

5. Markus Golser (Austria) €11,250

5. Robert Binelli (Italy) €11,250

5. Nick Gibson (England) €11,250

5. Frank Blumlein (Germany) €11,250

9. Ben Battle (England) €5,000

9. Carlos Mortensen (Spain) €5,000

9. Santiago Terrazas (Spain) €5,000

9. Thomas Fougeron (France) €5,000

9. Jan Heitmann (Germany) €5,000

9. Thierry Cazals (France) €5,000

9. Shannon Shorr (USA) €5,000

9. Santiago Holguin Romero (Spain) €5,000