Demidov to face Easgate in $9.2 million WSOP heads-up battle

The 2008 World Series of Poker main event comes down to a heads up battle between Russia's Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate today, in a battle for $9.2 million in prize money.

Play was brought to a halt on Sunday night following the elimination of the chip leader at the start of play, Dennis Phillips. Phillips went out after a wild attempt to hit a 2-outer straight, after going all in against Eastgate's set of 3s.

The heads-up battle will commence with Eastgate holding 577,250,000 in chips while Demidov begins play as the underdog with a chip stack valued at 79,500,000.

 "There were lots of very important hands against Dennis," Demidov said after watching Phillips eliminate himself from the tournament. "But his last push surprised me. I wasn't nervous, but I was tired."

Phillips squandered his chip lead in two big pots, betting aggressively, only to fold when his opponents re-raised him.

"I came in there with the idea that I was going to try and win this thing," Phillips said. "I got a little nuts at the beginning ... but then I had to tightened up and play solid. And I think I outplayed a few people to climb back in there."

"I have no idea right now," an exhausted Eastgate said when asked what he expected from the final battle. "It should be interesting. I just want to get some sleep right now. I think most importantly I need to be fully rested for tomorrow night."