Entering the 2007 NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship, Paul Wasicka was just about everyone's pick to win the event. Except replace "everyone's" with "no one's."

WasickaNot that Wasicka isn't respected by his peers. He's just an under the radar kind of guy. Humble. Unassuming. A former shoe shine boy*. Just like Underdog.

On his way to the finals, Wasicka defeated Eli Elezra, Joe Hachem, T.J. Cloutier, Nam Le, and Shannon Elizabeth. Against Elizabeth, Wasicka was down 5-to-1 in chips and was all-in with pocket tens to Elizabeth's A-Q. Elizabeth hit a Queen on the flop, but Wasicka rivered a straight to stay alive and eventually move on. It was a disappointing loss for Elizabeth, as is the case with most losses. However, she definitely earned her way into the final four, and if we were not cool white kids desperately trying to sound cool by talking all hip-hop, we'd say that Shannon Elizabeth earned "mad respect" for her performance. Holla!

In the finals, Wasicka matched up against Chad Brown, the 2006 BLUFF Magazine Player of the Year. Brown, a dead-on ringer for Lorenzo Lamas, or every male actor to every appear in a late night Cinemax adult flick, couldn't hold off Wasicka, whose last name still sounds too much like swastika for our liking. On the final hand, Brown moved all in after flopping top pair, but busted because Wasicka flopped the nut straight.