Phil Galfond Issues High Stakes Poker Challenge

Phil Galfond has challenged the online poker community to a high-stakes heads-up battle.

Galfond Sees Plenty of Interest in High Stakes Challenge

Phil Galfond is recognized as one of the best Omaha players in the world, and he’s wants to solidify his place in poker history. That’s why he’s issued a high stakes poker challenge, calling on any players around the world who think they can beat him.

All you have to do is send him a direct message on Twitter, challenging him to a heads-up no limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha or limit Omaha game at stakes from $25/$50 or $100/$200. He’ll accept a challenge from anyone, except players who are on his Run It Once training team.

Galfond hopes to broadcast this event on Twitch. He’d like to garner plenty of viewers due to the high stakes that he and his opponent will be playing at. He says:

“I’d consider dropping the stakes if it helps get me some action here, but I would prefer a bigger game so we can bring in some viewers”.

As part of the challenge, Galfond and his opponent would play heads-up for 50,000 hands. If his challenge is far ahead before the 50,000 hands are over, he will pay them 3-1 on their initial bet.

He only issued the challenge a few days ago, and already has seen plenty of interest from players:

Wow… A bit surprised (and very offended!) by the number of offers already coming in.

This is going to be fun. https://t.co/aqHK46AARv

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) November 20, 2019

Following in Tom Dwan’s Footsteps

If this challenge sounds familiar, that’s because Tom Dwan issued a similar challenge back in 2009. In the “Durr Challenge”, the poker pro called on members of the community to go head-to-head in an exciting battle of skill.

Patrik Antonius was the first player to take him up on his offer. After just 40,000 hands, he quit because he was $2 million down.

Then, Daniel “Jungleman12” Cates stepped up to the plate.  However, they have only played about 20,000 of the 50,000 hands and, nine years on, they still haven’t finished. Cates is up $1.2 million, though and Dwan has paid him $700,000.

Galfond’s challenge is unlikely to go unfinished, however, as it will be broadcast on Twitch. So, there will be plenty of players watching and staying up-to-date with their progress.

We can’t wait to see who Galfond ends up playing in his heads-up challenge. It will undoubtedly be an thrilling battle,