High Stakes Duel II: Negreanu vs. Hellmuth finally arrives tonight

Posted on: March 31, 2021 08:47 PDT

Legends face off in what could be the most anticipated heads-up match in poker history

After weeks of hype and a delay from the originally planned start date, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth finally go to battle in a much-hyped heads-up challenge.

High Stakes Duel II airs on PokerGO tonight, pitting two of poker’s most legendary characters against each other to settle what’s become a heated rivalry. Viewers can find High Stakes Duel II on the PokerGO subscription streaming channel, and the episode begins at 8 pm eastern time.

Within the current craze of heads-up challenges in the poker world, the High Stakes Duel II matchup might be the most anticipated we’ve seen yet. Negreanu has persisted as the favorite leading up to the match, according to PokerShares betting lines.

Negreanu boasts a highly tuned heads-up game on the heels of a 25,000-hand heads-up match against Doug Polk. While Negreanu took the loss against Polk, the Poker Hall of Famer went all out in preparation for that match.

The heads-up acumen displayed by Negreanu in the match even earned the respect of Polk, one of the world’s top heads-up players. It appears that Hellmuth fights an uphill battle in his effort to topple Negreanu, but the 15-time WSOP bracelet winner currently stands as the king of the High Stakes Duel mountain.

Can Hellmuth continue his High Stakes Duel dominance?

PokerGO debutedHigh Stakes Duel in August 2020, featuring Hellmuth against Antonio Esfandiari. Each match in the series opens as a heads-up sit & go, with a winner-take-all prize of $100,000.

The loser of the match can then challenge again for $200,000, and the loser of that match can call for a rematch at $400,000. If the same player wins all three matches, the loser can’t ask for another rematch.

Hellmuth did just that in the first run of High Stakes Duel, downing Esfandiari three straight times and taking home $400,000.

Negreanu and Hellmuth sit across from each other in the second chapter of High Stakes Duel, with $100,000 on the line. The $50,000 put in by each player likely pales in comparison to the pride and bragging rights at stake in the matchup of poker legends.

Whatever the result tonight, we can almost certainly expect the matchup not to be the last between Hellmuth and Negreanu. If the match goes past four rounds, either player can cash out after two consecutive wins.

How many rounds will High Stakes Duel II go? Tonight’s first chapter could set the tone for what could end up as an epic battle between poker icons.

Featured image source: Twitter