Hellmuth, Negreanu trade barbs ahead of High Stakes Duel rematch

Posted on: May 13, 2021 11:00 PDT

The trash talk is on once again as the poker legends appear on No Gamble No Future

The poker community would have right to expect plenty of gold-star-level trash talk on the latest episode of No Gamble No Future by PokerGO.

The latest installment of the YouTube series premiered on Tuesday, and brought together the combatants from High Stakes Duel II. The pros offered post-match analysis on one of the most hyped-up heads-up matches in the history of the game.

Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu didn’t disappoint in their appearances on the show, hosted by Jeff Platt and Brent “Buffalo” Hanks. Hellmuth downed Negreanu for a second straight time in High Stakes Duel II, Round 2, on May 6.

The player won in a back-and-forth match, taking $200,000 in a winner-take-all sit & go. While Hellmuth was critical of his own play afterward, the 15-time WSOP bracelet winner clearly brought his trademark A-game confidence to the new No Gamble No Future episode.

Hellmuth responds to Platt’s opening question by admitting he could have played better, but defending himself against public criticism of his playing ability.

“It always boggles my mind when a whole generation says we didn’t think Phil was capable of that; what the f*ck, do you think I won 15 bracelets, do you think I won 13 No-Limit Hold’em tournaments at the World Series, and all these tournaments all over the world, by not having every speed?”

Heads-up hype at the highest level between Hellmuth and Negreanu

While the date hasn’t been set as of yet, we do know that Negreanu will challenge Hellmuth for Round 3 of High Stakes Duel II. That match puts $400,000 total on the line, with each poker legend putting up $200,000.

Hellmuth, already up $150,000 on Negreanu through the first two matches, can clinch a 3-0 sweep with another victory over Negreanu. If Negreanu loses in Round 3, he can’t challenge Hellmuth again, per the rules of the show.

Negreanu offered his assessment of what’s gone wrong for the GGPoker Ambassador in the first two matches against Hellmuth.

“Here was what I was surprised by,” said Negreanu of Hellmuth’s Round 2 strategy. “I expected the preflop aggression, and the c-bet aggression, because he’s always sort of done that.”

“What he’s never done, really ever in a televised environment; he’s never on TV shown that he can coupe that with turn and river aggression for big sizes.”

Although Hellmuth himself wasn’t impressed with his own game in Round 2, Negreanu goes on to say that Hellmuth played far better in the latest match than he did in Round 1. The opening match for High Stakes Duel II saw Hellmuth make an improbable comeback from a 97,000-to-3,000 chip deficit.

The one-hour-plus episode features plenty of in-depth discussion between the two Poker Hall of Famers, and the eventual Round 3 match should once again take center stage in the poker world, whenever it plays out on PokerGO.

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