$400,000 on the line as Negreanu looks to avoid a 3-0 sweep
The title of “best heads-up player” is certainly up for debate in the world of high-stakes poker. Focusing on PokerGO’sHigh Stakes Duel, however, leaves no room for debate on who the king of the mountain is on the popular show.
Phil Hellmuth reigns as the undisputed champion of High Stakes Duel, and he puts that title (and a literal championship belt) on the line once again Wednesday night. Hellmuth takes on Daniel Negreanu in a battle of poker legends, with the next chapter of High Stakes Duel II beginning at 8 pm EDT/5 pm PDT on PokerGO.
Wednesday’s match tosses $400,000 up for grabs, with $200,000 each coming from Hellmuth and Negreanu. Hellmuth has already downed Negreanu twice on High Stakes Duel II, in a $100,000 match and a $200,000 match respectively.
Those two wins put Hellmuth up 2-0 and $150,000 in profit against Negreanu. A win in Round 3 for Negreanu would erase those monetary losses, and give the player a $50,000 edge in the match.
A win in Wednesday’s High Stakes Duel II rematch would put the score at 2-1 in favor of Hellmuth. If that happens, Hellmuth and Negreanu would then compete in a fourth match at a later date, with $800,000 on the line in a potential High Stakes Duel II Round 4.
Such a match would really put the Hellmuth-Negreanu match into true high stakes territory. A Hellmuth win would make that speculation all for naught, however.
Per the rules of the show, a 3-0 sweep in the first three matches eliminates the loser. If that happens, the stakes reset to $100,000, and Hellmuth would await his next challenger.
Hellmuth runs the High Stakes Duel record to 5-0
Through five episodes of High Stakes Duel, the riddle of Phil Hellmuth’s heads-up sit & go play has yet to be solved. Hellmuth downed Antonio Esfandiari in the original run of High Stakes Duel, posting a 3-0 sweep and taking $350,000 in profit off of “The Magician.”
After several months on hiatus, High Stakes Duel returned on March 31 with another matchup between poker icons. Longtime friends and rivals Hellmuth and Negreanu haven’t disappointed in terms of hyping the match, with their pre-event exchanges on PokerGO turning into the stuff of poker legend:
Can Hellmuth pull off another round of “Apex Predator Shit” and sweep Negreanu 3-0? The 15-time WSOP bracelet winner staged an improbable comeback to win Round 1, and found a bit of luck in a back-and-forth match to finish off Round 2.
Nobody in the poker world could own the title of High Stakes Duel champion quite like Hellmuth, who’s the perfect person to carry the belt. A win by Negreanu tonight, however, send the show into uncharted territory.
If Negreanu wins, Hellmuth gets an automatic rematch. If he wins both Round 3 and a potential Round 4, he could choose to cash out after that.
A Negreanu win would activate the show's rule of allowing either player to cash out after two consecutive wins in the later rounds.
Featured image source: Twitter
