Gossip Column: Negreanu & Galfond Are Both Trailing Their Rivals in Their Respective Challenges

Possibly, two of the biggest heads-up challenges of the decade, the Grudge Match between Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk, and the Galfond Challenge featuring Phil Galfond and Chance Kornuth, have genuinely grabbed the attention of the poker community.

Over the past few days, Negreanu and Galfond both seemed to be fighting back, with the latter even overcoming his deficit and taking the lead. However, as the scorecard stands currently, both the poker legends are back in the red and trailing their rivals.

The GGPoker Ambassador had come back to the High Stakes Feud, charged and ready to fight back after the Thanksgiving break. His blistering run saw him winning three back-to-back sessions that helped reduce Polk’s lead down to $514,000. However, Polk bounced back in the 16th session, extending his overall lead to almost $674,000.

Galfond, too looked to be in good form post the Thanksgiving holidays. After being down for 20 sessions, Galfond finally managed to overtake Kornuth in session #32, taking on an overall lead of $32,000. But it didn’t last long. In the very next session, Kornuth snatched the lead back from the Run It Once founder. Galfond continued to fight back, and by the end of session 34, Kornuth was ahead for $36,500.

Taking a break from these challenges, we just found out that Negreanu is a Bollywood fan when he tweeted about his love for the industry recently.

Grudge Match: After 3 Back-to-Back Winnings Sessions, Daniel Negreanu Takes a Hit in the 16th Session, Doug Polk Leads by $674K

Six-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu seemed to have found a second wind after the Thanksgiving break. He had won the 13th, 14th, and 15th sessions against Doug Polk, bringing the latter’s lead down to $514,000. But the 16th session did not play out in Negreanu’s favor, resulting in Polk winning the session and extending his lead to $674,000.

Day 15 Recap

Negreanu had entered the 15th session staring at a massive $565,417.57 deficit. He had won the previous two sessions and continued with his winning form when the duo returned to play on December 5. After 452 hands, Negreanu managed to come out on top yet again, this time with a profit of $46,581.88. With a total of 7,496 hands out of the way, Polk was still in the lead for $514,000.

Session 15: -$46,581.88 over 452 hands

Total: ~514k over 7469 hands, will grab official total later

Wild one. Couldnt figure out how to hide my own cards for 30-60 minutes. Even after could barely hide them. Probably ended up showing 40% of hands. “No holecards” was a joke

— Doug “Truck Driver” Polk (@DougPolkVids) December 5, 2020

Watch the highlights of the session below.

Day 16 Recap

The Canadian pro’s winning streak came to an end on December 6. Another session of 824 hands saw Polk bounce back with an emphatic $160,348.99 victory, taking his overall lead to nearly $700,000, $674,000 to be precise.

Session 16: +$160,348.99 over 824 Hands

Total: ~$674,000 over 7921 Hands

Should get an official update on the total by wed, we had a couple sessions that had weird results, but 674k should be almost exact and will update it when I have the right number.

— Doug “Truck Driver” Polk (@DougPolkVids) December 8, 2020

Good session today. Lots of nice pots. We were an OESD in a 3BP vs KK away from booking a massive win. But any 4 buyin win is still a great session. Looking forward to W/T/F sessions!

— Doug “Truck Driver” Polk (@DougPolkVids) December 8, 2020

Watch the highlights of the session below.

With 16 sessions now in the books, here is how the Grudge Match has gone thus far.

The Grudge Match will resume on Wednesday, when Session 17 will be played. With 7,921 hands now in the books, Polk and Negreanu need to play another 4,579 hands to reach the 12,500-mark, the point at which the losing player can stop the challenge or ask to continue playing for another 12,500 hands.

Galfond Challenge: Phil Galfond Back in the Red After 34 Sessions, Chance Kornuth Extends Lead to $36.5K

Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Galfond had managed to take the lead away from rival poker coach Chance Kornuth after trying for 20 sessions. The 32nd session saw Galfond secure a $32,000 lead. But in the next session, Galfond lost the lead, going back in the red for $28,000. The 34th session Galfond lost another $8,500, increasing his deficit to $36,500.

Session 32

Galfond had entered the 32nd session trailing Kornuth for $64,000. This session, which took place on December 4, was perhaps one of the most heavily contested ones so far in the challenge. While Galfond had secured an early lead of $280,000, Kornuth managed to pull him back and secure a $344,000 lead himself. Nevertheless, the session ended with Galfond finally breaking into the green with a profit of $96,000, and an overall lead of $32,000.

It wouldn’t be a #GalfondChallenge without massive swings. Early on, @PhilGalfond jumped out to a €280k lead only for @ChancesCards to completely turn things around and secure a €344k lead of his own. It took 20 sessions, but PG is officially back in the green! pic.twitter.com/PIbu19ikDA

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) December 4, 2020

Watch the highlights of the session below.

Session 33

Despite taking over the lead a day before, Galfond booked another losing session to Kornuth on December 5. Kornuth yet again took over the driver’s seat with a profit of $60,000, taking an overall lead of $28,000.

The swings continued last night, as @ChancesCards bounced right back into the green after booking a $60,000 win. Session #34 is set to kick off in three hours. You can follow the coverage on https://t.co/JsFtBhuEUJ! #GalfondChallenge pic.twitter.com/htkTMp0QoZ

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) December 5, 2020

Watch the highlights of the session below.

Session 34

The 34th session played out on December 6 but was plagued by internet issues. Despite the problems, Kornuth was able to book a profit of $8,500 that translated into an overall lead of $36,500.

We didn’t get much of a session last night due to internet issues. Nonetheless, @ChancesCards was able to add $8,500 to his overall lead. These two will be taking a couple days off and will return to the virtual felt on Tuesday! #GalfondChallenge pic.twitter.com/1ZqJDMSIUG

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) December 6, 2020

The duo will return on December 8 for the 35th session.

Daniel Negreanu is a Bollywood Fan

Bollywood has had a tough few months, becoming entangled in several controversies, including a heavily fueled nepotism debate. The Hindi film industry may have become most people’s favorite punching bag, but it recently found an unlikely fan in one of the most famous poker pros of recent times, Daniel Negreanu!

Kid Poker, on December 7, tweeted about his love for Bollywood.

Random thought, but man, people from India just show up so pure. So kind, humble, funny, charismatic.

I got a lotta love for Bollywood! pic.twitter.com/tH50fOTK7Z

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) December 7, 2020

Nikhil Segel invited Negreanu to come and visit the country once the pandemic is over.

You should come visit once COVID ends.

— Nikhil Segel (@NikhilSegel) December 7, 2020

His tweet led to an outpouring of people talking about the country and its people.

I’ve worked with many in IT over the decades.

No culture is more polite, friendly, and happy as I’ve ever witnessed.

And the pot luck holiday lunches !!
Mmmmmm good !

— JAS (@JamesASquires) December 7, 2020

I manage a crew of about 50 with 90% or so from Punjab…I couldn’t agree more! Hardest working and kindest people I have ever met!

— Janine (@Volcanoesrock) December 7, 2020

Maybe the best people in the world. Never met an Indian I didn’t enjoy being around.

— Michael D. Gray (@PortCreditHomes) December 8, 2020

When asked if he could name three Bollywood movies, Negreanu gave a pretty prompt response.

Panga

Dil Bechara

War

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) December 7, 2020