Gossip Column: Negreanu Makes a Phenomenal Comeback in Grudge Match Against Polk, Galfond Books Largest Profit of $123K Against Kornuth

PLO legends Daniel Negreanu and Phil Galfond both seem to be doing better in the respective high stakes’ challenges against Doug Polk and Chance Kornuth.

The Negreanu vs. Polk High Stakes Feud, aka Grudge Match of the century, witnessed ‘Kid Poker’ make an incredible comeback. He had started Day 5 with a deficit of $181,365 against Polk. After 365 hands had been played, Negreanu ended the session in the lead for $25,916!

Meanwhile, Galfond, too, made some much-needed headway against Kornuth. Though he is still down $221,500, the 25th session saw him book his most massive profit of $123,000 in this match-up.

Grudge Match: Daniel Negreanu Now $25K Ahead of Doug Polk

GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu has proved why he is considered one of the best in the business. His much-talked-about Grudge Match against Doug Polk went underway on November 4, and after the fifth session, the six-time WSOP bracelet winner regained the lead for $25,916!

Negreanu had fought back hard during the fourth session, bringing his overall deficit down to $181,365. The gap could have been smaller had the Canadian pro not suffered a brutal bad beat on the last hand of the day.

Nevertheless, Negreanu persisted with his form and the fifth session finally turned the match around in his favor.

Day 5 Recap

Negreanu entered Day 5 with a deficit of $181,365. Polk started out by dominating the session and won the first big pot of the day within the first 30 minutes of play.

After that, Negreanu completely dominated the duel for the next two hours.

Big win today puts me back in the lead in the match:

Hands Played 1737
Result +$25,916.87

A long way to go to the finish line but very happy to be ahead obviously.

Next session Monday.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) November 14, 2020

Polk and Negreanu have now completed 1,737 hands through five sessions (four online). They are still in the relatively early stages as this match is set to go on for at least 12,500 and possibly the full 25,000 hands. At $200/$400 stakes, Negreanu’s $25,916 lead doesn’t seem like much — barely half a buy-in. However, given that he was down $268,000 after the first three sessions, this $25,916 lead is quite an achievement.

The next session will take place on November 16.

Galfond Challenge: Phil Galfond Books His Largest Win of $123K, Still Trails Chance Kornuth by $221K

The Heads-Up Challenge against Chance Kornuth really hasn’t gone Phil Galfond’s way for a majority of the match-up. With 25 sessions in the books, even though the drift has started moving towards Galfond, he is still in the red for $221,500.

In our last update, after 23 sessions, Kornuth had taken over a commanding lead against Galfond with a profit of $289,500. Let’s do a quick recap of how the last two sessions went.

Session 24

On November 24, the duo returned for the 24th session. It was yet another horrendous session for Galfond as Kornuth increased his lead by another $91,000, taking his overall profit to $344,500.

Last night was a rough night for @PhilGalfond, as @ChancesCards bagged a $91,000 win. These two will be back at it with another session in a couple hours. #LFPG #GalfondChallenge pic.twitter.com/pXdXK1oPsV

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) November 14, 2020

Catch the highlights of the session here.

Session 25

The 25th session proved to be slightly better for Galfond as he bounced back with his most significant win at the challenge yet, with a profit of $123,000. However, he is still trailing Kornuth by $221,5000.

Saturday night proved to be a successful night for @PhilGalfond as he bounced back from Friday’s $91,000 loss by booking his largest win, $123,000, to date against @ChancesCards. These two will be taking the next couple of days off and will return to the virtual felt on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/wLWdtzUh3s

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) November 15, 2020

The next session is scheduled for November 17.