Gossip Column: Negreanu-Hellmuth & Holz-Malinowski HU Challenges Coming Up in March!

Oh yeah, we have two heads-up challenges coming up this month! Arguably the two most prominent names in the business, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth, will be coming together in the next High Stakes Duel starting March 16. Unlike Negreanu’s last Grudge Match against Doug Polk, this one will be hosted at the PokerGO Studio in Aria, Las Vegas! The challenge’s start date was announced on the “No Gamble, No Future” podcast, with Negreanu and Hellmuth joining Jeff Platt and Brent Hanks to talk about their upcoming match.

We also have the start date of another much-awaited heads-up challenge. The Fedor Holz vs. Wiktor Malinowski match starts March 5. Yes, it’s just a day away. Unlike the Negreanu-Hellmuth High Stakes Duel, it will be a quick four-session match to be played in its entirety on GGPoker. The duo plans to get the challenge done by March 12.

Daniel Negreanu vs. Phil Hellmuth High Stakes Duel Starts March 16

Mark your calendar, set the alarm on your phone, or be active on social media so that you don’t forget. The Daniel Negreanu vs. Phil Hellmuth High Stakes Duel begins March 16! No, we will not see these two poker greats battling it out online. Instead, both of them will be facing off at the PokerGO Studio in Aria, Las Vegas.

Negreanu confirmed that the match would start mid-March in his tweets over the weekend, and PokerGO will air it live. Negreanu also announced that he and Hellmuth would appear on the “No Gamble, No Future” podcast to reveal the match’s start date and other details.

Line is up.

Event will happen.

Mid March.

Will air live @PokerGO https://t.co/7TZ8SSVYf8

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 26, 2021

I will appear on the No Gamble, No Future podcast Tuesday with @phil_hellmuth to discuss our upcoming match and reveal the date. https://t.co/WtGHbSGF3u

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 27, 2021

Dropping a strong hint, PokerGO president Mori Eskandani in an interview, said that people interested in wagering on the start date of the match should avoid betting on anything after March 14.

This is the second High Stakes Duel that Hellmuth is playing. Last year, he clashed against Antonio Esfandiari and won three straight sessions to emerge the winner.

Hellmuth and Negreanu joined Jeff Platt and Brent Hanks in the podcast on March 2, where Platt and Hanks took out a 25-pound High Stakes Duel Championship Belt, showing Negreanu and Hellmuth what they’ll be fighting for. Both spoke at length on their plans for the match.

As we know, Negreanu and Hellmuth can turn quite volatile on the felts with their mood swings and rude outbursts. In fact, it was Hellmuth’s scathing comments on Negreanu’s gameplay in his Grudge Match against Doug Polk that irked the latter enough to call for a heads-up duel. Hellmuth accepted the challenge, and the entire poker community has been eagerly awaiting the excitement to begin ever since!

The one-hour-long podcast began with some pleasant conversation but saw its share of sparks nonetheless. By the end of it, they agreed on the stakes to play.

Negreanu said – “You play 50 buy-ins total, and by the end of the 50 events, if you’re ahead, you show a profit, you win it.”

Hellmuth jumped at it, “So I bet $200 to $400K, right now on that, but we’ll have to come up with the rules offline.”

Watch the podcast below.

Right after the podcast, Negreanu tweeted another challenge. He is laying $400K to Hellmuth’s $200K that the latter will be a losing player over 50 $25K buy-in events at Aria. If he shows even a $1 profit, Hellmuth wins the bet. Given the frequency of the events and considering the COVID-19 situation, it would be safe to assume that the result on this could take some time coming.

Bet offered and accepted:

I’m laying $400k to @phil_hellmuth $200k that over 50 $25k buy in @AriaLV tournaments that Hellmuth will end up in the red.

If he shows a $1 profit he wins the bet.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) March 2, 2021

Unlike Negreanu’s Grudge Match against Polk, the High Stakes Duel will follow a tournament format featuring escalating stakes, starting with each player putting up $50K. The loser has the option to go for a rematch at double the stakes. Neither player can cash out till he wins three matches in a row or two in a row starting from round 5.

Eskandani has also confirmed that other challengers can step in if either player declines to continue after any round. He also dropped the names of high-stakes pros Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan as likely candidates should either Hellmuth or Negreanu decide to quit.

With two of poker’s most iconic players in the mix, the upcoming duel could be the most-watched poker match in history.

Fedor Holz vs. Wiktor ‘Limitless’ Malinowski Heads-Up Match Starts March 5 on GGPoker

Like we pointed out in our last update, heads-up challenges have become quite the thing. Last August, Polish cash game crusher Wiktor Malinowski had thrown German poker phenom Fedor Holz, a heads-up challenge. Holz finally responded on Sunday.

The war of tweets made it evident that the match was on, and sure enough, the duel is about to take off – sooner than we expected.

Holz recently announced that the match begins on March 5 and would be played on GGPoker. His tweet on March 3 confirmed that the duo would be on a zoom call while playing.

On the 5th @Iimitless2 and I will play our first session. You will see cards and we will be on a zoom call 🔥this will be fun.

— Fedor Holz 🐧 (@CrownUpGuy) March 2, 2021

The duo has agreed to play a four-session challenge of $100/$200 heads-up NLHE. It will be a fast-track duel, and the next three sessions will be played on March 8, 10, and 12, respectively. Poker fans will be able to watch the match live on GGPoker TV on a 30-minute delay.

Let’s get you up to speed for those who don’t know the backdrop of the challenge. Last August, Malinowski, a former professional Handball player, told Joe Ingram that he’d be interested in playing Holz on his podcast. Malinowski took things even further by suggesting that he was ready to play Holz drunk. These comments on the Ingram podcast went unanswered by Holz.

In September, Malinowski took his second dig at Holz shortly after the latter won the 2020 WSOP Online Event #79 for his second gold bracelet. Holz remained quiet until last month when he tweeted a short video informing Malinowski he was up for the challenge.

The strong strategist that Holz is, he picked his spot to accept the challenge at an opportune time. Malinowski is currently playing a heads-challenge against Stefan Burakov and is already down for $550K in just a week. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Burakov showed over-the-top enthusiasm while accepting Holz’s call.

In one of his tweets, Burakov even said he was ready to play against Holz and two of his best students.

Hey @CrownUpGuy – where are you? I am waiting for you – pick your 2 best students and I play all 3 of you! #fedorlolz https://t.co/SQAAONgwbj pic.twitter.com/a2k3sznwVI

— Wiktor Malinowski: 'Limitless' (@Limitless_poker) February 26, 2021

With the dates set, GGPoker has confirmed that it will back the challenge with expert commentary, interviews, and the entire shebang that a match of such stature deserves.

TIP: Stock up on popcorn, get your favorite drinks in the refrigerator, and mark the dates, as no serious poker enthusiast would not want to miss either of the two upcoming challenges.