Gossip Column: Galfond Challenge With Kornuth Starts September 16, RIO Legends Showdown Running Semi-Finals & More

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  • Namita Ghosh September 5, 2020
  • 3 Minutes Read

The date is set! Starting September 16, the Galfond Challenge is coming out of hibernation with Run It Once Poker founder Phil Galfond starting his heads-up challenge against Chance Kornuth. The duo will play 35,000 hands of €100/€200 PLO, where Kornuth will be looking to put an end to Galfond’s unbeaten record.

While there’s still time left for Galfond Challenge to resume, the high-stakes RIO Poker Legends Showdown is well into the semi-finals. Each of the four players has 1,500 hands of €50/€100 NLHE to play over two sessions. The first session between Kevin Rabichow and Bjorn Li has already played out, and while that is going to continue, Fedor Holz will be taking on Pauli Ayras soon!

While most of us are stuck indoors, poker couple Julie Cornelius and her husband Darin Dobler have used the time to start preparing for a challenging initiative. The couple plan on participating in the 2021 Marathon Des Sables – “Marathon of the Sands” – a tough, six-day run where the couple will have to run 251 kilometers across the Sahara Desert in Eastern Morocco. Cornelius and Dobler are doing this for a good cause and have started a virtual Marathon Des Sables to raise funds towards childhood cancer.

 

Phil Galfond vs. Chance Kornuth Heads-Up Challenge Starting September 16

The Galfond Challenge had been the only saving grace during the early lockdown weeks, filling in a void left by the lack of live events. From what we hear, the Galfond Challenge is firing up again, and this time, Phil Galfond will be facing poker coach Chance Kornuth! The duo has agreed to play 35,000 hands of €100/€200 PLO on RIO Poker starting September 16.

Galfond is on an unbeaten run, having won his heads-up challenges against ‘VeniVedi1993’ and then Ioannis ‘Action Freak’ Kontonatsios. The PLO legend also won his mini-challenges against AmSoGood’, Dan’ Jungleman’ Cates, and booked a profit against Bill Perkins in the brief encounter they have had.

It is no surprise then that PokerShares has Galfond listed as the hot favorite in the HU challenge.

Galfond also reacted to the tweet.

But Kornuth is not a player to be taken lightly. The two-time bracelet champion, who lives in Las Vegas, boasts over $7.5 Million in live tournament winnings. When the challenge takes off, Kornuth will also bring his experience in online poker and coaching on board.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Galfond pitting against someone in his famous challenge, and this one promises to be an epic battle!

 

RIO Legends Showdown Now Down to Semi-Finals

In our last report, we had brought you updates from the second week of the Run It Once (RIO) Legends Showdown, where Kevin “KRab42” Rabichow had defeated “Makeboifin” to book his seat into the semi-finals. Pauli “Fiilismies” Ayras was the other semi-finalist.

The initial six-member gang has been whittled down to the final four, and it’s going to be Kevin “KRab42” Rabichow vs. Bjorn “asianflushie” Li and Fedor “CrownUpGuy” Holz vs. Pauli “Fiilismies” Ayras in the semi-finals.

The two groups will be playing 1,500 hands of €50/€100 NLHE across two sessions. Rabichow has dominated Li in the first session of their match, with more coming up soon!

 

Week 3 Recap

By Week 2, Rabichow and Ayras had confirmed their berth in the semi-finals, but the last two spots remained in the air.

 

Mikael “ChaoRen160” Thuritz vs. Bjorn “AsianFlushie” Li

Li dominated Thuritz to secure his seat into the semi-finals.

 

 

Fedor “CrownUpGuy” Holz vs. Pauli “Fiilismies” Ayras

Fedor Holz was the second player making it to the semi-finals after defeating Ayras in Match #9.

After these two matches, the overall standing for Week 3 was as follows:

RankPlayerRecordMoney Won
1Fedor "CrownUpGuy" Holz2-1+€100,409.64
2Kevin “kRab42” Rabichow2-1+€14,192.37
3Bjorn “AsianFlushie” Li2-1-€9537.92
4Fiilismies2-1-€39,464.06
5Mikael “ChaoRen160" Thuritz1-2-€1,260.47
6MakeBoifin0-3-€64,339.56

 

Semi-Final Updates

So what’s the latest update?! Rabichow and Li played the first of their two sessions i.e., Match #10 on September 1. The play halted after 750 hands were played, and Rabichow was ahead by €92,599.46.

Watch the highlights below.

Legends Showdown Semifinal Highlights: Kevin Rabichow vs Bjorn Li | First Match

Coming up next is Match #11, i.e., the Holz vs. Ayras match that is scheduled to start at 7 PM UTC on September 4.

The Legends Showdown finals will have 2,250 hands played over three sessions, with the winner claiming the Legends Crown and a cool €40,000 paycheque. The runner-up will pocket €20,000.

 

Julie Cornelius & Darin Dobler Are Preparing to Run 251 KMS in the Sahara Desert For Charity

Sounds tough, does it? But poker couple, Julie Cornelius and Darin Dobler have set their mind to run in the 2021 Marathon Des Sables – “Marathon of the Sands!” This is a 251 kilometer-long ultramarathon that will span over six days across the Sahara Desert in Eastern Morocco.

Julie Cornelius & Darin Dobler

This will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination as Cornelius and Dobler will have to carry all their food supplies, medical kits, and safety equipment on their backs while they run. The difficulty level is high, but the poker playing couple has already started preparing for the challenge.

Cornelius told PokerStars – “I’m not sure if it was lockdown/quarantine, a midlife crisis, or if we just went insane, but we decided to pull the trigger and register. I had just finished an online tourney on PokerStars New Jersey, and perhaps it was insomnia, but I clicked ‘register’ and told Darin the next morning.”

Dobler has worked in global medical affairs in oncology and spent many years in cancer research. The couple is running for charity and has partnered with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation while announcing a virtual Marathon Des Stables to help raise funds for childhood cancer.

“We launched the virtual race on July 1st and everyone has three months (until October 1st) to complete the same distance of 156 miles that we will attempt to complete in one week in the Sahara. All participants receive a medal, and 100% of the $50 entry fee will go directly to St. Baldrick’s,” Cornelius explained.

They call their plans to run “Sahara Strong,” and have hired Meghan Laws to train them for the marathon.

The couple has even invited friends and the poker community to join the virtual race for a good cause. Some of the poker players who have already joined include David Tuchman, DJ MacKinnon, Cody Hughey, Bryan Campanello, Tyler Patterson, Preston McEwen, and Kristen Deardorff.

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