Chance Kornuth Fires Back in Phil Galfond Challenge

October 14th, 2020 | by Greg Shaun

Chance Kornuth made a brief comeback in his high-stakes match against Phil Galfond over the weekend but he still has a deficit of more than $200,000 to make up.

Chance Kornuth (pictured) has made a slight comeback in his high-stakes heads-up match against Phil Galfond. (Image: WPT)

The recent upswing for Kornuth put a $79,000 dent in Galfond’s lead. Indeed, it seems a few days away from the felt have given the American a renewed sense of vigor and optimism.

The pair have now played 5,311 of 35,000 hands in their $100/$200 Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) match. At this stage, Galfond is in control but, as we’ve seen in other challenges, there’s a long way to go.

Chance Kornuth Still Has a Chance Against Phil Galfond

Kornuth’s mini comeback took place on October 10. Although he’s not back in the black, he played some strong poker right out of the gate.

A $62,000 pot with a set of sixes proved to be the decisive hand of the match. Galfond held an open-ended straight draw and was willing to go all the way on the flop. Despite the threats, Kornuth’s set of sixes were enough to scoop the pot.

With a healthy early lead, Kornuth bobbed and weaved throughout the session. At one point he fended off a $30,000 comeback from Galfond to come through with a strong win worth just short of $79,0000.

The two pros will resume their match this week before life commitments mean they’ll take a week’s break. Railbirds may rue the break, but they may have something else to keep them amused.

Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk recently agreed to battle online in a long-awaited grudge match. The long-time rivals have batted back and forth on social media for years and, finally, they look set to get it on.

High-Stakes Entertainment Season

Although there’s currently some disagreement over the finer points of the match, they’ve agreed, in principle, to play 25,000 hands of $200/$400 No Limit Hold’em. Both players will be at least 100 big blinds deep at all times and the aim is to play two tables at once.

If one player is significantly down after 12,500 hands, they can wave the proverbial white flag and forfeit the match. However, knowing the rivalry Negreanu and Polk have developed in recent years, surrender is unlikely.

Either way, the match will be another adrenaline-inducing showdown. Indeed, the market for high stakes online entertainment is ripe right now.

Kornuth’s recent surge has made the Galfond Challenge interesting and Negreanu vs. Polk is likely to produce some seriously big pots. For all intents and purposes, it’s a good time to be a poker railbird.