Daniel Cates Blasts Tom Dwan and “durrrr” Challenge

September 24th, 2014 | by Greg Shaun

Daniel Cates fumes over durrrr Challenge

Dan Cates has said he’ll reveal secrets about Tom Dwan if Dwan won’t complete the “durrrr” Challenge. (Image: pokerupdate.com)

Tom Dwan’s fabled “durrrr” Challenge was once the talk of the online poker world. Designed to generate some high-stakes action at a time when Tom “durrrr” Dwan was an unstoppable force, the heads-up spectacular has since fallen by the wayside. In fact, despite agreeing to play Dan “Jungleman12” Cates for $1.5 million, Dwan has since failed to complete the required 50,000-hand target.

Back in 2010, when the bet was first agreed upon, Dwan and Cates were among the top heads-up No Limit Hold’em players in the world. As a result, the prospect of a one-on-one duel between the two titans had everyone lining the rail with bated breath.

However, as the days, months and years ticked by, the challenge became less and less of an occasion and more and more of a chore. In fact, with four years now passed since play began, Cates has become increasingly frustrated with his opponent. Despite numerous attempts to complete the match during that time, Cates has been left at both a loss for words and as well as money.

Lack of Drive from Dwan

According to the original rules of the “durrrr” Challenge, Dwan agreed to play anybody in the world (except Phil Galfond) heads-up for 50,000 hands and, if they were able to beat him, he’d pay them $1.5 million. However, just over 20,000 hands into the challenge and four years later, the match still isn’t complete and Dwan is now seemingly refusing to play. Having fallen $1.5 million behind Cates, it’s fair to say that the American pro probably doesn’t want to lose any more of his bankroll.

In fact, despite claiming he still wants to finish the match, Dwan hasn’t kept to the timeline he promised Cates back in 2013, and is now an extra $300,000 in the hole after an accumulation of penalties. Such is the absurdness of Dwan’s apathy that Cates recently told Pokerlistings that he is afraid his opponent won’t finish the challenge at all and he’ll be left hugely out-of-pocket.

“He failed to uphold any promises he made to me. He is extremely frustrating, it’s outrageous. I feel like he won’t complete it,” said Cates.

Cates Winning, Despite Dwan’s Personal Issues

After being pushed further, the sometimes volatile Cates hinted that he knew certain things about Dwan’s personal life that he probably wouldn’t want people to know. Stopping short of actually explaining what the “secrets” were, he seemed to imply that the former online legend has had some personal issues that have alienated him from a lot of people.

“I won’t divulge his personal situation. But I’m not thrilled with anything I hear about him,” explained the disgruntled pro.

Away from the “durrrr” Challenge, Cates noted that he’s having a good year so far. Although not quite as lucrative as 2010 when he won $5.5 million online, he did admit that apart from his “prop bets going terribly”, he finally received his Full Tilt money and things are “almost as good” as his biggest winning year so far.