On Sunday, Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius racked up 226 hands as part of the ongoing Million Dollar Challenge. Play came after a six day layoff since a 1,000 hand session on Monday. The two have together competed against each other in a total of 4,178 hands, with Dwan up $140,000.
The two largest pots held as part of the festivities on Sunday were for $72,000 and $116,000. In the former, Antonius raised to $1,200 pre-flop and Dwan called. The flop came A-J-K with two spades. Dwan checked, Antonius made a continuation bet of $2,400, Dwan re-raised to $6,700, and Antonius made the call. The turn came the eight of hearts. Dwan bet the pot ($15,800), Antonius pushed for $28,499.50, and Dwan called. The king of spades on the river paired the board and gave both players a full house. Dwan showed 3-A-4-A for aces full of kings. Antonius flipped over Q-10-K-8 for kings full of eights. Dwan scooped the pot, preserving his lead in the Million Dollar Challenge.
In the session’s only six-figure pot, Dwan raised pre-flop to $1,200, Antonius made it $3,600, and Dwan called. The flop came 2-7-5 with two clubs and Antonius led out and bet $7,200. Dwan called to see the king of spades fall on the turn. Antonius once again acted, firing out a pot-sized bet of $21,600. Dwan called and the river put a third club on the board. Antonius pushed for $29,000 and had Dwan covered. Dwan called and Antonius showed a 10-high flush with 10c-Jd-8c-8h, raking in nearly $116,000 for his efforts.
A total of five days of play are in the books. The contest has attracted the attention of interested poker players from across the industry. One site has even taken up a prediction contest on the outcome of the Dwan Challenge. Visitors to DurrrrChallenge.com are asked to submit their name, e-mail, prediction for the winner of the contest, and the amount that the victor will be up by after it has concluded. Play is scheduled to last for a total of 50,000 hands.
The top 10 contestants who are closest to the actual outcome of the Durrrr Challenge will receive cash. The winner takes home $1,000, second through fourth places pocket $200, and fifth through tenth places grab $100. If anyone in the top 10 on the leader board is a member of ThisIsTheNuts.com with $100 of combined lifetime rake, their prize will be doubled. Interested players have until 15,000 hands are in the books to register and the contest is valid when 30,000 hands are dealt. Many in the industry have wondered if the contest will actually end given the torpid pace so far as well as the onset of the 57 event long 2009 World Series of Poker, which kicks off at the end of May.
The Challenge issued by Tom Dwan was accepted by Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, and Antonius. Dwan has been battling in four tables of $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha against Antonius for five days. The first encounter between the two players, who are regulars in high stakes games on the popular online poker site, took place on February 18th. About 1,500 hands were played and Dwan drew first blood, going up $134,000. The end of the second session saw Dwan extend his lead to $170,000.
On February 21st, the third day of play in the Challenge saw a massive swing in fortune, as Antonius went from $170,000 behind to $56,000 ahead during a five hour long battle. However, Dwan vaulted back into the lead during the fourth session, grabbing about $206,000 to lead by $150,000 total. At the end of 4,178 hands, Dwan leads by $140,380.50. The stakes in the Million Dollar Challenge are high. If Dwan ends up $1 after 50,000 hands, he takes home both his winnings as well as $500,000 from his opponent. If Dwan’s opponent finishes up by $1, durrrr must pay him $1.5 million.
