CardRunners instructor Brian Townsend is next in line to take on Tom “durrrr” Dwan in the online version of the Million Dollar Challenge, according to Bluff Magazine. However, Dwan shot down the rumors in a post on TwoPlusTwo.
The cover story of the May issue of Bluff Magazine, “Facing All Challenges,” chronicles the 15-month saga of the Durrrr Challenge. In it, Dwan revealed that his next opponent would be none other than Townsend, who is known as “sbrugby” online. The article sheds some light on the structure of the rumored match against Townsend: “Dwan says his goal for the match against Townsend – the starting day for which is still being worked out, while parameters such as buy-ins, number of hands, choice of games, etc. are staying the same – is simple: Make the action fast, exciting, and get the buzz going once again about the Durrrr Challenge.”
Dwan forecasted that the match against Townsend could take as little as six weeks, although play could stretch for two or three months. Dwan told Bluff Magazine, “With Brian, there will be days when we’ll probably play 5,000 hands. With Patrik, we didn’t really have any of those days. It’s possible we could get it done in six weeks.” Townsend is apparently ready to play immediately, whereas Full Tilt Poker’s website contends that Phil Ivey and David Benyamine are next in line to play. Dwan, Antonius, Ivey, and Benyamine are all sponsored pros of the world’s second largest online poker site.
While the Bluff Magazine article, which was devoted mainly to the Durrrr Challenge, seems to indicate that Townsend is the clear-cut favorite to step up to the plate, Dwan recanted his story in an April 20th post on TwoPlusTwo: “Long story, but he’s not next. I’ll blog after seshy.” No blog was submitted after Dwan’s “seshy,” as its most recent entry is an advertisement for the Full Tilt Poker Academy that came on April 15th. Bluff officials and the poker community were equally perplexed.
Dwan’s post ignited a flurry of discussion in a TwoPlusTwo thread even though the poker pro failed to reveal who his next opponent would be. Poster “britewire” chimed in, “I’d love to see Ashton Griffin or aejones take up the challenge, but I don’t think they have the [bankroll] for it.” Others demanded that Dwan publish a new blog post to shed some light on the situation: “Wtf is this thread still running? Durrrr came on at like post #20 and shot the rumor down (although he’s failed to deliver the blog about it that he promised).”
The Durrrr Challenge featuring Patrik Antonius is nearing the 40,000-hand mark thanks in part to extensive sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The total number of hands played and the amount Dwan is up remain unclear due to conflicting reports from various poker outlets, but the latter number is likely around $1.9 million. Full Tilt officials told Poker News Daily that challenge stats on their website would be corrected by the end of the day on Thursday.
Townsend, meanwhile is fresh off a 30-day suspension of his Red Pro status for sharing hand histories with fellow CardRunners instructors Brian Hastings and Cole South to fend off the Swedish mystery pro Isildur1. On his $4 million day against Isildur1, Hastings told ESPN in a December interview, “Obviously I’m happy and I’ll take it, but Brian [Townsend] did a ton of work. The three of us discussed a ton of hands and the reports that Brian made, so I’m very thankful to him and to Cole [South] as well.” Townsend was suspended for multi-accounting in 2008.
Many in the poker industry have grown weary of play between Dwan and Antonius that started in the beginning of 2009. Antonius told Bluff, “Obviously, we failed when it comes to keeping it interesting. Everyone was following it, and then we… didn’t play.” Diversions included the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), high-stakes games against Isildur1, and extensive traveling.
Check out our sister site, DurrrrChallenge.com, for the latest news from the Tom Dwan Million Dollar Challenge.
