Galfond has made a great comeback since the break and its now looking (with only 25% of the hands still to play) that he could balance out things by the time the challenge ends.
However, a few issues have been underlined along the way. The first being never enter a challenge unprepared.
The second issue is length of challenge, 25,000 hands. Ironically this could work out all to Galfond's benefit after the disastrous start. However from a spectators point of view (the challenge predicated on getting eyes/play on the Run It Once site) it would appear long to the point of tedium, with only approximately 1,000 watching the live streams. Which is a shame.
I tend to agree with others who have said, the tournaments/challenges should have been held between (a prepared) Galfond and poker players with a higher profile/celebrity. They could be held over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday to be quick exciting hits - much like watching an EPT or
wsop tourney play out. A succession of such /players weekends might have been more engaging.
When the challenge is 25,00 hands, whatever the outcome it is inevitably becomes a grind from many perspectives.