While dressed in a fake muscle shirt and tank top to poke a little fun at his opponent, Daniel Negreanu won his first round match against casino owner and amateur high stakes poker player Eric Persson on the made-for-broadcast Hight Stakes Duel last night. The two kicked-off season four of the show, and it was Negreanu’s first victory after previously going 0-3.
Both players bought in for $50,000. As per the format, the winner has to win two events in a row in order to cash out, end the season, and take home the championship belt (in the first three seasons, it was three in a row until the later rounds).
Now Negreanu will wait until a challenger emerges with the $100,000 required to get into the heads-up competition. The two were supposed to play in a rematch this week, but Persson backed out because of “scheduling conflicts.”
He congratulated Negreanu for “kicking his ass” on Twitter, and Negreanu responded:
I enjoyed the match Eric and sorry to hear there won’t be a rematch
I guess that means… seat open for who’s next?
I believe the rules state that a challenger must step up in the next 30 days and I imagine there will be a line 😂 https://t.co/b7P4e6xlS3
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 9, 2023
Previously on High Stakes Duel, Negreanu lost three matches in a row — and $350,000 — to Phil Hellmuth in the second season of High Stakes Duel in 2021.
Matusow beats Deeb
PokerGO, which airs High Stakes Duel to its subscribers, gave poker fans a taste of the show for free on Friday by having Mike Matusow and Shaun Deeb face-off in a $10,000 one-and-done special that was broadcast on its YouTube channel and PokerGO’s website.
It marks a return to poker shows for Matusow, the polarizing yet famous poker player who, no matter what, can’t keep his mouth shut.
Matusow had to battle back in order to scoop the $20,000 “undercard” after Deeb won the first nine pots, building a 3-2 chip lead. The two went back and forth until Matusow spiked trip twos to take a 2-1 chip lead. With 13 big blinds, Deeb pushed with a queen-high, but was called by Matusow’s king-high. The first all-in hand of the “undercard” would be the last.
Matusow took to Twitter to pose with his newest piece of hardware, while Deeb pined for a rematch.
I’ll be getting a rematch one day https://t.co/EzbwNI3cmW
— shaun deeb (@shaundeeb) May 6, 2023
What’s next for High Stakes Duel?
Like Negreanu stated on Twitter, there’s now a 30-day window when players can step up with $100,000 and get into the competition. If no one does (someone definitely will), Negreanu gets to walk away with Persson’s $50,000 and his own belt.
If Negreanu beats the next player up, he wins the season, the $200,000, and it starts all over. If the challenger wins, Negreanu will have the first opportunity to challenge the winner for a rematch, which would cost $400,000. The first person to win two in a row — or wins and no challenger emerges within 30 days — is the champion of High Stakes Duel 4.
Jason Koon was last season’s winner because no one stepped up with $1.6 million to challenge. That season went on for more than a year. He’s the only person not named Phil Hellmuth who won High Stakes Duel. He won the first two seasons of High Stakes Duel with nary a scratch, dispatching both Antonio Esfandiari and Negreanu without losing once.
As for the undercard, here’s betting PokerGO will continue the teaser on YouTube once someone challenges Negreanu.
