Phil Hellmuth went 7-0 playing High Stakes Duel matches before Tom Dwan brought his streak to an end in late August. This wasn’t the first time that Dwan beat the Poker Brat, as he also got the better of Hellmuth during the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship.
After his most recent heads-up loss, Hellmuth called for the rematch, and Dwan accepted.
Hellmuth issues rematch challenge
Hellmuth announced on Twitter over the weekend that he sent Dwan a text to see if he would be interested in a rematch. For those who don’t know, Hellmuth played sports commentator Nick Wright in the first round of High Stakes Duel III, and won the first game.
After losing $100,000, Wright decided not to proceed further with the challenge. Dwan was then asked if he would take up the challenge instead of Wright, and he did so on short notice. Dwan had a shaky start, but took control of the game and earned the victory along with $200,000 in winnings.
Hellmuth had the option to ask for a rematch right away, but he took his time on making a decision. He told his fans after his loss that while Dwan played well, he was disappointed with his performance and had to think about whether he wanted the rematch. After doing some serious consideration, Hellmuth is confident that he can get the better of Dwan in their next meeting.
Hellmuth announced on Twitter that he will put down $200,000 for the rematch, which will double the prize pool to $400,000.
Rematch will take place on PokerGo
Dwan didn’t officially accept the rematch, but he retweeted Hellmuth’s post, which is probably his way of saying he is in. The poker community, in general, was happy to see Hellmuth ask for the rematch, as it was a lot easier for Hellmuth to walk away after going 7-0 and winning more than $1.5 million from his seven previous High Stakes Duel matches.
The rematch will take place on the PokerGo app but, as of now, there’s no official date as to when the third game will actually occur. Given that the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is expected to start on Sept. 30 and run till mid-November, we expect the rematch to take place before the end of September.
What if Hellmuth loses again?
If Hellmuth ends up winning the rematch, he will most likely be a part of High Stakes Duel IV. However, if he ends up losing against Dwan, he will most likely move on from the show and Dwan will take his place. This is another reason why this third game between the two players is so exciting because there is a lot more than money at stake.
If Dwan wins, there is a possibility that he will have to take on Phil Ivey or another Poker Hall of Famer in the next High Stakes Duel.
