Polk Now Ahead By Nearly $600K in Grudge Match Against Negreanu

Doug Polk has continued to extend his lead in his ongoing heads-up grudge match against Daniel Negreanu.

Fans of the three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner will be pleased with Polk’s performance as he managed to bounce back big time during the last four sessions of the battle, with Negreanu now suffering from a massive $596,197 deficit.

Polk and Negreanu’s latest match took place on Nov 28. The pair played 684 hands, bringing the total so far to 5,781, almost halfway the total number of hands they had agreed to play. Negreanu last booked a win over a week ago, during their eighth session.

The Poker Hall of Famer was leading by more than $170,000, but that was short-lived though, as Polk wasted no time making a huge comeback, winning three consecutive sessions after the Thanksgiving break. On Nov 28, the American poker pro shipped his biggest win thus far in the match worth a total of $332,178.14, which means he is now ahead of his long-time rival by over half a million dollars.

Doug Polk Poker

 

Luck Favors Polk

Polk’s run of good luck was highly evident during their latest session. He triumphed in the all-in pots, which started while the pair were halfway through the game. With A-K, Negreanu made the nut straight on the turn, but Polk, who held 4-6, ultimately won the huge $108,000 pot after hitting runner-runner flush.

This wasn’t the first time that both players got involved in a similar scenario. Polk again beat Negreanu with a rivered flush against a straight, winning another massive pot.

Luck may have been on Polk’s side almost the entire session, but he also performed excellently when the luck factor went against him. For example, he called off Negreanu’s all-in bluff bet worth $25,000 on the river, with Ace-high against King-high, scooping a $79,000 pot in the process.

Will Negreanu Recover?

With such a massive deficit, Negreanu’s chances of winning the match are getting slimmer, but that’s not to say phenomenal comebacks don’t happen. Those following Phil Galfond‘s heads-up challenge would agree that things could still turn around. Galfond was behind by $900,000 in his match against online legend “VeniVidi1993” earlier this year, but the Run It Once founder rallied and ultimately won the challenge.

Polk and Negreanu will face each other gain on November 30 for their 13th session. We will bring you the latest updates later in the week.