High Stakes Duel 6 has ended in an emphatic victory for Matt Berkey, defeating Jared Bleznick over two days of NLH and PLO for a resounding $314,900 win. Bleznick came into the match with Berkey on a high, having whitewashed Patrik Antonius in High Stakes Duel 5 late last year.
Setting the rules
Bleznick took $350,000 from the Flying Finn and joined the likes of Phil Hellmuth (twice), Jason Koon, and Daniel Negreanu in the winner’s circle. The rules for HSD 6 were similar to the fifth iteration against Antonius, a mix between NLH (Berkey’s favourite game) and PLO (more Bleznick’s territory) but with a two-day schedule rather than three matches.
Starting stacks of $100K and blinds of $200/$400, with unlimited rebuys and add-ons, the plan was to play one six hour session per day, with one-and-a-half hours of NLH followed by the same of PLO. (The Antonius match had seen them switch every 10 hands).
Bleznick vs Berkey day 1
Day one was a relatively quiet affair with brief bursts of interest, including the following excruciating Berkey decision on the river facing an overbet shove from the man known as “the Backer”…
"Think long, think wrong." – @harrington25's overbet jam had @berkey11 going through it on Day 1 of High Stakes Duel.
The battle continues today on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG starting at 8P ET/5P PT.
Save $20 on your first year of a new annual plan with promo code HSD6. pic.twitter.com/iqhOfE4CgX
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) February 5, 2025
If you can’t watch it all, here’s the tl;dr:
Bleznick ($70.8k) 5♦ 2♦
Berkey ($128k) 6♥ 3♦
Flop: 6♣ J♦ 4♠
With the pot at $3400, Bleznick – facing a check – bet $2500, Berkey in the big blind calling.
Turn: 3♠
“Oh, boy!” and “Oh, wow!” was the PokerGO commentary team response as Berkey turned two pair but was behind to the second nuts. A check from Berkey was again met by a bet, this time $11k, and another call.
River: A♥
With a $30,400 pot, Berkey knew he had only a bluff-catcher after Bleznick shoved for $56,000. The tank that followed was excruciating for fans, Berkey eventually talking himself into a call.
A rebuy for another $100k allowed Berkey to fight back, eventually ending the day down only $22.7k.
Bleznick vs Berkey day 2
Bleznick stretched out an early lead, some $50k in total, when Berkey changed the nature of the game, offering Bleznick a deal. For $11,500 they would play only NLHE for the next two levels, having just played two levels of Berkey’s 2-card favourite.
Replying, “I need $15,000,” the deal was struck and Berkey’s luck somehow changed with it, the run of the cards going his way, as well as picking off bluffs and dodging getting stacked with a set of bullet-killers…
High Stakes Duel 6 between @berkey11 and @harrington25 was full of above-the-rim play across NLH and PLO from start to finish.
Miss it? Relive the high-stakes battle on demand anytime on PokerGO. https://t.co/qWF0jFBF70
Promo code HSD6 saves you $20 on your first year. pic.twitter.com/dfWjqEUjiA
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) February 6, 2025
“How good are you at poker?” was all Bleznick could repeat after that one, but the real hurt was yet to come. In the final hour of play he would lose with rivered trips versus rivered Full House, top pair versus top two and top pair against rivered flush.
The end result was a thorough drubbing to the tune of $315,000 and a new High Stakes Duel champion on the throne.
https://t.co/CGonMnmBLv pic.twitter.com/wTyvukdANx
— Matt Berkey (@berkey11) February 6, 2025
There is no word yet on whether Bleznick will fancy another go at Berkey or we will be looking at some new blood when High Stakes Duel 7 is announced. We’ll be sure to let you know either way. In the meantime, if your appetite to play has been whetted, check out our great deals below!
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