Daniel Negreanu against Phil Hellmuth could be the next big high stakes “feud” to take their beef to the heads-up tables after the Poker Brat claimed Kid Poker chose the wrong strategy in his recent Grudge Match loss to Doug Polk.
Yo @phil_hellmuth you said you watched “zero” of the match but seem to have strong opinions on the play.
I’ll play you a heads up match live, online, at any stakes you feel comfortable with for as many hands as you would like.
Wanna play big guy? https://t.co/ac9KVpwuaO
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 10, 2021
Daniel’s challenge came after his longtime friend and rival Hellmuth had offered his views on the “No Gamble, No Future” podcast, where he told Jeff Platt and Brett Hanks: “I was disappointed in the way that Daniel played.”
As we covered extensively, the Grudge Match between Negreanu and Polk ended with the Upswing Poker boss winning $1.2million over 25,000 hands of $200/$400 HUNL.
Daniel’s big mistake, according to Hellmuth at least, was trying to match Polk’s GTO-style of play.
“I was betting on Daniel’s talent,” explained the 15-time WSOP bracelet winner, adding, “I think that if Daniel is going to try to play Doug playing pure GTO or next-level GTO, then to me…Doug has a lot of fire, and so Daniel is trying to fight fire with fire, I thought Daniel should have fought fire with Daniel.”
If Daniel really wants to play Phil he may have to get in line, Hellmuth offering out Polk himself and believing in his ‘White Magic’ to counter Polk’s GTO mastery.
“ I told Doug I’d play him next – and I’m ready!” stated Phil Hellmuth, adding, “I have won 29 of my last 30 heads-up matches. I won the last heads-up tournament I played in.”
That included the King of the Hill heads-up KO tournament in 2017, Hellmuth defeating Polk, and then winning the final against Dan “Jungleman” Cates.
“So I think I’ve only lost once, to Cary Katz…at a World Series tournament,” recalled Phil, conveniently forgetting his loss to Parker Tonkaaaaap” Talbot at the very next KotH event.
He hadn’t forgotten the losing hand to Katz, however: “I remember I had aces, he had sixes, but to be fair most of the money went in after it came K62 – I overplayed the aces.”
Negreanu’s challenge sparked some serious interest on Twitter, although some replies were more hilarious than serious, Daniel referencing another recent feud with this tweet…
Are you dumb?
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 10, 2021
Hellmuth’s week has been one to stroke his ego, of course, having been likened to winning Super Bowl quarterback Tom Brady and described as the GOAT of poker with many parallels drawn between the two iconic figures.
GOAT or otherwise, Phil hasn’t yet responded to DNegs’ challenge, but it would certainly be a match that poker fans would love to see.
In the meantime, if you need some more “poker feuding”, check out the latest in the Bill Perkins-Landon Tice “Heads-up for Soulz” challenge here. Or, if you prefer challenges, there’s Charlie Carrel’s NL500 Zoom offer.
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