Jared Bleznick has defeated Patrik Antonius in round 1 of High Stakes Duel 5, the $50k per head match featuring a mix of No Limit Hold’em and PLO for the first time.
Antonius, fresh off his $5million+ scoop of the Triton Invitational, and Bleznick, a controversial character, were the two latest big-name pros to clash for the PokerGO HSD title.
Previous match-ups had seen Daniel Negreanu defeat Doug Polk last year in HSD4, Jason Koon take out Phil Hellmuth in HSD3, while Hellmuth himself emerged victorious in both HSD 1 and 2.
This time round, the players would not only have a Run it Twice option once per round, but also battle across both No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha – playing 10 hands of each in turn.
Antonius drew first real blood when he picked off one of Bleznick’s numerous bluffs, but there was little to chose between the pair for much of the early stages.
That changed when Bleznick found a way past Antonius’ defences in the following hand:
Bleznick: 6♠ 6♦ 4♠ 4♣
Antonius: 10♦ 9♥ :xs: :xs:
Board: K♠ Q♥ K♣ J♦ 7♦
Despite turning the straight, Antonius folded to Bleznick’s river bluff, missing a great chance to take a commanding lead.
The battle continued to and fro but eventually a cooler flop would decide matters.
Antonius: K♠ Q♥
Bleznick: Q♠ 8♠
Flop: 6♣ 8♣ Q♦
Antonius’s check-raise saw a 4-bet and when he opted to 5-bet shove, Bleznick snapped it off with top two.
Turn: 8♥
River: A♠
That handed Bleznick the $100,000 round 1 prizemoney, but Antonius immediately expressed his desire to rematch.
The flying Finn will pony up another $100k for a livestreamed $200k showdown next Tuesday, November 19th with the match kicking off at 5 p.m.PT/8p.m. ET on PokerGO.com.
The Flying Finn
Poker Hall of Famer Antonius won’t have any problems finding the $100k buy-in for his High Stakes Duel rematch. Last week saw him scoop the biggest prize of his career at the Triton Poker Monte Carlo stop, taking down the $200k Triton Invitational.
Antonius defeated Vladimir Korzinin heads-up to land the $5,130,000 first prize. Incredibly, the Estonian – who took $3,470,000 for his runner-up finish – claimed to have only learned poker a few months’ previously.
The Controversial Sports Card King
Bleznick is also a crusher, though one with a more colourful background than Antonius in many ways.
Bleznick, a PLO beast known as Harrington 25 online , changed his focus from poker to collecting sports cards. He set up Legacy Sports Cards in Las Vegas with fellow poker pro Tom Marchese and also hosts a live show unboxing cards.
His poker career was beset by controversy, allegations of extensive multi-accounting on PokerStars coupled with a high-profile WSOP ban for ripping up and throwing his cards.
The ban was later lifted due to Phil Hellmuth exerting undue influence yet again on the WSOP’s Jack Effel.
Report: Jared Bleznick, banned for life from WSOP on 6/22, was unbanned days later thru influence of Phil Hellmuth. https://t.co/xPJ341mrx3
— Todd Witteles 📟 (@ToddWitteles) July 12, 2016
- Get the best rakeback deals
- See the best poker promotions
- View the latest poker news
- Get the best No Deposit Poker Bonuses
- Benefit from the biggest poker bonus
- Calculate your rakeback with the rakeback calculator
Terms and conditions apply. New customer offer and 18+ only. Should you require help regarding your betting pattern, please visit www.begambleaware.org.
