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Daniel Negreanu and Tony G to Battle Phil Hellmuth

We all know that Daniel Negreanu got whooped to the tune of $1 million against Doug Polk. While some players would lick their wounds, it appears Negreanu is ready to bounce back. His sights are now firmly set on Phil Hellmuth for a heads-up showdown.

However, Negreanu is not the only one gunning for Hellmuth. Tony G is also interested in taking on Hellmuth in a heads-up battle. The two have a bit of history and the battle would make for some fun TV.

Daniel Negreanu to Battle Phil Hellmuth in High Stakes Duel

Following Daniel Negreanu’s loss to Doug Polk in their epic grudge match, Phil Hellmuth stated that he was disappointed in Negreanu’s play. This pissed Negreanu off, and he immediately challenged Hellmuth to a heads-up poker battle.

Hellmuth later took to Twitter and announced that he and Negreanu will battle on PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel. High Stakes Duel is a heads-up Sit and Go tournament rather than a poker cash game like what Polk and Negreanu played. Negreanu and Polk played multiple tables of heads-up NL Hold’em online where Hellmuth and Negreanu will battle against each other live.

Happy to play anyone on @PokerGo App’s “High Stakes Duel.” Looks like they are bringing me the GREAT Daniel Negreanu @RealKidPoker, the guy that studied heads up for months w coaches I respect, so be it. It will be a great challenge for me! Hoping I don’t look like THIS photo!! pic.twitter.com/EpE1BqRMWP

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) February 13, 2021

Despite this, many feel that Negreanu will have an edge over Hellmuth. Betting odds have Negreanu somewhere around 2.5 to 1 to defeat Hellmuth. This is drastically different than the battle with Polk. Negreanu was a 4 to 1 underdog to Polk in the grudge match.

Personally, I don’t think Negreanu has as big of an edge in this match as people are thinking. High Stakes Duel feeds into Hellmuth’s strengths, which is tournament poker. In a tournament format, Negreanu doesn’t have quite the edge people are thinking and even with GTO strategy, Hellmuth will be more on equal footing. I view this as more of a coin flip than I do an edge for one player or another.

Tony G Also Wants a Piece of Hellmuth

Over a month ago, Tony G resigned from his seat in the Lithuanian Parliament. At the time, he said that he didn’t feel he could bring about the change that was necessary in government. Many assumed that he would be returning to poker, and that appears to be the case.

Last Friday, Tony G tweeted that he would like to battle Hellmuth heads-up for charity once it is safe to travel. He also stated that international TV coverage for the even is a requirement. It didn’t take long for people to start contacting him.

When it's safer to travel, I'm taking @phil_hellmuth for a dance on the felt.

High stakes Hold'em for charity.

Who can set this up? International TV is a must!

— Tony G (@TonyGuoga) February 12, 2021

Matt Stout of the Charity Series of Poker was first in line. PokerStars also replied. Beyond that, it is anyone’s guess as to whom has already contacted Tony G regarding a match. We can assume that Hellmuth would be willing to play, particularly if they are doing so for charity and bragging rights on TV.

On the surface, one would assume that Hellmuth would have a significant advantage. Tony G has spent several years largely away from the game. However, Tony G has quite the ability to get under Hellmuth’s skin. Tony G is an expert at table talk and intimidation at the tables. He could very well make things difficult to the point where Hellmuth makes key mistakes and has a few blowups.

Unlike the Negreanu match, I will give Tony G a slight advantage provided that he can use his table talk to tilt Hellmuth. Should Hellmuth find a way to keep his cool, then he could find himself in a position to perform well.

We would not be surprised to see this matchup end up on PokerGo as well. These high-profile matches are exactly what the network was made for.

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