Phil Hellmuth to face new opponent for ‘High Stakes Duel’ match

Tom Dwan during his loss to Phil Hellmuth on "High Stakes Duel" on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, at ...

Phil Hellmuth will have a new opponent for his latest heads-up poker match.

Tom Dwan was forced to pull out of Thursday’s “High Stakes Duel III” No-limit Hold ’em match because of scheduling conflicts, according to PokerGO.

Rather than facing Dwan for the third time, Hellmuth will challenge a yet-to-be-announced player for the $800,000 prize. The match will be shown at 5 p.m. Tuesday by the subscription video service PokerGO, and an announcement of Hellmuth’s opposition is expected Monday.

Hellmuth and Dwan split their first two heads-up battles, with Hellmuth avenging his lone defeat in “High Stakes Duel” during a $200,000 buy-in match in January.

The “Poker Brat” had been 7-0 in the format, including three wins apiece over stars Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu, before he lost a $100,000 buy-in game to Dwan in August during Round 2 of “High Stakes Duel III.”

Dwan, 35, has more than $5 million in live earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database, and is a renowned high-stakes cash-game player, sitting in nosebleed games around the world.

Hellmuth and Dwan appeared on Sunday’s “Hustler Casino Live,” taking on popular YouTubers and Twitch streamers in a $100/$200 No-limit Hold’em cash game. The show attracted more than 100,000 concurrent viewers and was the most-watched live-streamed poker game in history, according to PokerNews.

Hellmuth was accused of angle-shooting in a hand against an amateur when he appeared to fold his cards and was criticized on social media for the play. He finished down more than $96,000 for the session.

That was the most recent incident at the table involving Hellmuth. Last month at the $25,000 buy-in PokerGO Tour Heads-Up Showdown, Hellmuth traded obscenities with first-round opponent Eric Persson in a heated match. Persson, who flipped off Hellmuth at one point, went on to win.

Hellmuth, 57, is the all-time leader with 16 World Series of Poker tournament victories. He has more than $27 million in career live earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database, and finished second to Erik Seidel at the $25,000 buy-in U.S. Poker Open in March.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

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