More than a year after PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel 4 ended with Daniel Negreanu defeating Doug Polk in Round 2, the competition has returned. On Tuesday, Jared Bleznick bested new Poker Hall of Famer Patrik Antonius heads-up in Round 1 of High Stakes Duel 5. Antonius has already called for a rematch, so the stakes will double and the two will go at it again.
The format is slightly different than last year’s (and High Stakes Duel 4 was a bit different than previous iterations), but the buy-in still starts at $50,000 per player and doubles each round.
Each player can also call on the dealer to “Run It Twice” once during the contest.
Rather than playing No-Limit Hold’em the whole way, the match alternates between No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha every ten hands. Each player can also call on the dealer to “Run It Twice” once during the contest.
Early entries in the popular poker series went on for months because of a consecutive wins requirement. To try to cut down on the delays, that requirement is gone.
Instead, the loser of the round has the option to call for a rematch (again, at double the stakes). If the loser decides he or she is done, then the round’s winner is declared the High Stakes Duel champion. Gone are the days of the loser not asking for a rematch and then waiting to see if someone else would step in to take their place.
The rematch between Bleznick and Antonius for $100,000 a piece will be on Tuesday, November 19 at 8pm ET/5pm PT, streamed live on the PokerGO subscription service.
Past High Stakes Duel champs include Phil Hellmuth (Seasons 1 and 2), Jason Koon (Season 3), and Daniel Negreanu (Season 4).