Home / Poker News October 2009 / Dwan completes durrrr challenge comeback: takes lead
Dwan completes durrrr challenge comeback: takes lead
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2009-10-05 11:51
It’s official: Tom Dwan has completed one of the most spectacular comebacks in high stakes cash game history. After having gone down about $700k in his challenge series versus Patrik Antonius, the New Jersey Wonderkid managed to bounce right back into contention. He first annulled much of his opponents lead and then leapt into the lead himself at the end of a 400 hand session at the
online poker room Full Tilt last week.
The latest durrrr challenge session came at the end of a 25 day break the two protagonists have taken, probably in order to play in the WCOOP and to attend the WSOPE London.
As the hype surrounding the challenge series is slowly dying off, the two players bellied up to the special challenge tables over at Full Tilt Poker for another 75 minute session.
When they decided to call it the day, Dwan was up about $275,000. This payday put him $235,453 ahead of his opponent, whose flimsy lead went up in smoke through four 6 figure pots, of which three landed in Dwan’s pockets.
The two challenge combatants said they planned to up the pace of their challenge series and log more hands from now on, but something unexpected may well sidetrack their plans.
A Swedish mystery player known only by his online nickname “martonas” has reappeared at the nosebleed tables after he won and then lost around $1 million in the second half of August. Now widely viewed as an easy source of chips by most nosebleed regulars, martonas’ “appeal” may prove too much for the durrrr challenge rivals to resist.
The first 6 figure pot that Dwan and Antonius logged during their latest session, saw Dwan fire out his usual preflop raise of $1,200. Antonius made the call and the flop fell 10,8,4 all heart. Durrrr continued to play the aggressor on the flop and Antonius kept calling him until they were both all-in. Antonius tabled Q,10,10,6 for a set of 10s, but Dwan had Ah,Qh,J,10 making the nut flush and taking down the $138,191 pot.
It took quite a long time for another comparably sized pot to develop. About 45 minutes later, the two players got all the dough into the middle on an Ah,9c,7h flop again. Dwan had A,A,J,8 for a set of Aces, and Antonius had 9,9,3,2 for a set of 9s.
Two fives fell on the turn and the river to give Dwan the $239,970 pot.
Dwan pocketed another pot immediately after the above one, a pot which barely fell short of becoming a 6-figure one. In this hand, the money went all-in on the turn. Following a flop of K,7,4 rainbow, Dwan made a deceiving flat call, prompting Antonius to swing into action following the A that came on the turn. After Antonius fired his second bullet, Dwan shoved all-in. The Finn made the call and tabled 8,7,6,5 for a pair of 7s and a chance for a straight. Dwan on the other hand, had 9,4,4,3 for a set of 4s and the $93,586 pot was shipped his way.
The lead that Dwan had taken is by no means a decisive one, or even an outstandingly significant one. With 26,000 hands to go, the advantage will probably swing quite a few times before the end of the Challenge.
