Galfond Challenge: The Ultimate Guide
What Is the Galfond Challenge?
High-stakes poker professional Phil Galfond has issued a challenge to the poker world with the Galfond Challenge. The founder and owner of Run It Once poker will be taking on at least six opponents in a series of individual high stakes heads-up matches that are played out of the course of weeks, or sometimes even months.
The heads-up matches will be played in Pot-Limit Omaha over a predetermined amount of hands, with blinds at €100/€200 or even higher. Both players have wagered money on the side in addition to the money won/lost during the matches itself.
Who Are Phil Galfond's Competitors?
At the time of writing, six players have lined up to take on one of the PLO end bosses of the game. These six competitors are Bill Perkins, Dan 'Jungleman' Cates, Chance Kornuth, and Brandon Adams, as well as high-stakers "Venividi1993" and Ioannis "ActionFreak" Kontonatsios. Five of these six will contest Galfond on the digital felt, while Adams will only play Galfond in heads-up live poker.
Galfond has defeated both 'VeniVidi1993' and 'ActionFreak', while sporting a lead over Perkins and Kornuth in their ongoing matches.
What Is At Stake in the Galfond Challenge?
The Galfond Challenge features high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha cash game poker with swings that can go up into millions of dollars. In addition, the loser will pay the winner a side bet that's been negotiated upfront, often a six- or seven-figure amount. Galfond is laying odds with most of his opponents.
The Matches in the Galfond Challenge
Phil Galfond vs. 'Venividi1993'
| Status | Complete |
| Hands Played | 25,001 |
| Total # of Hands | 25,000 |
| Stakes | €100/€200 PLO |
| Side bet | Galfond's €200,000 vs. 'Venividi1993's €100,000 |
| Winner | Phil Galfond |
| Amount won (cash game action) | €1,671.58 |
| Amount won (side action) | €100,000 |
An epic showdown between Phil Galfond and 'Venividi1993' came down to a final €100/€200 Pot-Limit Omaha session. Galfond, who had found himself on the ropes multiple times throughout the challenge and was even trailing over €900,000 at one point, completed the ultimate comeback on the final night. Galfond was up €12,500 with about 75 hands to go, allowing him to blind off to win the €100,000 side bet from his Dutch opponent.
- Day 1-7: Phil Galfond Buried Against 'Venividi1993' One Week Into "Galfond Challenge"
- Day 8-14: Galfond Takes Biggest Loss Yet
- Day 15: Galfond Announces Suspension of Match
- Day 16-25: Two Six-Figure Wins for Phil Galfond
- Day 26-28: Galfond Wins Big Again Twice, Now Down €318K
- Day 29-34: 'Venividi1993' Clinging to Two Buy-In Lead
- Day 35-39: Galfond Completes Comeback, Defeats 'Venividi1993'
Phil Galfond vs. Bill Perkins
| Status | In progress |
| Hands Played | 862 |
| Total # of Hands | 50,000 or a $400K loss |
| Stakes | $100/$200 PLO |
| Side bet | Galfond's $1,000,000 vs. Perkins' $250,000 |
| Current leader | Phil Galfond, +$90,144.05 |
In the aftermath of winning his 25,000-hand match against "Venividi1993", Phil Galfond didn't waste any time with either celebrations or preparations for his ongoing Challenge series. Instead, two days after wrapping up his epic victory, Galfond sat right back down at the tables and traded the first blows with opponent No. 2, high-stakes tournament vet Bill Perkins.
Similar to the 'Venividi1993' match, the stakes are $100/$200 Pot-Limit Omaha but this time with Galfond laying $1 million against $250,000 that he'd win across either 50,000 hands or a $400,000 stop-loss. Action kicked off on partypoker
After just 862 hands, Galfond has opened up a $90K lead. The action in this challenge has been dormant for a while as Galfond focused on his other matches, while Perkins launched his new book Die With Zero.
Phil Galfond vs. 'ActionFreak'
| Status | Complete |
| Hands Played | 15,000 |
| Total # of Hands | 15,000 |
| Stakes | €150/€300 PLO |
| Side bet | €150,000 each |
| Winner | Phil Galfond |
| Amount won (cash game action) | €114,803.51 |
| Amount won (side action) | €150,000 |
Galfond's second series of matches against Ioannis "ActionFreak" Kontonatsios provided much less drama than the first one. Galfond took an early lead in the challenge and rode it all the way to victory. Entering their final session, Galfond held a €237K lead over his opponent.
While 'ActionFreak' was able to recoup some of his losses, he ultimately had to shed with €114K of his own money after the 15,000 hands had concluded. Galfond and Kontonatsios had an even money side bet of €150K riding on it for a total profit of €264K and two for two for the Run It Once founder.
- Day 1-8: Galfond More than €400K Ahead of 'ActionFreak'
- Day 9-14: 'ActionFreak' Closing in on Galfond
- Day 15-20: Galfond Hangs On, Defeats 'ActionFreak'
Phil Galfond vs. Chance Kornuth
| Status | Complete |
| Hands Played | 25,400 |
| Total # of Hands | 35,000 |
| Stakes | $100/$200 PLO |
| Side bet | Galfond's $1,000,000 vs. Kornuth's $250,000 |
| Winner | Phil Galfond |
| Amount won (cash game action) | $726,500 |
| Amount won (side action) | $250,000 |
After a quiet summer, the action flared up again in the Galfond Challenge with Galfond starting his series of heads-up battles against Chance Kornuth. The duo will play 35,000 hands against each other with the action kicking off on WSOP.com due to Kornuth living in the United States.
The Run It Once founder is laying a mighty price to his fellow coach: €1 million against Kornuth's €250,000. After 15% of their match completed, the favorite Galfond took a comfortable lead. However, a crushing streak of wins by Kornuth turned the match on its head and left him up a significant margin, almost $350K.
After a long stretch of close to break-even play, Galfond finally put together a three-session run in which he profited more than $300,000 to reduce his deficit back to five figures. Kornuth stringed together three wins after that, but none were particularly large.
On. Dec. 9, Galfond moved back into the lead with an $88K win and he never looked back. He won five of six sessions going into the holiday break, and his lead stood at $352,000. After an early January hiccup, he resumed his winning ways and more than doubled that total, leading Kornuth to concede the match with just under 10,000 hands remaining.
- Day 1-9: Galfond Off to Dominating Start Against Kornuth
- Day 10-13: Kornuth Roars Back, Takes the Lead
- Day 16-25: Galfond Narrows Gap With Big Win
- Day 26-37: Galfond, Kornuth Continue to Trade Leads
- Day 38-41: 4 Straight Wins over Kornuth Give Galfond Big Lead
- Day 42-50: Kornuth Waves White Flag Down $726K
Phil Galfond vs. Dan 'Jungleman' Cates
| Status | Upcoming |
| Hands Played | 0 |
| Total # of Hands | 7,500 |
| Stakes | €100/€200 PLO |
| Side bet | TBD |
Possibly the most-anticipated match of the Galfond Challenge, Galfond will take on Dan 'Jungleman' Cates in the near future. While details have to be fully fleshed out, such as the side bet, the duo has already played a mini-challenge with Galfond walloping his adversary for €86K.
Phil Galfond vs. Brandon Adams
| Status | Completed |
| Hours Played | N/A |
| Stakes | $100/$200 PLO |
| Side bet | Abandoned - Galfond's €150,000 vs. Adams's €100,000 |
| Winner | Phil Galfond, +$16,500 |
Phil Galfond wrapped up another Galfond Challenge win after opponent Brandon Adams conceded defeat down $16,500 with 236 hands remaining.
The match was originally scheduled to last 40 hours, but as the tournament entered its fourth day the action was paused and independent arbiters called in.
Adams accused Galfond of running down the clock in order to see out the victory. The match ultimately resumed after poker players Isaac Haxton and Max Silver were called in to decide on a set number of hands that were left to be played.
The match took place at Resorts World Las Vegas.
Originally, Adams was wagering his $150,000 to Galfond's $100,000 on the outcome of the Challenge, but that bet was scrapped. The pair have agreed to a supplementary 10,000 hand online challenge.
Galfond Challenge F.A.Q.
What is the Galfond Challenge?
A series of high-stakes poker matches against Phil Galfond, a poker professional, and owner of the poker site Run It Once.
Who is Phil Galfond?
Phil Galfond is a highly respected professional poker player who's played the highest stakes on the planet. He's known under his aliases 'MrSweets28' and'OMGClayAiken' online and is especially feared for his Pot-Limit Omaha skills. Originally from Gaithersburg, MD, Galfond has won nearly $3 million dollars in live poker winnings according to The Hendon Mob, as well as countless more money in online cash games and tournaments. He also has three World Series of Poker bracelets.
Why is there a Galfond Challenge?
Once a dominant player at the high stakes, Phil Galfond has stepped away from playing poker professionally to start his own poker site Run It Once. However, wanting to get back into the high-stakes ring, Galfond issued a challenge to the poker world to play him in a series of heads-up pot-limit Omaha matches.
Who is challenging Phil Galfond?
Currently, six players have taken up the gauntlet to take on Galfond: Bill Perkins, Dan "Jungleman" Cates, Chance Kornuth, Brandon Adams, as well as two high-stakes PLO players 'Venividi1993' and 'ActionFreak'.
Who are Galfond Challenge players 'Venividi1993' and 'ActionFreak'?
'ActionFreak' is a Greek high-stakes player named Ioannis Kontonatsios, who is more famous under his moniker. 'Venividi1993' is a Dutch poker player that prefers to remain anonymous.
What is at stake in the Galfond Challenge?
The Galfond Challenge features high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha cash game poker with swings that can go up into millions of dollars. In addition, the loser will pay the winner a side bet that's been negotiated upfront, often a six- or seven-figure amount. Galfond is laying odds with most of his opponents.
How can I watch the Galfond Challenge?
The Galfond Challenge can be followed on the Run It Once Twitch channel, where all matches will be live-streamed. PokerNews often provides recaps of all the action.
Can I bet on the Galfond Challenge?
Yes, players are able to bet on the outcome of the various Galfond Challenge matches.
Has Phil Galfond won the Galfond Challenge yet?
Phil Galfond has won two of his Galfond Challenges so far, against 'Venividi1993' and 'ActionFreak'. Other matches are in progress or upcoming.
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A former professional poker player with a background in sports marketing and journalism. Yori has been a part of PokerNews since 2016 and manages the content team.