Trash talking normally isn’t a part of poker. Audience members typically don’t see players butting heads prior to a game of poker. Jawing typically isn’t a central feature of a person’s game, especially when the player is someone as composed as Tom “durrrr” Dwan. Nevertheless, the youngster recently issued a Million Dollar Challenge, offering the sum of money to anyone who could defeat him. Three prominent poker stars announced they will take part.
According to an article on Bluff Magazine’s website, Dwan offered the chance at winning $1 million to anyone who was willing to accept it. The challenge involves playing 50,000 hands at stakes of at least $200/$400. At the end of the day, if Dwan finished up $1 or more, his opponent would pay him $500,000. However, if his opponent were to finish ahead, Dwan would fork over $1.5 million, essentially offering $1 million extra and 3:1 odds to anyone who could beat him.
The poker world didn’t have to wait long for someone to take Dwan up on his offer. In fact, three of the industry’s biggest names will face him, David Benyamine, Patrik Antonius, and Phil Ivey. Combined, they own six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles, and appeared at six final tables during the 2008 WSOP. Benyamine, who formerly played professional tennis, won his first WSOP bracelet in 2008 by virtue of taking down a $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better tournament. The final table featured a talented group of players that included Mike Matusow, Jason Gray, and Toto Leonidas. Benyamine also took down the WPT’s Grand Prix de Paris during Season II.
Ivey’s first bracelet came during the 2000 WSOP in a $2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament. In 2002, he recorded not one, not two, but three WSOP bracelets and sits in an eight-way tie for the eleventh most overall with five. Ivey’s most recent bracelet win came in 2005, when he found himself perched atop the leader board in a $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament for $635,000. He had to defeat Robert Williamson III, Phil Hellmuth, Allen Cunningham, and Surinder Sunar in that event, which boasted one of the toughest WSOP final tables ever assembled. Ivey also won the LA Poker Classic during Season VI for $1.6 million. The “Big Game” regular has nine WPT cashes to his name; eight of them are final table appearances. He owns nearly $3 million from his efforts on the WPT circuit.
Antonius is the newest player to sign onto the Million Dollar Challenge. He owns over $750,000 in career earnings from WSOP play, but has yet to grab a bracelet. He’s made one WPT final table, finishing second at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic during Season IV for $1 million. The Finnish pro won the Baden stop on the European Poker Tour in 2005 and took third in the Barcelona event in the same year.
Dwan, who is known as durrrr in the online poker world, has just two WSOP cashes to his name; both occurred in 2008. He took seventh in the World Championship Mixed event for $67,000 and finished eighth in a $5,000 buy-in No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball with Rebuys tournament for $45,000. Likewise, he has a pair of WPT in the money finishes. Both came during the recently-completed Season VI. He made the televised final table and took fourth at the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $324,000. At the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship, held in April at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Dwan finished ninth for $194,000.
At the time of writing, a poll posted in Bluff Magazine’s forums (which was made prior to Antonius’ acceptance) reveals that 38% of respondents believe that Dwan will defeat Benyamine, but ultimately fall to Ivey. A little over 20% believe that Dwan will defeat both challengers, while 15% believe that the Million Dollar Challenge will never actually happen. Eighteen percent of pollsters believe that Dwan will drop both matches (and at least $3 million in the process). The game will likely be either Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha.
When the up and coming Dwan will face the two established stars of the poker world is unknown. Also unknown is where the challenge will occur. Ivey is a sponsored member of Team Full Tilt. Benyamine appeared at the 2008 WPT Bellagio Cup, also wearing Full Tilt gear.
