We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the Tom Dwan Million Dollar Challenge. Eight months after play began in February, Dwan leads Patrik Antonius by nearly $700,000, with 25,145 hands completed.
The most recent session, which took place during the early morning hours of October 7th, ran for 1,063 hands and saw Dwan boost his lead by $418,000 to $697,000 overall. Dwan scooped a $194,000 pot to set the tone of the match, which ran for over three hours across four $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha tables on Full Tilt Poker. In it, a series of raises were put in pre-flop to see the first three cards come 5-K-8 with two diamonds. Dwan bet pot on the flop ($36,000) and Antonius made the call to see the seven of diamonds hit the turn. Dwan bet enough to put Antonius all-in for his last $43,000. The river was the four of clubs. Dwan showed Kh-Ks-Jh-Qc for trip kings, while Antonius revealed Ac-8c-7s-9c for two pair.
Dwan extended his lead over Antonius in a separate hand after calling all-in for $61,000 after a flop of 5-3-K with two spades. The turn was the jack of spades, putting three of the suit on the board, and the river came the 10 of hearts. Dwan flipped up 9s-10s-Ac-8c for a king-high flush, while Antonius held Ah-Ad-4s-9c for a pair of aces. Antonius’ various draws had missed and Dwan raked in a $187,000 pot. He’d later pad his lead even further after flopping a set of sevens, while Antonius hit top pair and then turned two pair. That pot was worth $186,000, keeping Dwan comfortably in the lead during the 1,063 hand session.
Antonius would not lie down, however, making up ground after putting Dwan all-in on a board of 3-J-6-J with two diamonds. The river came the seven of clubs, with Dwan showing Jh-8d-9s-Ah for trip jacks, while Antonius flipped up 3c-3h-Qc-6s for a full boat, threes full of jacks. The pot was worth $160,000 and temporarily curbed Dwan’s reign of terror. Antonius would further stop the bleeding after calling a re-raise from Dwan for his entire stack on a board of Js-3c-9s-3s-10s. Dwan turned over Qd-2d-10c-3h for a full house, threes full of 10s. Meanwhile, Antonius had hit the jackpot, showing 4c-Ks-Qs-Kd for a king-high straight flush. The pot weighed in at $153,000, ultimately helping to cut Dwan’s gain to just $418,000 during the session.
According to stats found on Full Tilt Poker, Dwan has taken down 13,591 hands, about 2,000 more than Antonius’ tally of 11,466. Durrrr’s average amount won per hand is $2,590, while Antonius has earned an average of $3,009 per hand. The competitors have wagered nearly $200 million during the course of the Million Dollar Challenge, with 38 sessions played over the course of eight months. The total time played is three days, eight hours, and two minutes.
Both Dwan and Antonius have led by $500,000 or more at one point over the course of the first 25,000 hands, with 25,000 hands still needed to complete the requisite 50,000. Interestingly enough, Dwan has won all but two of the Durrrr Challenge’s 10 richest pots. Antonius took down the competition’s largest pot, a $477,000 haul that took place on June 19th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Two pots have registered over $400,000, while four have weighed in at more than $300,000.
If Dwan is up by at least $1 at the conclusion of 50,000 hands, Antonius will be forced to pay $500,000. However, if Antonius is up by at least $1, Dwan will fork over $1.5 million. In each case, the victor retains the spoils of the 50,000 hands. Stay tuned for the latest from the Durrrr Challenge.
