There will be no rematch between Scott Seiver and Phil Hellmuth at High Stakes Duel after all. The confrontation was scheduled for Monday, August 22, but Seiver has withdrawn himself. Personal reasons in camp Seiver would have ensured that the players would not compete against each other again.
PokerGO is in the process of finding a new opponent for Hellmuth, with the poker community offering suggestions. In the corridors, among others, the names of Phil Ivey, Dan Cates, Daniek Zack, Bryn Kenney, and WSOP Main Event winner Espen Jorstad are mentioned.
For the second time in the history of High Stakes Duel, a confrontation has been held. In May, Tom Dwan would take on Hellmuth for the third time. The score was 1-1 at the time, with $400,000 per person being played in the third round.
Seiver Already the Second Choice
Because Dwan could not be in Vegas on time, PokerGO came up with Seiver as his replacement. Hellmuth defeated his compatriot, but Seiver quickly announced that he was going for a rematch, with both men betting $800,000.
PokerGO announced a while ago that the next meeting between the poker cannons was scheduled for Monday, August 22, but last week the news came out that Seiver had officially withdrawn. Although the organization is working to find a new opponent, it seems impossible that the game will take place on August 22.
However, it is clear that whoever it is, the match is immediately played at $800,000 per person because it is still the same round. Hellmuth has played ten matches in High Stakes Duel so far, and he won nine of them. Only Dwan was in charge of him once. Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu were both beaten 3-0, and he also managed to beat Nick Wright, Dwan, and Seiver once.
Cates Wanted a Shot
Cates has already thrown his name in the ring, but only if Hellmuth can be flexible. He said that he would be willing to sit down in the poker heads-up tournament, provided Hellmuth can change the date. Cates will be participating in a charity event that he can’t leave.
Other world-renowned names such as Frenchman Julien Martini, Americans Jason Koon, Darren Elias, Kenney, and Britain’s Benj Spragg also showed interest. If the next challenger wins the duel, he can advance and wait for another match. On the other hand, if Hellmuth wins, the third season will come to an end, and he will be the champion once again.
Kenney fell from grace after Martin Zamani, his former compatriot, laid multiple accusations of cheating on him. He accused him of ghosting, multi-accounting, and mistreatment of players in his stable.
Despite Kenney’s protests and denials and Kenney admitting to minor violations, the circumstantial evidence against the former top live tournament money-winner was sufficient to bring him down.
However, after a lot of interest, it was Koon who answered the call. He already agreed to participate and put up the funds.
This effectively prevented Hellmuth from being declared the default champion. What will now change is when the competition will take place, although the new date has not been announced.