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Doug Polk is starting a new heads-up poker challenge, and one of his preferred opponents is his former rival, Daniel Negreanu.
The poker legends battled on the virtual felt in 2021, a no-limit hold'em challenge that lasted 25,000 high-stakes hands. Polk, a heads-up legend, won $1.2 million against the Poker Hall of Famer. There was some animosity between the two leading up to the match.
After it ended, Polk respected that "DNegs" was willing to battle until the end despite being a heavy underdog, putting to rest the longstanding feud. If Polk gets his way, there will be a rematch on the horizon, but don't count on it.
Heads-Up Poker Star Ready for New Challenge
Polk's upcoming heads-up challenge will be different, and this one will be played on ClubWPT Gold, the online poker platform he represents. But he's looking to battle against some of the biggest names in the game, one being Negreanu. Other names he threw around in a tweet include Phil Hellmuth, Phil Galfond, Matt Berkey, Bryn Kenney, and Sam "Senor Tilt" Kiki.
If he gets his wish, he could enter the match, like he did with Negreanu, against someone he's been feuding with. Berkey and Polk have gone at it for years, and Kiki took offense to Polk taking a shot at him in a recent video over angle-shooting allegations stemming from a hand during High Stakes Poker Season 15 on PokerGO.
The structure in the proposed heads-up matches differs from the Negreanu challenge. Polk wants to play 5,000 hands at 100/200-chip stakes (ClubWPT Gold's equivalent to $100/$200). If he loses, he'll give his opponent a $25,000 bounty. Each match will last three days, which differs from the months-long competition against Negreanu.
It's unlikely Negreanu will face Polk for a third time — they also played a brief live poker game on PokerGO in 2023 (Negreanu won) — as Negreanu is a GGPoker ambassador. But Polk wrote that he will select an opponent "each round based on who will make the most compelling match for viewers." So, don't expect a random unknown high roller to step into the ring. He's going for YouTube views. Negreanu, perhaps the least likely match of them all, would likely bring in the highest viewership.
The bounty increases by $25,000 each opponent, meaning the fourth and final match will have a $100,000 bounty. Polk will take his shot at proving he's still a top-tier heads-up no-limit hold'em player.
Source: https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/02/doug-polk-heads-up-poker-challenge-negreanu-50661.htm
