The Galfond Challenge between Phil Galfond and Dan "Jungleman" Cates is over ... for now as they had originally planned to just play the first few sessions in the first couple of weeks and then return to the virtual felt at a later date.
With less than one-third of the high-stakes pot-limit Omaha heads-up competition complete, "Jungleman" and Galfond are taking some time away for now due to scheduling conflicsts between the two players. Galfond said he's taking a "wait and see" approach but isn't sure when they'll return to action.
Galfond and Cates began a $100/$200 battle on WSOP.com last week. They've been playing at $10/$20 stakes due to deposit issues but the losing player will owe the winner the difference after the challenge ends, assuming it ever does.
Where the Galfond Challenge Stands
Day 1 of the Galfond Challenge kicked off at 8 a.m. PT on Feb. 2. Galfond booked a modest win of around $10,000, the equivalent of half of one buy-in, in what was a competitive match.
The following day, Cates controlled most of the contest and booked a $50,000 win. One day later, he won again, this time for a $35,000 profit. That was the last time the two have been in action.
As it stands, "Jungleman" holds a lead of about $77,500 through 2,250 hands. They had agreed to play 7,500 hands before determining a winner, so we'll wait and see if and when the competition resumes. Galfond sent out a sarcastic tweet on Thursday seeking a new opponent, but he made it clear the current challenge against Cates isn't officially over.
Galfond has never lost a Galfond Challenge. He first defeated online poker pro "Venividi1993" in 2020 after rallying from nearly a $1 million deficit over 25,000 hands. He then dominated another online pro, "ActionFreak," mostly from start to finish in a 15,000-hand challenge. Next up was bracelet winner Chance Kornuth, who bought out after 7,500 hands facing a massive deficit.
In between those matches, he's also competed in a few mini challenges against Bill Perkins, Brandon Adams, and Cates.
