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$25,000 WPT Heads-Up Championship: Tom Dwan & Doug Polk To Lock Horns In Round 1

According to a report by Card Player, the first round of World Poker Tour (WPT) Heads-up Championship will see a face-off between Doug Polk and Tom Dwan. Reports stated that the entire first round was streamed live on Polk’s YouTube channel to finalise the match-ups that will pit poker pros, celebrities, online qualifiers and influencers against each other.  

Further reports stated that the event will take place on the Poker King platform, but a few other players and the production staff would be in Cabo San Lucas. The tournament will be streamed live on Twitch; the first round is scheduled on June 18 and the finals are scheduled for June 22. 

ALSO READ: US Poker Open 2021: Ali Imsirovic Takes A Lead With Event #9 Win

There would be 32 players in the field and only the top four finishers will be awarded cash. Reports stated that players who win three matches will be guaranteed an in-the-money finish. The first four matches will be a best-of-three series with every player having to defeat their opponent twice to progress further, and the finals will have a best-of-five format.

 According to a report by Card Player, the left side of the bracket has several influencers and celebrities listed along with a face-off between high-stakes pro Dan Smith vs DJ Steve Aoki in a face-off. 

Other celebrities lined up are – Alexandra Botez vs ‘Hafu’ in a battle of the streamers, Patrik Antonius vs Japanese pop star ‘GAKT’, and Poker vlogger Brad Owen vs Daniel Dvoress.

Reports state that this match carries a little extra weight as the three streamers in the field, Botez, Hafu and ‘Shiphtur,’ are a part of a separate $20,000 longer bet that is meant to last longer. 

Further reports stated that Botez is known to be a YouTuber, a chess prodigy and a Twitch streamer, who has taken up poker over the last few years. Shiphtur, whose real name is Danny Le, is a former professional League of Legends player. He is listed on the right side of the bracket and is all set to battle against three-time WPT champion and two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Anthony Zinno in round 1. 

Rumay Wang aka ‘Hafu’ is a former professional gamer from Massachusetts who is new to poker. Card Player reported that since many of the influencers and celebrities were listed on the left side, the right side of the bracket is anticipated to be a much tougher route to victory and will feature many top professionals battling in round 1.

Reports stated that two online qualifiers who secured spots through a tournament on Poker King, will match-up against four-time WPT champion Darren Elias and online poker pro ‘ButtonClickr.’ ‘Clickr’ coached Doug Polk in his $1.2 million victory against Daniel Negreanu. 

Polk, in his live streaming session on YouTube reportedly told the media that ‘Clickr’ was the closest thing poker currently has to a prodigy as he bagged about a million in online poker before the age of 21.

News reports further add that, other match-ups on the right side included Nick Schulman vs Chris Kruk, Linus Loeliger vs Olivier Busquet, Phil Ivey vs German pro Manig Loeser and Nick Petrangelo vs Wiktor ‘Limitless’ Malinowski.

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