Could the infamous ‘Durrrr Challenge’ between Tom durrrr Dwan and Daniel Jungleman Cates finally be ready to resume? That’s the big question this week after Jeff Gross revealed that his new bosses at partypoker would be more than happy to host the high stakes showdown…
Here on my podcast @junglemandan discusses the famous #durrrr challenge against @TomDwan – would you like to see this resume/finish? I know @partypoker would be happy to accommodate the designated table online. Watch the full podcast on https://t.co/hzYQwVaBO2 pic.twitter.com/QU5LuT8eRg
— Jeff Gross (@JeffGrossPoker) 12 April 2019
The TwitchTV streaming star recently caught up with Jungleman, and the podcast interview inevitably covered the legendary heads-up battle that saw Dwan heading for a hefty defeat.
As Cates explains, he had already taken 35 buy-ins from Dwan at NLHE – with the pair playing $100/200 and $200/400 stakes, a sum amounting to somewhere around the $1million mark – before Black Friday reared its ugly head and the match was halted.
The video below gives some background on the Durrrr Challenge and sums up what happened so far:
Timeline of the Durrrr Challenge
Here is a timeline of all Durrrr Challenge matches ever played:
January 2009
Dwan issues an open challenge on the 2+2 forum, offering 3-1 odds heads-up against anyone (except close friend Phil Galfond).
Apart from the money in play, a bonus of $500k against Dwan’s $1.5 Million is on the table.
February 2009
Patrik Antonius steps up to the plate to face Dwan first, with Phil Ivey and David Benyamine named as possible future opponents.
July 2010
Dwan offers Cates the chance to ‘jump the queue’ and be his Durrrr Challenge 2 opponent.
August 2010
Antonius apparently buys out with 10k of the 50k hands still to play. Down almost $2million, it wasn’t an unexpected move. Dwan vs Cates match kicks off.
April 2011
Black Friday hits the online poker community in the USA. Durrrr Challenge halted, the stats very much in Jungleman’s favour as seen below:
Despite several attempts to reignite the Durrrr Challenge, poker and personal life seemed to get in the way of Dwan’s ability or keenness to resume. Cates, on the other hand, was optimistic at times…
Just a casual reminder to everyone that the @TomDwan Challenge against @junglemandan was one of the most massive scams in poker history
— Hug Polk #Positivity (@DougPolkPoker) 15 January 2017
Those hands never appeared, of course, and the fallout rumbled on. Dwan, for his part, stated in an interview: “I’d like to play it at some point…it’s more on me than him” but added incongruously that “hopefully there are a lot of big games and that gets put off a bit”.
Now, in 2019, the idea that partypoker would gladly play host to the highstakes battle that gripped Full Tilt fans back in the day could very well be a turning point. It’s certainly something the poker community would love to see…
Alright now! Let’s make this happen @partypoker @Joeingram1 The Durrrr Challenge! Would be also dope to set up a HU event like those from NBC!
— Adriano V. Alves (@adrianovalves) 2 April 2019
We’ll just have to wait and see, of course, but in the meantime you can catch the full interview between Jeff Gross and Daniel Jungleman Cates below:
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