Tuesday’s High Stakes Duel 5 opening round saw a highly competitive match between Jared Bleznick, a sports card shop owner, and Patrik Antonius, a poker Hall of Famer and favorite to win their heads-up competition.
Their face-off was decided in a no-limit hold’em/pot-limit Omaha mix game. The entry cost was $50,000 per player, and both Bleznick and Antonius received $50,000 in chips, and the increasing blinds started at $100/$200.
Highlights of the High Stakes Duel
This season’s High Stakes Duel features a mix of No-limit Hold’em and Pot-limit Omaha variants, with the game played changing every 10 hands. Each player has the ability to run it twice on an all-in bet once per round.
The implementation of a mixed game format is a first, since all previous 12 iterations of High Stakes Duel exclusively utilizes the no-limit hold’em variant.
Bleznick, who is also known for his nickname of “The Backer”, was quick to execute his plays and proceeded with multiple bluffs in the first couple of hands. Some of The Backer’s plays were dismantled by Antonius, however, some bluffs went in favor of The Backer.
This set the tone for the match, as Bleznick showcased that he was there to play his game and dictate the pace on his own terms. Meanwhile, Antonius was also showcasing his trademark stoicism during hands as he raked in chips during the back and forth bout.
But after a strong start, the Hall of Famer saw his initial chip lead being overtaken by Bleznick as the scrappy challenger clawed his way back a couple of rounds in to even the chip score.
Bleznick Rallies and Finishes
Once the match up went to the PLO format, The Backer found his second wind. Bleznick was more comfortable with the PLO hands, as he slugged his way back to winning a number of hands against Antonius.
One round saw the following hands from the players:
Bleznick: 6C, 6D, 4S, 4C
Antonius: JH, 10D, 9H, 4H
Board: KS, QH, KC, JD, 7D
With $14,000 in the middle on the river, Bleznick fired a near-pot-sized bet of $13,500 with his underpair to the board. Antonius had a straight, but went into the tank as he stared down his opponent. Eventually, Antonius folded, and Bleznick made a strong bluff play to take the chip lead and keep the pressure on the Hall of Famer.
The deciding round came in the no-limit hold’em round:
Bleznick: QS, 8S
Antonius: KS, QH
Board: 6C, 8C, QD, 8H, AS
Bleznick raised on the button to $2,500 with his QS, 8S hand, and Antonius called with his KS, QH. When the flop came out 6C, 8C, and QD, Antonius checked and then faced a bet of $2,000.
He would then go for a check-raise to $6,500 with the top pair. However, Bleznick had the advantage with his top two pair, and the player with the best hand came back over the top to $14,000.
Antonius then decided to go all-in for $39,900 and received a snap-call, instead of running the turn and river twice. This proved to be his downfall, as the turn revealed 8H, and the river was AS.
Bleznick went home with the victory, securing the $100,000 Round 1 match of High Stakes Duel 5. Afterwards, Antonius immediately tossed the red flag on the table.
This indicates that he’s challenging his opponent to a rematch. Antonius will add $100,000 to the pot to create a $200,000 Round 2 prize pool. Round 2 of the Bleznick-Antonius duel is set on November 19 on PokerGO.
