Daniel Negreanu Releases Statement on Why He Accepted Doug Polk's Challenge

It came as a complete shock to most in the poker community when Daniel Negreanu agreed to play Doug Polk in a bid to settle their long-running feud – and DNegs explained just why he had accepted the heads-up grudge match.

The tldr; version is, “To give the people what they want”, though it takes Negreanu a while to get there. First up he wants to make it clear that everything about the upcoming match favours Polk.

Describing it as anything but a level-playing field, Daniel explains:

"We are playing his specialized game NLH heads up.
On his specialized platform, the internet.
On his specialized terms, a cash game with no raising stakes."

That, says Negreanu, means:

"There is no possible interpretation you can come up with that credibly denies I’m the underdog going into this match."

For those who missed the build-up to what is almost certainly the most-hoped for battle in poker history, you can catch up with our revelations here, or check out Joe Ingram’s take on it below…

Ingram’s calls for a heads-up ‘straightener’ finally captured Negreanu’s interest, and the tweet nobody ever expected duly appeared…

Negreanu’s blog post explained exactly why he had taken up the challenge:

“For many years now this man has made a living off of trashing me on a regular basis, well past an unhealthy obsession, regurgitating the same attack lines over and over. Not because he truly believes I’m an evil monster, but purely for personal gain disguised as standing for some noble cause.”

Although much of the post focuses on just how much of an edge Polk will have in the match – which has begged the question from many ‘Why agree to such unfavourable terms?’ - Negreanu ends with a breakdown of Polk’s ‘long-game plan’:

“Attack me endlessly, bully me, mock me, in the hopes of getting me to agree to a high stakes poker match. If that’s the case, well played. You have your wish.”

As for the wider poker community, Daniel’s blog raised as many questions as it answered…

…and there were plenty of Twitter fans and detractors ready to give their opinions…

Meanwhile, the man behind the viral video that is likely the real reason Negreanu decided to finally take Polk on may also be on DNegs hit-list soon enough…

The compilation video Keeling put together was receiving plenty of plaudits, and it made a reappearance, the ‘dildo-sucking’ ending removed to placate YouTube’s censors.

Negreanu was far from happy with Keeling, a ‘back-and-forth’ or words ensuing…

…and it is almost certain that whatever happens in the Polk-Negreanu grudge match, the underlying two-way hatred will still be there.

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