Doug Polk Challenges Dwan to $5M Heads-Up Contest

Doug Polk is one of the foremost heads-up No Limit hold’em specialists in the world, and he would like nothing better than to prove his dominance of the game by taking on one of poker’s most feared players, Tom Dwan, in a $5 million high stakes contest. The 28 year-old pro issued the challenge to Dwan via his popular YouTube channel, with the announcement already having garnered 117,000 views in just under two days.
Polk is one of the most active users of social media amongst the top pros, and has a natural flair for showmanship, with almost not a day going by without him bating a fellow pro, such as Phil Hellmuth ahead of their King of the Hill poker match last month, or against Negreanu on twitter, as a continuation of a disagreement that started after Polk accused the Canadian of supporting higher rake charges by PokerStars.
Over his accomplished career, Polk has amassed $8,842,008 in live career earnings, including winning three WSOP bracelets, his most recent coming this year after taking down the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop for $3,686,865. Needless to say, Polk’s opinion carries much weight in the poker community, and he currently has an impressive 142,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Nevertheless, he would still have his work cut out against Tom Dwan, who has been active in the high-stakes scene in Asia over the past few years, and who in 2009 was so confident in his heads-up abilities that he offered any opponent 3-1 odds for anyone prepared to play against him for $500,000. Calling out Dwan on YouTube, Polk made the following challenge:
“This is serious. I am challenging Tom Dwan to play heads up for $5 million. My poker career is dying. I don’t care if people think that I’m jealous. I need to silence the haters once and for all, earn the respect I deserve, and finally start getting some views on YouTube.”
Taking his plea for action further, Polk appealed to his numerous followers to “spread the word” and “track down Dwan” in order to make the contest a reality. While poker fans would relish such a match, Tom Dwan is more elusive than the Pimpernel these days, and apart from a recent appearance on the TV show “Poker After Dark,” has practically been unheard of in the poker news for several years.