Galfond Challenge: Brandon Adams Surrenders, Dan “Jungleman” Cates Up Next

After Brandon Adams decided to quit the Galfond Challenge, Phil Galfond was proclaimed a winner once again. It wasn’t a surprise that Adams has decided to surrender, as he was down $270,000 to one of the best Pot-Limit Omaha players in the world.  As mentioned in our previous article about the Galfond Challenge, both players have decided to play 10,000 hands of $100/$200 PLO on WSOP.com. However, the session came to an end earlier than expected. At less than 30% of the total distance, Adams has decided to retreat due to a disastrous Sunday session. According to the pre-match agreements, Brandon Adams is also required to pay a $100,000 side bet on top of his overall losses during cash games. 

Difficult Situation For Adams

We can only speculate about the reasons behind Adam’s decision to pay off the side bet and surrender from the match. However, Phil Galfond has some ideas regarding the current situation. Here is what he thinks:

“I don’t know for sure about Brandon’s motivation,” Galfond told PokerNews. “I assume he felt that winning the side bet was far enough out of reach that playing as an underdog wasn’t worth it.”

It is obvious that in a scenario where Adams has decided to continue playing, he would risk losing all of his money in cash games including his side bet. After a devastating defeat on Sunday, which cost him around $125,000 and brought his total loss to over $370,000 during the online stage of Galfond Challenge, Adams probably lost all of his motivation and has decided to play it safe and minimize his risks. During this session, he lost three buy-ins (which were $20,000 each) early in the match, and then suffered an all-in pot loss.  Not to mention the $16,500 he lost to Galfond during their live PLO cash game at the Resorts World in Las Vegas.  Let’s make a quick recap of the decisive hand and see what exactly happened. With 5,6,Q,10 on a board and $7,200 in a pot, Adams bet the pot and went all-in with his remaining $9,728. Even though both participants had a lucky draw, Adams lagged behind: Galfond: K, 3, Q, A Adams: 2, 4, 5, 3 As the 7  turned on the river, Adams was able to hit a flush draw. However, Galfond had a stronger flush and was able to gain $20,000 more to his total stack. This was a breaking point for Adams from which he never recovered. He then decided to quit for the day and officially surrendered from the Galfond Challenge this Monday.

Galfond’s Next Opponent

Daniel “Jungleman” Cates has recently appeared on Brandon Adams’ podcast where they discussed several topics such as his life during lockdown, fitness, and a possible match against Phil Galfond in the Galfond Challenge. Adams has decided to tease this event on his Twitter page in a video where Daniel Cates calls out Galfond in a WWE style. He stated that he is ready to “kick some a**” and beat Phil.  It is unclear whether Cates is being serious or just putting up a good show, especially given that he took some acting and comedy classes last year. Nevertheless, it is entertaining to watch Jungleman go against one of the nicest guys in poker. He was able to spark interest among the audience and build some anticipation around the upcoming heads-up matchup between two notable Pot-Limit Omaha players.  Currently, there is no known date for this event, however, Daniel Cates said that there is a chance that it will happen this year. But even if it does, it will be held as a “lock the doors” affair, which will be disappointing for many fans, if that is really the case.  Cates’ main message during his podcast rant was that Phil Galfond is a “good guy” with “bad intentions”. He even called out Galfond by saying that he’s actually preparing for Galfond Challenge matches in secret. In Cates’ eyes, Phil is a rich guy that likes to take down weaker opponents. It is too early to jump to conclusions and believe everything Jungleman is saying.  Even if all of these are true, it is a side issue and the two are set to continue a match they have started last year.  In May 2020, Cates and Galfond played over 750 hands of $100/$200 PLO. Galfond was able to win the mini-challenge with a decent $90,000/$105,000 profit. When asked about that match during Adams’ podcast, Cates admitted that Phil Galfond was indeed better than him that day. However, Cates is eager to have a rematch. According to the Run It Once website, Galfond and Cates are set to play 7,500 hands of PLO at $100/$200 stakes. As mentioned previously, the date is unknown and listed as “TBD”. After his recent victory against Adams, Galfond has excellent momentum and looks invincible. The only thing left to do is wait and see whether Cates will be able to surprise the poker community and beat Galfond.  Phil Galfond is known for his long history of beating his Pot-Limit Omaha opponents at high stakes which dates back all the way to the 2000s on Full Tilt Poker. However, he is still able to get some action. But there is a problem that he can simply run out of competition once the battle with Cates is over. Galfond admits that he is “almost out” of future opponents. It is undoubtedly going to be difficult for Phil to book more people for the Gallfond Challenge in a scenario where he beats Cates. Therefore, there is even more at stake for Jungleman, as he has a real chance to come out on top, and ironically spark more interest in the Galfond Challenge.