If you’re bored of the one-sided affair in the Doug Polk versus Daniel Negreanu match, perhaps the Galfond Challenge is more up your alley. Phil Galfond has now completely erased a massive deficit against Chance Kornuth. But the highly competitive match is too close to call.

Negreanu and Polk have now completed over 9,800 hands, with Polk leading by just under $1 million. It has long been abundantly clear who is destined to win that no-limit hold’em poker battle.

But we couldn’t even pretend to guess who will end up winning the third Galfond Challenge. That is because barely more than one full buy-in separates these talented poker pros.

Galfond entered the contest a few months ago as a heavy favorite. As such, he laid 4-1 odds on a $250,000 wager (his $1 million to Kornuth’s $250,000). After the challenge, the losing player is owed that side bet money on top of the amount they won during the 35,000 hands they agreed to play.

Galfond Challenge is up for grabs

For the first nine sessions, everything went as planned. Galfond was up nearly $200,000 at the $100/$200 PLO stakes on WSOP.com. Many were left wondering why Kornuth would even take on such a difficult task, battling against arguably the best PLO player of all-time.

But then he began making all the doubters look bad. Kornuth would go on to dominate the challenge for the following couple of months, at one point running up a $340,000 profit. And then the tides turned the other way yet again. The Galfond Challenge has been dominated by Galfond the past few weeks. He’s erased a massive deficit and, for the first time in a long time, has taken over the lead.

Phil Galfond Resumes Heads-Up Challenge, Cuts Into Deficit. Poker pro lost €900,240.17 ($1,130,530.61) to VeniVidi1993 in February; He then had to pause the challenge to get his head right; Galfond has won six of eight sessions in March, cutting deficit by 40 percent. Gossip Column: Daniel Negreanu trails Doug Polk by $565,417, while Phil Galfond brings his loss against Chance Kornuth down to $64,000. Phil 'OMGClayAiken' Galfond is an American poker professional born in 1985 in North Potomac, Maryland. In addition to winning WSOP bracelets in 2008 and 2015 and his millions from Full Tilt.

But that lead is quite small. Following Thursday’s session, Galfond leads by just $23,000 through 19,300 hands. That is barely more than one $20,000 buy-in. Given that they’ve played so many hands, it’s clear there isn’t a huge difference in skill between these players.

With that said, the momentum is clearly now on Galfond’s side. But, as any poker player knows, it doesn’t take long for momentum to shift the other way. We’ve already seen numerous momentum shifts during this lengthy heads-up PLO battle.

Most of the poker world right now is tuned in to the Polk versus Negreanu match. If the Galfond Challenge continues heading in this direction with some competitive play, the fans will start tuning in again.

They’ve agreed to play 35,000 hands, and have completed 55% of the challenge in more than three months. You can expect this one to finish sometime around late January or early February.

Galfond and Kornuth, both long-time poker coaches and poker champions, will get back to the virtual felt Friday morning. You can catch the action live on Twitch.

Featured image source: Twitter

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The poker community is waiting patiently for the recently announced Run It Once Poker sit-n-go offering, as Phil Galfondprepares to take the RIO product to the next level.

And after PokerNews were one of a select few to get their hands on the SNG Select product in action, Galfond himself hinted that a full launch may be 'just around the corner.'

SNG Select Beta Test

The SNG Select has to undergo some crucial beta testing before the product can be released to the Run It Once Poker playing community.

'We’ve been working on these SNGs for so long,' Galfond told PokerNews. 'We’ve done a lot of internal testing to date, but a larger test with real users across the world can always bring up new issues, and is absolutely critical when it comes to being launch-ready.'

Although Galfond didn't give a concrete date on when the SNGs would be available, he hinted that subject to testing, the launch may be just around the corner.

How does SNG Select work?

Run It Once Poker is calling their three-handed jackpot tournaments SNG Select, and they have their own section within the Run It Once Poker lobby.

Once selected, you are faced with a choice between CUB3D or Classic. Buy-ins for the CUB3D version range from €0.25 to €5 and Classic range from €0.90 to €4.50.

Upon selecting CUB3D, players are met with a 'randomizing prize' graphic, after which the eventual prize is sealed in a cube present at the side of the table.

Players who are used to playing on Run It Once Poker will have gotten a feel for the graphics and tables, and there is little different about the SNG Select interface.

Each table comes with a slick dark theme as a contrast to the colorful cash game tables

CUB3D Payout Tables

READ MORE:There’s Never Been a Better Time to Become a Run It Once Legend

Classic SNG Payout Table

How Does it Feel to Play?

With so much of the interface and playing experience similar to the existing Run It Once Poker client, the transition to SNGs is a simple one. However, you soon realize that at the three-handed tables you are playing a lot differently than you would if you were chasing a leadRboard prize or trying to win a hand with seven-deuce to earn a cash bounty!

Once the game begins, it's reassuring to state that even in beta testing the product runs smoothly. The concept of CUB3D SNGs - where the eventual prize is not released until the tournament finishes - meant that every SNG we played in was competitive right up until the end.

Phil Galfond Poker Training Videos

When Will it Launch?

Galfond kept his cards close to his chest when it came to a launch date. But from the looks of things, the product is certainly ready to be put out to the masses. And we can't wait for you to get a chance to play it!

Poker Player Phil Galfond

Don't Have a Run It Once Poker Account?

In order to be one of the first to try the SNG Select upon launch, you will need a Run It Once Poker account.

All new Run It Once players who download the software via PokerNews are entitled to a 100% deposit bonus worth up to €600. What makes this welcome bonus unique is you can make as many deposits as you like for the first 30 days after your first deposit. This makes it perfect for those players who do not want to or cannot deposit €600 in one chunk.

Another great feature of the Run It Once welcome bonus is it never expire if you play at least once hand every 30-days, meaning you essentially have forever to clear your bonus! As for release rates, check the table below to see how fast the Run It Once bonus clears.

For example, you make three deposits totaling €110 at Run It Once Poker. For every €25 in rake you pay, they release €5 into your account, up to €100. Once you rake another €57.10, they deposit the last €10 in your account for a total of €110 matched.