The Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu grudge match for the ages is finally on

Poker archrivals Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk, who have been beefing on Twitter for years, will meet on the felt in a classic HU4ROLLZ challenge starting 8 p.m. EST tonight at the Aria, which will be televised for free on PokerGo.com. The two will play $200/$400, with the first 200 hands being played live, a concession to Negreanu, the live pro, who is a decided underdog in the match.

After that, the two will play 12,300 hands on the virtual felt at WSOP.com. At the completion of those hands, whomever is down may request an additional 12,500 hands be played.

Somewhere in the very contentious “negotiations” (which involve both parties tweeting stuff, but not at each other, followed by the other responding indirectly), Negreanu decided that it wasn’t cool for Polk to use pre-flop charts in their match. This stirred up a lot of debate, but apparently pre-flop charts will be allowed, as well as note-taking, although Negreanu says he won’t be using either.

Their feud started circa 2014, when Negreanu, one of the game’s all-time greats at live tournaments (currently with $42 million in cashes to his credit), claimed he could beat $25/$50 online cash games with two weeks preparation. Polk, as an online HU wizard, took offense to this, as well as when Negreanu controversially defended PokerStars’ decision to increase the rake and end SuperNova elite status (which comes with six-figure payouts) for grinders, infamously saying, “More rake is better.”

Polk made videos attacking Negreanu’s position, and trolled him hard, wearing a T-shirt that said “More Rake is Better” while playing at a table with Negreanu at a Super High Roller Bowl, and buying a billboard next to the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in 2018.

Polk, who has won millions online, also has two WSOP bracelets to his credit, and $9.4 million in live tournament winnings. He announced his retirement from the game earlier this year, choosing to focus on making YouTube content and leading an effort to recall Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman after she said that shutting down the city due to COVID-19 made no sense.