Brunson, Robl Bring "Rivalry" to "Poker After Dark"

Last night’s Poker After Dark debut did not disappoint. The $200/$400 No Limit Hold’em cash game, which featured the return and dominance of Tom Dwan, was full of action and while Daniel Negreanu and Antonio Esfandiari will not be involved tonight, there are two huge figures filling their seats.

While Doyle Brunson and Andrew Robl are separated by multiple decades, one is old enough to be the other’s grandfather, they are not that different. Brunson leads the old guard of Las Vegas cash game grinders and has been a staple in some of the city’s biggest games for the better part of the last 50 years. Robl leads the new wave of talent and the online prodigy, who has been competing at the nosebleed stakes since before Black Friday, is now one of the most feared players in the world.

Old and new will clash tonight, at 8 PM ET on PokerGO, but according to some tweets last night, Brunson was unaware of his younger counterpart’s inclusion in the lineup.

Oh no! You are the 6th player? Damn!! https://t.co/GLOEGZK8qv

— Doyle Brunson (@TexDolly) August 14, 2017

While Robl was thinking of some moves to make on Tuesday and Wednesday, when he’ll play on Poker After Dark, Brunson was needling Robl about his propensity to go deep into the tank. Robl then, playfully, we think, made sure to let “Dolly” know that he doesn’t take pre-game needles lightly.

Brunson asked for forgiveness and Robl agreed to some “friendly” poker but if we know anything about the high stakes arena, friendly likely isn’t in either player’s vocabulary.

As some of the best cash game players of their generations, Brunson and Robl, regardless of what they say on Twitter, will come into tonight’s session looking to open their Poker After Dark accounts with positive results. Win, lose or draw, this decade-spanning rivalry will be entertaining to watch, even if they forget about their “friendly” agreement.