Jared Bleznick Wins Round 2 of High Stakes Duel 5 for $200,000

High Stakes Duel continued on Tuesday, November 19, from the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, with defending champion Jared Bleznick returning to the winner's chair to face off with Poker Hall of Famer, Patrik Antonius. It would be two times a charm for Bleznick as he emerged victorious for the second consecutive time to pocket the $200,000 prize pool.

As was the case in Round 1 after Bleznick defeated him, Antonius immediately threw in the red challenge flag to secure a spot in Round 3, where both players would be competing for $400,000. 

Round 2 Begins

Bleznick now joined a list of previous High Stakes Duel winners that included Phil Hellmuth, Jason Koon, and Daniel Negreanu. However, Bleznick would battle Antonius in a round-of-each format under this new format with the games rotating between No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha.

The Cadillac of poker again kicked off the match, and it was Antonius starting hot as he was dealt several premium hands. Bleznick was then dealt the most premium of hands, pocket aces, and scooped a $34,800 pot from Antonius, who turned a flush steel wheel draw but checked back the river when it didn't materialize. Following a quiet Pot-Limit Omaha orbit, the return to No-Limit Hold'em would see decent pots traded back and forth between both players before Antonius flopped a full house with pocket sixes and then flopped top pair with ace-four and was eventually back in the lead.

One back in Pot-Limit Omaha, Antonius would turn Broadway as Bleznick turned top set. Bleznick bet out and Antonius raised. Bleznick called and improved to a full house on the river and led out for pot. Antonius called and was shown the bad news to drop to a three-to-one disadvantage as he sat behind a $45,000 chip stack. 

Antonius' stack would drop all the way down to less than $26,000 before he was all-in with bottom two pair against the straight and flush draw of Bleznick. Antonius only had four outs and with just one card to come, he opted not to use his "Run It Twice" plaque. The dealer burned and turned the six on the river to award Antonius the pot and see his stack double to $51,800.

In a No-Limit Hold'em hand, Bleznick flopped top pair in a three-bet pot against Antonius' second pair. Bleznick found two streets of value from Antonius and soon held a three-to-one advantage over the Fin. The final hand would see Bleznick limp the button for $500 holding ace-queen before Antonius raised to $4,000 with ace-jack. Bleznick jammed, and Antonius immediately called all-in for $30,700 to be a heavy underdog. Neither played opted to use their "Run It Twice" plaque, and after the board bricked out, Bleznick won his second consecutive match against Antonius.

Antonius casually tossed in his red challenge flag, and Round 3 was on the schedule.

BACK TO BACK WINS FOR "THE BACKER" @harrington25 😤😤😤😤

📺: https://t.co/IsyPbo020F pic.twitter.com/oUB9y88SLP

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) November 20, 2024

Watch Round 3 on Tuesday, November 26

With Bleznick the victor in Round 2 for $200,000, he'll have just a week to enjoy his victory lap before sitting down and facing Antonius in Round 3 for $400,000. 

The Finnish poker legend has two defeats under his belt but will be eyeing revenge in Round 3. The luck has been running Bleznick's way, but will it continue for one more match? Watch Bleznick face Antonius in Round 3 of High Stakes Duel 5, where the winner will lock up $400,000 in prize money on Tuesday, November 26. at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET on PokerGO.com.

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