No Challengers for Jason Koon Who Pockets $1.6 Million

After no challenger stepped up in 30 days since Jason Koon beat Phil Hellmuth in Round 5 of High Stakes Duel III, Koon is pronounced a champion and will pocket $800,000 profit for his win.

https://twitter.com/PokerGO/status/1612509640419336200

If everyone was interested in playing against Phil Hellmuth in Round 5, it appears no one wants to face Jason Koon and putting $1.6 million on the line. Literal crickets. And it makes total sense.

It is obvious that many players think they have a big edge over someone like Hellmuth, so potential challengers were lining up to play against Poker Brat and apparently Koon draw the longest stick. On the other hand, mustering $1.6 million to play against one of the top poker pros in the world, and maybe having a 1% or 2% edge over him, is something that no professional who likes money will ever do.

Jason himself said he doesn’t expect to get a challenger, unless a very rich recreation player appears who would want a sweat or a “super alpha person from Russia or somewhere”. And he was 100% correct.

High Stakes Duel III Matches

Match	Players	Winner	Prize
HSD III Round 1	Phil Hellmuth vs. Nick Wright	Phil Hellmuth	$100,000
HSD III Round 2	Phil Hellmuth vs. Tom Dwan	Tom Dwan	$200,000
HSD III Round 3	Phil Hellmuth vs. Tom Dwan	Phil Hellmuth	$400,000
HSD III Round 4	Phil Hellmuth vs. Scott Seiver	Phil Hellmuth	$800,000
HSD III Round 5	Phil Hellmuth vs. Jason Koon	Jason Koon	$1,600,000