Dwan Further Ahead On Interminable 'Challenge'

Contest is now 60 percent complete Tom Dwan's million dollar, 50 000 hand Challenge crept another 1 957 hands closer to completion this week as he and Patrik Antonius got together online for a 7 hour session that saw Dwan extend his lead overall to almost a million dollars. The session, which kicked off in the early hours of Tuesday morning, added $171 000 to Dwan's takings. Largest hand of the clash was a $259 000 pot taken by Dwan. The $171 000 loss barely dents Antonius' bankroll - as the year draws to a close he is the second most profitable online poker pro with a yearly accrual of some $9 million according to MarketPulse statistics. Dwan provides the stark contrast of the other end of the scale, being down $5.3 million on the year, second only to Gus Hansen in the loser stakes - he's in the red to the tune of $5.7 million. The MarketPulse tally on the Challenge so far looks like this: Total amount wagered: $ 242 009145 Amount Dwan is currently ahead: $937 271 Total number of hands played so far: 29 764 Rake accrued by Full Tilt Poker on who's tables the Challenge is played: $ 6 712 Hours played so far in the Challenge: 95 Percentage of Challenge completed so far: 60pc