Dwan Surges Ahead In 50K Hands Challenge

Major session turns in favour of Durrr as Challenge nears halfway point Despite the distraction of the ongoing World Series of Poker, Patrik Antonius and Tom 'durrr' Dwan managed to get it together for a significant session of over 4 500 hands this week, with some massive pots changing hands. In 15 hours of non-stop multi-table online action the two went at it, with 13 pots over $200 000 and the biggest of the session, which went to Antonius, of almost $478 000. Antonius's win notwithstanding, it was Dwan who came out the winner this time, leaving the virtual tables with a profit $764 000. The epic exchange brought the duo within striking distance of the halfway mark in the long-running, fifty thousand hand Challenge at 20 647 hands - around 41 percent according to statistics site MarketPulse. It represented a stunning reversal of fortunes, as Dwan had been down over $640 000 at one point and is now well in the lead. Other benchmarks reached in the session included: * The largest stack on a single table (Dwan): $928 451. * Largest amount wagered in a single session: more than $5 million. * Longest session to date: over 15 hours. * Highest number of hands in a session: 4 523. The two players have now shoved $158 095 312 in wagers across the table in the Challenge thus far. The average pot size in the session was way up on the averages to date at $5 513. In calling it a night, Dwan hinted that he was up for more Challenge action this week, telling Antonius that he would be available save for his participation in the World Series of Poker $10 000 buy-in PLO championship in which he will be playing