After four days off, Phil Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ got back into action in the ‘Galfond Challenge,’ playing another 664 hands of €100-200 PLO on Run It Once Poker. It was a momentous day for Galfond, who had his first taste of having an overall lead.

When the session was over, Galfond had won €113,680.87, but he was up a bit more at points in the day. So much so that he took the overall lead.

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Here’s a look at the hand that gave Galfond the lead for the first time, with commentator David Tuchman on the call.

With €21,582 in the middle on the  board, ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked and Galfond fired a pot-sized bet. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had €10,373.36 left in his stack and made the call.

‘VeniVidi1993’ showed the for a nine-high straight. Galfond had the  for a ten-high straight. The pot was €42,328.72 and it went Galfond’s way to give him his first overall lead in this Galfond Challenge.

The 25,000-hand Galfond Challenge between these two is now 20,027 hands complete. Although Galfond pulled into the overall lead for a little bit, ‘VeniVidi1993’ fought back to maintain a lead of €40,607.06 overall. That’s where things stand entering the final 4,973 hands.

After the first 15 sessions, ‘VeniVidi1993’ was up more than €900,000. Since that 15th session, it’s been all Galfond in the last couple of weeks as he has stormed back in a big way.

Galfond led for the entire session on Thursday and the two will be back in action on Friday, April 3. Thursday’s session marked the sixth six-figure winning session for Galfond, all of which have come since the two took a break from February 9 to March 4.

Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ have played an average of 625 hands per session, so we can expect eight more sessions to be played in order to complete the full 25,000 hands.

Challenge Results To Date

	Hands Played	Daily Winner	Amount Won
Day 1 (Jan. 22)	655	VeniVidi1993	€72,572.68
Day 2 (Jan. 23)	715	Phil Galfond	€2,615.26
Day 3 (Jan. 24)	557	VeniVidi1993	€84,437.52
Day 4 (Jan. 25)	581	VeniVidi1993	€17,544.87
Day 5 (Jan. 27)	726	VeniVidi1993	€155,063.52
Day 6 (Jan. 28)	703	VeniVidi1993	€13.31
Day 7 (Jan. 30)	823	VeniVidi1993	€52,057.13
Day 8 (Jan. 31)	940	VeniVidi1993	€60,743.37
Day 9 (Feb. 1)	446	VeniVidi1993	€12,706.51
Day 10 (Feb. 3)	696	VeniVidi1993	€100,993.30
Day 11 (Feb. 4)	741	VeniVidi1993	€15,647.36
Day 12 (Feb. 6)	622	Phil Galfond	€87,940.91
Day 13 (Feb. 7)	470	VeniVidi1993	€267,949.70
Day 14 (Feb. 8)	593	VeniVidi1993	€48,473.73
Day 15 (Feb. 9)	659	VeniVidi1993	€102,593.34
Day 16 (Mar. 4)	574	Phil Galfond	€183,481.38
Day 17 (Mar. 5)	582	VeniVidi1993	€21,571.51
Day 18 (Mar. 6)	555	Phil Galfond	€27,198.94
Day 19 (Mar. 7)	638	Phil Galfond	€26,018.41
Day 20 (Mar. 9)	566	Phil Galfond	€92,803.89
Day 21 (Mar. 10)	576	Phil Galfond	€3,766.94
Day 22 (Mar. 11)	556	VeniVidi1993	€88,465.60
Day 23 (Mar. 12)	598	Phil Galfond	€23,821.05
Day 24 (Mar. 13)	628	Phil Galfond	€19,099.65
Day 25 (Mar. 14)	664	Phil Galfond	€139,485.78
Day 26 (Mar. 19)	539	Phil Galfond	€110,752.58
Day 27 (Mar. 20)	645	VeniVidi1993	€76,026.05
Day 28 (Mar. 21)	503	Phil Galfond	€140,979.28
Day 29 (Mar. 26)	642	Phil Galfond	€85,271.31
Day 30 (Mar. 27)	777	VeniVidi1993	€26,992.32
Day 31 (Mar. 28)	393	Phil Galfond	€106,328.51
Day 32 (Apr. 2)	664	Phil Galfond	€113,680.87
–	–	–	–
Total	20,027	VeniVidi1993	€40,607.06

What’s Next for the Galfond Challenge?

Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ will be back on Friday, April 3, for more €100-200 Pot Limit Omaha on Run It Once Poker. They’re less than 5,000 hands from the finish line, so buckle up. This battle is still anyone’s to be won.

Remember, Galfond is putting up €200,000 in side action to the €100,000 of ‘VeniVidi1993.’

Be sure to stay tuned to PocketFives for more on the Galfond Challenge.