It’s not uncommon for poker players to have beef between each other. Just take for example Phil Hellmuth who has been badmouthing fellow players for years now, oblivious of his reception by the community and fans. However, today’s story has more to do with a rather more physical confrontation.
Poker professionals Doug Polk and Fernando Habegger have been teasing each other in a rather robust language for quite some time now. Habegger blamed Polk-owned Upswing Poker organization to have mistreated him and jumped on social media to complain in a manner which excited not only bystanders but the man himself, Doug Polk.
Following a number of salvos describing each other’s flaws of characters and appearance, Habegger finally decided that the only way to solve the beef would be by meeting Pol in the ring. And then it came – the invitation to a boxing match.
All Is Live
Polk was happy to accept by the looks of it. The pair have since been going to vilify their opponent in all video interviews they have appeared in. Take Habegger for example who has been continually iterating a simple truth – Polk owed him money, Habegger would argue time and over again at every interview. Upswing have gone so far as to “debunk” Habegger and his allegations in a very detailed post.
The money was allegedly for his time at Upswing. However, Polk may have had good reasons to let Habegger go, too! According to him, Habegger had been far from the best business partner to begin with, and not only that, but he had in fact intentionally stolen players and diverted them to his own training website at JNandez Poker.
Apparently, that had been an affront that Polk couldn’t just let slip. Habegger, however, has been quite inexorable in his accusations. He said that he was owed over $100,000 in money for his time at Upswing whilst Polk claimed that the contract he, i.e. Habegger had signed, did not include anything of the sort.
A True Fighter of the Masses
And so Habegger’s finally snapped. Just this Monday he posted a challenge of a boxing match. He said that he’d fight Polk for $50,000, money that he would then not use for personal gratification but assist as many aspiring pros to join the Colossus action at the upcoming WSOP event next year.
At first blush, Habegger’s intentions seem genuine and he seems to be after his own signature style justice. However, the suspicions that he may be trying to cover his own misdemeanor is strong enough.
Upswing have been particular about the way Habegger was stealing customers intentionally and only used the organization as a buffer for his own activities. In other words, Habegger may have used the infrastructure of Upswing to drive traffic and users to his own website.
If that proves true, Habegger will have much to be ashamed for. If, on the other hand, Polk has miscalculated, he will end up as the embarrassment. Whoever wins the fisticuff competition won’t shed much light on who’s right. Poker pros may be entrepreneurs, but they also tend to be gentlemen. So why the ungentlemanly outcome?
