The Landon Tice vs Bill Perkins heads-up challenge continues to play out as an up-and-down affair. The latest session in the scheduled 20,000-hand match ended with Tice up big, as the 22-year-old pro posted the biggest single-session win for either player in the series.
Tice posted a $159,751.69 win on Day 3, amounting to four $40,000 buy-ins in the $200/$400 heads-up No-Limit Hold’em match. The win puts Tice ahead by right around $98,000 overall in the challenge.
Tice agreed to give Perkins a 9bb/100 head start in the challenge, amounting to a $720,000 spot that Tice must cover to win. With the Day 3 results included, Tice is now behind $622,000 against the spread.
The young poker pro trimmed a sizable chunk off of that lead with his Day 3 performance. Perkins came into Day 3 with a $61,000 straight-up lead, amounting to a $781,000 advantage including the 9bb/100 spot.
Day 3 action saw Tice dominate, however. Tice and Perkins played 391 hands in the session, which continued on Americas Cardroom.
Big hands lead to a big win for Tice on Day 3
Perkins and Tice held serve through the first 20 minutes of Day 3, but a string of big pots put Tice in the lead after that.
One such pot began with Tice opening to $1,000, Perkins three-betting to $4,400, and Tice four-betting to $10,400. Perkins made the call, with $20,800 going in the middle before the flop.
That flop fell 6♣2♠8♣. Perkins checked, Tice bet one-fifth pot ($4,064), and Perkins made the call.
The turn came 4♦️, and both players checked. The river brought the A♣, which nearly brought ACR Team Pro Jon Pardy out of his seat on commentary.
Tice shoved, putting Perkins to the test for his remaining $26,494. The bet-check-bet line from Tice prompted a fold from Perkins, with Tice collecting the nearly $29,000 pot.
An even bigger pot developed just minutes later. Perkins opened to $960, Tice three-bet to $3,960, and Perkins called.
The flop came J♠2❤️2♦️, and Tice continuation-bet for $2,613. Perkins made the call, with the pot increasing to $13,146.
The turn fell 6♠, Tice checked, and Perkins bet $5,259. Tice called, making the pot $23,664.
The river brought the 5♣, Tice checked, and Perkins bet $15,855. Tice went all-in over the top, and Perkins called, committing his remaining $12,312.
Tice tabled 5❤️5♠, showing a rivered full house. Perkins turned over Q♠J♣ for top pair, which was no good and resulted in the $80k pot going Tice’s way.
That pair of hands pulled Tice back into the straight-up lead in the challenge overall. Tice went up $31k total after the $80k pot, and extended that lead to nearly $100k by session's end.
Day 3 played out in just under two hours, with Tice and Perkins putting in 391 hands. The 20,000-match now sits at the 1,345-hand mark, with still plenty of poker hands remaining to be played.
The Tice vs. Perkins heads-up challenge continues to play out on ACR, with multiple media channels offering live stream coverage of the match. You can find full coverage on the Americas Cardroom Twitch channel, or log into any skin on the Winning Poker Network to sit on the virtual rail.
Tice and Perkins have yet to announce a date for Day 4 of the challenge. Check back with Poker.org for continued coverage of what is playing out as perhaps the most intriguing heads-up challenge of the year.
Featured image source: Twitch
