Phil Galfond has completely taken control of the Galfond Challenge against Chance Kornuth, and now leads the heads-up poker match by a country mile. But variance is still in play, meaning the outcome of the 35,000-hand match is still in question.

Give Phil Galfond credit for battling through some tough times. (Image: Twitter)

Persistence, discipline, and patience has paid off for Galfond. But then again, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has followed his brilliant poker career.

The Run it Once poker site founder took a beating from an extremely talented opponent for a couple of months in this challenge. Kornuth won consistently for the better part of 10,000 hands against arguably the top pot-limit Omaha player ever. And he still is another heater away from getting right back into the match. But it may take a miracle to pull this one out.