SharePoker fans piled in on Bryn Kenney after the self-confessed cheat took to Twitter to plead for a shot against Phil Hellmuth in the $800k per head round of HighStakesDuel.
Hellmuth was due to face Scott Seiver in an August 22nd rematch after winning their $400k per head HSD III, round 4 heads-up battle. Siever’s withdrawal has left the spot open and Kenney was first to stick his hand up.
However, given recent events, fans of the game aren’t too keen on giving him a shot, some of the responses below:
- “Ooooo this would actually be really entertaining. Sadly would be a bad look for @PokerGO to give the spotlight to a known cheater.”
- No, you should get a lifetime ban @BrynKenney. You are a cheat.
- “Would be nice to see you cheat against Phil.”
Kenney has fallen from grace after his former horse, Martin Zamani, laid multiple allegations of cheating at his door, including ghosting and multi-accounting, with mistreatment of the players in his stable thrown in for good measure.
Despite his protests and denials, and Kenney only admitting to minor transgressions, the circumstantial evidence against the former leading live tournament money-winner was enough to set the public against him.
Joey Ingram has been contemplating having Kenney on his podcast, but was shocked by the number of his Twitter followers who don’t want Kenney given a platform.
Recent news that Kenney has not been banned by GGPoker in their sweep of RTA-use and other known cheating methods came as a surprise to many.
This week also saw Kenney in the headlines when he found himself seated next to his accuser, Zamani, at the SHRPO in Florida, with the floor having to be called after the duo apparently traded verbals.
Kenney’s involvement in the new online venture, 4Poker, has also attracted criticism, players and fans apparently having enough of a tough time trusting the online game without adding Kenney into the mix...
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how PokerGO react to Kenney’s offer to step in as a late replacement against big Phil.
PokerGO have recently added their support to the new GGPoker Poker Integrity Council, which will see confirmed online cheats banned from live events.
However, it might not be so easy to find a replacement who has $800k to put up for a heads-up SNG-style against Hellmuth, who is currently 9-1 up in the format.
The Poker Brat defeated Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu both by 3-0 scorelines, downed Fox sports host Nick Wright 1-0, and had a 1-1 draw against Tom Dwan to add to his 1-0 win over Seiver.
Whether the allure of a highly controversial battle between Hellmuth and Kenney proves too much for PokerGO to ignore remains to be seen, but we’ll keep you updated on all the latest right here, so be sure to check in regularly!
