ShareIt seems an unlikely subject for a Twitter feud, but Daniel Cates’ charity work seems to have rubbed Bryn Kenney up the wrong way, the all-time tournament moneywinner accusing Jungleman of “ego-posting”…
Kenney’s shock slapdown came after Jungleman Dan tried to persuade the New Yorker, and Phil Hellmuth, to consider his new charity.
“Hey @phil_hellmuth I hear you and @BrynKenney are talking a bunch of stuff about winning tournaments and that you like charities. Why don't you guys donate to my foundation (the Dan Cates Foundation), we may be pretty close to building hospitals! Oh and um also play me at poker, as charity/poker GOATS these should be pretty reasonable requests :)”
It all started when Kenney called out Hellmuth with a $1million challenge after the Poker Brat declared himself an “apex predator” following his HighStakesDuel victory over Daniel Negreanu.
Kenney then stated he would pay the $1million to charity if he won, and that’s when Jungleman entered the stage, but his philanthropic work and claims for GOAT match recognition made Kenney see red.
Bryn leapfrogged the world’s biggest tournament winners with his $20million runner-up spot at the 2019 Triton Million for Charity event in London.
Cates, however, wasn’t taking Kenney’s abuse lying down, firing back with a few barbed tweets of his ow, stating initially: “Umm, look buddy you won some highrollers and think that's enough to put you in top winners or poker players... that's pretty cute but don't accuse me of ego boost Mr self-acclaimed best poker player.”
As the argument developed, so did the language…
Kenney then claimed he had “no interest in playing under 250k buy-in tourneys” – perhaps one of the sickest poker brags of all time, and contender for “ego-post” of the decade as well.
It appears that almost every contender for GOAT is either heavily-involved in a highstakes match, or actively looking for one through Twitter spats.
The Galfond Challenge has seen the RunItOnce boss take on all-comers at PLO, including a mini-match victory over Cates, while Negreanu fought Doug Polk in the Grudge Match of the Century.
Hellmuth toppled Antonio Esfandiari three times in the first HighStakesDuel match, and after defeating Negreanu is poised for the rematch on May 5th.
Even some likely future claimants to the GOAT coat are battling, with Fedor Holz and Wiktor Malinowski soon to cross swords for the second time.
For the time being, it looks like Kenney and Cates only have each other to compete against, but if they do decide to throw down the gloves for charity there would certainly be keen interest.
For those interested, the Dan Cates Foundation is focused on providing clean water and female empowerment in Africa, and is designed to “join other organizations that have been here longer than us to raise funds and reach their goals.”
