If you’re a Manchester United fan, then the night of 26 May 1999, is likely the most memorable of your life.
The Red Devils faced the might of the German juggernaut, Bayern Munich, in the final of the UEFA Champions League. United had already secured the domestic league and cup double and was attempting an unprecedented treble.
The game began disastrously for United, with Mario Basler scoring in the sixth minute, and it remained that way as the fourth official signalled three minutes of injury time.
The trophy preparer had already strung Bayern’s ribbons onto the trophy by the time David Beckham swung in a corner, and Teddy Sheringham scored from the subsequent clearance. The time on the clock showed 90.36.
30-second later, and United won another corner. Beckham curled in beautifully once again, Sheringham rose highest at the near post to head it to the far, and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer poked out a toe, connected, and the ball ended up in the net with the clock showing 92.17.
Many of the Munich players fell to the ground in tears.
Pierluigi Collina blew the final whistle, within seconds of the restart, and United had made one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history.
“When the match ended, the crowd sounded like a lion’s roar,” Collina wrote in his autobiography.
Is Phil Galfond about to do a ‘United?’
Grit & Hope
Angela Duckworth is the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, and Chapter 9 is on ‘Hope.’
Duckworth writes:
“Grit depends on a different kind of hope. It rests on the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future. I have a feeling tomorrow will be better is different from I resolve to make tomorrow better. The hope that gritty people have has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with getting up again.”
After 15-days of Galfond’s first match in a series of high stakes, heads-up challenges, against a wide variety of pros and non-pros alike, VeniVidi1993 sent Galfond sprawling to the floor with a series of haymakers that knocked close to €1m worth of stuffing out of the man.
Galfond decided he needed a break.
His fans didn’t know whether he would return.
Had they read Duckworth’s New York Times Bestseller, they would have realised that Galfond is a ‘grit paragon,’ and one particular attribute of a paragon of this nature is a never give up attitude.
Once the gritty start things; they finish them.
Henry Ford once said:
“Whether you think you can, or you can’t – you’re right.”
After a few days in the tank, Galfond looked in the mirror and said, “I can.”
No More Chips in Pockets
The days of Phil Galfond standing on the edge of a bridge with a donkey jacket pocket full of chips are long gone.
The last time we covered his match with VeniVidi1993, Galfond had won 10 of 13 games, closing the gap to €318,895.43, forcing VeniVidi1993 also to take a break to settle his nerves.
Since the unknown Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) star returned, things have not gotten much better.
Here are the results in the past three shifts.
Day 29
Hands played – 642
Phil Galfond +€85,271.31
Day 30
Hands Played – 777
VeniVidi1993 +€26,992.32
Day 31
Hands Played – 393
Phil Galfond +€106,328.51
Days 29 – 31
Hands Played – 1,812
Phil Galfond +€164,607.50
That means, with 5,637 hands left to play, Galfond only has to win €154,287.94 to finish a cent in the black. Given that there is a side bet on the line (Galfond’s €200k versus VeniVidi1993’s €100k), and that Galfond nearly ended up in Arkham Asylum leaving his wife Farah with a million euro bill – that’s a pretty fabulous ending.
Whether Phil Galfond will experience a Nou Camp style injury-time victory is unknown. What we do know, is unlike the lion’s roar that Collina heard moments after blowing his final whistle, Galfond will likely hear the exulted sigh from his wife, Farah.
“Finally, it’s over, right, it’s your turn to look after the baby for the next month.”
Results
Day 1, 655 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €72,572.68
Day 2, 715 hands, Phil Galfond wins €2,615.26
Day 3, 557 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €84,437.52
Day 4, 581 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €17,544.87
Day 5, 726 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €155,063.52
Day 6, 703 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €13.31
Day 7, 823 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €52,057.13
Day 8, 940 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €60,743.37
Day 9, 446 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €12,706.51
Day 10, 696 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €100,993.30
Day 11, 741 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €15,647.36
Day 12, 622 hands, Phil Galfond wins €87,940.91
Day 13, 470 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €267,949.70
Day 14, 593 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €48,473.73
Day 15, 659 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €102,593.34
Phil Galfond Calls for a Break
Day 16, 574 hands, Phil Galfond wins €183,481.38
Day 17, 582 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €21,571,51
Day 18, 555 hands, Phil Galfond wins €27,198.94
Day 19, 638 hands, Phil Galfond wins €26,018.41
Day 20, 566 hands, Phil Galfond wins €92,803.89
Day 21, 576 hands, Phil Galfond wins €3,766.94
Day 22, 556 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €88,465,60
Day 23, 598 hands, Phil Galfond wins €23,821.05
Day 24, 628 hands, Phil Galfond wins €19,099.65
Day 25, 664 hands, Phil Galfond wins €139,485.78
Day 26, 539 hands, Phil Galfond wins €110,752.58
Day 27, 645 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €76,026.05
Day 28, 503 hands, Phil Galfond wins €140,979.28
VeniVidi1993 Calls for a Break
Day 29, 642 hands, Phil Galfond +€85,271.31
Day 30, 777 hands, VeniVidi1993 wins €26,992.32
Day 31, 393 hands played, Phil Galfond wins +€106,328.51
Total Hands – 19,363
VeniVidi1993 +€154,287.93
Hands Remaining – 5,637
Sidebets:
Phil Galfond €200,000
VeniVidi1993 €100,000