Admit it, there have been no less than instances in recent times you thought Daniel Negreanu may by no means win one other World Collection of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Maybe, even he had moments of doubt.
There is no longer cause for anybody to doubt the Poker Corridor of Famer, not after he took down one of the prestigious tournaments in all of poker on Thursday, the $50,000 Poker Gamers Championship for over $1.1 million.
Bookmark this web page! All you could know concerning the 2024 WSOP is right here.
Negreanu’s final bracelet got here in 2013, and his most up-to-date WSOP title in Las Vegas previous to the 2024 PPC occurred all the best way again in 2008. It has been a protracted journey to bracelet No. 7, one we have chronicled on this article.
WSOP Participant of the Yr (2013)
In 2013, Negreanu, a PokerStars ambassador on the time, had been thought-about the most effective, if not the perfect, poker gamers on the earth for over a decade. He’d received 4 bracelets coming into the 12 months, and was nonetheless in his 30s.
Beginning with the forgotten World Collection of Poker Asia Pacific (APAC) sequence within the springtime, “Child Poker” reached two remaining tables, and received his fifth bracelet within the A$10,000 No-Restrict Maintain’em Predominant Occasion. That was simply the beginning of huge issues to come back for arguably the preferred poker participant of all time.
When WSOP bracelet motion shifted to Las Vegas that summer time, he picked up six cashes, together with a runner up end within the $2,500 Restrict 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw occasion. Whereas which may not appear to be a banner sequence, it’s essential to take note of again then there have been fewer occasions and Negreanu performed a lighter schedule.
Within the fall, Negreanu traveled to France for the World Collection of Poker Europe (WSOP) sequence, the place he captured his sixth bracelet within the €25,600 No-Restrict Maintain’em Excessive Curler for €725,000. He’d go on to win WSOP Participant of the Yr, however little did anybody know on the time he would not scoop one other WSOP bracelet or Participant of the Yr (properly, he briefly did in 2019 earlier than a scoring miscalculation was found) for over a decade.
Daniel Negreanu’s World Collection of Poker Titles
The Shut Calls
After defeating Bryce Yockey heads as much as win the Poker Gamers Championship, Negreanu admitted to PokerNews that he had “a variety of anxiousness about about coming heads up as a result of I’ve had so many seconds.”
“It was simply good for issues to really feel like they actually went my means at this remaining desk.”
Issues did go his means on the remaining desk on Thursday, however that hasn’t been the case the previous 10 years on the World Collection of Poker. Since his 2013 wins, he is completed runner-up 5 instances, and third place six different instances.
That is 11 slender misses over a 10-year span. If only a few of these tournaments would have gone his means late, he’d be up there in uncommon firm with double-digit bracelets, together with Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan.
There are two heads-up losses Negreanu suffered on the WSOP which are seemingly essentially the most memorable to his followers, one being a grueling, seven-hour battle towards John Hennigan on the $10,000 Seven Card Stud remaining desk in 2019, the 12 months after “Johnny World” was inducted into the Poker Corridor of Fame. And the opposite was a troublesome loss to Dan Colman within the second ever $1,000,000 buy-in Large One for One Drop in 2014.
In 2021, Negreanu, Hellmuth, and Jeremy Ausmus battled for numerous hours, going forwards and backwards throughout three-handed play of the $50,000 Excessive Curler Pot-Restrict Omaha occasion earlier than Ausmus, at round 3:00 within the morning, denied each Poker Corridor of Famers a bracelet.
For the previous decade, it appeared like each time Negreanu was in place to win a bracelet, there was all the time that one essential hand late within the match that may shatter his desires. Maybe, generally the rationale wasn’t simply unhealthy luck. He’d be the primary to confess in a few of these spots he merely received outplayed. However variance additionally hasn’t been on his aspect a lot deep in bracelet occasions, till Thursday night time towards Yockey.
Negreanu’s Runner-Up Finishes on the WSOP Since 2014
Success Outdoors the WSOP
Regardless of his incapability to win a WSOP title from 2014-2023, Negreanu had loads of success in match poker throughout that interval. Over that 10-year stretch, he cashed for $32 million throughout all reside tournaments, in line with The Hendon Mob. That alone can be adequate for twenty second place all time, however he is at present in seventh place with $52.7 million in cashes for his profession.
Outdoors of the $8.2 million he received for second place within the 2014 Large One for One Drop, Negreanu’s largest money got here in 2022 when he took down the $300,000 Tremendous Excessive Curler Bowl at PokerGO Studio for $3.3 million. That victory, just like the Poker Gamers Championship win, was additional significant to the now GGPoker ambassador as a result of it ended a two-year run of misfortune.
Final 12 months was one other tough one for Negreanu, who misplaced over $2 million in tournaments. Getting into 2024, he vowed modifications can be made, and to this point he is walked the stroll.
Previous to the beginning of the 2024 WSOP, Negreanu had been on a heater regardless of taking part in a restricted winter and spring schedule. The now seven-time WSOP bracelet winner earned two pre-WSOP excessive curler wins and made 10 remaining desk appearances since January. He at present leads the PokerGO Tour leaderboard by a reasonably huge margin over Ausmus, who’s in second place.
Ending the Drought
Negreanu’s scorching begin to 2024 was cooled off by way of the primary half of the World Collection of Poker. Down round $900,000 coming into the Poker Gamers Championship, the poker legend was reeling. He’d misplaced two bullets within the $250,000 Tremendous Excessive Curler, and busted twice towards pocket aces within the $100,000 Excessive Curler.
It wasn’t the begin to the sequence he’d hoped for, particularly after shedding a mixed $1.9 million in 2022 and 2023 on the WSOP. However then all of it circled this week in his favourite occasion. After conquering the Poker Gamers Championship, beating out a few of the greatest blended sport gamers on the earth, he made it clear that successful this particular occasion has extra that means to him than ending a bracelet drought.
“Yeah, emphatically, as a result of think about I received a 1k turbo on-line and received my seventh, it is like, okay, no matter,” Negreanu stated when requested if the PPC win had extra that means to him than ending the drought. “This can be a five-day marathon towards all skilled gamers, 9 completely different video games for 12 hours a day. You have received Phil Ivey in your left, you’ve got received John Hennigan in your proper. There is no gentle spots, so to come back out on prime on this, that is an actual win.”
Profitable World Collection of Poker bracelets has by no means been simple. There is a cause why nobody has come near touching Hellmuth’s document of 17, not even the online-live hybrid grinders who play 100 occasions a 12 months. However even Negreanu admits that successful bracelets these days is more durable than it was again in 2013.
“There’s so many nice gamers on the market now, and you already know, poker’s simply rising and rising,” Negreanu stated concerning the problem in successful bracelets in 2024 in comparison with 2013. “So, clearly it is harder. I proceed every year to place myself in place, and at last immediately the whole lot went proper for me to win.”
With that victory, Negreanu is swiftly within the race for WSOP Participant of the Yr. He is moved into fifth place with 2,340 factors, about 600 factors behind the chief, Ausmus.
“I used to be all the time chasing Participant of the Yr, undercover. I knew I wanted a win or two,” Negreanu said.
Nobody is aware of when Negreanu will take down his eighth WSOP title, and regardless of his personal admission that successful bracelets on this period is more durable than when he was youthful, there is a robust risk his followers will not have to attend one other 11 years.