One of poker's greatest legends won the World Series of Poker again after 11 years. Daniel Negreanu is now a seven-time WSOP champion.
To quote Rocky Balboa, "You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."
For almost 15 years, no one has been beaten more in the World Series of Poker than Daniel Negreanu. The Canadian rose to stardom early on in the poker boom, as his engaging demeanor at the tables and his ability to seemingly know what his opponents were holding at all times made him the face of the game for many fans. And there were a lot of wins: four bracelets and a WSOP Player of the Year award while he could still be called the "Poker Kid."
But then the wins dried up. It had been more than a decade since Negreanu had won his last bracelet (in 2013). On American soil, even earlier, back in 2008. There had been plenty of “near-wins,” with five second-place finishes since 2014, including the $1 million buy-in Big One For One Drop.
But Negreanu, like his favorite movie character, kept getting back up and was rewarded today with the event he wanted to win more than any other. Negreanu finally claimed the lucky bracelet, bracelet number 7, in Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, besting 88 of the world’s best players to win $1,178,703 and the prestigious title. On his shirt, there was a tribute to Rocky Balboa.
Final Test of Skill and Endurance
In a post-game interview, Daniel Negreanu was candid about how he felt.
"Emotion, relief, tears. All of it, because it's really been a long time, you know?
And I love playing, I always want to win, and this has always been my favorite event to win.
Playing heads up against Bryce was a pleasure because he's a monster. I didn't want to play big bet pots with him at all, I tried to stay out of his way. But, I'm just thankful nothing bad happened."
Ever since this event was first introduced to the WSOP calendar in 2006, poker pros have considered it the ultimate test of skill and endurance. Negreanu played in the first event and has returned every year since.
It has become his favorite event and the fact that his bracelet drought ended here, with Negreanu back on top of the poker world, was all the more significant.
"There is one event in the world I want to play more than any and I wanted to win more than any, and it’s this one. This is the one."
Final Day
Five players returned to the Horseshoe Event Center today to play to the champion. Chris Brewer had the chip lead with 10,425,000, while Negreanu was in second place with 7,675,000.
Negreanu quickly took the chip lead when he caught a bluff from Brewer in Razz. David Benyamine, who came into the day with just 850,000, quickly got all of his chips in the middle in another Razz pot against Bryce Yockey. Benyamine made a , but Yockey hit one to eliminate Benyamine in fifth place.
Yockey then eliminated Dylan Smith in fourth soon after with a 7-Low on the Razz and took the 3-handed lead. Brewer fell to 4,000,000 after calling a 1,250,000 Yockey bet after buying in the No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw. He had J-9, but Yockey, who had 8-7, won the pot and increased the lead.
Negreanu tied Yockey when he made a straight in Seven Card Stud to beat Yockey's two pair. Negreanu then won a huge pot when Yockey attempted a bluff in Limit Hold'em after failing to make his straight. Negreanu called with pocket Queens to move to 12,000,000 in chips.
Brewer's tournament ended in No-Limit Hold'em. After Negreanu limped from the button, Yockey raised to 550,000 from the SB, and Brewer called from the big blind. Negreanu also called, and the flop came . Yockey bet 600,000, and Brewer raised to 2,300,000, leaving only 325,000 behind. Negreanu folded QT, while Yockey put Brewer all-in, who snap-called with . Yockey had , and hit a on the turn to eliminate Brewer in third place.
Yockey led 15,750,000 to 10,950,000 at the start of heads-up play. Five years ago, Yockey's run at the final table of this event came to an end when he ran into the nuts in a 2-7 Triple Draw. Today, he is the one who got it right to win a big pot from Negreanu, who had a 10-Low and folded to a big bet on the river. The odds were now 2-to-1.
Negreanu hit a flush in No-Limit Hold'em to retake the chip lead, while Yockey hit pocket aces in Stud Hi-Lo as the chip lead changed again. Negreanu fell to 6,000,000 and came close to elimination when both men got all their chips in on the flop. in pot-limit Omaha.
Negreanu had , and was quite the favorite against the by Yockey. The turn, the , made the decision a coin-flip, but the river brought a , which gave the double and lead back to “Kid Poker”.
Yockey evened the duel again, but after losing two big pots, the decisive hand happened:
Daniel Negreanu raised to 750,000 on the button and Bryce Yockey defended from the big blind.
Yockey checked the flop of , and Negreanu bet 600,000. Yockey check-raised to 3,550,000, and Negreanu three-bet to put Yockey all-in for his last 6,100,000. Yockey called.
Bryce Yockey:
Daniel Negreanu:
Negreanu was well ahead with his three-of-a-kind. The turn, a , already gave him a full house and sealed Yockey's fate.
The bracelet that Negreanu has coveted for nearly 20 years is finally his, and a huge celebration began in the ballroom. Negreanu posed for photos with fans who were chanting his name and, of course, made several videos for his vlog. After years of chronicling all of his “near-wins” and disappointments, he can finally show himself on top. Tomorrow’s video will probably be the most viewed of all.
Despite the long drought, as a new generation of pros caught up to him in the bracelet count, Negreanu's popularity never waned. Thousands of people tune in daily to watch his WSOP vlogs on YouTube. A large crowd gathered around the rail today and chanted, "Daniel, Daniel," when he won. He is constantly pestered by fans in the hallways of the Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas for photos and autographs and always happily poses with everyone, fully embracing his role as an ambassador for poker.
"I always sort of just fell into it. It’s something I’ve always felt I could do, I was a natural for," Negreanu said.
Of all the people on the rail today, there was one who meant the most to Negreanu: his wife Amanda. Negreanu hadn’t received a bracelet since they got married, so the two of them on the main stage, posing for photos with their new jewelry, was a special moment for them.
"It’s very cool. This is the first time she’s been down here since we moved here. Because she was going to come when I win, and I haven’t been winning. So it was nice to have her here for the moment, for sure."
Final Results
- Daniel Negreanu (Canada) – $1,178,703
- Bryce Yockey (United States) – $768,467
- Chris Brewer (United States) – $519,158
- Dylan Smith (United States) – $363,914
- David Benyamine (France) – $265,054
- Jeremy Ausmus (United States) – $200,896
- Phil Ivey (United States) – $158,719
