It took some effort, but Daniel Negreanu finally managed to get the monkey off his back at this year’s World Series of Poker, taking down the $100,000 PLO High Roller.
Triumphing in a small but extremely stacked field, Negreanu claimed over $2.2 million in prize money and his eighth WSOP bracelet.
The win comes just at the right time, as Daniel has had quite a rough series so far. Despite a few deep runs, prior to this result, he was stuck well over $500,000. The victory puts him well in the black for the summer and will, no doubt, act as a jolt of energy for the Main Event that kicked off yesterday.
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Taking on the High Rollers
There aren’t many players whose passion for the World Series can compare to that of Negreanu’s. Every summer, he is in the mix, playing as much as humanly possible and documenting his journey on his popular YouTube vlog.
This year hasn’t been particularly kind to Daniel. Despite a few deep runs, the bracelet continued to elude him, but he kept on pressing. The persistence paid off, and big time at that, as his luck finally turned around yesterday to see him take down the $100k PLO High Roller event.
It wasn’t a particularly big field, as is often the case with six-figure tournaments. There were only 83 entries in total, but the list of participants included some of the biggest names in all of poker.
Negreanu navigated his way through the field, dealing with the usual ups and downs of PLO without breaking a sweat. Eventually, he found himself sitting at the final table, starting the day second in chips and with the bracelet only four eliminations away.
Fans Come Out in Force
During the World Series, there is a final table of some sort taking place pretty much all the time. But when Daniel Negreanu makes one of these, you’ll know it. Easily one of the most recognizable faces in poker, GGPoker’s biggest ambassador always attracts a big rail, and it was no different last night.
Daniel had the chips to work with, the momentum was on his side, and the support from many fans who gathered around the table to cheer him on to victory.
Despite all this, there was a lot of work to be done. Facing the likes of Philip Sternheimer, Yosuke Miki, Chris Frank, and Artur Martirosian, who’d be Kid Poker’s last obstacle, Negreanu knew there was no room for error. So, he locked in and got ready for the battle.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Negreanu as he lost a big pot early on, pretty much cutting his stack in half. However, he did not let this early setback get to him, and, eventually, the momentum shifted.
Eventually, Daniel found himself against just one opponent. Artur Martirosian started the heads-up battle with a solid chip lead, holding 30M chips to Negreanu’s 19M. The two exchanged blows for a while before Negreanu won a big pot to give him a commanding lead.
From there, it was all Daniel. Martirosian tried to get back in the match, doubling up once along the way, but it wasn’t enough. On the final hand, all the chips went in the middle before the flop, and Negreanu flopped the wheel. The turn card brought no help whatsoever for Martirosian, and it was all over.
The Summer of Profit
With this victory, Negreanu picked up just over $2.2 million, guaranteeing that his 2026 WSOP will be a profitable one. He’s also upped his WSOP bracelet count to eight, which is probably even more important for Daniel.
The moment the last card was dealt, you didn’t need to be anywhere near the table to know who won. Cheers and applause from the rail made it very clear.
There is never a bad time to win a couple of million bucks, but the win really comes at the perfect time. With the Main Event getting underway, Negreanu can now fully focus on the big one and take all the energy and the momentum with him to the tables!
