Daniel Negreanu Wins His First Poker Masters Title for $178,200

It is hard to believe, but Daniel Negreanu has been in a slump for over 8 years during which he was unable to win a single live tournament event. Arguably the most popular poker player right now and a hall of famer performed well in live poker tournaments throughout this period and would finish in the money but the desired first-place would always escape his fate in the most crucial moment. However, it all changed on September 12 when Daniel Negreanu won the Poker Masters Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em and took home $178,200 in prize money. 

During this $10,000 buy-in event, Negreanu was able to defeat a field of 66 entries and earn his second title this year. With this triumph, his lifetime tournament earnings are over $42,7 million, putting him in the third position on poker’s all-time money list.

Moreover, Daniel Negreanu also moved up in quite a few poker rankings. For example, he was awarded the 360 Card Player Player of the Year points which places him 42nd in the 2021 Player of the Year standings sponsored by Global Poker. He was also awarded 179 points by PokerGo for his victory which allowed him to move into 13th place in the PokerGo Tour leaderboard. The same amount of ranking points were achieved in the Poker Masters race. Daniel Negreanu is also currently leading in the race for the purple jacket. 

Negreanu told the following to the PokerGO reporters regarding his top spot in the player of the series:

“It’s huge, Poker Masters means a lot to me because I remember the first one that they had. I remember it was the first moment that I realized, ‘Oh my god, these guys are just better than me.’ It made me realize that I have to go back to the lab and work. Then to see the work pay off in the PokerGO Cup is awesome. To go back to back, with a chance now to come full circle and win the jacket, I really feel strongly not only that I can, but I feel like I’m going to win it. I feel like I’m running well and everything’s going good.”

Final Table Recap

Daniel Negreanu entered the final day of the Poker Masters Event #5 with a chip lead. It was definitely a confidence boost and a good sign for things to come. With five total participants remaining, Jeffrey Trudeau, a nine-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner, was the first one to fall. Trudeau had the shortest stack when the final day began and was eliminated by Negreanu. Trudeau went all-in with his pocket eights against Q 10 of Negreanu. A ten on the flop gave Negreanu a lead which he maintained until the end of the hand and eventually narrowed the playing field to only four. Trudeau was eliminated with $52,800 for his fifth-place finish.

However, Daniel Negreanu’s chip lead did not last for long. The next knockout was performed by Nick Petrangelo. Jake Daniels and his A J were unable to beat pocket kings of Nick Petrangelo. With this elimination, Nick Petrangelo overtook Negreanu and became the chip leader. Daniels was eliminated with $66,000 for his fourth-place finish. 

With only three players remaining, Vikenty Shegal had the least amount of chips. During this three-handed play, Shegal was able to avoid his fate for over an hour but soon enough he went all-in with his K 10. With this move, he faced Negreanu and his 10 7. Daniel Negreanu was able to get a seven on the flop which put him into the lead of the duel. Unfortunately for Vikenty Shegal he was unable to get anything on the turn or river and. Vikenty Shegal was eliminated with $85,800 for his third-place finish. 

With only two players remaining, Nick Petrangelo entered the heads-up play with a comfortable 5:3 lead with regards to Daniel Negreanu. However, his lead did not last for long as Negreanu was to quickly catch up with Petrangelo. This was largely due to Negreanu recognizing a bluff from Petrangelo and making a big call. After this move, Negreanu was able to build a small chip lead. Soon after this hand, Daniel was able to steal a large pot with his A Q against Petrangelo’s A 7 and A Q J 4 4 on the board. This hand gave Negreanu a comfortable 9:1 chip lead and definitely boosted his confidence as the desired victory was not far away. Surprisingly, the very next hand turned out to be the decisive one. Nick Petrangelo went all-in with his Q 10 after Daniel Negreanu raised from the button with pocket aces. The board turned out to be K 5 4 6 6 which gave Negreanu his long-awaited live tournament triumph. Nick Petrangelo was eliminated with $132,000 for his second-place finish and Daniel Negreanu went home with $178,200. 

Here are the Poker Masters Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em results:

Daniel Negreanu Prepares for 2021 WSOP

Given that Denial Negreanu is going to participate in the 2021 WSOP, which kicks off on September 30 in Las Vegas, this live tournament win is just what he needs to be in a correct mindset and good playing form. With 6 WSOP bracelets to his name, every live tournament comes with quite a lot of pressure. Nevertheless, it is good to see that Negreanu was able to get out of this 8-year-old slump and finally win a live event. Hopefully, we will see more victories from him during the 2021 WSOP where Daniel will be participating in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and the $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em event.