Poker Players Championship Won by Daniel Negreanu for Seventh WSOP Title

After a long wait, Canadian player Daniel Negreanu did it in style as he won the seventh WSOP bracelet of his illustrious career in Las Vegas. Taking down the Chip Reese Trophy by winning the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1.1m, ‘Kid Poker’ took down ‘the one they all want to win’ after five days of intense poker in the toughest disciplines against the best poker players in the world.

Stuck In a Moment

For the longest time, no matter what he did, Negreanu couldn’t win a gold bracelet in Las Vegas. To illustrate how long it has been since he won any gold at all – in France on the WSOP Europe – a total of 10 years, eight months and five days have passed since ‘Kid Poker’ bagged his sixth bracelet.

Winning his first bracelet in 1998, Negreanu’s run of six bracelets in 15 years has been followed by zero in a decade, but to be fair to the Canadian, it’s not like he hasn’t been successful in that time. Negreanu has consolidated his place in the top 10 on the All-Time Money List, including a huge win in the Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas for $3.3 million.

In the time since Negreanu last won a bracelet, his peers such as Phil Ivey (11) and Phil Hellmuth (17) have moved past him in a bid to become the leader in WSOP title wins.  Since 2008, Negreanu came second in a WSOP event on no fewer than five occasions. Finally, in the $50,000-entry 2024 Poker Players Championship, Negreanu got over the line, creating his newest moment of poker glory.

Brewer’s Drop Helps Kid Poker

When the American player Chris Brewer led going into the final table, he was presumed to be Negreanu’s biggest obstacle on the path to WSOP redemption. Despite the lead he held going into the final day, where just five players remained, Brewer was unable to use his stack to bully opponents out of contention.

French player David Benyamine fell first, losing his last chips in Razz for a score of $265,054 when Bryce Yockey outdrew his 9-8-5 with a 9-8-3 on seventh street. Dylan Smith was next to go, leaving in fourth for $363,914. He too busted in Razz, and again it was Yockey who defeated him, a 7-5-4 for Yockey good enough to send play three-handed

In a hand of 2-7 Triple Draw, Chris Brewer lost his last to cash for $519,158 in third place. Yockey made a flush and after Negreanu made the correct – but an agonizing – fold, Brewer was out and play was heads-up. Yockey held the advantage going into the final duel, with around 60% of the chips in play, but Kid Poker was about to bounce off the canvas.

Rocky VII Reaches the Bell

Over the past few year, Negreanu’s trials and tribulations in World Series of Poker events have kept millions of poker fans fascinated, thousands of poker players motivated and hundreds of media companies in headlines. The personal story of Daniel Negreanu fits almost exactly into the plot of one of his favorite Rocky movies, and the knockout blow was coming.

Yockey initially improved on his chip lead, taking a 5:2 chips lead. Negreanu made a PLO hand his pivotal ‘bounce off the ropes’ moment, however, as he was all-in with 9-8-4-2 on a flop of 7-6-2 against Yockey’s A-A-J-J. A king on the turn did nothing to help Negreanu and it looked like his sixth runner-up finish in 11 long years. That was until a deuce on the river gave him trips and he bounced off the canvas.

Taking the lead, Negreanu won another PLO hand to seal victory, rivering a full house while already ahead to win the title and turn to the crowd, and specifically his wife Amanda.

“Yo Adrian, we did it!” he cheered and Amanda smiled, noting the referencing to Negreanu beloved Rocky movies. With the top prize of $1,178,703 putting his 2024 WSOP firmly into profit, Negreanu’s win in the $50,000-entry Poker Players Championship seals his redemption and a seventh WSOP win at last.

Ding, ding, indeed.