Winning poker tournaments is challenging, and Daniel Negreanu understands it well. The player did not land a tournament win since 2013, giving critics substance to attack the player. But Daniel shut down the critics by winning 700,000 dollars at the PokerGO Cup.
The 50,000 dollars buy-in tournament had a no-limit hold ’em format. Daniel defeated 35 participants and won at the studio arranged by Aria. After winning, Daniel stated that “the hardest part of the tournament was emotions. Over the years, the weight of continuously placing second was too heavy. So while playing at the final table, Daniel only thought about not placing second. Anything but second place.”
Other than the curse of placing second, the player also suffered two major heads-up defeats. The first came against Dough Polk, where the player lost 1.2 million dollars. The second loss came against Phil Hellmuth, where Daniel lost three heads-up watches for 350,000 dollars.
According to the Hendon Mob Poker, the 46-year old veteran has amassed over 42 million dollars during his illustrious career. After Daniel’s last victory in 2013, the player placed second 10 times.
Daniel admitted that sitting at the final table resurfaced the bad feelings of placing second. The player compared his situation to the flashbacks showing movies where characters know they will die and witness their entire life unroll. The player started seeing all the second placements before hearing the winning announcement.
Daniel managed to take back the chip lead during the final round and beat Coleman with 10-K against pocket fives. Luck sided with the player as the deck drew a ten on the river, marking Daniel’s victory in 8 long years.
Coleman went home with 455,000 dollars while Daniel scored 700,000 dollars. However, the player did not rest and instantly joined the PokerGO finale, a 100,000 dollars buy-in no-limit event. Daniel likes to compete against elite players, and the event comprises several of them.
To know whether a player is the best or among the best, it is necessary to play such events, said Daniel. With the player finally tasting victory after eight years, he has become one of the favorites to win the finale as well.
