WSOP Day #30: One-outer puts Negreanu on brink of bracelet #7 in $50K PPC

Daniel Negreanu sits in second place of five remaining in PPC
Howard Swains
Posted on: June 27, 2024 06:53 PDT

It was a late night thriller at the World Series of Poker on Wednesday as the final handful of players in the showpiece Poker Players Championship battled down to the final five. It went on long past the witching hour, but there was still time for at least one horror beat and a couple of icy decks before things were finally done.

When they were, it was worth the wait. The leader board features modern superstar Chris Brewer still at the summit, but it's two-time WSOP Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu, sitting in second place, who will draw the crowds to watch this one play out on Thursday. Negreanu won the first of his six WSOP bracelets in 1998 and the most recent in 2013. He now has a great chance to make it number seven more than a decade later.

With fellow all-timer Phil Ivey also at the PPC final table, there were hundreds of railbirds watching from the bleachers at the WSOP and tens of thousands more tuning into live streams and following instant updates. Ivey, however, bowed out in seventh, leaving the centre stage to Negreanu. 

Chris Brewer has Negreanu for company at the top of the counts Chris Brewer has Negreanu for company at the top of the counts

The Canadian Hall of Famer duly delivered, albeit aided by the dealer somewhat. Negreanu won the undisputed hand of the day in a massive pot against Bryce Yockey. And Negreanu also played a pivotal role in finally getting play done for the night when he coolered Jeremy Ausmus with a nut flush vs. second nut flush coup.

Ausmus eventually took a tumble in sixth place, which brought the tournament down to the requisite five who will contest the final day. Yes, it's Brewer still leading. He's barely put a foot wrong since wrestling the chip lead from James Obst yesterday. 

But this one has been all about Negreanu. Is his name on the Chip Reese trophy after all?

Sammartino wins battle of the bridesmaids for first bracelet

Three pro players of serious repute, all best known for prominent runner-up finishes, ended up as the final three in Event #61: $2,500 Mixed. There were two men who had finished second in the WSOP Main Event -- David Williams, beaten by Greg Raymer in 2004, and Dario Sammartino, second to Hossein Ensan in 2019 -- up against Jon Kyte, recently beaten to the EPT Prague Main Event title by Padraig O'Neill.

One of them had to give up their bridesmaid tag, however, in this tournament that aimed to find the best player of Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. This time, it was Sammartino who won the day.

Dario Sammartino won his first WSOP bracelet in the $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Stud. Dario Sammartino won his first WSOP bracelet in the $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Stud.

After Williams' bust in third (incidentally, the only one of the top three with a bracelet already), Kyte sat with a significant chip lead. But Sammartino, sipping from a huge goblet of wine, was the one to bust Williams and draw nearer. He then won a succession of big pots, including flopping a set of threes in an Omaha hand that became a full house on a paired board, with no low hand available.

Sammartino managed to grind out the win and claim his first bracelet, boosting his $16.5 million career earnings by another $222,703. Kyte won $148,462, while Williams took home $102,335. Meanwhile, fourth place went to four-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen, falling short of adding a fifth nine years since he last picked one up.

Spitale in pole position as Millionaire will finally be made

If there's one poker player in the world who will know how to make the most from a potential million-dollar payday, it's Franco Spitale. The Argentinian, who just happens to be chip leader among the six players left in the gargantuan Millionaire Maker, is among a group of players who run a non-profit in their native Buenos Aires to provide food, clothes, and general goods for the region's less privileged. In previous interviews, Spitale has described how the desire to remember where he came from helps him stay focused as a poker player, where the sums of money feel unreal.

The late stages of the Milly Maker on Day 4 The late stages of the Milly Maker on Day 4

Spitale heads to the biggest final table of his life ahead of Canada's Stephen Dauphinais and four Americans, each of whom are seeking their first WSOP bracelet. They have played for four days already, but are now guaranteed close to $300,000. The top two land seven figure scores. 

There's a clear dividing line through the leader board. The top three players overnight have more than 32 big blinds; the bottom three have no more than 13. Spitale's stack of 83,600,000 is just about 42 big blinds, so these final stages of the marathon will be more of a sprint. For Spitale, just being here is a miracle. Not long ago, he was forced to abandon a stack at the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship (PSPC) in the Bahamas because he suffered a collapsed lung during the second day of play, close to the money. He's tasted that bitter disappointment. Is the sweetness of victory now closing in?

All hail the Mad Turk

On a night when Turkey's soccer players pulled off a famous triumph over the Czech Republic to secure a place in the last 16 of Euro 24, the last remaining Turk in the $1,000 Super Seniors tournament at the WSOP rose to the very top of the counts, bagging a massive chip lead with 11 players left.

The bracelet is getting nearer for the Super Seniors The bracelet is getting nearer for the Super Seniors
Matthew Berglund

Yucel Eminoglu, who is better known as the 'Mad Turk' in the poker rooms of the UK, where he is based, has more than twice the stack of the player in second place, Buck Bucceri. Eminoglu will therefore be the favorite when this long tournament plays to its champion on Thursday — although he didn't get that Mad Turk nickname for nothing and this is not yet a sealed deal.

The other player to watch closely on the final day is Kevin Song, a bracelet winner from the WSOP back in 1997. Song took down a $2K Limit event back then, but with $4.8 million in career cashes, he knows his way around any kind of poker table.

Can Kade catch Rodriguez and Belforti?

Only one player in the last 13 of Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em has previously won a World Series bracelet, and with all due respect to two-time winner Chris Klodnicki, he is going to need to do miraculous work with a seven big blind stack coming back on the final day to deny us a brand new champ.

It looks at this stage like a two-horse race between chip leader Noel Rodriguez and his closest challenger Justin Belforti, with the two of them sitting with 77 and 75 big blinds, respectively. Brandon Mitchell, in third, has only 30 big blinds, by comparison. 

Vanessa Kade at the WPT World Championship Vanessa Kade has all the experience necessary to outlast another vast field

This tournament might also be the one to give us a first female winner of the year, with the brilliant Vanessa Kade currently sitting in fourth place. Kade is highly accustomed to vast fields. In 2021, she won the biggest ever Sunday Million tournament held on PokerStars, defeating a field of 69,876 for a $1.5 million payday. By comparison, this 1,773-entry field, and first prize of $676,900, may seem small fry. But all 13 will be dying to win it nonetheless.

More big fields condense

Three big blinds separate the top four players in the $600 Poker News Deepstack event, with Kenny Huynh just a nose ahead of Michael Dobbs, Sihao Zhang, and Una Kelly. A starting field of 5,110 is down to only 60 in this one, with $283,701 prepared for the winner to be decided on Friday. 

Kathy Liebert's elimination in 61st ended the day Kathy Liebert's elimination in 61st ended the day

Huynh has a bracelet from an online event held in 2020, but it's fifth-placed Darryl Fish who is probably the best known player of those remaining — at least after Kathy Liebert bust in 61st to end the day. Fish is a WPT and WSOP Circuit event winner, with close to $5.3 million in career earnings. He'll consider himself overdue for a bracelet. Still a long way to go in that one, though.

Finding a final table in a quiet corner

Away from the sound and the fury of the big field or big buy-in events taking place on Wednesday, the final table of Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw also filled its last six seats. France's Michel Leibgorin, a European grinder extraordinaire, heads the field, leading American duo Charles Tucker and David Funkhouser

Taiwan's Tzu Peng Wang, whose previous highest career cash was for $624 in a Daily Deepstack earlier this week at the WSOP, sits in fourth. Wang knocked out three-time bracelet winner David Baker to end the day and guarantee at least $19,087 when the tournament plays out on Thursday. The winner will get $123,314.

Catching up on some Day 1s

With such an incredibly hectic schedule on Day 30, there's just a bit of time to take a quick look at the early stages of some other events taking place. 

It was Day 1 in three events: Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack, Event #65 $5,000 Seniors High Roller, and Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship. All of these will come into sharper focus over the coming days, but there are a couple of items worth noting now.  

Firstly, Angela Jordison took the chip lead in the $5K Seniors High Roller, hoping to go better than her third place finish in a $1K event in 2022. Jordison tops a talented field, which also features high roller regular Keith Lehr in the top 10 and, further down the counts, players of the caliber of Cliff Josephy, Marcel Luske, Mike Matusow, Farzad Bonyadi, and John Juanda. There's still fun to be had in this event.

The $10K PLO Championship is even more star-studded and topped at this early stage by James Chen. Chen already has one bracelet from this WSOP and has a narrow lead over Jim Collopy at this stage. The fearsome Finns are well-represented, with Eelis Parssinen and Juha Helppi in the top 20 (and plenty more further back), while Josh Arieh and Michael Mizrachi, two American all-game specialists, sit in eighth and ninth.


Photo of the day

A meeting of great minds at the PPC final table, with Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey seated beside one another A meeting of great minds at the PPC final table, with Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey seated beside one another

Hand of the day

There's never exactly a bad time to spike a one-outer straight flush, but it rarely gets better than when you do it at the final table of one of the most prestigious poker tournaments on the calendar. Daniel Negreanu hit his miracle card with six players left in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, securing him a second-place stack heading into the last day of this event. 

The unfortunate victim was Bryce Yockey, a player who had lost a similar pot to this one in the same tournament in 2019.

That straight flush eating grin. That straight flush eating grin

The hand took place this time during an Omaha Hi/Lo phase, with Negreanu holding . He flopped top pair with a straight draw when the first three community cards fell , then improved to a flush draw after the turn.

The river was exactly what he needed, particularly since Yockey was sitting with for a full house. Negreanu confessed how lucky he had been to win it, while Yockey did well to chuckle it off.

Tweet of the day

Robbi Jade Lew is literally giving money away.

Video of the day

We all have our favorite hand. But do we have as good an explanation as to why?


The day in numbers

9,558

Days since Daniel Negreanu won his first WSOP bracelet. Is the man they used to call 'Kid Poker' going to make it seven on Thursday?

10

Tournaments taking place simultaneously on Wednesday across all corners of the conference facilities at Horseshoe/Paris.

41

Levels of play, of one hour each, in the Millionaire Maker so far. That's 41 hours at the tables, nearly a real week of work.


Day 30 gallery

Daniel Negreanu sits in second place of five remaining in PPC
Daniel Negreanu sits in second place of five remaining in PPC

  • Coming up on Day #31

    With a $50K buy-in, nine variants, and levels of 100 minutes, the Poker Players Championship is the truest test of a WSOP player's mettle. Today, it finally ends. There are five players left and they will name a champion tonight.

    It's been a similar grind in the Millionaire Maker. After four days and 10,939 entries, this one is also at its final table. Today's the day when we'll find out whose tough week at the mill will end with a shiny new bracelet.That's not all: the $1,000 Super Seniors event plays to a winner, as does Event 60: $3,000 NLH. That's four bracelets to be handed out on a bumper day for bling.

    Day 3 of $600 Poker News Deepstack, plays to a final, the $5K Seniors High Roller, and the $10K PLO Championships play their Day 2s. 

    As if all of that wasn't enough, three more events get started, numbers #67 through #69 on the schedule. The latter two are the self-explanatory $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em and $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Meanwhile, the $500 Salute to Warriors is a regular enough Hold'em event, with the added bonus that "$40 of each entry will be donated to the United Service Organizations and other veteran organizations." It attracted 4,303 entries last year, a lot of money going to good causes.


    Results

    Event #61: $2,500 Mixed: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

    Place Player Prize
    1 Dario Sammartino $222,703
    2 Jon Kyte $148,462
    3 David Williams $102,335
    4 Jeff Madsen $71,810
    5 Federico Ottenio $51,315
    6 Matt Vengrin $37,354
    7 Joey Couden $27,709
    8 Scott Blackman $20,954
    9 Paul Zappulla $16,159
    10 Jose Ferro $12,713

    Full results on WSOP

    Ongoing events

    Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em (last six)

    Place Player Chips
    1 Franco Spitale 83,600,000
    2 Stephen Dauphinais 68,700,000
    3 Justin Carey 63,900,000
    4 Harvy Jackson 25,200,000
    5 Paul Saso 22,600,000
    6 Charles Kersey 9,800,000

    Full chip counts on WSOP

    Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship

    Place Player Chips
    1 Chris Brewer 10,465,000
    2 Daniel Negreanu 7,635,000
    3 Dylan Smith 4,030,000
    4 Bryce Yockey 3,670,000
    5 David Benyamine 900,000

    Results so far on WSOP

    Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em (last 11)

    Place Player Chips
    1 Yucel Eminoglu 15,900,000
    2 Buck Bucceri 7,725,000
    3 Sean Jazayeri 7,050,000
    4 Paul Runge 6,750,000
    5 Gary Fisher 4,975,000
    6 Michael Minetti 4,875,000
    7 Manelic Minaya 4,600,000
    8 Kevin Song 4,400,000
    9 Philip Muller 4,375,000
    10 Gregory Nichols 3,500,000
    11 Felix Barriga 2,675,000

    Results so far on WSOP

    Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em (last 13)

    Place Player Chips
    1 Noel Rodriguez 15,425,000
    2 Justin Belforti 15,050,000
    3 Brandon Mitchell 6,050,000
    4 Vanessa Kade 5,625,000
    5 Victor Paredes 4,550,000
    6 Marc Foggin 4,375,000
    7 Benjamin Gold 3,875,000
    8 Paolo Boi 3,700,000
    9 Juan Vecino 3,700,000
    10 Huihan Wu 2,520,000
    11 Jiang Pu 2,375,000
    12 Ravi Shankar 2,025,000
    13 Chris Klodnicki 1,475,000

    Results so far on WSOP

    Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship

    Place Player Chips
    1 Kenny Huynh 5,920,000
    2 Michael Dobbs 5,805,000
    3 Sihao Zhang 5,605,000
    4 Una Kelly 5,565,000
    5 Darryll Fish 5,130,000
    6 Hector Berry 4,660,000
    7 Kuan-Yu Lin 4,650,000
    8 Diogo Cardoso 4,600,000
    9 Kenneth Kemple 4,550,000
    10 Harrison Ashdown 4,175,000

    Results so far on WSOP

    Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw (last six)

    Place Player Chips
    1 Michel Leibgorin 3,995,000
    2 Charles Tucker 2,325,000
    3 David Funkhouser 1,645,000
    4 Tzu Peng Wang 1,515,000
    5 Ali Eslami 1,485,000
    6 Owais Ahmed 410,000

    Full chip counts on WSOP

    Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack

    Place Player Chips
    1 Samuel Summers 1,750,000
    2 Jamie Robbins 1,700,015
    3 Shinya Nakajima 1,625,000
    4 Hanibael Saneh 1,605,000
    5 Zachary Robinson 1,380,000
    6 Mishel Anunu 1,340,000
    7 Jason Singleton 1,320,000
    8 Kenneth Nicoletti 1,315,000
    9 Guilherme De Castro 1,315,000
    10 Brent Gregory 1,315,000
    Notables

    12 Koray Aldemir 1,245,000
    29 Nick Guagenti 1,000,000
    74 Justin Pechie 710,000
    77 Lexy Gavin Mather 670,000

    Full chip counts on WSOP

    Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em

    Place Player Chips
    1 Angela Jordison 707,000
    2 Michael Bickel 616,000
    3 Scott Andrews 544,000
    4 Steve Jelinek 539,000
    5 David Goodkin 516,000
    6 Levan Karamanishvili 506,000
    7 Michael Vela 492,000
    8 Keith Lehr 473,000
    9 James Pifer 437,000
    10 Daniel Fuhs 431,000
    Notables

    21 Cliff Josephy 349,000
    49 Marcel Luske 257,000
    52 Mike Matusow 253,000
    72 Farzad Bonyadi 212,000
    133 John Juanda 98,000

    Full chip counts on WSOP

    Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

    Place Player Chips
    1 James Chen 675,500
    2 Jim Collopy 636,500
    3 Shawn Stroke 546,000
    4 Nino Pansier 514,500
    5 Daniel Barriocanal 505,500
    6 Fahredin Mustafov 455,000
    7 Cuba Levenberry 421,000
    8 Josh Arieh 410,000
    9 Michael Mizrachi 405,000
    10 Kazuhiko Yotsushika 400,500
    Notables

    14 Eelis Parssinen 390,000
    15 Juha Helppi 384,000
    19 Maxx Coleman 361,000
    28 Danny Tang 315,000
    81 Alex Foxen 202,000

    Full chip counts on WSOP


    Bracelet winners

    • Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion – Asher Conniff (USA)
    • Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – Jose Garcia (USA)
    • Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout – Daniel Willis (UK)
    • Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed) – James Chen (USA)
    • Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions - Malcolm Trayner (Australia)
    • Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship – Darius Samual (UK)
    • Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice – John Hennigan (USA)
    • Event #8: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Bryce Yockey (USA)
    • Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Guagenti (USA)
    • Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
    • Event #11: $1,500 Badugi - David Prociak (USA)
    • Event #12: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em - Simeon Spasov (Bulgaria)
    • Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship - Robert Mizrachi (USA)
    • Event #14: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold'em - Thibault Perissat (France)
    • Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Caleb Furth (USA)
    • Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Brent Hart (USA)
    • Event #17: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - TJ Murphy (USA)
    • Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha - Dylan Weisman (USA)
    • Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship - John Racener (USA)
    • Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em - Stephen Winters (USA)
    • Event #21: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (6-Handed) - Brek Schutten (USA)
    • Event #22: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw (6-Handed) - Aaron Cummings (USA)
    • Event #23: Event #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Limit Hold'em - Dan Sepiol (USA)
    • Event #24: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Sean Troha (USA)
    • Event #25: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Daniel Vampan (USA)
    • Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Schulman (USA)
    • Event #27: $1,500 Big O - Michael Christ (USA)
    • Event #28: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Evan Benton (USA)
    • Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (6-Handed) - Phil Ivey (USA)
    • Event #30: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack - Alen Bakovic (Canada)
    • Event #31: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Nicholas Seward (USA)
    • Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Richard Ashby (UK)
    • Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack (8-Handed) - Alex Manzano (Chile)
    • Event #34: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Antonio Galiana (Spain)
    • Event #35: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Phillip Hui (USA)
    • Event #36: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (8-Handed) – Timur Margolin (Israel)
    • Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship – John Fauver (USA)
    • Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Sergio Aido (Spain)
    • Event #40: $1,500 Razz – Scott Seiver (USA)
    • Event #41: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot - Xixiang Luo (China)
    • Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship - James Obst (Australia)
    • Event #43: $1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O - Magnus Edengren (Sweden)
    • Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Jared Kingery (USA)
    • Event #45: $10,000 HORSE Championship - Maksim Pisarenko (Russia)
    • Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship - Khang Pham (USA)
    • Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em - Chris Hunichen (USA)
    • Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Chris Vitch (USA)
    • Event #49: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Erlend Melsom (Norway)
    • Event #50: $10,000 Razz Championship - George Alexander (USA)
    • Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Peter Park (USA)
    • Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em – Mostafa Haidary (Australia)
    • Event #53: $3,000 Nine Game Mixed - Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil)
    • Event #55: $250,000 Super High Roller – Santhosh Suvarna (India)
    • Event #56: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (2-7, A-5, Badugi) – Patrick Moulder (USA)
    • Event #57: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em – Frank Funaro (USA)
    • Event #61: $2,500 Mixed: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Dario Sammartino (Italy)