Last Updated on September 24, 2026 by Bala Kumar
For most of the poker world, the World Series of Poker ended when the summer series in Las Vegas wrapped up. For Daniel Negreanu, it was never really over. The Poker Hall of Famer took his shot on Wednesday at becoming the 10th player in history to win nine WSOP bracelets, reaching the WSOP Online $25,000 High Roller Championship final table on GGPoker. He got close enough to smell the gold, and then one card on the turn took it all away.
A Stream Like No Other
Part of what made this run special was how fans got to watch it. Negreanu broadcast the final table on a delayed stream with his hole cards visible, giving tens of thousands of viewers a rare look at elite high-stakes decision-making in real time. He had done the same thing only a couple of days earlier during his final-table run in the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha event of the same online series.
The stakes were enormous. A top prize of $906,647 and the bracelet were waiting for the winner. Negreanu began the final table third in chips among the nine players left.
The Rise: Reading an Opponent Perfectly
The early part of the day looked like vintage Kid Poker. In one of the key hands, he opened pocket queens from the cutoff and Parahat Nurmuhammedov defended his big blind with jack-seven of clubs. On a paired board of 6-5-5, Negreanu made a small bet and correctly predicted out loud on stream that his opponent was likely to check-raise, which is exactly what happened.
The jack on the turn gave Nurmuhammedov two pair, and he kept firing. A five on the river filled up both players, but Negreanu’s queens-full beat the jacks, and his opponent went out in eighth for $146,972 after moving all in for about 17 big blinds. That pot put Negreanu out in front with seven players remaining.
The Wobble: A Three-Way Setback
Momentum rarely lasts in high-roller poker. With seven left, Negreanu had a shot at a double knockout. Roman Emelyanov shoved pocket sixes for under seven big blinds, Ole Schemion jammed ace-queen suited behind him, and Negreanu isolated with ace-king. The flop of A-Q-10 handed Schemion top two pair, Emelyanov was eliminated in seventh for $190,599, and Schemion nearly tripled up while Negreanu dropped to fifth in chips.
He recovered, though. Pocket fives held up against king-queen to double him through Pedro Neves, and later a pair of fives won a small pot on the river to knock Neves out in fifth for $320,548, lifting Negreanu back to second in chips.
The Hand That Ended It All
Then came the moment that will sting for a while. On the very next hand, Negreanu found pocket tens in the big blind. Chip leader Casimir Seire of Finland, who covered Negreanu’s 28 big blinds by a wide margin, open-shoved with nine-eight offsuit.
Negreanu called instantly, and on paper he was in a dream spot. Seire was expected to win only about 14 percent of the time before the flop. The A-9-6 flop still left Negreanu roughly a 4-to-1 favourite, but the eight on the turn gave Seire two pair, and the king on the river didn’t help. Negreanu finished fourth for $415,700.
His reaction on stream summed it up: “That was it, that was our chance to win the tournament right there.”
Who Won?
Casimir Seire went on to win the bracelet and the $906,647 first prize. He and Fabiano Kovalski battled heads-up, and Seire made four of a kind to close it out quickly.
Final Table Payouts (Known Results)
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1st | Casimir Seire | $906,647 |
| 4th | Daniel Negreanu | $415,700 |
| 5th | Pedro Neves | $320,548 |
| 6th | Ole Schemion | $247,177 |
| 7th | Roman Emelyanov | $190,599 |
| 8th | Parahat Nurmuhammedov | $146,972 |
| 9th | Roman Samoilov | $113,331 |
The Bigger Picture: A Remarkable 2026 for Negreanu
This near-miss shouldn’t overshadow how strong his year has been. He captured his eighth bracelet in July 2026 by winning the $100,000 High Roller PLO in Las Vegas for $2,257,718. After going 11 years without a bracelet, he has now won two in the past three years, and this one would have been his first ever online.
It has been a rough week online, however. Just days earlier he finished seventh in the $10,000 PLO event for $71,111 after losing a pot of nearly 200 big blinds to Andreas Freund. Off the felt, life is busy too: he announced in May that he and his wife Amanda are expecting their first child later this year.
The financial silver lining is significant. This score pushes his recorded tournament earnings past $60.4 million, making him once again the highest-earning Canadian in tournament history and placing him 10th on the all-time money list.
Final Thoughts
Poker is a game of long-run edges and short-run heartbreak, and Wednesday was a textbook example. Negreanu played well, read his opponents sharply, and got his chips in as a big favourite at the most crucial moment. The deck simply had other plans. At 52, with eight bracelets, a baby on the way and fans watching every card he plays, it feels less like a question of if he gets number nine and more like a question of when.
Founder of PokerClubGames.com and a Poker Researcher with 10+ years of experience in SEO, WordPress development, and gaming content strategy. Specializes in researching online poker sites, poker apps, tournaments, bonuses, and poker strategies. Experienced in poker platform reviews, affiliate marketing, and creating SEO-focused poker content for global audiences.
For collaborations, media inquiries, or poker-related partnerships:
Contact: Info@hugecount.com
