WSOP Player of the Week: Daniel Negreanu

Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu needs no special introduction. The Canadian professional is one of the most famous, and perhaps even the most famous, active poker player in the world. Around 2 million people follow his exploits on social media. So we'll only briefly recap Negreanu's biography and focus on how the 2026 World Series is going for him.

Negreanu's path to poker's heights

Photo: PokerNews

Daniel Negreanu was ambitious from childhood and even told his mother about his plans to get rich and build a house out of popsicle sticks in California. Chasing that dream, he decided to drop out of school a semester before graduation and dedicate himself to poker.

His first major successes came in 1997, after several unsuccessful attempts to make a name for himself in Las Vegas. In '97, Negreanu won three tournaments, including two World Poker Finals events, earning $55,000. The following year the Canadian won his first WSOP bracelet, and in the 2000s he became one of the flagships of the poker boom after returning following a long break.

Negreanu gained huge fame through his constant participation in poker shows and streams, as well as his work on the books "Super System II" and "Power Hold'em Strategy." His heads-up matches against Doug Polk and Phil Hellmuth also became high-profile events.

You can learn more about Negreanu's biography in this article. For now, let's note that KidPoker arrived at WSOP 2026 as the holder of seven bracelets, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, and the leader of Canada's All-Time Money List with nearly $57.6 million in winnings.

The start of WSOP 2026

Photo: Eloy Cabacas

In the very first days of the World Series, Daniel Negreanu shared an important piece of personal news. The 51-year-old poker player and his wife Amanda announced that they are expecting their first child. The couple turned to surrogacy and expect their son to be born at the end of November.

Negreanu's first cash at the WSOP after such significant news didn't take long to arrive. KidPoker (or should we say DadPoker now?) made it to the 1/8 finals of the heads-up championship, where he squandered a huge chip lead in a match against Biao Ding. The Canadian reg busted out but earned $60,000.

That result was followed by several more modest wins. Negreanu made the top 20 in the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship, the $600 NLH/PLO Deepstack 8-Handed, and the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship, earning just over $66,000 combined in those events.

Then Negreanu set a new best-cash mark twice within WSOP 2026. First Daniel took home $69,531 for 26th place in the $25,000 Omaha high roller, and then received $107,940 in the $50,000 buy-in PLO High Roller. A little later, the Canadian reached seventh place in the mixed PLO/NLH High Roller and won $152,954.

Photo: Eloy Cabacas

But alongside the fairly big scores, Negreanu also had some less-than-stellar performances. In cheaper events in Omaha, stud, and the eight-game mix, he busted out well before the final table, taking home between $3,000 and $5,000. KidPoker finished the $10,000 buy-in PLO Championship in 83rd place, earning $21,050, and in the pricey and prestigious $250,000 Super High Roller, $100,000 High Roller, and $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, he didn't cash at all. In the Players' Championship, in fact, the Canadian lost most of his stack within the first ten minutes.

The contradictory nature of Negreanu's WSOP 2026 performances was underscored by two nearly back-to-back pieces of news. On June 24, Daniel became the first in history to cross the $25,000,000 mark in Series winnings. The Canadian now has 300 WSOP cashes to his name, which is also a record. However, just a few days later, Negreanu revealed that at the current festival he was down $571,729. KidPoker had spent over $1,000,000 on tournament buy-ins, managing to win back $464,521. But, of course, this isn't the first time Negreanu has had to dig himself out of a hole during a series.

Negreanu's eighth bracelet

Photo: Jess Beck

The turning point for Negreanu was the $100,000 buy-in Omaha high roller. The Hall of Famer ended Day 1 of the event in fifth place in the chip counts with 100 big blinds. Though the Canadian's stack was almost three times smaller than that of the leader, Artur Martirosyan (291 BB).

On Day 2 of the tournament, the field shrank from 19 to just five players. A whole host of superstars fell by the wayside, including Alex Foxen, Phil Ivey, Shaun Deeb, Michael Mizrachi, and Bryn Kenney. Negreanu not only remained in the game but managed to climb up the chip counts. The Canadian ended the day in second place, trailing chip leader Chris Frank by just 6 big blinds.

However, right at the start of the 5-max, Negreanu's stack was cut in half. KidPoker lost the bulk of his chips in a big pot against Chris Frank, who made a nut flush on the river. But the Canadian quickly bounced back, winning several big hands, and then took the lead. Negreanu even got his revenge on Frank, scooping a 6.5-million-chip pot with a pair of tens.

Photo: Eloy Cabacas

After that, Negreanu felt completely comfortable at the table. Throughout the entire final day, he never once used his time bank, whereas, for example, Artur Martirosyan used up all 16 available time cards. The Canadian was in a great mood and even spawned a meme. A video appeared on the Telegram channel "Покерные хроники" (Poker Chronicles) showing Negreanu pointing at Martirosyan and saying: "Tarash-tarash, скотина. Big скотина" [a playful mangled-Russian jab, roughly "you brute, you big brute"]. The Russian, of course, reacted to it with a smile.

It was Martirosyan whom Negreanu faced in the heads-up. After the tournament, the Canadian said in an interview that he had a feeling this would happen:

"In the heads-up I ran into Ivan Drago, the Russian Bear. The whole way through the tournament I had a feeling it would come down to a showdown between him and me. To win the bracelet, I had to get through him."

Artur Martirosyan started the heads-up with a chip lead and even managed to extend it, but Negreanu once again quickly fought his way back into the game. A flopped straight in one hand brought the Canadian 7.7 million chips and put him in the lead. After that, Negreanu began methodically chipping away at the Russian high roller's stack. In the decisive hand, Martirosyan moved all-in with A♣️9♦️8♣️8♥️ against Negreanu's K♦️9♠️3♦️2♠️. Already on the A♦️5♠️4♦️ flop, the Canadian made his straight. The Q♣️ turn and 9♥️ river didn't help Martirosyan at all, and Negreanu celebrated his eighth WSOP victory.

"I love PLO, so I always get a lot of enjoyment out of tournaments like this, especially when I've got good cards. Throughout the whole tournament I had chips. I never found myself in situations where you have to squeeze into pots with a short stack. I could maneuver and play," Negreanu said in a post-event interview.

Negreanu also emphasized that in just a few months, poker might take a back seat as he becomes a parent:

"This fall I've got a lot going on, including the birth of a child, and this year promises to be the best of my life in many respects. We've already outgrown our old lifestyle, when I used to get up at six in the morning and my wife, who was studying to become a physician assistant, got up at five. You could say we've adapted our lifestyle in preparation for the baby's arrival. I honestly think that once the baby arrives, it's going to outweigh everything else by a huge margin."

KidPoker isn't slowing down

Photo: PokerOrg

Eleven years passed between Negreanu's sixth and seventh bracelets. KidPoker claimed his eighth title just two years later. His career earnings have already topped $60,000,000. But he clearly has no intention of stopping. The Main Event has kicked off at the WSOP, and Negreanu, of course, is already in the mix.

The Canadian jumped into the Main Event in Flight 1b and advanced to Day 2. However, he'll have to start Flight 2b with a fairly short stack. Negreanu, with 72 BB, sits in 2,288th (!) place. Leading the chip counts is Taylor Von Kriegenbergh with 391 BB. Will the now eight-time champion manage to build his stack back up, or will he bust out early? We'll find out the answer very soon.