Paul Phua Stops Daniel Negreanu in WSOP Europe High Roller

Posted on: November 9, 2022, 09:21h. 

Last updated on: November 9, 2022, 03:35h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Bad luck continues to follow Daniel Negreanu in his hunt for another World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. DNegs was in range and could almost touch his next win while playing in a WSOP Europe event, but once again missed out after a bad beat.

Daniel Negreanu
Poker pro Daniel Negreanu looks irritated while playing in a recent game. He just suffered another loss in the WSOPE €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Platinum High Roller. (Image: PokerNews)

King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, is the regular home of the WSOP Europe and other major European poker events. It saw the WSOPE €25,000 (US$25,000) No-Limit Hold’em Platinum High Roller comes to a close Tuesday night as the initial field of 67 drew down to a winner.

Among those still in the race until the very end were Negreanu, Gab Yong Kim, Shaun Deeb, and Paul Phua. Negreanu led the final four in chips, but Phua kicked him out of his seat and sent him to the rail.

Negreanu, who took down the $300K Super High Roller Bowl last month, found himself in what could have been a rewarding situation. He was coming off a crucial loss that saw his pocket 7s lose after Deeb found an Ace on the board.

Back to the Drawing Board

Negreanu needed help after that hand, and it looked like he would get it when he was dealt pocket Aces on a subsequent hand. However, Phua picked up a set on the turn to put DNegs on the ropes. The kill shot came shortly after.

Negreanu, with the big blind ante now at 400K, had almost no choice but to go all-in when he looked down and saw pocket 5s. No one else joined in the hand except Phua and his pocket 4s.

It seemed like a great opportunity for Negreanu to get back into the game. But Lady Luck had a different story in mind. She delivered a 4 on the flop to give Phua the hand and Negreanu another bad beat.

Tuesday’s finish marks Negreanu’s 19th WSOP final table appearance since 2013. Despite his recent inability to close out tournaments, the six-time bracelet winner remains one of the WSOP’s most successful players, with more than $21 million in lifetime earnings in live WSOP events.

With more than $49 million in career earnings across all live tournament series, Negreanu sits third on the game’s all-time money list behind Justin Bonomo and Bryn Kenney. He added an additional $146,300 to his bankroll with his fourth-place result on Tuesday.

Deeb, meanwhile, finished third with around $205K before Kim fell to Phua in the final heads-up battle. Phua pocketed about $482K for the win, while Kim grabbed just under $300K.

WCOOP Main Event

The cards will fly in the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) $10,300 Main Event on Wednesday afternoon. Only nine players remain, including Spain’s money leader, Adrian Mateos.

The Madrid native entered Day 3 on Tuesday in eighth place among the last 39 survivors. When the clock stopped at the end of the day, the four-time WSOP bracelet winner was still in eighth place, with just under 11 million chips.

All finalists are guaranteed at least $122,217, but they’re eyeing the first prize of $1,293,825. Mateos, known as Amadi in online poker, will start with about 2 million more chips than Thomas Muehloecker and “boerni21,” the shortest stack remaining in this event.

Luis “Luis_faria” is leading the pack, with a stack of more than 46 million chips. That puts the Portuguese pro in an almost unbeatable position to be threatened for the title. However, as Negreanu just proved, anything is possible.