Daniel Negreanu, JC Tran Headline Limit Hold'em Championship

The World Series of Poker returns 15 players to Day 3 of the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship with some a line-up boasting Daniel Negreanu, JC Tran, Terrence Chan, Sorel Mizzi, former champ Ben Yu and defending champ Ian Johns.

While this year the event regained some prestige this year from the field – it’s been an event that’s been ignored, removed from the schedule altogether for more No Limit and gimmick events and attendance trends downwards over the last decade.

But Negreanu cut his teeth on Limit Hold’em and wouldn’t be the player he is today without his foundation in Limit Hold’em. The older generation of players tends to be better at Limit Hold’em because before the boom, no one was playing No Limit Hold’em outside of the WSOP or private cash games.

Negreanu returns to Day 3 with ten previous Limit Hold’em cashes but somehow has never cashed in the Limit Hold’em Championship at the WSOP. This final table and bracelet must be on Negreanu’s bucket list of events.

JC Tran holds the lead looking for fourth bracelet. (Photo: PokerPhotoArchive.com)
Tran leads the field as the only player with a seven-figure chip count, has three WSOP bracelets and final tabled the event in 2008 in fifth place for $128,075 but it’s only one of two Limit Hold’em cashes he has. 

Terrence Chan is a Limit Hold’em specialist. (Photo: PokerPhotoArchive.com)
Chan is still without a bracelet after a long career in poker with 36 WSOP cashes and 11 in Limit Hold’em. He finished in ninth place in the 2015 Championship that Yu won. 

Former Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen returns on a short stack with Mixed Game veterans Shaun Deeb and Jon Turner. 

Shaun Deeb knows how much a couple big bets can hurt in Limit Hold’em. (Photo: PokerPhotoArchive.com)
Attendance numbers have trended downwards for the past ten year but did have enough popularity among players that the WSOP returned the $10,000 Championship to the schedule after dropping it for a couple of years.

Here’s a look at the past ten years of the events’ champions:

2016: Ian Johns – $290,653, 110 entrants
2015: Ben Yu – $291.456, 117 entrants
2014: David Olson – $303,909, 122 entrants
2013: Michael Moore – $211,743, 170 entrants*
2012: Benjamin Scholl – $206,760, 166 entrants*
2011: Daniel Ideam – $378,642, 152 entrants
2010: Matt Keikoan – $425,969, 171 entrants
2009: Greg Mueller – $460,841, 185 entrants
2008: Rob Hollink – $496,931, 218 entrants
2007: Saro Getzoyan – $333,379, 257 entrants*
*Denotes the buy-in was $5,000 for that year