Daniel Negreanu Wins 2021 Poker Masters Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $178,200

Daniel Negreanu has won Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2021 Poker Masters, scooping up $178,200 in prize money and moving to the top of the series leaderboard. Negreanu defeated Nick Petrangelo in heads-up play.

Earlier this year in July, Negreanu was crowned the inaugural PokerGO Cup champion. He cashed four times in that series, including winning Event #7: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $700,000. With 281 points through five events, Negreanu is now the frontrunner to win the 2021 Poker Masters Purple Jacket, which is a title he very much wants to win.

“It’s huge,” Negreanu said of moving to the top of the Poker Masters leaderboard. “Poker Masters means a lot to me because I remember the first one that they had. I remember it was the first moment that I realized, ‘Oh my god, these guys are just better than me.’ It made me realize that I have to go back to the lab and work. Then to see the work pay off in the PokerGO Cup is awesome. To go back to back, with a chance now to come full circle and win the jacket, I really feel strongly not only that I can but I feel like I’m going to win it. I feel like I’m running well and everything’s going good.”

Heading into the PokerGO Cup, Negreanu had not scored a major tournament victory since 2013. There was much chatter about his close calls and failure to close, but Negreanu found his stride during the PokerGO Cup and has now continued the momentum into the Poker Masters.

“Well, this is the hard part about poker, right?” Negreanu said when asked about how things have been going on the felt for him recently. “I’ve been telling people for the last year that I’m playing really, really good, I swear. But if you don’t win, people go, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you’re just unlucky, right?’ So people don’t buy in unless you actually start posting the Ws. For me, it’s vindication of something that I already knew. During this stretch of the worst stretch of my entire life when it comes to luck, and I know this – from the Doug match to Hellmuth, to all the tournaments and stuff, I know the reality of it. But for the public, I think, there’s proof in the pudding. They want to see results. That’s all they care about.”

If you’d like to relive all of the action from the final table, you can find the replay on PokerGO.com.

Five players from the 66-entry field returned for Day 2 of Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2021 Poker Masters. Jeffrey Trudeau was the shortest stack left and he busted first in fifth place for $52,800. After Trudeau busted, Jake Daniels was sent out the door in fourth place for $66,000. Trudeau was busted by Negreanu and Daniels was busted by Petrangelo.

Vikenty Shegal was the player to bust in third place, and he was knocked out by Negreanu in third place. Shegal won $85,800 for the result.

Even though Negreanu took out Shegal in third place, he began heads-up play at a deficit to Petrangelo, who had 5.08 million in chips to Negreanu’s 3.17 million. Negreanu worked himself into the lead before winning a big pot that left Petrangelo very short.

With the blinds at 40,000/80,000 with an 80,000 big blind ante, Petrangelo opened with a raise on the button to 180,000 with the . Negreanu was in the big blind with the and three-bet to 610,000. Petrangelo made the call and the dealer fanned the flop. With two pair, Negreanu bet 725,000. Petrangelo made the call. The turn was the and Negreanu checked. Petrangelo also checked. The river was the to pair the board and Negreanu fired 1.8 million. Petrangelo quickly called and saw the bad news. That hand left Petrangelo with 760,000 in chips.

On the next hand, it was all over. Negreanu picked up pocket aces and limped in from the button. Petrangelo shoved from the big blind with the and Negreanu quickly called. Negreanu’s aces held to crown him the Event #5 champion. Petrangelo won $132,000 for his second-place finish.

“I feel like I’m definitely getting momentum,” Negreanu said regarding how he feels headed into the 2021 World Series of Poker. “Like I’ve overcome that stretch of just craziness. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I have some good luck and some bad luck,’ but I feel at peace with it now. Now, when I’m all in, I don’t feel anxiety. Like that aces against queen-ten just now, I wasn’t scared. I normally would be, thinking what’s going to happen and all the bad things. I think getting my mindset away from that and allowing me to just be present is going to help me for the World Series of Poker for sure.”

You can see the top 10 of the 2021 Poker Masters leaderboard below.

On the PokerGO Tour presented by Guaranteed Rate leaderboard, just about everything inside the top 10 stayed the same. Cary Katz stayed in fourth position but improved to 1,656 points, and Jake Schindler stayed in eighth position but improved to 1,284 points. Negreanu won’t be found in the top 10, but he is lurking just outside of it with 1,024 points in 13th place.