Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu was well-positioned to capture his ninth career World Series of Poker gold bracelet, with a big stack heading into the final seven of the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha event of the 2026 WSOP Online festival on GGPoker. Unfortunately for him, he soon came out on the losing end of a massive pot that saw him sent packing early in the day.
The 52-year-old professional player from Canada was second in chips when play began. He trailed only ‘Elite’, a player who was later revealed as Andreas Freund on Kevin Martin’s streaming coverage of the event. Freund began the day with 123.8 big blinds, while Negreanu sat with 92.1 big blinds. The next-largest stack belonged to Finnish PLO crusher Samuli Sipila, who sat with 48.3 big blinds to start. Three of the final seven started with fewer than 20 big blinds: Dirk ‘Venividi1993’ Gerritse (19.1 BB), Chris Nguyen (15.5 BB), and Ding Biao (9.4 BB).
The Hand That Defined The Final Table
After a couple of orbits, Negreanu squared off against Freund in the fateful hand. By that point, Negreanu had moved into the outright lead. Freund raised from under the gun with Q♣10♠8♦8♣ and Negreanu defended for 2.3 additional big blinds from the big blind holding Q♥J♣4♥4♣. The flop came down A♥3♣2♣ and it checked through. The turn brought the 8♥ and Negreanu led out with his dual flush draws and key blockers.
“This is the sickest turn card when I tell you his hand. It ends up being the only really big action card in the deck,” said Negreanu in a lengthy social media post analyzing the hand.
Kind of a fun/sick spot at the PLO FT.
Let’s break it down!
First note:
I’m playing for first and nothing else.UTG raises second in chips, I’m chip leader in BB with QJ44cchh call
Flop Ac2h3c
Check check
Turn 8h.
This is the sickest turn card when I tell you his hand.…
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) September 21, 2026
Negreanu bet eight big blinds and Freund raised to 25.8 big blinds with his set of eights and higher club draw.
“He raises pot. It’s an ICM spot where he really shouldn’t ever be raising the turn without the nuts which is 4-5. I block 4-5 with the two fours,” continued Negreanu. “You need to have some bluffs in this spot, and it’s a pretty good spot to apply ICM pressure, even if he does have the 4-5, I have two flush draws.”
Negreanu repotted and called off when Freund shoved, setting up a massive pot for almost 200 big blinds that would give the winner roughly four times as many chips as the next-largest stack (the 51.8 big blinds of Sipila).
Tough River All But Ends Negreanu’s Run
The river was the 5♣, giving both players club flushes. Freund’s was higher, though, earning him the pot and the effective knockout. Negreanu slid below seven big blinds as a result. He was eliminated in seventh place soon after.
The eight-time bracelet winner earned $71,111 for his efforts just a few months after he took down the $100,000 PLO event at the WSOP in Las Vegas for his latest piece of hardware.
At the time of publication, Freund was chip leading heads-up against ’11Y11′ with the bracelet, a $30,000 WSOP Paradise package, and $428,888 in prize money for the eventual champion. Should Freund go on to win, it would be his first bracelet and largest recorded score in a tournament with full real-name results.
