Negreanu Wasn't Buying Seiver's Confidence Before Historic WSOP in New Documentary
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Daniel Negreanu's minimal expectations in a future Poker Hall of Famer didn't directly lead to one of the greatest World Series of Poker (WSOP) performances ever. But viewers of the newly released NO LIMIT documentary learned those who participated in poker's most prominent WSOP fantasy draft unintentionally fueled Scott Seiver's memorable run during the summer of 2024.
Seiver won three bracelets at the 2024 WSOP en route to claiming the Player of the Year award. But the New York poker legend wasn't getting much love before the series from the $25k Fantasy Draft players, including Negreanu.
NO LIMIT is a new series on YouTube that followed poker stars such as Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth around during the 2024 World Series of Poker Paradise (WSOPP) series in the Bahamas. The first of eight episodes, released Tuesday, focused on Kristen Foxen's memorable 2024 WSOP Main Event deep run, Faraz Jaka's bracelet chase, Negreanu's seventh bracelet win, and how Seiver became motivated to chase WSOP Player of the Year.
What Motivated Poker Legend
Negreanu has long known that Seiver has been among the greatest poker players in the world for years. But he simply refused to bid on the four-time bracelet winner, at the time, in the 2024 $25k WSOP Fantasy Draft. He explained his reasoning in Episode 1 of NO LIMIT.
"I don't know if it was just color or talk or whatever, but he was making some big claims," Negreanu said of Seiver pre-2024 WSOP. "He was boasting some big claims, he was going to win three bracelets, he's going to win everything, bla bla bla. I'd drafted him before, okay, and it was a dud because he was like, 'ah, I'm going to go play cash games or whatever.' So, I heard it. I've tried and failed with you, Scott. I'm done."
"I've tried and failed with you, Scott. I'm done."
Seiver had called his shot before the 2024 WSOP began, predicting he would win three bracelets. But Negreanu wasn't confident the poker superstar would stay away from the juicy cash games in Las Vegas during the summer, a reasonable concern given that Seiver has arguably been more of a cash game specialist than a tournament grinder throughout most of his career despite having $27 million in live tournaments.
Seiver ended up going for just $37 in the Fantasy Draft to Team AJ's Eagles, with Seiver telling the documentary crew his low price "completely fueled me," saying "that switched something in me where I guess I have to do this now at a maximum level, I've backed myself into an egotistical corner and I'm gonna go for it!"
Seiver Responds in Style
There were 40 players who went for the same or higher bid, but none who enjoyed a better series than the future Poker Hall of Famer.
The man from Columbus, Ohio, would go on to take victory in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship event before adding the $1,500 Razz tournament for $141,374 around 2 weeks later. That would rocket Seiver to the head of the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year standings, and after adding the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for $411,041 at the end of June that year, the seven-time bracelet winner had confirmed he'd enjoyed one of the game's great summers.
Despite his incorrect prediction, it was still a WSOP to remember for Negreanu too, as he ended an eleven-year bracelet drought by winning that summer’s $50,000 Poker Players Championship, one of the series’ most prestigious events.
The documentary opens with Negreanu reliving that victory, nodding along as the rail at the Horseshoe Event Center chants “Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!” before the scene fades to the Episode 1 title card, Money vs. Legacy.
