button in SafariWSOP Hands of the Week: Quads Lose to Straight Flush But Player Doesn't Bust
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There was no shortage of big moments and big hands during the first week of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Daniel Negreanu lost a 10:1 chip lead thanks to a three-outer in the Sweet 16 of Event #7: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship. Phil Hellmuth made an 18th bracelet run that fell short when he ran into the nut flush. And one player avoided complete disaster when he suffered a brutal cooler with quads.
Negreanu Can't Fade Anything
Negreanu dusted off three opponents in the Heads-Up Championship before facing Biao Ding, and everything was going smoothly for "DNegs." He held a 10:1 lead and was dominating the match, seemingly on his way to the quarterfinal round.
It would then all come unraveled, most of which he couldn't control. Ding made an insane comeback, starting with winning a 60/40. The next all in was the cruelest to Negreanu, as he had his opponent crushed with A♥Q♦ against A♠9♠.
He'd become an even bigger favorite after the flop and turn rolled out 6♦5♥2♦10♠. But the three-outer 9♦ appeared on the river to send the pot Ding's way and keep the match alive.
"I can't f*****g take it anymore," a frustrated Negreanu vented. "We're not done, but we're basically done."
Negreanu would soon lose a 60/40 to bust from the tournament, three wins away from the bracelet. It wasn't the first time he's lost a massive lead in a heads-up match. The GGPoker ambassador had 97% of all chips in play against Hellmuth on PokerGO's High Stakes Duel in 2021.
Hellmuth Flushed Out of Final Table
Hellmuth had a look at a record-extending 18th bracelet in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. He'd reached the official final table with seven remaining players and had a middling stack.
The "Poker Brat," a BetRivers ambassador, couldn't quite spin it up and give his fans another win. He moved all in on the turn on a board of 10♥4♦8♥K♥ with A♦A♣10♣8♠. Dylan Weisman, however, had him drawing dead with the nut flush.
That was all she wrote for Hellmuth, who busted in seventh place for $54,214. Hellmuth will have to wait for another event to extend his bracelet record.
Quads Versus Straight Flush
PokerNews won't begin live reporting Event #15: $600 Deepstack Pot-Limit Omaha until Day 2. But a player on Day 1 took a bad beat so brutal he knew we'd be interested to hear the hand history.
According to Pete Wigglesworth on an early break, he'd raised preflop with A♦A♠J♠9♦ and received a call from Miguel Torres, who had K♣Q♥5♣4♣. The flop came out A♥5♠3♣, top set for Wigglesworth, who bet 4,500 and received a call.
The turn was the A♣, improving Wigglesworth to quads, while Torres picked up a straight flush draw. Both players checked to the 2♣ river card that completed the straight flush, a brutal bad beat for Wigglesworth.
Wigglesworth, however, showed great restraint when Torres bet 10,000 and he only called.
"How did I not go broke in that hand?" Wigglesworth said. The good news was that he didn't, and he still had approximately 52,000 on the first break of the day.
Ivey Cracks Queens with Quads
Wigglesworth couldn't win with quads, but the G.O.A.T. Phil Ivey did. Ivey, in a $25k Heads-Up second-round matchup against Shota Nakanishi, was the smaller stack and looked to double-up to move into the lead.
He jammed all in with 7♠7♥, but was in deep trouble when his opponent called with Q♥Q♦. The flop came 4♣7♦10♦, giving Ivey a set to become a huge favorite in the hand. Ivey would then lock up the hand when the 7♣ hit on the turn. Nakanishi, however, would end up winning the match before losing to Nikolai Mamut in the third round.
For more on the hand involving Ivey, check out the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast:
