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Daniel Negreanu Wins Bracelet Number Eight in $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
It has been a memorable 2026 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas so far with plenty of big names etching their name further into the history books of the brand and the start of the iconic WSOP $10,000 Main Event seemed a fitting scenery to crown a champion in Event #76: $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha.
Out of a field of 83 entries, only five players returned to their seats to compete for the largest slice of the $7,968,000 prize pool. At the end, there was a thunderous applause in the Grand Ballroom at Paris that overshadowed the riffling of chips by poker enthusiasts from all over the world. Daniel Negreanu defeated Artur Martirosian in heads-up to continue his WSOP legacy with his eighth gold bracelet and top prize of $2,257,718.
When they unbagged their chips at the start of Day 2, Negreanu and Martirosian had been on the same table along with Alex Foxen. Negreanu started his vlog recording and referred to Martirosian as the, “Russian Bear,” while declaring Foxen, “another species, not sure which.” Little did he know that one of them would be in his way to glory. When the victory was secured, there was a roaring applause right in front of the feature table set.
Neither of them had lost heads-up in a PLO tournament before, but that streak was bound to end. During three-handed play, Negreanu had inquired if Martirosian had already won a bracelet in the four-card variant and the 2026 WSOP champion shook his head but replied, “I have three Triton PLO titles and one at the Aria.”
While both were close in chips at the start of the heads-up duel, the beast was tamed in timely fashion as most larger pots were pushed to Negreanu with the crowd gathered around the side feature table growing by the minute. The victory pushed the WSOP cashes of the GGPoker ambassador to more than $36,000,000, per WSOP, and he once again widened the gap over now nine-time bracelet winner Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.
Final Table Result Event #76: $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | $2,257,718 |
| 2 | Artur Martirosian | Russian Federation | $1,477,434 |
| 3 | Chris Frank | Germany | $1,002,107 |
| 4 | Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | $705,448 |
| 5 | Yosuke Miki | Japan | $516,160 |
| 6 | Sean Winter | United States | $393,139 |
| 7 | Sergio Martinez Gonzalez | Spain | $312,233 |
| 8 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $259,047 |
Negreanu's Winner Reaction
The now eight-time champion was his usual self and seemingly had a lot of fun, showing he has become a fan favorite for a reason. Even during the tense final table atmosphere, he obliged to picture requests when he was no longer in the hand.
"You know, I love PLO so it is always a lot of fun especially when you are making hands. I had chips throughout the tournament, I was never really that short trying to squeak in anywhere so I got to maneuver and play. And I end up with the Ivan Drago Russian bear who I had the feeling the whole time it was gonna be me and him. And in order to win, I had to do it through him. I ran good heads-up but I also really played well. He didn't see a couple of the hands, but I promise you I had nada," Negreanu told PokerNews in the winner's interview.
That's also what he told the boisterous rail right after the last hand when Martirosian was already long gone from the feature table area.
"Oh by the way, the two big pots when I bet the river, I had nothing," Negreanu excitedly exclaimed in the heat of the moment while embracing all of the cheers. Those non-showdown pots had increased his lead significantly and put him in the driver's seat to command the action.
The dream could have all gone rather quickly as the first 20 minutes saw his stack cut in half before his wife Amanda arrived on the rail. But, once she was there, the momentum shifted.
"The thing about tournaments is, you know, when you get coolered, when you lose pots, I like to minimize my losses in those spots to give myself a fighting chance to come back. So even if I lost half of my stack, you are not out of it, you stay in the game. Play your game and things will turn. I was able to win a decent one where I was kinda bluffing against the Japanese player and that kind of set the tone for me to come back and weather the storm. So overall, listen, I am incredibly happy with how I played. I don't look back on any hands where I messed up."
Negreanu referred to PLO as, "the greatest game of all," that was, "designed for my skillset," where he gets to see a lot of flops and he also admitted that he doesn't really study the game with solvers because he, "doesn't need to," because the, "game makes sense to me." This feel approach has served the Canadian well throughout this tournament and he barely even had to use any of the time bank extensions, still holding up to sixteen of them on the final day itself.
The new trademark victory will certainly be a confidence boost going forward, but in a few months from now poker may not necessarily be the top priority anymore as the Negreanus are expecting their first child.
"I have a lot of things coming up this fall including a baby and this is shaping up to be the best year of my life in so many ways. We have already sort of evolved past our old life where I am up at six a.m. and my wife is studying to be a PA, she is up at five. So we sort of like prepared our lifestyles for a child. I go golfing and I really do think with a newborn that alone will trump this by a long shot."
The next tournament highlight is just around the corner for Negreanu as it may not necessarily be a coincidence that today's victory came on the opening flight of the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, which he is certain to enter.
"It was pretty cool to do it on Day 1a of the Main [Event] because of the energy. The crowd was pretty much into it, it was rows deep in that rail. But yeah, I am a momentum guy and I have cashed six in a row, a no cash then this win. I am hot, I am feeling it and I feel really comfortable, really calm despite of what you may have seen with my leg shaking and what I lost that pot, you know. But I feel good about the Main and I gonna go in there," Negreanu promised.
His best runs in the crown jewel of the annual live poker calendar came in 2001 and 2015, where he was eliminated just shy of the final table and bowed out in 11th place. But according to Negreanu, he would, "kill that guy, I would destroy him, I am so much better than that poker player," and that level of confidence should be a warning sign for all those who are doubting his abilities on the poker table.
Action of the Final Day
The final day started five-handed and a larger crowd had formed near the side feature table with many hoping for Negreanu to add another WSOP gold bracelet to his tally. It was, however, a rocky start as within the first half hour the fan favorite lost half of his stack while Chris Frank pulled further ahead.
However, a series of larger pots then went to Negreanu and he left Yosuke Miki short in multi-way action. Negreanu then soared into the lead against Frank when his wrap had also connected with the board and he further added to his stack thereafter. The Final blow to Miki came shortly after the beginning of the second level of the day courtesy of Martirosian, who rivered a straight to beat the slow-played set of jacks of the rising star from Japan.
The bid of Philip Sternheimer to win his second bracelet ended in a large clash with Martirosian when his flopped full wrap failed to connect while Martirosian's higher gutshot straight draw and turned pair made the jack-high straight on the river to bring the field down to the final three contenders.
Three-handed play saw start-of-the-day chip leader Frank chipped down to fewer than ten big blinds by the time they went on their first break after two hours of four-card action. He managed to double through both Negreanu and Martirosian but remained the far shortest stack. When he was then at risk for the third time with a double-suited run-down against the kings of Martirosian, the luck ran out for the one-time bracelet winner to set up the blockbuster duel for the title.
The heads-up duel was quite intense and the lead changed several times early on before Negreanu started pulling away, claiming most of the sizable pots to reduce the stack of his potential nemesis to fewer than ten big blinds. Martirosian was able to double once but when the chips went into the middle preflop, Negreanu said, "I need diamonds and spades, and he needs to go home.” Three cards later, he flopped the wheel and locked up the triumph on the turn.
The frantic crowd celebrations that followed overshadowed the entrance of Superman Phil Hellmuth just minutes prior and wrapped up the last Pot-Limit Omaha high-stakes tournament of the 2026 WSOP in Las Vegas.
This wraps up the PokerNews coverage of Event #76: $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha but many more gold bracelets are still to be awarded in the following two weeks.