The 2013 World Series of Poker is notable as Canadian players won nine gold bracelets, smashing a previously held national record. New and returning poker players are hedging their bets on the felt to become rising stars in Canadian poker fandom, but no player matches the following of fan favourite, Daniel Negreanu.
Negreanu is an accomplished poker player, who is recognized as one of the elites in the game. Over the years, the Canadian superstar won multiple WSOP and WPT championships, qualified as a finalist in dozens of cash games, and was named both ‘Card Player of the Year’ and ‘WSOP Player of the Year’ in 2004.
Negreanu’s latest crowning achievement was winning the WSOP Asia-Pacific main event in April, which was held in Melbourne, Australia. Negreanu outplayed over 400 players during the five day tournament, and took down the final pot while holding a pair of 2s. The victory was all the more remarkable for Canada as Negreanu was the first player to ever win in the land down under. The 2013 event was the inaugural launch of the WSOP Asia-Pacific, which is a spinoff from the Las Vegas based main event.
The victory secured Negreanu his fifth WSOP gold bracelet, becoming one of only 18 poker players in the world to win five or more bracelets. The inaugural victory helped rise Negreanu to the top of the leaderboard for the WSOP Player of the Year. If the Canadian retains his position at the top, it will mark the first time since 2004 that Negreanu receives the honourary title.
Negreanu currently sits with 470 points at the top of the leaderboard, but his competition is closing the gap. Approximately 20 events remain on the WSOP Las Vegas tournament, and Negreanu is expected to participate in several of the cash games. His performance in Las Vegas will determine the number of points he adds to his leaderboard score heading into the WSOP Europe event in October. The 2013 WSOP Player of the Year will be announced following the conclusion of the European leg of the tour.
