You could state, with zero reservations, that Daniel Negreanu had himself a summer.
It began with a wild 25K Fantasy Draft, where Negreanu selected himself and buddy Josh Arieh, and ended with more than $2.9 million in WSOP cashes, which doesn’t include his Fantasy team's binking of $250,000 for capturing first place.
So, how busy was he really?
It seemed ‘like a blur,’ Negreanu said. “I really have no idea how many final tables I made this summer.”
We told him five. Not bad.
The beloved GGPoker ambassador’s biggest cash came in the $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller 8-Handed event, where Negreanu captured his eighth WSOP bracelet.
“I would say that the tagline of my summer is this: PLO is my jam. I think I cashed in eight PLO tournaments. And there was only one tournament where I did a rebuy. All the rest were one bullet. You can see that I really look forward to PLO tournaments. I'm glad that they are becoming more popular."
What was your take on the way the WSOP Main Event final table went down?
For the first time in many years, the final table drew me in. I watched the entire thing this year.
What made the difference for you?
I think being back on ESPN, seeing the little cutaways and getting to know people. That’s what we wanted, right? And let me tell you right now, there is a mastermind behind all of this. A lot of people don't understand his methods, but his long-term goal for poker is beautiful. He actually wants to fix everything. But it's a process.
This year we had the nostalgia of Norman and Lon involved in the broadcast. It was all wonderful to listen to and great to watch. There was no excessive stalling, so that worked out, thankfully.
I thought it was a smash hit overall.
What was your immediate take on winner Lucas Jumalon?
I am super proud of the kid. Not only the way he carried himself, but also what he talked about regarding being an ambassador for the game. He's got those vibes about him. And also choosing Patrick ‘pads’ Leonard for his coach. I don't think he could have done much better. It was great.
Where Mueller went wrong
What did you make of the big hand between Lauri Saaskilahti and Greg Mueller? The one where he hit top pair with 
, and eventually folded the river to a big bet?
Greg made a huge mistake on that hand, but it wasn't on the river.
Please share your breakdown of the hand.
Greg made a very obvious tell on the turn with a really quick check-call to try to shut Saaskilahti down.
He would have been better off taking three minutes there. Greg’s goal was obviously for it to go check, check. But it was really hard for him to be super strong there and not consider check-raising at any point.
If you were doing that to set up a river bluff that you would snap off, I say do it. Cool. But you can't do that, call, and then fold when the guy sees that, and still follows through on the river.
The call that shocked Negreanu
What did you think about the big hand where Saaskilahti had J3 on the flop, and Jumalon made a huge overbet when his flush completed on the river.
I was really shocked by the call. I really was. The problem with the call is – let's talk some theory – when you face a double overbet like that, yes, it's true, the guy's saying I’ve got the nuts or I’ve got nothing. But the nothing almost always will have a spade in it and likely the queen of spades. I thought Lauri’s call on the turn was unreal. Just unreal. An unbelievable call.
And then the river came the 
? What now?
When that river comes, you're like, ‘OK, well, I had him on the turn.' If I think he was bluffing, he just got there. Almost always. So, I was really surprised to see Saaskilahti’s call.
Some people wondered whether Saaskilahti actually saw that the river was a spade. Do you think that's possible?
If he didn't see the flush when you're talking through the hand for 11 minutes, that would be strange. It was a long tank. You would think at some point you would look down and see that it was spades. But he's wearing sunglasses; there's bright lights. I mean, it's always possible.
I'm curious to hear what his take is. You know, if he were right, that would have been one of the biggest hero calls in WSOP history.
(This interview was before Lauri Saaskilahti broke down the hand from start to finish for PokerOrg.)
What did you make of the way Saaskilahti played throughout the final table?
Listen. He got there playing a super aggressive style, and he was really going for it. You could see that he was one of the few players who was willing to bluff off 35M. You know, he was in there; he was dancing.
I agree. He played with such heart the whole final table.
Hats off to the guy. Saaskilahti is a good-looking dude, has a beautiful wife, beautiful family, and is living life.
You know, he's Finnish. All the Finnish people are super chill. He’s probably like, ‘I make the call. Whatever. I was wrong. So, what, move on.’
A fantasy comes true
Let’s talk for a minute about the $25K Fantasy draft. You and Josh [Arieh] won the whole thing. That had to be a blast for you this year.
I mean, this is our sport, right? The whole thing is just a lot of fun. And the energy surrounding the draft is always fun. Everyone really looks forward to it and enjoys the process. There’s a whole bunch of camaraderie and needling.
There are also hurt feelings and egos are bruised. If you remember, two or three years ago Scott Seiver went for $35 and took it personally. Then he went on to win three bracelets and Player of the Year.
That’s so true.
I know for a fact that people’s schedules depend on whether or not they're drafted, especially if friends draft them. There’s an honor about it, and people feel like they're part of a crew. And you want to make sure people haven’t wasted their money on you.
They've made it, if you will, if you're drafted. The players who dive in really take it very seriously and want to contribute to the team.
In part two of our interview with Daniel, we will dive into why he feels PLO events have become his 'jam' and go into a deeper discussion on the controversial results of the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame.
