The 2026 WSOP starts here. 100 bracelets. The world's best players. And PokerOrg will be on the floor from start to finish.
For over two decades, Daniel Negreanu has been one of the most successful and popular professionals in poker. He has won seven WSOP bracelets, as well as the WSOP Player of the Year in 2004 and 2013. Ahead of the 2026 WSOP, PokerOrg caught up with Negreanu to discuss his summer plans, the return of his vlog, and a major personal announcement.
You just said this is the best year of your life. Can you share what has made it so incredible?
First of all, I have a balance in life now that's great. I'm up at 6am and in bed by 9pm, golfing, and really relaxed. I'm disengaged from drama – I just don't get involved. I'm very much at peace and content with where I'm at in life, and I have no financial worries or anything like that.
That’s all amazing. Give us that hint about what you’re going to announce soon.
There'll be one announcement soon, and it’s a big deal. I'm going to announce it probably in the first or second WSOP vlog. And there will be another one later this year that I will not discuss publicly yet. There are two big events in my life that are big deals.
Tell me about the vlog and what you’re looking forward to?
During the summer, I've never taken a day off from the vlog. I took one in The Bahamas, where I said, ‘You know what? I'm just tired today. I'm not going to vlog today’. And it felt kind of nice, like it recharged my batteries.
It made me think that sometimes, at the World Series, a day off might be what the body needs, but I'm like, ‘Yeah, but I’ve got to do a vlog’. And that can create sort of a negative headspace. So there might be some days off.
I am sure we will find you on the golf course, right?
There may be some golf in between. I've created some golf content on YouTube, but we're not going to do that long form content during the World Series. Maybe touch on a few fun matches here and there, but I want to maintain a balanced life the best I can, which means I'm going to do more late-regging than I have in the past.
I say this every year, and then I end up going super hard, but I'm going to take as much rest as I can.
Negreanu on surviving the WSOP grind
What's your diet when you go into full grind mode at the WSOP?
I am a vegan, but during the World Series, my diet goes wherever the hell it wants.
One of the issues you face at the WSOP specifically is sleep deprivation. And when you're tired, your body craves food and it often doesn't want a broccoli salad with raisins in it – it wants chocolate-covered nachos with popcorn and peanut butter, you know what I mean?
What can we expect from the delayed Main Event final table?
There were a lot of benefits about the November Nine that people really liked, but there were also some issues and some concerns with it.
Players got the chance to do three months of training, and then you had all these guys all sharp and studied up on ICM and all that kind of stuff. Now we still have that window where we can promote the game and we can get ESPN to do some sort of pre-final table promotion. It's not a crazy amount of time in between, but there's enough to do it right.
If you don’t make the final table this year, will you be involved in the production?
I used to do the break desk with Phil Hellmuth for the Main Event final table. I really enjoyed that segment. It was a lot of fun.
It reminded me, to obviously a lesser degree, of Shaq and Barkley on Inside the NBA, where we could, you know, shoot the shit. And obviously, during the World Series the way it is now, I'm busy, I'm playing and so is Phil.
But now there's probably a good chance that I'll be there. I want to be a part of the Main Event final table, one way or another. I think I'm going to be helping in the booth, on the break desk – or hopefully playing.
Catch Daniel's vlog on YouTube and follow him on X.
The 2026 WSOP starts on May 26 and runs through August 5, when the Main Event champion will be crowned.
