Poker superstar unable to close out 8th career WSOP bracelet
Daniel Negreanu’s tough luck during heads-up play at the World Series of Poker returned Tuesday.
The Poker Hall of Fame member fell short of his eighth career WSOP victory, finishing second in the $10,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low 8 or Better Championship at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Ryan Bambrick denied Negreanu and earned the $470,437 first prize to go with his second career WSOP bracelet, which are awarded for tournament wins.
Ryan Bambrick wins his second @WSOP gold bracelet and denies @RealKidPoker his eighth in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship. Bambrick wins $470,437.
Stream the WSOP all summer long on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG. pic.twitter.com/G5pSW3nAqx
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) June 4, 2025
“I think I just got all the cards, honestly,” Bambrick said in an interview with WSOP. “I held the deck. I just ran well, played well, stayed focused.”
It was the 11th time Negreanu has finished as the runner-up in a WSOP event. He would have become the seventh player in history with eight or more WSOP bracelets.
Negreanu was looking to claim WSOP titles in back-to-back summers. He ended an 11-year drought in 2024 by winning the prestigious $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship.
Negreanu was third in chips with five players remaining at the start of play Tuesday and was responsible for eliminating Hunter McClelland in fifth place and Ofir Mor in third.
At the start of heads-up play, Bambrick held more than a 2-to-1 chip advantage, and Negreanu was never able to get much going with the deck favoring his opponent on numerous hands.
Negreanu took home $313,615 for second place.
“I played online with him one time, and he made a YouTube about us playing,” Bambrick said. “And it was a really tiny hand, and he stole my one big blind. It was a blind-vs.-blind battle. And I always wanted to get him back, ever since he stole that blind. And I finally did.”
Viktor Blom of Sweden continues his quest for a WSOP bracelet. The high-stakes online legend known by the screen name “Isildur1” opened five-handed play with the chip lead but was unable to use that stack to his advantage and went out in fourth place.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.
