CHIP CHATTER: Daniel Negreanu Wins, PokerGO Tour $500K Championship, WPT “Prime’ Launches, Big Month for US Online, & More
It’s been a big year for the poker world so far with some big names bagging wins and the US online market heating up. This edition of Chip Chatter takes a look at Daniel Negreanu’s recent wins and his plans for the World Series of Poker.
The World Poker Tour is also making some news with the launch of “Prime”, and PokerGO continues raising the stakes. American online poker players can also expect a huge month of tournament action. Here’s a look at all of that and other news.
Negreanu scores title at Wynn Millions, releases World Series schedule
Things have started out well this year for Daniel Negreanu. After snagging a win at the PokerGO Cup in February, he followed that up this week by taking down the $15,300 High Roller at the Wynn Millions in Las Vegas for $216,000.
“Back to my winning ways and it feels good!” he noted on Twitter.
Late registering for the $10,000 championship event followed that effort and Negreanu was happy to run up his stack.
So happy to bag 220k on day 1 of the @WynnPoker Millions event giving me two days off to rest before day two.
Was exhausted after last night and entered after dinner break and ran it up rather smoothly.
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) March 4, 2022
He now sits in sixth on the PokerGO Tour leaderboard. Along with a deep run in the Wynn Millions, the six-time bracelet winner also has his sights on the WSOP.
The series unveiled the official schedule last week and Negreanu has already released his own plans for the series. His schedule includes 49 events from May 31 to July 17 with buy-ins totaling $1.7 million.
That will see him in a broad range of events with price points ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. WSOP.com online bracelet events aren’t included, but Negreanu has played some of those as well in the past while grinding at the Rio.
Last year turned into a nice run for Negreanu, finishing third in the Player of the Year standings. He recorded 18 cashes for a total of $1.5 million.
He scored two third-place finishes as well as twice taking eighth and twice in ninth. After spending $1.1 million in buy-ins, Negreanu saw a $400,000 profit for almost a 38% return on investment.
Here is what my personal WSOP schedule looks like: pic.twitter.com/0Ww62HUA8F
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 24, 2022
$500K championship added to PokerGO Tour 
PokerGO is upping the ante for the high-stakes tour’s season-ending champion. The company announced this week that 2022 culminates with the winner-take-all PokerGO Tour (PGT) Championship, with the winner scoring an extra $500,000.
The event follows the conclusion of all qualifying tournaments. The top 21 players on the PGT leaderboard will compete in the championship.
Players begin the tournament with starting chip stacks based on leaderboard points earned throughout the season. All the action will stream on PokerGO.
“The PGT is the battleground for the most elite poker players in the world, and it is only right that we honor the best of the best in an extraordinary fashion,” PokerGO President Mori Eskandani said in a news release. “We are proud to award the 2022 PGT season champion with a $500,000 prize as we continue to celebrate the most talented players our game has to offer.”
Nick Petrangelo is the current leaderboard frontrunner thanks to four cashes and three wins. He’s won more than $2.1 million already this year.
Big month for online poker players, $5,300 WSOP Big Freezeout this weekend
US online players have plenty to look forward to in March. With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, a little luck of the Irish might be in order.
Players will find some major series beginning soon from all US operators. The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) is set for March 25 to April 11.
Partypoker US Network (including the BetMGM and Borgata Poker skins) is also running the March Poker Mania series from March 20-27. The festival features $1.3 million guaranteed across the Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey platforms.
WSOP.com is running the Online Super Circuit from March 12-29. The series has $1 million guaranteed and 18 championship rings on the line. Look for previews of all these series next week at USPoker.
Players looking for even more tournament action this weekend can head to WSOP.com on Sunday. The site is hosting the $5,300 Big Freezeout, beginning at 1 pm.
The tournament is the biggest freezeout of the season and comes with a $250,000 guarantee. This is a massive tournament for the US market and satellite events are running daily.
StormX winner, PokerGO sweepstakes game launched
In other PokerGO news, the company hosted the first StormX Invitational on Wednesday with players like Phil Hellkmuth, Nick Schulman, David Williams, and Maria Ho taking on celebrities and crypto entrepreneurs and investors.
The $5,000 event produced 111 entries with Oliver Blakey coming out on top for $183,150. Blakey is the founder and managing partner at Ascensive Assets.
The company is a private investment firm focusing on the digital asset industry. The champion also has a deep poker history, playing professionally for nine years.
Branden Hampton finished runner-up for Ascensive Assets. Willians (sixth for $33,300) and Ho (ninth for $16,650) both made final table appearances.
That's it! Oliver Blakey wins the first-ever @stormxio Invitational for $183,150! pic.twitter.com/lODvpJXPPi
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) March 4, 2022
Along with a full slate of tournaments this year, PokerGO has also launched an online social poker gaming option. The game is now in test mode and available on iOS and Android.
WPTDeepStacks goes ‘Prime’ time
The World Poker Tour recently announced that its mid-major tour, WPTDeepStacks, is going away. That tour is being axed in favor of the new “WPT Prime” series.
The new brand “pairs the premier poker tournament experience of a WPT Main Tour stop with affordable buy-ins accessible to more players around the globe,” the company noted in a news release. Players competing in Prime events can now find an experience more similar to the Main Tour including:
- earning Player of the Year points
- winner trophies
- the use of action clocks
- in-depth event coverage from the WPT digital content team
“Our continued efforts to improve the WPT live tournament experience will benefit more players than ever during Season XX,” senior director of global tour management Cathy Zhao said in a news release.
“WPT Prime is the embodiment of our goal to provide the best possible poker tournament experience to players everywhere, and our strong relationships with our global partners will elevate the WPT experience around the world.”
Three WPTDS events remain before Prime events begin. The tour announced three events in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Taiwan to kick off the Prime launch this year with more in the works.