Sign Up For Card Player's Newsletter And Free Bi-Monthly Online Magazine

Daniel Negreanu Wins 2013 Card Player Player of the Year Award

Canadian Pro Captures His Second POY Title This Decade

Print-icon
 

Just under a decade ago Daniel Negreanu put together a legendary year on the tournament circuit, with $4.4 million in live earnings, four titles won and an incredible 11 final tables made. That year he won both the 2004 Card Player Player of the Year title and the World Series of Poker POY title.

In 2013, the 39-year-old Canadian pro managed to once again dominate the standings, winning two massive titles and making a total of seven final tables. In the end he garnered 5,140 POY points (842 points ahead of nearest competitor Paul Volpe) and $3,114,058 in live earnings over the year, and in doing so became the fourth player ever to win the Card Player Player of the Year award twice.

“I’ve always been a fan of the Player of the Year races, even Player of the Series which they had when I was much younger at events like the L.A. Poker Classic. Those were always very fun challenges for me, because they suit my goal-oriented mindset,” Negreanu told Card Player after her secured his title. “Player of the Year awards are always something that I look at as more valuable than just winning a tournament, because it shows consistent results, and that just has more meaning to me.”

Negreanu's WSOP APAC winNegreanu began his incredible run at the first-ever World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, where he won the inaugural $10,465 Main Event for $1,087,160 and finished fourth in a $2,323 Mixed Event.

In the Spring finished fourth in the European Poker Tour Grand Final main event for $416,722 just weeks before he finished seventh in another tour’s season-ending tournament, the World Poker Tour Championship $25,000 main event at Bellagio.

At the WSOP he finished runner-up in the $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, and then in the EPT Barcelona high roller he again finished second for $347,715.

The score that cemented his victory came in the 2013 World Series of Poker Europe €25,000 no-limit high roller. Negreanu topped an elite field of 80 players to earn his second title of the year, his sixth WSOP gold bracelet and €725,000 ($1,001,225 USD). As a result, Negreanu has now overtaken Erik Seidel (who finished eighth in the event) on the all-time live tournament earning rankings list, moving into third place with $19,399,176.

Negreanu rose to fame during the poker boom, largely as a result of his outgoing personality and great play during the height of televised poker back in 2004. While many of the other big names from that era have faded from prominence, Negreanu has found a way to remain one of the best in the game.

“I pride myself on always caring about being relevant because of my results and not just because of my name,” he said. “Not have it be ‘Oh he’s only this because he got lucky at the right time.’ I’m a big believer in proving my worth and nobody is a bigger critic of me than myself.”

Here is a look at the final standings in the 2013 POY Race:

Rank Player POY Points Earnings
1 Daniel Negreanu 5,140 $3,114,058
2 Paul Volpe 4,298 $1,526,979
3 Vanessa Selbst 3,921 $2,635,659
4 David Peters 3,802 $1,225,863
5 Steve O’Dwyer 3,488 $2,348,975
6 Blair Hinkle 3,448 $1,967,527
7 Justin Bonomo 3,395 $1,567,896
8 Ryan Riess 3,313 $8,363,580
9 Ole Schemion 3,256 $1,406,439
10 Scott Seiver 3,244 $3,831,486
11 Philipp Gruissem 3,038 $4,494,419
12 Martin Finger 2,978 $2,067,529
13 Amir Lehavot 2,968 $3,927,590
14 Michael Watson 2,964 $1,215,783
15 David Vamplew 2,932 $846,434
16 Kevin Eyster 2,868 $864,713
17 Erick Lindgren 2,800 $1,305,772
18 Erik Seidel 2,757 $2,025,330
19 Jay Farber 2,750 $5,174,357
20 Jared Jaffee 2,740 $555,433

Negreanu’s POY-Qualified Final Table Finishes:

Event Place Earnings (USD) POY Points
WSOP Europe €25,000 High Roller 1 $1,001,225 672
EPT Barcelona €10,000 High Roller 2 $347,715 700
WSOP $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball 2 $107,055 570
WPT Championship $25,000 Main Event 7 $137,085 252
EPT Grand Final Main Event 4 $416,722 1050
WSOP Asia Pacific Main Event 1 $1,087,160 1800
WSOP Asia Pacific Mixed Event 4 $17,096 96

Card Player Player of the Year Winners:

Year Player Name
1997 Men Nguyen
1998 T.J. Cloutier
1999 Tony Ma
2000 David Pham
2001 Men Nguyen
2002 T.J. Cloutier
2003 Men Nguyen
2004 Daniel Negreanu
2005 Men Nguyen
2006 Michael Mizrachi
2007 David Pham
2008 John Phan
2009 Eric Baldwin
2010 Tom Marchese
2011 Ben Lamb
2012 Greg Merson
2013 Daniel Negreanu