Phil Ivey -- Poker's Winningest Tournament PlayerPhil Ivey Surpasses Daniel Negreanu for All-time Tourney Winnings |
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Anything you can do, I can do better …
It may not be the last time these two poker pros trade spots, but Phil Ivey surpassed Daniel Negreanu this week to officially become No. 1 in lifetime tournament poker winnings.
“It’s exciting. I’ve been after that for a while now, so it feels good to get there,” Ivey said after his second-place finish in an Aussie Millions high-roller event gave him more than $12.6 million in lifetime tournament winnings, just ahead of Negreanu with approximately $12.3 million.
Ivey reached the summit by virtue of his second-place finish in the Aussie Million’s AUD $100,000 buy-in event, receiving AUD $600,000 for his performance (approximately $545,000 U.S.). Dan Shak won the elite 24-person tournament for $1.2 million.
It marked a great start to 2010 for Ivey, who just completed one of the most impressive years any poker player has had recently in 2009. Last year, Ivey won two World Series of Poker bracelets and final-tabled the WSOP main event before busting out in seventh place. Besides his live tourney success, he was a beast in online cash games, winning approximately $6.3 million on Full Tilt.
Negreanu, who had captured the top spot on the all-time live tourney winnings list after finishing second to Barry Shulman in the World Series of Poker Europe main event last fall, had nothing but praise for the man he now looks up to on the leader board.
“It’s my belief that Phil Ivey is the best poker player in the world, and that includes every format,” Negreanu wrote in his blog. “It’s actually kind of fun for me (that Ivey is now No. 1), I’m glad he did so well because it motivates me to try and pass him again…Should be a fun year from that perspective.”
Prior to Negreanu having the top stop, 2006 WSOP champ Jamie Gold held the distinction in large part due to his massive $12 million payday for winning the main event.
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