The 2021 PokerGO Cup is in the books with the first-ever high roller tournament concluding at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas and Daniel Negreanu was crowned the first champion. KidPoker won Event #7 $50K NL for a $700,000 score. Cary Katz won Event #8 $100,000 NL for a score worth a little over $1 million and Negreanu finished fourth overall, but snagged enough points in the final two events to lock up the overall title.
KidPoker was due. It's about time KidPoker won something, especially after losing two tough heads-up high-balla matches against Doug Polk and Phil Hellmuth. Negreanu lost seven figures in the high publicized match against Doug Polk and the two buried their beef. In the High Stakes Duel, Hellmuth won another one by sweeping Kid Poker 3-0.
But that's in the past. Daniel Negreanu secured his first major live tournament win since 2013 against a tough field of high-stakes sharks. Kid Poker won Event #7 and the actual 2021 PokerGO Cup and then by tallying the most points on the leaderboard, which declared him the first-ever PokerGO Cup Champion.
In the penultimate event of the PokerGo Cup series, Negreanu outlasted a field of 35 players in the $50,000 buy-in Event #7. It was the only $50K affair on the docket and Negreanu ran good at the perfect time. Negreanu earned $700,000 for first place and also snatched 420 heady points for the victory.
Event #7 final table also included David Coleman, Sergi Reixach, Ali Imsirovic, and Alex Foxen. Foxen had won an event already and was seeking a second title. Imsirovic won two events and had rocketed to the top of the leaderboard prior to Event #7. Alas, Imsirovic busted in fifth place for a $122,500 score and 74 points. With 497 total leaderboard points, Imsirovic held a 29-point edge over Negreanu in third place with 468. Coleman was second with 470.
The $100,000 buy-in affair in Event #8 anchored the conclusion of the PokerGO Cup. The $100K finale attracted 23 entries and a prize pool worth $2.3 million. Cary Katz was the last player standing at a final table that included Negreanu, Sam Soverel, and Sean Winter. Negreanu busted in fourth place but won $239K and 69 precious points.
Winter took third, which paid out $368K. Soverel lost a heads-up bout against Katz and missed out on winning his second title and winning the Cup outright. Soverel banked $644,000 for a runner-up finish, not too shabby, eh? Katz won the final event and $1,058,000.
Negreanu locked up the PokerGO Cup with 537 total points and nearly $1 million in cashes. He also banked an additional $50K for the championship.
Ali Imsirovic was at the top of the leaderboard for the last few days before Negreanu's surge in the alast 24 hours. Imsirovic tallied 497 points with $545K in cashes for second overall. Cary Katz finished in third with 475 points, followed by Davide Coleman with 470 points, and Alex Foxen with 421 points to round out the Top 5.
Sam Soverel, Jason Koon, Dylan Linde, and Jake Schindler all won events and they finished in the Top 10, along with Sergi Reixach, who cashed in multiple events.
On the PokerGO Tour overall leaderboard, Ali Imsirovic leads the pack with a little more than $3 million in cashes and 2,394 total points. Sean Perry is second overall with $2.2 million in cashes and 1,553 points. Sean Winter is in third overall with $2.16 million in prize money and 1,303 points.
2021 PokerGO Cup - Leaderboard FINAL
1. Daniel Negreanu $996,200 (537 points)
2. Ali Imsirovic $545,500 (497)
3. Cary Katz $1,161,800 (475)
4. David Coleman $710,000 (470)
5. Alex Foxen $533,200 (421)
6. Sam Soverel $812,200 (361)
7. Jason Koon $446,000 (316)
8. Dylan Linde $255,000 (255)
9. Sergi Reixach $320,700 (244)
10. Jake Schindler $324,000 (194)