Daniel Negreanu has done it, he took down the final heat of action and will be moving on to the next round. He didn't lock up a final table berth just yet, but will have a chance when he faces off against JC Tran tomorrow in a best-of-three heads-up match with the winner going to the final table. The other heads-up match will be Ian Frazer taking on Roland De Wolfe.
Negreanu knew he needed to perform at the top of his game. He knew the standings and studied the points system so he could adjust his strategy throughout the heat and ended up coming out on top.
Here are the final standings.
x-1. Phil Laak – 48 points x-2. David Benyamine - 38 points x-T-3. Giovanni Safina - 29 points x-T-3. Luke Schwartz – 29 points
5. Daniel Negreanu – 26 points
6. Ian Frazer – 26 points
7. Roland De Wolfe – 22 points
8. JC Tran – 20 points
9. Phil Hellmuth - 19 points
10. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 16 points
11. Vanessa Rousso – 16 points
12. Tony G - 11 points
x - clinched final table berth
Negreanu edged out Frazer in the tie breaker and that's what determined the final seeding. The two winners of the Negreanu/Tran and Frazer/De Wolfe matches will move on to join the other four players at the final table tomorrow and play for the big bucks.
The bottom four players, Phil Hellmuth, Yevgeniy Tmoshenko, Vanessa Rousso and Tony G all missed out on the next round and were eliminated from contention.
The heads-up matches and the final table will all be tomorrow, beginning at 11:30 a.m. local time.
We'll see you right back here at PokerNews for all the live updates!
Phil Hellmuth limped the button with the . Daniel Negreanu raised the big blind with the to 180,000. Hellmuth moved all in and Negreanu snapped him off.
The flop came down and Hellmuth didn't like it. JC Tran was standing right next to the table awaiting his fate as well.
The turn was the and that was it for Hellmuth. He was drawing dead as the completed the board on the river.
Hellmuth finished in second place and earned his best finish at this year's Premier League, but those 11 points only gave him 19 overall. That's not going to be good enough to put him in the top eight and he was sent home. He did get $22,000 for this finish to add to his pocket.
Tran gave Negreanu a hug and thanked him for winning because now he too is through to the next round.
Phil Hellmuth limped the button with the and Daniel Negreanu checked from the big blind with the .
The flop went check, check after the fell. After the on the turn, Negreanu fired 80,000 with his two pair. Hellmuth raised to 200,000 and Negreanu called.
The river went check, check after the fell and Negreanu won the pot with his two pair.
Within moments of the start of heads-up play, the two players were all in.
Phil Hellmuth limped the button with the and Daniel Negreanu raised to 160,000 with the . Hellmuith then reraised all in for 680,000 and Negreanu called.
The flop came down and Hellmuth stayed in front. The turn was the and took away the as an out for Negreanu. The river was the and that was it, Hellmuth earned the double up and took over the chip lead.
The four guaranteed spots at the final table have been set with the elimination of Roland De Wolfe in third place. Phil Laak (48 points), David Benyamine (38 points), Giovanni Safina (29 points) and Luke Schwartz (29 points) have all locked up a spot at the final table. It's now a battle for the spots that move on to the heads-up playoffs.
Here's the standing.
x-1. Phil Laak – 48 points x-2. David Benyamine - 38 points x-T-3. Giovanni Safina - 29 points x-T-3. Luke Schwartz – 29 points
5. Ian Frazer – 26 points
6. Roland De Wolfe – 22 points
7. JC Tran – 20 points
8. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 16 points
9. Vanessa Rousso – 16 points
10. Tony G - 11 points
11. Daniel Negreanu – 10 points - still playing
12. Phil Hellmuth - 8 points - still playing
x - clinched final table berth
If Phil Hellmuth finishes in second place, he'll add 11 points and finish with 19. That would give Daniel Negreanu 26 points. In that scenario, Hellmuth will miss out of the playoff and Negreanu will be in along with JC Tran. If Hellmuth wins and Negreanu loses, Hellmuth will get in as will Negreanu, but Tran will be knocked out. That said, Negreanu might actually lose on purpose if he feels it's more advantageous to have Hellmuth in instead of Tran.
Roland De Wolfe moved all in for 640,000 from the button with the . Daniel Negreanu picked up the in the small blind and made the call.
The flop came down and Negreanu stayed in front. The turn gave De Wolfe some chop outs with the pairing the board. The river couldn't do it though, with the and De Wolfe was finished in third place. He moved up to 22 points total with these eight here and is guaranteed to be in the heads-up playoffs tomorrow.