Daniel Negreanu Falls Short Of His EPT Vienna Dream

Having dominated the €5,300 buy-in tournament since Day 2 and taken a commanding chip lead to the final table of eight, Daniel Negreanu eventually fell short of his European Poker Tour (EPT) dream after finishing 4th in Vienna for €175,000 ($244,178).
Negreanu had high hopes as the final table got underway, as he was sitting comfortably on a 5.07 million stack with a distant second place trailing on 3.635 million. Victory in Vienna would have meant all sorts of records for Negreanu, including taking down a poker Triple crown, as well as being propelled ahead of Phil Ivey on poker’s All Time Money List.
However, that was not to be, at least not just yet, as Negreanu started by first doubling up a short-stack Martin Hruby who held A-T to Negreanu’s A-Q. A ten on the turn relieved Daniel of a few of his chips but the real damage was done a little later when Negreanu was involved in a three-way pot with Luca Cainelli and Martin Hruby.
Cainelli holding As-Ad raised from under the gun and was called by both Negreanu (Kd-9d) and Hruby (6d-7c). With the flop falling Ks-8h-5h, Cainelli bet out 725k and was called by both opponents but a 9s on the turn saw Cainelli move all-in followed by Negreanu holding two pair and Hruby with a made straight. A 5c on the river meant Cainelli was eliminated in 5th (€140,000) while also leaving Negreanu desperately short on chips.
A few hands later, Negreanu shoved his remaining chips holding Qs-8s only to be called by Hruby with Ac-4h. Hruby then hit his ace and just like that it was all over for Negreanu who exited the competition in 4th for €175,000 ($244,178).
Although a big disappointment for Negreanu, it still was an impressive run by the Canadian pro who now takes his live tournament winnings over the $13 million mark.
Germany player Michael Eiler eventually won the tournament after a heads-up battle against Hruby. Commenting on his win later, Eiler said:
“I had a few ups and downs but the turning point was when Negreanu busted. He was probably the strongest player at the table and he had a lot of chips. But he lost them when those three big stacks all moved in. That was a great hand for us short stacks.”
“In heads-up I was the short-stack, but I won one big all-in with A,J against A,3. That was important. I was able to be quite aggressive then and never lost the lead from that point.
“To win it with a nut flush was incredible.”