WSOP November Nine Set
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
Despite the best wishes of almost the entire poker community, Daniel Negreanu was unable to make this year's WSOP Main Event final.
The penultimate session in this year's Big Dance was one of intense drama as 27 players battled for a place in the hallowed November Nine.
Leading the way in terms of fan support was PokerStars' Negreanu and that wave of positivity almost carried him through to the finale. However, a stumble in the middle of the session was eventually followed by a complete breakdown in the early hours of the morning.
After falling short on chips, Negreanu called a late position raise from Joe McKeehen with As 4d. After watching the board roll out Ad Kc Td, Negreanu moved all-in from the big blind and was ultimately called by McKeehen holding Jd 3d.
With a ton of outs to complete his hand McKeehen was hopeful while Negreanu could barely watch. The 3h on the turn gave McKeehen some more options before the Qh on the river sealed the deal and sent a disappointed Negreanu to the rail in 11th.
After watching the biggest name in poker miss out on a final table spot, the remaining ten players traded bets before McKeehen struck again. Taking on Alex Turyansky's Ac Kh with pocket queens, McKeehen watched as the board rolled out: 7h 6c 5h 8d Jd.
That hand not only gave McKeehen a huge chip lead heading in the final showdown, but sent Turyansky to the rail and set the November Nine. Although there is a long way to go until this year's WSOP Main Event winner is crowned, cheers rung across the Rio as nine poker grinders, including familiar faces Pierre Neuville and Max Steinberg, celebrated making the biggest final table in poker.
WSOP 2015 November Nine
Seat 1: Zvi Stern - 29,800,000 (74 bb)
Seat 2: Pierre Neuville - 21,075,000 (52 bb)
Seat 3: Joshua Beckley - 11,800,000 (27 bb)
Seat 4: Max Steinberg - 20,200,000 (50 bb)
Seat 5: Thomas Cannuli - 12,250,000 (30 bb)
Seat 6: Joe McKeehen - 63,100,000 (160 bb)
Seat 7: Patrick Chan - 6,225,000 (15 bb)
Seat 8: Federico Butteroni - 6,200,000 (15 bb)
Seat 9: Neil Blumenfield - 22,000,000 (55 bb)