Admin Error Strips Negreanu of WSOP POY Title

An administration error has stripped Daniel Negreanu of the 2019 World Series of Poker Player of the Year title. The former Team PokerStars Pro had been celebrating his third POY title, but Robert Campbell is the true POY.

Negreanu had enjoyed incredible WSOP and WSOP Europe festivals. Twenty-four cashes, five final tables, and two runner-up finishes netted him $2,207,489. Those results saw Negreanu accumulate 4,074.88 POY points, except one result was entered in error.

WSOP reported Negreanu finished 36th in the $1,000 WSOP.com Online NLHE Championship for $4,734 and 213.10 POY points. It turns out the Canadian did not cash in that event, the data was erroneous.

WSOP POY Error Spotted on Two Plus Two

The error had gone unnoticed initially and the poker community was full of praise for Negreanu’s epic feat. A Two Plus Two forums member called “iskander” started a thread called “2019 WSOP POY Error? Not DNEGS?” It turns out WSOP’s admin team duplicated finishing positions 32nd through 46th for Event #68 and #87.

Ireland’s Max Silver was the true 36th finisher in the $1,000 Online event and not Negreanu. The thread now spans more than 140 posts, the majority coming after WSOP admitted their error.

WSOP Statement on the POY Debacle

The WSOP were quick in publishing a statement about the mix-up, which reads:

After being alerted earlier today of a possible error in our Player of the Year standings, we immediately began to investigate it.

We have confirmed a data entry error was made in our uploading of results into the backend off our website for WSOP Event #68, affecting places 32-46.

The results from Event #87, for places 32-46 in that event, were erroneously and additionally uploaded into the final results of Event #68 – more than two weeks after the completion of Event #68.

When a staffer uploaded the first 15 players who were eliminated in the money of Event #87 on July 16 (which included Daniel Negreanu in 36th place) – instead of uploading those results into Event #87, the staffer, by mistake, uploaded them into Event #68 instead. These were places 32 through 46, the lowest 15 positions to cash in Event #87. This error overwrote the correct results in Event #68 for places 32-46, and 15 players were credited with a cash in Event #68 despite not finishing in that place.

As a result, Daniel Negreanu was given 213.1 points erroneously in Event #68, an event we verified he did not cash in. 14 other players were also given erroneous points – the same players who properly cashed in Event #87, like Negreanu.

Robert Campbell Announced as the Winner

Recalculating our Player of the Year results today has an impact on the final standings. Robert Campbell finishes in first place with 3961.31 points, with Negreanu dropping to third place with 3861.78. Shaun Deeb‘s points were not affected by the data entry-error, but he moves up into second place, with 3917.32 in the final POY standings.

We have begun to reach out to the affected players to notify them of this mistake. We deeply regret the error.

“We’d like to offer our sincere and public apology to those players who chased the award. It is an amazing thing when poker players pursue history and a sense of sporting honor, and thus it’s a terrible embarrassment for us to stain a great race for the title. We’re going to take the next few months to overhaul the POY and many of our procedures that have gone off course.”

Negreanu Gracious in Defeat

Most poker players would be, rightly, upset about such a serious error but not Negreanu. The Canadian superstar wrote a blog entitled “The WSOP POY Oopsie” where he was gracious in defeat.

Negreanu explained what had happened and claims he didn’t feel “not a single negative emotion or feeling of loss.” He went on to explain he had spent 90% of his call with the WSOP trying to improve the POY system.

His suggestions include limiting the number of events counted towards the POY race. Dividing the POY points by the number of re-entries, and giving more weight to the WSOP Main Event.

Negreanu signed off his blog by revealing he may not have been so calm when he was younger.

“With age comes wisdom, I truly believe that. Had this happened to me when I was a cocky, 25 year old kid, I’m sure I wouldn’t have taken the news the same as I do today. I can honestly say, not s single emotion of loss or upset. My life is awesome. I love the grind, I love the journey, and I don’t live in regret.

“Congrats again to Robert Campbell, you are absolutely a deserving champion despite this unfortunate error. There should be no asterisk beside your name in the record books. You put together an incredible WSOP and WSOPE and no one can ever take that away from you.”