Daniel Negreanu will jump into GGPoker's $150 buy-in GGMasters this week.

One of the most buzzed-about online tournaments on the Sunday Majors schedule is getting an added extra boost of star power this weekend as Daniel Negreanu is packing his bags and flying to Toronto specifically to play GGPoker‘s $150 buy-in GGMasters.

Negreanu, who signed on as a GGPoker ambassador in November was instrumental in creating the GGMasters. Now, he’s not only planning on playing it for the first time but he’s going live on his Twitch channel and streaming the whole thing.

“I’ve been so stoked about the growth we’ve been seeing with the GG Masters, it’s inspired me,” Negreanu said on the DAT Poker Podcast this week. “I’ve been wanting to play, but obviously, from the U.S., I can’t play. So we’ve got a streaming station set up in my brother’s house with a computer, desktop, it’s hardwired – everything should be good.

“So I’m going to fly in on Saturday to Toronto, stream it all on Sunday and fly back on Tuesday.”

For an online poker site known for its incredible slate of high-roller tournaments, the GGMasters is quickly becoming GGPoker’s marquee Sunday event.

The tournament is a bit of an online poker throwback. The $150 price point makes it easier for casual players to afford and it’s massive $300,000 guarantee is going to provide an enormous ROI for those that make the final table. Also, it’s a freezeout. In an online poker landscape that thrives on unlimited re-entry, the GGMasters is bucking the trend.

Without players blasting off for multiple re-entries, it can be hard to hit a big guarantee. That means extra value for the players.

“Each and every week of the GG Masters we’ve had an overlay,” Negreanu said. “A big part of that is because after the first week when we missed the [guarantee] they decided to kick it up to $300,000. Which is very aggressive when you talk about no re-entry and a $150 buy-in.

“This week, we finally crossed the 2000 player mark with 2064 players, super stoked about that…but still, an overlay.”

As Negreanu indicated, the numbers for the GGMasters are on the rise. Six weeks ago, 1601 players registered for the inaugural GGMasters. When the tournament missed its $250,000 guarantee – GGPoker increased it to $300,000 anyway. The next week, 1901 players registered but there was still $37,662 in extra money for players to battle for.

Despite breaking the 2000 player mark last week, there was still a healthy overlay of $15,168.

While in Toronto, Negreanu will not only play in the tournament but also show off some of GGPoker’s unique features. This includes their in-game staking platform.

“On GGPoker you can click on [a screen name] and be like, ‘Is this guy any good? Let’s check his ROI in past tournaments’,” Negreanu explained on the podcast.

For those who find the $150 buy-in just out of reach, GGPoker has the built-in ability to sell pieces to a tournament. Players can buy, sell and even add mark-up all right within the client.

Another added bonus to the GGMasters is the inclusion of rake-free ‘early-bird’ bubble protection. Those that register the tournament before the official start time are qualified for bubble protection. Depending on how many players enter the tournament, a certain amount of players will get their buy-in back if they bust on, or close to, the actual money bubble.

Finally, one more item which has elevated the tournament is the GGMasters leaderboard. Grind the GG Masters, and the player who finishes on top of the leaderboard, based on year-long results, will take home a GGPoker sponsorship valued at up to $500,000.

The GGMasters takes place every Sunday on GGPoker at 16:00 GMT.