He’s done it again.
Phil Hellmuth has once again proven why he is one of the greatest to ever play the game. On Monday, Hellmuth dominated the $10,000 Razz Championship final table to earn his record-extending 14th World Series of Poker bracelet.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Hellmuth following his victory. “It’s one of those ones where I kept my head down the whole time. I tried to stay divorced from the result, detached from the result. I was just focusing on playing great, playing great, playing great.”
What is there to say about Hellmuth that hasn’t already been said? He first rose to fame in 1989, winning the $10,000 Main Event and denying Johnny Chan his third victory in a row. From that point on, Hellmuth consistently played against elite competition, time and time again dominating the game.
Back in 2012 it was a question whether or not Hellmuth would ever win a bracelet in a non-hold’em event (each of his 11 prior bracelets had been in this discipline). Hellmuth silenced critics when he defeated Don Zewin heads up to win the $2,500 Seven Card Razz event. Now, two bracelets later, Hellmuth has once again proven himself to be one of the top razz players in the world.
“I think I figured something out about razz in maybe 2012,” said Hellmuth. “All of a sudden the game just clicked. I was like ‘Wow, this game just makes sense.’ Then I won a razz bracelet!”
Hellmuth pocketed $271,105 for his championship victory. This brings his lifetime earnings at the WSOP to an astounding $12,783,905. Over the course of his career, Hellmuth has attained a record 109 cashes at the WSOP with 52 of those being final table appearances.
The whispers of a possible 14th bracelet for Hellmuth began on Day 2 when he surged to the top of the chip counts. He ultimately finished the day third in chips and was primed for a solid run heading into the final day of play. Hellmuth continued to extend his lead and at one point held half of the chips on the table during five-handed play.
Hellmuth topped an absolutely stacked field of 103 total runners. The final table included the likes of fellow bracelet winners Brandon Shack-Harris, Thomas “Thunder” Keller, and Mike Leah. In the end, Hellmuth squared off against 2013 bracelet winner Mike Gorodinsky for the title. Hellmuth began the match with a chip deficit but quickly battled back into the chip lead. From there, the chips swung back and forth consistently with Gorodinsky all in for his tournament life several times.
from WSOP.com
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