Phil Hellmuth once again confirmed why he is considered the GOAT of the World Series of Poker, as he managed to land his 16th gold bracelet. He just solidified his position as the #1 player in the history of WSOP. It will take a lot of time before someone else manages to break his record — if that ever happens.
Hellmuth took part in real money poker Event #31: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. This was his 157th WSOP cash game as well.
What makes this bracelet stand out from the remaining 15 regards is that it’s the first one in a deuce-to-seven poker game. The lowball poker variation attracted a total of 272 players who managed to generate a prize pool of $363,120. Hellmuth managed to win the lion’s share from the prize pool — a total of $84,851.
Last time, Hellmuth managed to win a gold bracelet in 2018. Since then, he managed to reach the final table seven times in WSOP events but failed to win the 16th bracelet. He also made it to the final table of four events in 2021 WSOP, including $25,000 HORSE, $10,000 Seven Card Stud, and $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
Even though he managed to win a gold bracelet, he met with pretty stiff competition and experienced big ups and downs throughout the event. In fact, he almost lost all of his chips during Day 1 and was very close to elimination.
On the other hand, no-limit 2-7 lowball draw is a type of game that includes a lot of swings, which means that Hellmuth managed to return to the game and even finish Day 1 with a decent stack size.
The Final Table Overview
A total of eight players made it to the final table, with seven of them being from the US and one from Italy. The first player to hit the rail was Kevin Gerhart, who managed to earn $7,602. He was soon followed by Jason Lipiner in seventh place for $10,023.
The sixth place was reserved for the only Italian place, the legendary Dario Sammartino, who managed to earn $13,463. After that, Joshua Faris hit the rail, earning a total of $18,421 for his effort.
The fourth place was reserved for Rep Porter and the third for Chris Vitch. They earned $25,661 and $36,387 respectively.
Phill Hellmuth’s last opponent in the heads-up part of the tournament was Jake Schwartz. However, he was no match for Hellmuth and had to settle for second place and the consolation prize of $52,502.
The first time Hellmuth managed to earn a gold bracelet was in 1989, when he topped the $10,000 WSOP Main Event and earned a huge payout of $755,000. His biggest win in terms of money was in 2012 when he topped the WSOPE Main Event and landed €1,022,376 ($1,333,841).
Hellmuth is now six bracelets away from the second-placed players — Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson, all of whom have ten bracelets each.