Hellmuth Stands Over All at the WSOP
Perhaps most remarkable is the fact that with 89 cashes, Hellmuth has made 45 final tables -- that is, just over half the time. Also noteworthy is how in several disciplines (pot-limit hold’em, 2-7 NL draw, limit Omaha, the 8-game, and now razz), he’s made a final table every time he’s cashed.
Earlier this week, Phil Hellmuth earned his record-extending 12th World Series of Poker bracelet when he bested a field of 309 in the $2,500 razz event to earn the title and $182,793 first prize. The win marked yet another compelling chapter in the story of the WSOP's most decorated participant.
Interestingly, Hellmuth's victory in Event #18 came after a tough heads-up battle with Don Zewin, a player who also played a role in another of Hellmuth's most memorable moments at the WSOP.
Zewin finished third at the 1989 WSOP Main Event that Hellmuth eventually won. Hellmuth knocked Zewin out then, too, in a hand in which both Zewin and fourth-place finisher Steve Lott were eliminated on the same hand. Hellmuth then went on to survive a heads-up duel with Johnny Chan, winning the title when his 9s-9c held up against Chan's As-7s on the final hand.
His win at age 24 made him the youngest player ever to win the WSOP ME, a record since broken a couple of times. But Hellmuth's name continues to appear all over the World Series of Poker record book, of course, starting with those 12 bracelets.
That's currently two better than Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, each of whom has 10, three ahead of the late Johnny Moss who won nine, and four better than both Erik Seidel and Phil Ivey with eight each.
Hellmuth entered this year's WSOP with a list-topping 85 career cashes in the WSOP, a full 13 clear of nearest challenger Men "The Master" Nguyen. His win in Event #18 marked his fourth cash already this summer, pushing his total up to 89. Nguyen has picked up three thus far himself to increase his second-place total to 75. (By the way, all figures referred to in this article include WSOP Europe events as well, where Hellmuth has cashed twice.)
Hellmuth has cashed in all but two of the last 25 WSOPs, his last non-cashing summer having been in 1995. Event #18 also marked Hellmuth's record 45th World Series of Poker final table, putting him six ahead of Nguyen and seven ahead of T.J. Cloutier on the all-time list.
The win additionally moved Hellmuth ahead of Joe Hachem into eighth place on the all-time money list at the WSOP. Hellmuth now has $8,048,640 in career winnings at the WSOP. In fact, the six players currently ahead of him on the all-time WSOP money list are the last six Main Event champions -- Jamie Gold, Peter Eastgate, Jonathan Duhamel, Pius Heinz, Joe Cada, and Jerry Yang.
As many have noted, Hellmuth's win in the $2,500 razz event marked his first ever WSOP bracelet in a non-hold'em event. Seven of his previous bracelets came in no-limit hold'em events, three in limit hold'em tourneys, and one in a pot-limit hold'em event. Thus has Hellmuth long been considered by some as essentially a NLHE tourney specialist who is particularly proficient against large fields and less skilled opponents.
However, a glance through Hellmuth's long list of WSOP cashes belies that claim fairly thoroughly. Take a look at this breakdown of his 89 cashes according to game, with final tables and bracelets noted in parentheses:
No-Limit Hold'em: 38 cashes (15 final tables, 7 bracelets)
Limit Hold'em: 11 cashes (6 FTs, 3 bracelets)
Pot-Limit Omaha: 8 cashes (4 FTs)
Omaha Hi-Low 8-or-Better: 8 cashes (4 FTs)
Pot-Limit Hold'em: 5 cashes (5 FTs, 1 bracelet)
Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better: 5 cashes (2 FTs)
Deuce-to-Seven NL Draw: 3 cashes (3 FTs)
H.O.R.S.E.: 3 cashes (1 FT)
Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low 8-or-Better: 2 cashes (1 FT)
Limit Omaha: 2 cashes (2 FTs)
Ace-to-Five Limit Draw: 2 cashes
8-game: 1 cash (1 FT)
Razz: 1 cash (1 FT, 1 bracelet)
The majority of Hellmuth's cashes (54) have been in hold'em events. But ever since his very first cash in a $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better event in 1988 (where he finished fifth), Hellmuth has consistently cashed and made final tables in a wide variety of non-hold'em games.
We all remember Hellmuth's three runner-up finishes during last summer's WSOP, all of which were in non-hold'em events -- the $10,000 2-7 NL Draw, the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better, and the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship (8-game).
In fact, Hellmuth has nine career runner-up finishes, five of which were in non-hold'em events. He also has a couple of third-place finishes in non-hold'em events, all of which suggests it was just a matter of time before he'd break through to win a non-hold'em bracelet.
Perhaps most remarkable is the fact that with 89 cashes, Hellmuth has made 45 final tables -- that is, just over half the time. Also noteworthy is how in several disciplines (pot-limit hold'em, 2-7 NL draw, limit Omaha, the 8-game, and now razz), he's made a final table every time he's cashed.
One other eyebrow-raising bit of trivia leaps out when one looks over Hellmuth's long record of WSOP cashes -- his victory in Event #18 represented the very first time he'd ever cashed in a razz event!
Love him or hate him, it's hard to deny that Hellmuth is an absolute marvel when it comes to WSOP success, with his latest triumph only adding further to a long record of achievement.
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