“Gave myself a great chance to win today. Should be proud, but instead I feel absolutely horrible.”
That was a Twitter update from UB.com’s Phil Hellmuth moments after he took seventh place in Event #41 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a $1,500 Omaha Hi/Low Eight or Better tournament this week. Hellmuth fell just short of capturing his 12th bracelet – which would have been his first in a non-Hold’em event – and silencing the haters who were on hand mocking and booing him during Thursday’s final table.
But it wasn’t meant to be for the 11-time bracelet winner. Hellmuth held on for dear life with a short stack for most of the day and eventually went down at the hands of John Gottleib, whose Ah-Ad-Qh-8c bested Hellmuth’s As-Th-3c-2h after all of the chips went in pre-flop. As usual, Hellmuth showed emotion after his elimination, but was gracious in defeat, shaking the hands of the six remaining players before he exited the ESPN final able arena.
Despite the regular criticism from his peers about his game, Hellmuth continues to make deep runs in events with large fields. Earlier this month, he took 15th in Event #8, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament that drew 2,341 entrants. His other cash of the series was a 50th place result in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Event, which attracted 792 of the top tournament players on the planet.
Hellmuth has also had a large degree of success on the World Poker Tour (WPT) this year, taking sixth place in the Bay 101 Shooting Star in San Jose in April. A month later, he finished seventh at the $25,000 Five Star Classic at the Bellagio, barely missing out on the televised final table. Those two scores accounted for more than $270,000, pushing his lifetime earnings over $9,000,000. Hellmuth has also cashed in the WSOP Main Event each of the past two years, taking 45th in 2008 ($154,400) and 436th in 2009 ($25,027).
He hasn’t won a tournament in three years, but his accomplishments on the live scene are still more impressive than most of his naysayers. Hellmuth has seven final table appearances on the circuit since 2008. Meanwhile, Full Tilt pro and friend Mike Matusow, who is always first in line to take a jab at Hellmuth, has made only three final tables during that time span. Hellmuth is also clobbered daily by forum members across the world, most of whom have never played a high-stakes tournament in their life.
His antics remain questionable at times, but Hellmuth’s unorthodox style has earned him enough success to label him among the top No Limit Hold’em tournament players in the game still today. Poker News Daily will be on the scene should Hellmuth make another deep run during the remaining weeks of the 2010 World Series of Poker.