Phil Hellmuth extends record with 16th WSOP bracelet

Phil Hellmuth has enactment adjacent much region connected his peers astatine the World Series of Poker.

Hellmuth extended his ain grounds by winning his 16th WSOP bracelet precocious Sunday astatine the Rio, defeating a tract of 272 entries successful Event 31, the $1,500 buy-in No-limit 2-7 Lowball Draw, to instrumentality location $84,951.

Hellmuth, the 1989 WSOP Main Event champion, present has six much bracelets than his adjacent closest rivals — Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey. (The WSOP awards trophy bracelets for tourney victories.)

Hellmuth said helium was excited to triumph a bracelet successful No-limit 2-7, a favourite of high-stakes currency crippled players specified arsenic Brunson and Chip Reese erstwhile Hellmuth entered the poker world.

“I’ve wanted a deuce-to-seven bracelet ever since the 1980s due to the fact that it was the coolest bracelet to win,” Hellmuth told PokerGO. “It was the 1 tourney that Chip and Doyle showed up for. … I wanted this bracelet truthful badly.”

No-limit 2-7 is played similar Five-card Draw, but the worst manus wins the pot. The champion — successful different words, worst — imaginable manus is deuce-three-four-five-seven of antithetic suits.

Hellmuth won heads-up against Jake Schwartz, who earned $52,502. In the last hand, Hellmuth went all-in with a two-card gully to nine-high (nine-eight-deuce), and Schwartz called with a one-card gully to ten-high (ten-four-three-deuce).

Hellmuth drew a 7 and a 5 to marque his nine-high, leaving Schwartz drafting dead. (He ended up pairing his four.)

Hellmuth’s triumph continues his scorching commencement astatine this year’s WSOP. The No-limit 2-7 was his 4th last array of the bid aft helium finished sixth successful the $25,000 HORSE, 5th successful the $10,000 Omaha High-Low and 4th successful the $10,000 Seven-card Stud.

Hellmuth lived up to his “Poker Brat” moniker astatine immoderate of those last tables by tearing into his opponents verbally aft losing cardinal hands. He said helium accepted disapproval of his behaviour and tried to beryllium amended Sunday.

“Today I told myself nary swearing tirades and nary threats,” Hellmuth told PokerNews. “I swore a small spot and I americium definite the cameras caught it, but I was a batch much mellow, astir apt due to the fact that I went excessively acold the different day.”

Contact Jim Barnes astatine jbarnes@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV connected Twitter.