Some of the top poker players in the world including the legendary Doyle Brunson consider Phil Hellmuth as the poker GOAT (Greatest of All Time). Not everyone agree as some poker players have gone on record to claim that Phil Hellmuth is one of the most overrated players in the game and should not be in the reckoning when it comes to the GOAT conversation.
Hellmuth Bests Negreanu In High Stakes Duel II
Phil Hellmuth had a tough challenge on his hand in High Stakes Duel II, the poker show that is televised on PokerGO. The Poker Brat was set to take on Poker Hall of Famer (PHoF) Daniel Negreanu who has over $42 million in career prize money. Bookmakers had Hellmuth as the underdog going into this matchup but once again he proved the odds makers wrong.
High Stakes Duel II took place at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort & Casino and fans who subscribed to the PokerGO streaming service were able to tune in and watch the action up close. The game consisted of three matches and the winner would take home $350,000.
Negreanu played really well as one would expect from a player of his caliber but Phil Hellmuth was on another level. Hellmuth ended up winning all three games to best Daniel Negreanu and finish as the winner on High Stakes Duel II. Daniel Negreanu acknowledged that Hellmuth played brilliantly and told him that he would have tipped his hat to him if he had one.
Hellmuth is now 6-0 playing High Stakes Duel as he also ended up winning High Stakes Duel I when he defeated top poker pro Antonio Esfandiari in early 2021. This was also due that was based on a 3 game format and Hellmuth was the underdog going into the game. However, he defied the odds as he often does and went on to wrap it up 3-0, taking home $350,000.
Strong Case For Poker GOAT
With top wins in 2021 over players like Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu, it is hard to not seriously consider Hellmuth as the poker GOAT. Earlier this week, the GOAT of poker conversation surfaced once again after Phil Ivey had a great run at the WPT Heads-Up Poker Championship and won $400,000.
Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu have a lot more career prize money than Phil Hellmuth but you cannot measure everything in terms of money. Phil Hellmuth has won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event twice and is also tied with Doyle Brunson for having the most number of WSOP bracelets. Hellmuth has won 15 WSOP bracelets and is keen on adding more to his tally during the 2021 WSOP.
Apart from Brunson and Hellmuth, the players with the second most number of WSOP bracelets are Phil Ivey and Johnny Chan. While the case for the poker GOAT will always be argued, if Phil Hellmuth ends up winning another WSOP bracelet or besting some more big names in the world of poker, he definitely must be part of the poker GOAT conversation irrespective of whether you like him or not.
Phil Ivey is also looking to make a run at the 2021 WSOP as he can now play poker in the U.S. without having to worry about any legal ramifications as the long standing case between him and the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey has finally come to a close.
Hellmuth vs. Dwan – High Stakes Duel III
The next big challenge for Phil Hellmuth will come in the form of Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan as the two will play each other in High Stakes Duel III. Dwan was supposed to play Hellmuth in High Stakes Duel II but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts and Negreanu stepped in.
These two players have a lot of history together but based on how well Hellmuth has done on the show, he should go in as the betting favorite this time.