Phil Hellmuth Announces Return to Europe as Poker Brat Plans to Play in Prague

Phil Hellmuth is coming back to Europe. The Poker Brat announced that he intends to play in Prague this Spring as he battles for gold bracelets in the Czech capital against the best Europe has to offer. Hellmuth, who has traditionally remained in Las Vegas for WSOP events over the past few years, could be making a run at the WSOP Player of the Year title, with Prague’s 15 events counting towards players scores in 2026.

Poker Brat Plans to Play “Almost Every Event”

With just a few weeks to go until the World Series of Poker (WSOP) returns to action in Europe, Phil Hellmuth has laid down the gauntlet to any other big names looking to win the WSOP Player of the Year title – an accolade that the adopted Californian has never won. Hellmuth, who has won a record 17 WSOP bracelets in a glittering career, told fans that he plans to make WSOP Europe his home for the duration of the 15-event festival that kicks off on March 31^st and doesn’t end until April 12^th.

“I’m here to talk about the World Series of Poker, specifically the World Series of Poker Europe in Prague. I’ll be there,” Hellmuth revealed. “I’m going to fly in a day or two early [and] I’m planning on playing almost every event. I’m looking forward to the World Series of Poker Europe in Prague, playing for bracelets, going for it and then of course, looking forward to the World Series of Poker [in Vegas].”

Hellmuth has a terrific track record in Europe, despite not having played the festival since 2019. The only player ever to win the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas and mainland Europe, Hellmuth’s victory in 2012 in the €10,540 WSOP Europe Main Event saw him beat a field of 420 entries to the top prize of €1,022,376 ($1.2m) and what was his 13^th WSOP bracelet.

Has Hellmuth Started Slowing Down?

Since his WSOP Europe Main Event win, Phil Hellmuth has won four more bracelets in the intervening 14 years. If he carries on at that pace, it will take The Poker Brat another 23 years to achieve his premonition of winning 24 WSOP titles… when he’ll be 84 years old. If he’s to attain that target sooner, then Hellmuth knows that he needs to up his frequency of events.

While you can expect Hellmuth to be pushing hard in all 15 bracelet events, it is possible he doesn’t play a full schedule purely for the reason that he’s likely to reach the latter stages of at least a couple of events. Making the final table in an event will probably rule him out from playing Day 1 of the next event, so Hellmuth’s penchant for late registration could be tested from the off.

Over three decades since his famous victory in the 1989 WSOP Main Event, Phil Hellmuth has become a Poker Hall of Famer and an international poker brand. Famously wearing black and gold, The Poker Brat last took down a bracelet event in 2023 when he won the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $803,818 plus bounties, beating Justin Zaki heads-up at a final table that also included Phil Ivey amongst its number.

Will Hellmuth to be Joined by Kid Poker in Prague?

Hot on the heels of Hellmuth’s announcement that he will be travelling to Prague, Daniel Negreanu confirmed that he intends to play as many as 40 events this summer to put himself in the best position to be named Player of the Year. The BetRivers Poker ambassador Hellmuth last came to Europe in 2019 but it has been almost as long for Negreanu with him travelling to Europe.

The Canadian’s last cash in Europe came in 2022 when he came fourth in a €25,000-entry Platinum High Roller bracelet event, winning $146,090 but missing out on gold after Paul Phua took the title. Four long years have passed since Kid Poker has cashed in a WSOP Europe bracelet event but if Hellmuth is travelling, we can see Canada’s greatest ever player following him across the Atlantic.

When Hellmuth last made it to King’s Casino in Rozvadov, he came second in the €25,500 Mixed Games Championship just missing the gold and came third in the €2,500 8-Game Mix event too. With the 2026 WSOP Player of the Year race now featuring a $1 million prize pool that will be won by those in the top 100, the overall winner receives a $100,000 WSOP Paradise package as well as their flag on the wall of the Horseshoe or Paris casino.

The 2026 WSOP Europe runs from March 31 to April 12 at King’s at the Hilton hotel in Prague, with 15 bracelet up for grabs. Who’d bet against the Poker Brat bagging his 18^th bracelet on his first poker trip to Europe in years? Not us.