Phil Hellmuth has won just about everything there is to win at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), but a World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship title remains one of the few major achievements missing from the Poker Brat’s long list of accomplishments.
The 17-time WSOP bracelet winner was back chasing that elusive first WPT title at the $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship, but his latest attempt came to an end on Monday after losing a coin flip with three tables remaining.
Hellmuth was one of 510 entries in the tournament, which began on Thursday, November 5, at The Venetian Las Vegas and generated a $2,346,000 prize pool. His elimination in 20th place earned him $22,200, adding another cash to a WPT record that stretches back more than two decades.
The tournament is now approaching its conclusion, with the remaining players battling for a place at Tuesday’s six-handed final table, where the eventual champion will walk away with $446,800.
Hellmuth Has Another Near Miss
Hellmuth had to work hard just to reach the business end of the tournament. He barely survived his Day 1C starting flight, bagging a modest 39,000 chips, but enjoyed a much better Day 2 to turn that into 455,000.
That still left him with plenty of work to do heading into Monday’s Day 3. With 29 players returning, Hellmuth sat 22nd in the chip counts with just 18 big blinds, needing an early double-up to get himself back into contention.
The field continued to thin as the likes of Landon Tice, Jesse Lonis and Shannon Shorr headed for the payout desk. By the time Shorr departed in 21st place for $19,500, Hellmuth had slipped to the bottom of the chip counts.
Shorr’s elimination guaranteed the remaining 20 players at least $22,200, but Hellmuth wouldn’t be around to collect anything more.
Down to his last ten big blinds, Hellmuth got his chips into the middle with ace-queen against the pocket jacks of Nick Pupillo. The Poker Brat needed an ace or queen to keep his hopes alive, but neither arrived, bringing his latest WPT Championship run to an end.
Hellmuth took to X shortly after his elimination to reflect on another frustrating finish, although he was keen to avoid slipping into one of his trademark poker rants.
“Very disappointing result, folks. Finished 20th. Man, poker can be a little frustrating,” said Hellmuth.
He acknowledged that he’d enjoyed some good fortune earlier in the tournament, including winning with ace-queen against ace-king, but felt he had given himself an excellent chance of making a much deeper run.
“When I get to play six hours against a $5,000 field, or against any field, it feels like I have a great chance to chip up,” he explained. “People are playing a little bit aggressive, too aggressive. They’re playing too many hands.”
Despite clearly feeling the sting of his elimination, Hellmuth resisted the temptation to revisit some of the bigger pots he’d played over the previous two days.
“I don’t want to get into the complaining mode too much. I don’t want to be a victim,” he said. “But then you leave and you’re like, ‘Oh man, I played so good. I gave myself such a great chance.'”
“Today I just lost a flip, ace-queen against jacks, to get me back in the tournament if I won that pot. But look, it is what it is, and I have to be grateful for everything that I have in life.”
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Hellmuth Making More WPT Appearances
Hellmuth’s latest WPT cash comes just weeks after he finished 42nd in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship in San Jose, California, where he collected $11,400 for his first WPT Championship cash since 2019.
His run at The Venetian now gives him two WPT Championship cashes in the same season for the first time since 2017-18, a notable return to the tour for a player whose tournament appearances over the past decade have largely been confined to the WSOP and events under the PokerGO umbrella.
And while Hellmuth was disappointed with his latest result, he took some encouragement from the consistency of his recent performances.
“I’ve played like 15 no-limit events this year, and I think I have like three final tables,” he said. “I played two WPTs this year and I finished 50th out of 600 and 20th out of 500 players.”
Hellmuth’s recollection of his Bay 101 finish was slightly off, with the official WPT results listing him in 42nd place, but his point remained the same. He feels he is playing well enough to contend for titles and just needs a few more hands to go his way.
“I don’t need much in the way of luck. I don’t need much to go a lot farther.”
“Bay 101, I was not happy with the way I played,” he admitted. “I was upset because I wanted to give myself the best chance to win. But here at the Venetian, I have no regrets. Just felt like I played great.”
It’s not as though Hellmuth hasn’t come close to getting his hands on a WPT trophy before.
He finished runner-up in the 2017 WPT Legends of Poker for $364,370, while his other notable results include a third-place finish at the inaugural World Poker Finals in 2003 for $281,700 and sixth place in the 2008 WPT L.A. Poker Classic for $229,820.
He also finished seventh in the 2010 WPT World Championship for $152,856, with his WPT tournament earnings now exceeding $1.6 million following his latest two cashes.
Hellmuth has made no secret of his desire to add to his WSOP bracelet collection, with 24 bracelets a target he has previously discussed. But for someone who places so much importance on his place in poker history, you can imagine how much he’d enjoy finally adding a WPT Championship title to his Hall of Fame career.
And it doesn’t sound like he’ll be waiting too long before his next tournament appearance, with Hellmuth signing off his video by telling followers, “See you in Canada next.”
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Nick Pupillo Leads Final Table at WPT Venetian
While Hellmuth’s run is over, the player responsible for his elimination is now in pole position to claim the title.
At the time of writing, Pupillo leads the final nine players with 6,400,000 chips and holds a sizeable lead over WPT Champions Club member Nick Yunis, who sits second with 4,155,000, while Daniyal Gheba rounds out the top three with 3,270,000.
Matt Affleck is also still in contention, sitting seventh with 1,775,000, while Anthony Piacquadio brings up the rear with 1,565,000. Despite being the shortest stack, Piacquadio still has a playable 26 big blinds.
The remaining nine players are guaranteed at least $45,000, but only six will advance to Tuesday’s livestreamed final table, scheduled to begin at noon Las Vegas time on November 10.
The eventual champion will collect a first-place package worth $446,800, which includes a $10,400 entry into the season-ending WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Yunis | 4,155,000 | 69 |
| 2 | Raman Afanasenka | 1,690,000 | 28 |
| 3 | Mohammad Pourmandi | 1,825,000 | 30 |
| 4 | Nick Pupillo | 6,400,000 | 107 |
| 5 | Daniyal Gheba | 3,270,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Sonny Lee | 2,235,000 | 37 |
| 7 | Matt Affleck | 1,775,000 | 30 |
| 8 | Craig Mason | 2,585,000 | 43 |
| 9 | Anthony Piacquadio | 1,565,000 | 26 |
WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $446,800 |
| 2 | $280,000 |
| 3 | $209,000 |
| 4 | $155,000 |
| 5 | $117,000 |
| 6 | $88,000 |
| 7 | $67,000 |
| 8 | $52,500 |
| 9 | $45,000 |
The six-handed final table is scheduled to get underway at noon Las Vegas time on Tuesday, November 10.
Lead imagery courtesy of WPT.com
Calum Grant
Senior Editor & Live Events Executive