April 18 2014, by Eric Danis

25 Years Later: How Phil Hellmuth Changed Poker Forever

As April 18, 1989 turned into April 19, a young man from Wisconsin defeated Johnny Chan to win the WSOP Main Event. 25 years later, Phil Hellmuth is a poker icon and remains one of the game’s most talked about players…

THE HISTORIC POCKET 9’S

Phil Hellmuth GPIThe stage was set. Following wins in 1987 and 1988, Johnny Chan (GPI#4535) was about to become the very first person in history to win three consecutive World Series of Poker Main Events. The Orient Express would be able to lay claim to the title of the game’s best with another big win.

But a tall and lanky 24-year-old from Madison, Wisconsin had his heart set on making history himself. Phil Hellmuth (GPI#292) would become the youngest ever to win the Main Event should he be able to defeat Johnny Chan, The Master, heads-up.

In the end, that’s exactly what Hellmuth did. His now famous pocket 9’s were enough to beat Chan on the final hand of the 1989 WSOP Main Event … The Poker Brat was born and what was about to follow, no one could have predicted.

THE LEGEND OF HELLMUTH

Phil Hellmuth GPIIn the years that followed that Main Event victory, Hellmuth would forge ahead. And while the poker boom was ongoing, the Poker Brat would make sure that he would be at the forefront, leading the charge.

In total, Hellmuth has collected 13 bracelets in his career, placing him first all-time. Hellmuth is 11K shy of 18M USD in career earnings. Apart from his 13 WSOP titles, Hellmuth has won 40 other events, a total of 53, in his career and has earned a total of 227 Top 10 finishes. It’s already been an incredible career.

But it’s more than just results on the felt, Hellmuth has successfully created an image and has marketed himself in a way that his brand may very well be bigger than the game. Although he may be controversial, he remains “MUST SEE TV” and is one of the biggest draws in poker bar none. He’s not afraid to add fuel to the fire and the good folks at ESPN certainly appreciate when he goes deep in events as ratings obviously enjoy a favourable bump.

RETURN OF THE BRAT

Phil Hellmuth GPIJust a few short years ago, many started to wonder if the game had passed Hellmuth by, to be fair to those critics, he had gone five years without a bracelet, despite coming close on a few occasions.

Then came 2012 where Hellmuth not only won his 12th bracelet in Las Vegas – his first-ever in a non-hold’em event (in Seven-Card Razz) – he would also make his way to Cannes to add bracelet #13 to the collection later that year, winning the WSOP Europe Main Event.

That 13th bracelet allowed Hellmuth to move ahead – by three bracelets – on Chan and Doyle Brunson in the race for the all-time lead.

Love him or hate him, fear him or loathe him on the felt, one thing is for sure, Phil Hellmuth has become a poker icon … and still have tons left in the tank!

Congratulations Phil on the 25th anniversary of your WSOP Main Event victory … a day that would change the poker world forever.

1989 WSOP MAIN EVENT

1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event
Apr 15-19, 1989  |  Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel  |  Las Vegas, NV, USA
$10,000 Buy-In  |  178 Entries  |  $1,780,000 Prize Pool

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About the author

Eric Danis’ passion for poker came at a very early age but it’s when writing about and covering the game he loves that Danis is most in his element. Danis is better known for creating www.PTPRpoker.com where he spent a few years covering poker events. Danis is also known for having worked on the poker shows Poker Eh! and The Pulse on the Quad Jacks Network.