Home / Poker News January 2013 / The Best Poker Stories of 2012 – Phil Hellmuth’s Revival
The Best Poker Stories of 2012 – Phil Hellmuth’s Revival
Posted by: James Carter. - Wed, 2013-01-02 07:33
2011 has definitely been a break-out year for Phil Hellmuth, the
WSOP bracelet record holder who had for years seen dropping profit numbers and a less and less prominent poker profile, getting to the stage of being labeled a “has been” at one point. He definitely managed to prove his critics wrong in 2011, showing that he was still a force to reckon with at the green felt. Despite beating his personal record for the most money made in a single year, what he failed to do in 2011 was to win another WSOP bracelet, and that fact surely doused much of the enthusiasm surrounding his unexpected “revival”. What was even more painful than the inability to take down another one of the prized pieces of jewelry was how close he managed to come on numerous occasions. He finished second in no fewer than 3 WSOP events, and he finished the year runner-up in the Player of the Year race too.
If 2011 marked a huge rebound for Hellmuth, 2012 saw his winning ways shoot to a completely different level. He smashed his 2011 record as far as his tournament profits were concerned and he managed to add 2 WSOP bracelets to his tally. He hadn’t tasted WSOP victory since 2007, but in event #18, the $2.5k Seven Card Razz one, he managed to finally get the monkey off his back. Even though negativity almost caught up with him during the heads-up stage, he eventually managed to brush it aside and he hammered home his win, taking down his 12th WSOP gold.
He made two more final tables during the summer, but his second bracelet would have to wait till the end of September when he won the WSOPE’s Cannes Main Event, securing #13.
