Phil Hellmuth misses out on 12th bracelet
Phil Hellmuth has narrowly missed adding that elusive 12th bracelet to his collection following defeat to fellow poker legend John Juanda in the $10k No Limit Deuce to Seven Drawn Lowball World Championship.
The two heavyweight poker superstars slugged it out, after surviving a field of 126. That number may pale in comparison to the other WSOP events this year but it’s not overstating the fact to say that this could be the toughest line-up of the year.
The going gets tough
Two of the final tablists had won this event previously, including the defending champ David Baker. The top seven players shared 19 bracelets between them and even the ‘bubble boy’ was WSOP 2005 World Champ, Greg Raymer. British star Richard Ashby also made it to the final table, eventually finishing 3rd.
Hellmuth and Juanda traded blows in front of a packed crowd and at one point Hellmuth had Juanda on the ropes with a 2/1 chip lead. But the Poker Brat couldn’t find it in him to close and Juanda kept his composure to claw his way back and take the title.
Juanda walked away with $367,170, barely a drop in the ocean compared to his $11m in all-time tournament winnings but more importantly it gave him five career bracelets, equal to Stu Ungar, Allen Cunningham and Jeffrey Lisandro.
Final Standings
1. John Juanda – $367,170
2. Phil Hellmuth – $226,907
3. Richard Ashby – $143,833
4. Steve Sung – $97,416
5. Nick Schulman – $69,216
6. David Baker – $51,485
7. Hasan Habib – $40,020
8. Joe Cassidy – $32,440
