Phil Hellmuth stopped one step short of his 18th WSOP bracelet
July 16, 2026
Phil Hellmuth was incredibly close to rewriting the record and winning his 18th World Series of Poker bracelet. In event #99 of the festival, $5000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em, the legendary player reached heads-up against Darren Rabinowitz, but was unable to win it.
The vast majority of spectators were rooting for Hellmuth in his showdown with Rabinowitz. However, the 17-time champion began heads-up with a significant deficit against his opponent. Soon he and his rail got a reason to celebrate — Hellmuth doubled up, making a straight on the turn against Rabinowitz's flopped two pair.
However, Rabinowitz took most of the pots, and in the decisive hand, holding ♠️♦️, he forced Hellmuth to go all-in with ♥️♠️ on a 2️⃣♠️♣️♦️ turn. The river brought a ♥️, which gave Rabinowitz second pair and his second WSOP bracelet. He also won $695,256, while Hellmuth earned $464,286.
The vast majority of spectators were rooting for Hellmuth in his showdown with Rabinowitz. However, the 17-time champion began heads-up with a significant deficit against his opponent. Soon he and his rail got a reason to celebrate — Hellmuth doubled up, making a straight on the turn against Rabinowitz's flopped two pair.
However, Rabinowitz took most of the pots, and in the decisive hand, holding ♠️♦️, he forced Hellmuth to go all-in with ♥️♠️ on a 2️⃣♠️♣️♦️ turn. The river brought a ♥️, which gave Rabinowitz second pair and his second WSOP bracelet. He also won $695,256, while Hellmuth earned $464,286.
