Phil Hellmuth has defied all the odds by winning his 10th World Series of Poker bracelet, thereby matching the equally impressive records of legends Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson.
The incredible feat was achieved in the $1,000 No Limit Hold 'Em Event (a tournament which saw Daniel Negreanu rebuy 48 times!).
Although he took a foreboding 768,000 stack into Tuesday's final, it was to prove far from a pushover, especially with the likes of Finnish professional and extreme poker player Juha Helppi seated next door.
In fact, it was Helppi who Hellmuth had to finally dispose of when the two locked horns in a near hour long heads-up confrontation.
Going into the one-on-one, the chip counts were as follows:
Helppi -- 1,850,000
Hellmuth -- 650,000
But, even with such a deficit, Hellmuth was able to pull himself back into the reckoning, mainly due to a 5-5 vs A-6 race in which the Poker Brat's pocket pair managed to survive the coinflip.
And, at around 12.55, Helppi pushed all-in with A-9, but Hellmuth, who had limped on the button, called instantly with A-J. No 9 came and Hellmuth rose triumphant, clearly honoured to have won his 10th bracelet.
Although Hellmuth takes home $631,863, the gold bracelet and the record-equaling achievement will surely be more satisfying and, as the youngest of the three, it is surely a sign that poker's favourite Brat will soon be surpassing his peers by taking an 11th. Only time will tell...
[Ed Note: To see the final result of this comp, please click here]