The Main Event may well be the number one event of the summer for the general poker public, but for the pros it is the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, event #66, that is akin to the holy grail.
Last night saw Phil Hellmuth KO fellow legend Daniel Negreanu, then crash out after a series of foul-mouthed tirades. Meanwhile, fellow old-school crusher Mike Matusow remains in contention for the $1.3million top prize.
The PPC, which replaced the $50k H.O.R.S.E. Championship back in 2010, consists of nine games: No Limit Hold’em; Seven Card Stud; Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Razz; Pot-Limit Omaha; Limit Hold’em; No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better and 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw.
The huge buy-in, the all-round game required and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy for the winner all combine to make this the one the top pros all want to win.
Last year, that player was Daniel Negreanu, and en route to winning his first gold bracelet in many years, he knocked out old friend and foe, Phil Hellmuth. Last night, those roles were reversed…
Negreanu Falls to Hellmuth
Playing PLO, DNegs found himself all-in and at risk after Hellmuth raised his button open from the big blind…
Negreanu: A♦ 10♥ 8♦ 5♣
Hellmuth: Q♥ Q♠ 10♣ 5♠
The lead changed hands through flop and turn…
Flop: 5♥ 8♠ 7♠
Turn: 9♠
…but Negreanu couldn’t fill up on the river…
River: 3♦
“That beats me, nice hand, GG,” said Negreanu as he departed short of the money.
Enter the Poker Brat
That was about as good as it got for Hellmuth too, as a series of hands close to the bubble saw the infamous “Poker Brat” emerge from his hiding place…
“Ten fucking five, how bad are they at Limit Hold’em?” was his starter, as he berated Justin Liberto.
"Ten-five… nice f***ing call!"@phil_hellmuth is starting to boil in the @WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship, streaming now on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG. pic.twitter.com/R5ypOg9l5q
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) June 27, 2025
Albert Daher was also a target of attack after raising the 17-times WSOP champ…
“180 with jack-ten. These are the fucking players I go broke to.”
"These are the f***ing players I go broke to!" – @Phil_hellmuth
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) June 27, 2025
The @WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship is streaming now on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG. pic.twitter.com/kn1AVmcjcx
Hellmuth Busts
The end came for the Poker Brat in a hand of Razz (where the lowest 5-card hand wins), a Vitch raise putting him all-in and at risk.
Phil Hellmuth: 7x9x /6x5x7x/5x Xx
Christopher Vitch: 6x8x /3xKx10x /5x Xx
Albert Daher got out of the way on fifth street and when Hellmuth paired on sixth street he still needed to improve to stay alive.
“Three-across club. I’m 50-50,” said an optimistic Hellmuth but the six that appeared was no help and he was out, three short of the paid spots.
.@phil_hellmuth gets his money in during razz, but can he stay alive in the @WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship?
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) June 27, 2025
Watch it now on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG. pic.twitter.com/HnHGShJUI3
Not every old-school legend was having as hard a time as DNegs and the Poker Brat. Mike “The Mouth” Matusow was going strong and survived to the money, tweeting:
“Wow, exhausted. 3hr bubble in the 50k PPC. have 1.5m at 100k big bet! Tomorrow gonna run so pure sun running that they won’t know what hit them!”
Matusow sits 8th out of 17 remaining, with $100k locked up, but he has some stiff opposition in his hunt for bracelet number five: Mike “The Grinder” Mizrachi (6 bracelets), Joao Vieira (five bracelets) and Ben Yu (four bracelets) are joined by two-time previous winners Bryn Kenney, Ben Lamb and Erick “E-dog” Lindgren, among others.
We’ll bring you all the best of the final day action tomorrow as the PPC plays down to a winner, with $1,331,322 up top and one of the most prestigious bracelets in poker history at stake.
