Today, Phil Hellmuth is a name that every poker fan recognizes in an instant, and his appearance at any poker event is enough to cause a stir.
Back in 1989, however, Phil was just a 24-year-old kid from Wisconsin that no one had ever heard of, and his World Series of Poker Main Event victory was one of the most stunning moments the game had seen.
Just two years after recording his first live tournament cash, Hellmuth was at the top of the poker world, and things were about to get a whole lot better for him in the coming years.
Phil Hellmuth Outlasts the Pros
Phil Hellmuth may be a poker professional today, but back in 1989, he was just another kid with a dream.
To make things even more interesting, this was not an era in which too many “kids with a dream” played events like the WSOP, but rather one where the Series was dominated by the pros.
Unlike today’s WSOP tournaments, the 1989 Main Event had only 178 runners, but most of those were hardened pros with years of experience on the big stage.
Hellmuth was just 24 going into the tournament, and he was about to face off against the big guns after only playing the game for a couple of years.
But even back then, Hellmuth was showing signs of poker greatness, as he applied his “White Magic” to overcome the incredibly tough playing field.
Gambling legends like Puggy Pearson, David “Chip” Reese, and John Esposito were all in the running, but all fell short of the 1989 WSOP Main Event final table.
By the end, Phil had just one more obstacle to overcome, but that obstacle was none other than Johnny Chan, who had just won the Main Event in 1988.
In order to lift the trophy and join the poker elite, Phil would have to beat a living poker legend, and a player many years his senior in both age and poker experience.
The Poker Brat Makes a Statement in Beating Johnny Chan
In 1989, Johnny Chan was one of the best poker players in the world, and his consecutive wins at the 1987 and 1988 Main Events, followed by reaching the heads up match in 1989, demonstrate just how strong a player he truly was.
When the match between Chan and young Phil Hellmuth started, few could have imagined the 24-year-old would walk away with the bracelet, as the odds were simply stacked against him.
Yet, Hellmuth found the endurance, the patience, and the skill to beat Johnny Chan in one of the most legendary poker matches ever played.
The final hand was a classic heads up confrontation, with Hellmuth holding a pair of Nines, and Chan calling off his all-in with A♠7♠.
The board gave Chan lots of hope, as any Ten, Jack, King, or Ace would have given him the win, but the 6♠ that hit the river made Hellmuth the world champion.
Had things worked out differently, Chan would have become the first three-time world champion of poker, and Hellmuth would have had to wait a little longer to have his name mentioned among the poker greats.
Whether it was destiny, luck, or skill that saw Phil break through in 1989, it was easily one of the great moments that changed poker for good.
Proving that the Pros Aren’t Invincible
Phil’s 1989 triumph came many years before the Poker Boom, at a time when pros like Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, and David Reese had a godlike status in the game.
Most people were afraid to face these pros at the tables, believing they could pick up on the slightest tells and know the contents of your cards by simply giving you a quick glance.
Hellmuth had not only the courage to face them with the big bucks on the line, but also the understanding that no one was invincible at the poker table.
In an interview before the heads up match, he said he would treat Chan like anyone else. While he respected Johnny for everything he was, Hellmuth understood he was just a poker player, and with a little help from the deck, he could be beaten.
When Phil won the Main Event, he was by far the youngest player to do so, and he opened the floodgates for many young players who would dare to dream the same dream in the years to come.
In many ways, Phil’s 1989 victory laid the foundation for the Poker Boom and the subsequent worldwide explosion of poker.
The Birth of the Poker Brat
Younger fans of the game who only got to know Phil over the last decade or so recognize him as “The Poker Brat,” a brash player who hates losing and is very vocal in his opinions.
But the 1989 Hellmuth was much more modest, as he lacked the experience or results to back up the kind of personality he boasts today, 17 gold bracelets later.
Winning the 1989 WSOP Main Event gave the young Hellmuth a massive confidence boost, and in the years to come, he would develop the personality that eventually made him known as “The Poker Brat.”
The full scope of Hellmuth’s obsession with winning didn’t become apparent until the explosion of poker on TV in the early 2000s, when his TV appearances fully revealed his competitive nature.
Hellmuth’s early appearances on shows like Poker After Dark, where he battled with the likes of Mike Mattusow and berated amateur players for making amateur plays, became critical parts of poker history, and some of the scenes remain among the most popular and watched pieces of poker content even 20 years later.
