Phil Hellmuth’s hunt for an 18th World Series of Poker bracelet will have to wait. In Event #99 ($5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em), the “Poker Brat” led for large stretches of the final table but ultimately came up short against Darren Rabinowitz, who closed out his second career bracelet.
A raucous heads-up battle
Rabinowitz began heads-up with a 2-to-1 chip lead and needed every bit of it. The final duel stretched beyond an hour with several lead changes, all while a partisan crowd roared for the sport’s most decorated player — Hellmuth’s two sons among those cheering from the rail.
“If there were 1,500 people watching, it felt like 1,400 were against me,” Rabinowitz admitted afterward. “I really didn’t want to lose to this guy.” Fresh off a brutal Main Event exit weeks earlier, he leaned on his mindset: “I just tried to keep a good mentality. I can’t believe it worked out.”
The numbers
The $5,000 event drew 884 entries. Rabinowitz banked $695,256 for the title, while Hellmuth collected $464,286 as runner-up — a superb result that nonetheless leaves him stuck on 17 bracelets, still the all-time record.
For Hellmuth, the near-miss is a familiar kind of heartbreak: another deep run, another final table, and another wait for the milestone that has eluded him since his last victory.
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