Phil Hellmuth Finishes 20th at WPT Venetian Las Vegas

Phil Hellmuth, a 17-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, hit another obstacle in his quest for a World Poker Tour main event title. The player finished 20th in the $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship. The tournament ended Monday with a coin-flip confrontation against Nick Pupillo. Hellmuth earned $22,200 for this finish. The total prize pool was $2,346,000.

Hellmuth entered the tournament to win the WPT Mike Sexton Champions Cup trophy. Although he survived to the final 20 players, he failed to reach the six-handed final table. Before this result, he had finished 42nd at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship in San Jose and won $11,400. The two results gave him cashes in more than one WPT championship in the same season for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

The tournament drew 510 entries and play began on Thursday, November 5. Hellmuth barely survived Day 1C with 39,000 chips and grew his stack to 455,000 chips by Day 2. When the third day began on Monday with 29 players remaining, Hellmuth was 22nd in chip position with just 18 big blinds. Shannon Shorr was eliminated in 21st place and won $19,500. Landon Tice and Jesse Lonis also exited the tournament at this stage.

Hellmuth moved all in with A-Q holding roughly ten big blinds. His opponent, Pupillo, had JJ. No ace or queen came on the board, and Hellmuth reached the award table in 20th place. In a video shared on X, the player said the result had disappointed him. He also noted that his opponents played too aggressively and too many hands.