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Immediately after the World Series of Poker announced its 2025 schedule and a new structure, all-time bracelet leader Phil Hellmuth shocked the poker community by saying he will not be playing in his year's event.
“It’s turned into an endurance test,” Hellmuth, who has played in every Main Event since 1988, said in a video posted late Monday night on X. “I don’t think the WSOP Main Event is measuring skill. If you go out there and poll the players on whether or not they should have days off in the Main Event, 80% are going to say yes."
I am not playing the @WSOP Main Event. It has become an “Endurance contest.”
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) February 18, 2025
I truly believe that 80% of the players want changes made to the @WSOP Main Event. 12 hour days, or longer, for 6-7 days in row, is brutal and disproportionately affects older players pic.twitter.com/7K4OcJOZ56
Poker pro Scott Seiver suggested change is not necessarily a bad thing.
"A) the world series is 45 days 12 hour days the main is no longer or shorter a day than any other day of play. B) obviously the event supposedly showing the best should have an advantage for younger people. We get older we get worse, that's life we all have to accept that."
Pro Daniel Negreanu chimed in.
"What Scott said below is all true and I would add that the WSOP main event since 1970 has been a slow structure with 2 hour levels. It is a bucket list event for many, with the grind being part of the allure. There are only two ways to address Phil’s concerns: 1) Make it a 3 week tourney 2) Speed up the structure Neither of those are good ideas IMO. The WSOP main event is special because of its long standing consistency as a: -$10k buy in -freeze out -2 hour levels All 3 of those things have been in place for over 50 years now."
In any event, Hellmuth's agent made it clear the bracelet record-holder is not bluffing.
"He’s not bluffing. He’s not grandstanding. He’s sad about it. It’s authentic. Nobody loves it more. The man has dedicated his life to the pursuit of gold bracelets," Brian Balsbaugh tweeted.
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