Phil Hellmuth has continually proven his doubters wrong in tournament play, and again did so on Wednesday afternoon when he took down the PokerGO Tour (PGT) US Poker Open Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $211,200.
The 16-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, arguably the best tournament player ever, defeated Jeremy Ausmus, one of the top high rollers in the game today, heads-up to ship the trophy. In doing so, he hit $28,660,000 in career live tournament cashes, according to Hendon Mob.
The live USPO follows the US Poker Open Online that was held on Global Poker last August and September.
Global Poker Review: Play Legal Online Poker in the US
Ausmus Vs. Hellmuth Part II
This wasn’t the first time the two finalists battled heads-up for a major poker tournament title. At the 2021 WSOP, Ausmus denied the “Poker Brat” his 17th bracelet in the $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller. On that day, Ausmus won his third bracelet and has tacked on two more since.
But on Wednesday, Hellmuth got a bit of revenge for the 2021 loss. His heads-up opponent received $149,600 as a consolation prize. On the final hand, with Hellmuth at slightly under a 2-1 chip lead and holding 
, he saw a flop in a preflop-raised pot of 
for a flush.
Ausmus also flopped a monster with 
, giving him top pair and a decent flush draw, and he bet 100,000 in position before being check-raised to 500,000. The button would then bump it up to 1,050,000 before the 1989 WSOP Main Event champion jammed all in for his opponent’s final 4 million chips.
A call was made and the 
on the turn would give Hellmuth a straight flush, ending any possibility of a suck-out. The river card was so irrelevant that PokerGO didn’t even show it.
Phil Hellmuth hits a walk-off straight flush to end it and capture his first PokerGO Major Title!!! ⚾️… https://t.co/4YSDyCfj2b
How the Day Progressed
When Day 2 (final table) began, Ausmus held a slim lead over Hellmuth and Jesse Lonis. Aram Oganyan was in last place (seventh) but still had plenty of chips. He’d end up busting in fifth place out of 88 entrants for $70,400.
Darren Elias, the only four-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champion in history, would quickly bust at the final table, taking seventh place for $44,000.
Allen Le (sixth place for $52,800), Oganyan, and George Wolff (fourth place for $88,000) were the next three out the door.
With three players remaining and Hellmuth holding a small lead over Ausmus, Lonis moved his short stack all in with 
and was called by Hellmuth’s 
. To win tournaments, you need to win your races and 60/40s, and that is exactly what the former world champion did on this day. In this specific hand, the board would run out 
, and top pair was plenty to send Lonis home in third place ($105,600).
That brought about heads-up play with Hellmuth holding nearly a 2-1 chip advantage. Ausmus never made up much ground and was eliminated as the runner-up within approximately 20 minutes. Hellmuth won his first ever US Poker Open title. Love him or hate him, he continues to crush it in live poker tournaments and has done so for more than three decades.
US Poker Open Event #5 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | $211,200 | |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $149,600 | |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | United States | $105,600 | |
| 4 | George Wolff | United States | $88,000 | |
| 5 | Aram Oganyan | United States | $70,400 | |
| 6 | Allen Le | United States | $52,800 | |
| 7 | Darren Elias | United States | $44,000 |
Wiessman, Lin, Soverel Early USPO Winners
2023 US Poker Open Remaining Schedule
The start of the 6th of 10 US Poker Open events began, this one a $15,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament that will play out its final table on Thursday. The full remaining schedule is below (each final table can be viewed on PokerGO in its entirety):
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| March 29 | Event #6: $15,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | |
| March 30 | Event #7: $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em | |
| March 31 | Event #8: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em | |
| April 1 | Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em | |
| April 3 | Event #10: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em |
Photo courtesy PokerGO