All-time bracelet leader Phil Hellmuth shocked the poker world Tuesday when he announced he will not be playing in the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event due to its demanding structure.
“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."
The G.O.A.T. of the World Series of Poker and 1989 world champion is no spring chicken anymore. He'll turn 61 years old on the final day of the 2025 WSOP Main Event, a tournament that requires its winner to grind through 10 grueling days. There's only one off-day scheduled after Day 2, and that is July 14 prior to the start of the final table.
Such a grind, in the "Poker Brat's" mind, leaves the older poker players at a disadvantage. He isn't the only one who shares that point of view. But poker legends such as Scott Seiver and Daniel Negreanu have contrasting opinions.
Negreanu and Seiver Share Thoughts
Daniel Negreanu
Seiver, 39, didn't argue against Hellmuth's claim that younger players have an advantage in the Main Event. Rather, he said such an advantage was natural and should be expected in the competitive game.
"Obviously the event supposedly showing the best should have an advantage for younger people," Seiver wrote on X. "We get older we get worse, that's life we all have to accept that."
Nadya Magnus, however, is one of a handful of high-profile pros who agree more with Hellmuth than Seiver and Negreanu. She tweeted out her two cents and some advice for the WSOP.
"Keep in mind long days are not only effecting different age groups but also people w/medical conditions. Poker players PAY to play unlike pro athletes that GET PAID to play. Prize pools will shrink once players’ pool gets older. We don’t want that. I’d like to see ME age stats," Magnus wrote.
Those debating the issue mostly argue that Hellmuth is right, or like Seiver stated, aging is just part of life. In sports, most athletes begin to decline by age 33, and retire a few years later. Poker is a game where some play until the day they die, but many cut down on playing tournaments as they get older due to the grueling sessions.
There's a second part of this story in play, and that is whether or not Hellmuth is just bluffing and either already plans to compete in the 2025 WSOP Main Event, or if he'll change his mind come July due to FOMO. A number of poker fans on Twitter seem to be convinced the BetRivers Casino ambassador will end up registering for the world championship event. But Hellmuth's longtime agent, Brian Balsbaugh, says he isn't 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," Balsbaugh tweeted.
Balsbaugh represents Hellmuth and Negreanu, and was a longtime friend and agent for the late Doyle Brunson. He went on to share that Doyle "couldn’t handle the long, consecutive days" of the Main Event in his later years.
Brunson, a two-time world champion, avoided competing in the Main Event during his late 70s and early 80s. But he did return to the prestigious tournament in 2021 and even showed the poker world he could still compete at a high level. "Texas Dolly" reached Day 3 before bowing out short of the money. His last cash in the Main Event, a tournament he won in 1976 and 1977, came in 2013 (409th place).
The only thing that is certain is if Hellmuth sticks to his word and doesn't enter the 2025 WSOP Main Event, his presence will be missed by many poker fans.
Connor Richards is a Senior Editor U.S. for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for three Global Poker Awards for his writing.
