Premier League Poker Player Profiles

Lining for this years's star-studded Premier League Poker are:

Andy Black | Victoria Coren | Ian Frazer | Tony G | Kirill Gerasimov | Phil Hellmuth | Juha Helppi | Kenna James | Liz Lieu | Eddie Scharf | Dave Ulliott | Roland de Wolfe

Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth is one of the most recognisable figures in poker and many fans have strong opinions of him, both negative and positive. While his ten WSOP bracelets bring him much recognition, his notoriety is also due to his perceived inability to gracefully handle adversity and defeat.

Hellmuth dropped out of University to play poker full time. In 1989, the 24-year-old Hellmuth became the youngest World Champion of Poker by defeating the two-time defending champion, Johnny Chan, in the World Series of Poker main event. In 2005 Hellmuth won the inaugural National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He defeated Men Nguyen, Paul Phillips, Huck Seed, Lyle Berman and Antonio Esfandiari on the way to the final against Chris Ferguson whom he defeated in two out of three games. While trying to repeat in 2006, he lost in the first round to Chip Reese.

As of 2006 he has won ten WSOP bracelets, each one in Texas hold 'em events. Hellmuth is also the season three champion of Late Night Poker.

Hellmuth is involved in many endeavors away from the felt. He is the author of many articles for Card Player Magazine and poker books, including Play Poker like the Pros, Bad Beats and Lucky Draws, Poker Brat and The Greatest Poker Hands ever Played. He has made several instructional poker videos, including Phil Hellmuth's Million Dollar Poker Secrets and is a regularly commentator and pundit on Poker TV programmes.

Phil earned the nickname the "poker brat" because of his perceived attitude and ego. He is sometimes referred to as "Hell Mouth", a play on his surname. While many players may not like Hellmuth's antics, producers of televised poker tournaments certainly do, since there are rare times (especially during the World Series of Poker) when a camera is not on him to capture a moment where he speaks his mind. Despite this reputation, his accomplishments are highly respected in the poker community and he is widely recognised as the world's greatest living hold'em player.

As of 2006, Phil's total live tournament winnings exceed $8,325,000.

Check out: Phil Hellmuth's Poker Tips >
Check out: Phil Hellmuth's Premier League Poker Match reports >

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