Overview
- Phil Hellmuth entered and retained the chip lead at the six‑handed final table of Event #99 on Thursday, holding about 10,000,000 in chips as play continued toward the title.
- Event #99 is the $5,000 8‑Handed No‑Limit Hold’em tournament that drew 884 entrants and produced a $4,066,400 prize pool with $695,256 for first place.
- Hellmuth reached the late stages by outlasting well‑known pros including Adam Hendrix, Cliff Josephy, Joseph Cheong and Brian Rast, and he tightened the race as other big stacks were eliminated.
- His remaining opponents include two first‑time bracelet seekers, Victor Li and Joshua Stewart, and several players chasing a second bracelet such as Darren Rabinowitz, Nick Pupillo and Nicholas Palma.
- A win would extend Hellmuth’s record from 17 to 18 WSOP bracelets, widening the gap with Phil Ivey and creating one of the final marquee storylines as the series winds down before the Main Event final table.