This week, Bryn Kenney called Phil Hellmuth out for his record at the World Series of Poker, comparing the Poker Brat’s impressive record of 17 WSOP bracelets as being from the lower leagues of ranking poker tournaments. A master in many high rollers, Kenney sits at the summit of the All-Time Money List on The Hendon Mob. But which man has earned the most money playing poker?
The answer might be closer than you think.
What Did Bryn Kenney Say About Hellmuth’s Record?
“He’s played some high rollers and hasn’t really fared very well in them.”
Over the past few years, in an era of the game dominated by Game Theory Optimal (GTO) play, Bryn Kenney has seized control of the All-Time Money List like no-one else. The winner of the biggest single prize ever won in poker, Kenney has a total of over $67 million in live tournament earnings and sits over $2.9m clear of his nearest challenger Justin Bonomo.
While Phil Hellmuth might be the most successful WSOP player of all-time in term of bracelet victories, Kenney spoke to Sean Kelly candidly about the level he believes the Poker Brat to be at on the Digital Social Hour Podcast.
“He’s the biggest winning WSOP player,” Kenney admitted. “He has his career, which is impressive, too. [But] he’s played some high rollers and hasn’t really fared very well in them. When you think about who the best players in poker are, if you’re not competing at the highest level, you can’t really be in contention for it.”
Kenney then suggested Hellmuth could be number one in WSOP but that didn’t count for everything.
“OK cool, WSOP has huge fields but what about when you play the small fields with the best players If you win in those you’re standing the test of time. If you’re playing mostly amateur players… he could be the king of Triple-A but he’s not really in the majors.”
“If he’s looking to make a huge bet in the World Series, I’ll consider playing a whole WSOP and show him he’s not even the best at those either.”
According to over 1,000 people on PokerNews, 67% of poker fans agreed with Bryn Kenney on him being the ‘G.O.A.T.’ (Greatest of All-Time) rather than Hellmuth.
Watch the video in full here:
Hellmuth Bites Back
“It’s aggravating when people lie about me – I am winning over $1.5 million in High Rollers.”
The Poker Brat was hardly likely to stay quiet for long. The 17-time bracelet winner replied on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“To me the WSOP (World Series of Poker) is the ‘big leagues’. Always has been, always will be. It’s aggravating to me when people lie about me and my legacy. For the record, I am winning over $1.5 million in ‘High Rollers’. (Easy to confirm this on TheHendonMob). You said I wouldn’t play you heads up? Where were you I challenged the entire world to a $1.6m heads up challenge on High Stakes Duel?”
High Stakes Duel was a happy hunting ground for Hellmuth, as he won nine of the 11 matches he played in the format. Hellmuth scooped series 3-0 against both Antonio ‘the Magician’ Esfandiari and Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu, before he beat Nick Wright. Looking unassailable to that point, Hellmuth did eventually lose one of the two matches he played against Tom Dwan before getting the better of Scott Seiver in the $800,000 duel. Jason Koon got the better of Hellmuth for $1.6 million but Hellmuth far from disgraced himself in the popular PokerGO show.
Hellmuth, whose record in heads-up ranking tournaments is 73-47, compares favorably to Kenney’s, which is 23-18 (and would convert to a ratio of 73-57). The Poker Brat won the NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2005 and has won $30.2 million in live tournaments, some of which took place in the 1980s and 1990s. Converting those millions earned three or four decades ago into modern money would bring Hellmuth’s total much closer to that of Kenney’s, as the New York legend has won all of his $67 million since 2007.
Could We See Hellmuth vs. Kenney for Millions?
“I’ve told PokerGO I’m ready to play – we know you get to cherry pick who you’re playing.”
Hellmuth’s laying down of the gauntlet was picked up on positively by Kenney, who confirmed that he’d be happy to go at it on PokerGO.
“I’ve told PokerGO I’m ready to play from the beginning,” he said. “We know you get to cherry pick who you were playing. Let me know when the offer is there to play me for [$1 million], I’ll be there.”
Kenney wasn’t finished there, adding: “Also if you wanna showcase how good you aren’t, I’m happy to crossbook 100% in any Triton series.”
Thus far, Phil Hellmuth hasn’t taken on Triton Poker Tour events to anywhere near the level Kenney has. The New Yorker’s $20,563,324 score in 2019 in London on the Triton tour remains the biggest poker prize ever awarded for a single tournament result. Hellmuth’s conqueror on High Stakes Duel, Jason Koon, is the biggest winning player on the Triton Poker Series with 10 titles but Kenney’s record is very impressive in high rollers and undoubtedly better than Hellmuth’s thus far.
Could we soon see Hellmuth and Kenney go at it for ‘rolls’? A seven-figure battle would seem inevitable, but while the High Stakes Duel format is one that favors Hellmuth in terms of comfort, a one-match heads-up match might not be proof of any winner being the better player. A series of at least three events would seem more statistically sound in proving the power dynamic between two of poker’s biggest-ever winners.
Will we see the Poker Brat take on King Kenney at the WSOP or Triton poker felt? One thing’s for sure, if we do, it will be the biggest match-up in many a year if seven figures really are on the line.
