Phil Hellmuth has done it again, winning yet another High Stakes Duel against Scorr Seiver for a whopping $800,00 and advancing to the next round, where an incredible $1,600,000 will be on the line!
Phil Hellmuth and Scott Seiver stepped into the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 17, for the biggest High Stakes Duel match to date. Hellmuth and Seiver put up $400,000 each.
Epic Battle between Phil Hellmuth and Scott Seiver
After an enduring battle that stretched into the late hours on Tuesday night, Hellmuth emerged the winner for what was his ninth High Stakes Duel victory.
What a match it’s already been!@scott_seiver and @phil_hellmuth are BATTLING!
Still live right now on PokerGO. pic.twitter.com/sR3sgiCMqj
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) May 18, 2022
Hellmuth has now won nine High Stakes Duel matches. He went a perfect 3-0 against both Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu before he moved on to defeat Nick Wright in one match. After Wright, Tom Dwan was next, and he and Hellmuth exchanged wins as the stakes doubled with every match.
Seiver stepped into the ring after Dwan backed out in the days leading up to High Stakes Duel III Round 4. Although Seiver lost this match, he does have the option to rematch Hellmuth at double the stakes.
“He’s one of the greatest players in the world”
Phil Hellmuth said after his victory over Scott Seiver:
“He was just tough and that’s what I was expecting. He’s one of the greatest players in the world and also one of the best of his generation. I knew it was going to be a tough match, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed playing against him.”
The key hand in this High Stakes Duel III match was when Hellmuth check-raised bluffed the river with ace-high and Seiver folded his rivered pair.
“A lot of these matches I’ve played, I’ve put it on the line with a bluff. A big bluff. A lot of the time, my opponent is super strong, and so far, they’ve made these folds. Everyone criticizes them, ‘how could you fold? How could you fold?’ because I don’t bluff very often. So, when I’m finally putting in big money, I usually have it. I’m also aware that they think I usually have it. But I put it on the line in that hand, and he almost called.”
Next time there will be a staggering $1,600,000 on the line!
Hellmuth now improves to a 9-1 record on High Stakes Duel with sweeps of Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu, along with wins against Fox Sports 1’s Nick Wright, Tom Dwan, and now Seiver.
Hellmuth has advanced into Round 5 where he and his opponent will play for an unprecedented $1,600,000.
“I’m not really thinking about losing, but I expect to rematch if it happens”
So far there has been no confirmation of a rematch from Seiver. When Seiver spoke to PokerGO prior to Round 4, he said:
“I’m not really thinking about losing, but I expect to rematch if it happens.”
PokerGO: How much do you feel you earned this victory against Scott Seiver?
Phil Hellmuth: “Scott absolutely did not give it to me. He was just tough, and that’s what I was expecting. He’s one of the greatest players in the world and also one of the best of his generation. He’s won a fortune playing at Bellagio, and he’s just a great big-bet player. I knew it was going to be a tough match, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed playing against him. I still would have been angry, of course, if I lost, but he has so much class and handles himself so well, and that’s nice. Some of the guys have been mean to me, some have lied to me, and some have been brutal to me. Sure, I get my digs in too, but Scott handled himself well. I didn’t pull too much ‘Poker Brat’ out on him, and he knows how to handle it.”
PokerGO: The turning point in the match appeared to be when you check-raised on a bluff with ace-king and got Scott to fold the best hand. Was this the hand that shifted the momentum?
Phil Hellmuth: “It was. If he calls, I probably lose the match. I’m probably down to 50,000 or 60,000 in chips. A lot of these matches I’ve played, I’ve put it on the line with a bluff, a big bluff. A lot of the time, my opponent is super strong, and so far, they’ve made these folds. Everyone criticizes them, ‘How could you fold? How could you fold?’ Because I don’t bluff very often. So, when I’m finally putting in big money, I usually have it. I’m also aware that they think I usually have it. But I put it on the line in that hand, and he almost called. If he does call, he wins the match. Antonio [Esfandiari], if he calls, he wins the match. Daniel [Negreanu], if he calls once, he wins the match. So far, my timing has been exceptional with the bluffs, and they’ve folded some very strong hands.”
PokerGO: You’re now 9-1 in High Stakes Duel history. How much do you attribute to good fortune or are you just that much better than everyone else?
Phil Hellmuth: “With the greatest players in the world, reading ability is a premium. If I think he’s weak, and I bluff and bluff and bluff and bluff, I’m picking up free chips. If I’m really strong and I trap him, I’m picking up a lot of chips. In my last match against [Tom] Dwan, I just had to say, ‘Alright, Phil, the sky is the limit. Every time you see weakness, you raise him, you raise him, you raise him.’ That’s the strategy and tactic I chose, and somehow that adds up well for me. I make some folds that nobody else makes. These matches are long. We’re playing for six hours. It’s six hours of poker, and it gives you a long time to have the deck break even, and it gives you a long time to pick up some hands. The difference is that all these people in the world watching me play think, ‘Oh, Phil is making mathematic mistakes.’ I’m not playing the cards, I’m playing the player, and that’s how I’ve won all my titles. I have a knack for no-limit hold’em, I have a knack for heads-up no-limit hold’em, and it’s come through. There have been times when I have been lucky in some of these matches, for sure, but I always seem to have the best hand in these massive pots. There is something I’m doing that they don’t understand and that I really don’t want to talk about.”
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