Phil Hellmuth is enjoying a fast start to 2026.
He vowed to play more tournaments, and it's paying off in the PGT Last Chance series in Las Vegas, where he final tabled the very first event earlier this week, finishing 4th for $98,100.
The Poker Brat has done it again, making the final six from 108 runners in Event #3.
Spanish pro Sergio Aido leads the way, followed closely by Brandon Wilson. Chino Rheem, Jeremy Becker, and Hellmuth are bunched together, with Joey Weissman coming in as the short stack.
Hellmuth: 'That's f*****g poker!'
Hellmuth played a big pot with Rheem on the final table of seven players.
With the board reading 
, Hellmuth bet 200,000 and was raised to 480,000 by Rheem. Hellmuth made the call to the 
river.
Hellmuth checked dark, and Rheem bet 700,000. Hellmuth took a beat, counted his chips, and then made the call. He was rewarded by Rheem saying, "You win."
Hellmuth slammed his 
down, got up from the table, clapped his hands together, and said, "Yes! That's f*****g poker... My f*****g reads have been so dead on – it's why I keep getting all these f*****g chips."
Hellmuth went on to say it was his "best call in a no-limit hold’em tourney in two years."
Erik Seidel was the final elimination of the day in 7th, and it was Rheem that took his chips. He moved all-in from the small blind with 
and Seidel made the call with 
. The board ran out 
to send Seidel to the rail.
Points mean prizes
The Last Chance players aren't just in it for the money. At the end of the six-event series, the players in the top 40 of the PGT leaderboard will contest the $1,000,000 Championship Freeroll, which starts on Monday.
There are also 5 Dream Seats up for grabs that will be awarded to the top five players on the Last Chance leaderboard (and not in the top 40 on the PGT leaderboard). Patrick Leonard is currently leading the way here, after his win in the second event, but Hellmuth can overtake him with a victory on Thursday.
Rheem has already booked his Championship Freeroll seat – he's third on the PGT leaderboard, but playing for a bigger stack now (starting stacks in the Championship Freeroll are determined by your final leaderboard position).
Weissman is 38th and looking for points to cement his seat, while Aido, barring any final-table mishaps, should get enough to confirm his seat. He's currently in 35th.
The final six restart at 12pm PT on Thursday, January 8, with blinds at 40,000/80,000/80,000. All six players are guaranteed $54,000, with $275,000 up top for the winner.
PGT Last Chance 3 – final six
- Sergio Aido: 3,675,000
- Brandon Wilson: 3,510,000
- Chino Rheem: 2,250,000
- Jeremy Becker: 2,025,000
- Phil Hellmuth: 1,785,000
- Joey Weissman: 330,000
