If you can't get enough Phil Hellmuth in your life, there's an away-from-the-felt viewing opportunity coming up tonight (Friday) on ESPN, when the "Poker Brat" takes part in American Cornhole League’s (ACL) “SuperHole III”. The made-for-TV pro-am challenge pairs celebrities with ACL pros in the kickoff of a months-long series leading up to a championship held in South Carolina in August.
Hellmuth and his cornhole partner, ACL pro Cody Henderson, will compete in the first of six preliminaries in the SuperHole III tourney. The Hellmuth/Henderson team will compete against three other celebrity pro-am pairs. They'll square off against "Pawn Stars" co-star Austin Lee "Chumlee" Russell and ACL pro Eric Anderson. The match kicks off ESPN's Cornhole III coverage, which airs from 9:30 - 11:00 pm ET on ESPN. The festivities will be broadcast live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
The winner of the matchup then moves on to play the winner of a second match that pits "S.W.A.T." actor David Lim and ACL pro Tony Smith against NFL player Terry Kirby and ACL pro Rosie Streaker. Tonight's winning team then moves on to the next bracket in the competition. Last year's Cornhole II celebrity pro-am winners were former NFL and CFL quarterback Doug Flutie and ACL pro Matt guy.
Hellmuth claims to be raw amateur at cornhole
Hellmuth has stated that he's only played cornhole -- a formalized version of the decades-old beanbag-toss game -- a few times, though it's clear he's been practicing for his on-air debut. His Twitter feed in recent days has been loaded with pics of his practice sessions with family and friends.
"Oh boy! I’m LIVE on @ESPN tomorrow night 6:30 PST, NOT playing poker, but playing Corn Hole! I’m 4.5-to-1 underdog in my first match on betting sites…Uh oh… #POSITIVITY," Hellmuth Tweeted yesterday, among his self-marketing and promotional efforts.
Basile and Hellmuth were both in the news recently for non-cornhole news. Basile is the founder of the Bitcoin Latinum cryptocurrency recently in the news in the form of a lawsuit from three allegedly ghosted investors. Hellmuth himself has prominently promoted the altcoin, and he may be an investor in Basile's project as well.
Featured image source: American Cornhole League
