Top World Series of Poker Bracelet Holders Skilled At Closing Out Tournament WinsOut Of 22 Players With Five Or More Bracelets, Only One Player Has A Losing Heads-Up Record |
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In a 2011 interview with Card Player Magazine, after a summer filled with a record three runner-up finishes in World Series of Poker events, Phil Hellmuth was asked how he felt about his then-nine missed opportunities to add to his bracelet count.
“Wow,” said Hellmuth. “I didn’t know until this moment that I have nine second-place finishes. That really hurts [laughs]. It’s incredibly frustrating to come so close and fall short.”
Since then, Hellmuth has added three more WSOP bracelets, for a total of 14, along with an additional runner-up finish, giving him 10. Nobody has more heads-up losses than the man known as the poker brat. Then again, nobody has more wins either.
During Monday’s $10,000 razz final table, where the 50-year-old was securing no. 14, many poker players and fans on social media were quick to point out, perhaps unfairly, just how many times Hellmuth has fallen just short of the winner’s circle.
With that thought, Card Player decided to see how Hellmuth stacked up in WSOP heads-up matches against his peers. After poring over the cashes for each of the 22 players in history with five or more WSOP bracelets, we discovered, unsurprisingly, that the best bracelets winners were really, really good at closing out tournaments once they got to heads-up play.
Just one player from the bunch, six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu, has a losing record in WSOP heads-up play. Chris Ferguson, with five wins and five losses, is the next lowest on the chart with a 50 percent win record.
We’re not picking on Negreanu. In fact, Negreanu was just one card away in London from having a 7-6 record, rather than 6-7. Ferguson, on the other hand, needed a three-outer on the river to earn his most memorable bracelet, otherwise he’d be the one left with the losing record.
Of course, you can’t win if you don’t get there. It’s no surprise that just behind Hellmuth in heads-up appearances are Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson, who are all tied for second place with 10 bracelets each.
The highest winning percentage belongs to Jay Heimowitz, who at 6-1 has taken down 86 percent of his heads-up matches. Gary “Bones” Berland, who was one of the top players at the WSOP in the late ’70s, and Berry Johnston, who is still going strong today, tied for second with an 83 percent win rate.
Take a look at each player’s numbers below.
| Player | Heads-Up | Wins | Losses | Win Percentage |
| Phil Hellmuth | 24 | 14 | 10 | 58% |
| Johnny Chan | 15 | 10 | 5 | 66% |
| Phil Ivey | 14 | 10 | 4 | 71% |
| Doyle Brunson | 14 | 10 | 4 | 71% |
| Men Nguyen | 13 | 7 | 6 | 54% |
| Daniel Negreanu | 13 | 6 | 7 | 46% |
| Johnny Moss* | 12 | 9 | 3 | 75% |
| Erik Seidel | 11 | 8 | 3 | 73% |
| T.J. Cloutier | 11 | 6 | 5 | 55% |
| Chris Ferguson | 10 | 5 | 5 | 50% |
| Billy Baxter | 9 | 7 | 2 | 78% |
| Ted Forrest | 9 | 6 | 3 | 66% |
| David Chiu | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% |
| Jeff Lisandro | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75% |
| Layne Flack | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75% |
| Allen Cunningham | 8 | 5 | 3 | 63% |
| Jay Heimowitz | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% |
| John Juanda | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% |
| Scotty Nguyen | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% |
| Stu Ungar* | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% |
| Berry Johnston | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% |
| Gary Berland* | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% |
*It’s possible this player may have finished runner-up in additional early WSOP events without cashing when some tournaments only paid out one player.
For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2015 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.
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