Hellmuth Blasts WSOP POY Formula Amid Deeb’s Win
Summary:
- Legendary Phil Hellmuth criticized the WSOP Player of the Year scoring and said Shaun Deeb didn’t deserve the title.
- The 17-time World Champion of Poker argued that Michael Mizrachi or Benny Glaser should have won.
- Deeb was quick to fire back on X, denying any role in the POY rule changes.
Phil Hellmuth didn’t hold back this week when he called out the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year race, saying Shaun Deeb didn’t deserve the title and slamming what he sees as a broken scoring system.
Hellmuth: “Mizrachi Should Have Been Player of the Year”
Deeb put together an incredible summer, cashing 18 times, earning three runner-up finishes, and winning a coveted gold bracelet along with $2.9 million. However, for Hellmuth, who owns 17 bracelets himself, those stats weren’t enough to justify Deeb being named 2025 WSOP Player of the Year (POY).
In a three-minute video posted on X, Hellmuth argued that either Michael Mizrachi, who won both the Poker Players Championship and the Main Event, or Benny Glaser, who captured three bracelets, should have won the honor instead.
I don’t think any professional poker player believes that the right person won Player of the Year.
Mizrachi should have been Player of the Year. I think that 90% of the poker world believes that. Maybe the other 10% thinks Benny Glaser should have won Player of the Year. One of those two for sure should have won it.
POY Formula Dispute
Hellmuth also suggested Deeb had a hand in lobbying for changes to the POY formula, which, since 2024, only counts a player’s ten best results rather than unlimited cashes. Ironically, Deeb had previously criticized that very change.
I mean, he’s writing the rules and he’s winning Player of the Year and nobody likes the result? What is happening? This has to change
He proposed awarding extra points for players who win multiple bracelets, saying the award should celebrate winners over consistency alone.
What are we doing? Second place, second place, third place, that’s bullsh**. We’re champions. Player of the Year should be about champions.
Deeb quickly fired back on X, saying Hellmuth’s claims were flat-out wrong.
First off: I had zero involvement in the WSOP changing the POY formula. The shift from counting unlimited cashes to capping at 10 wasn’t my call — and it hurt me more than it helped. Phil himself admitted that.
Deeb added that while Mizrachi and Glaser both had “phenomenal” summers, the award remains a points-based system, not a highlight reel of the biggest wins.
He even said he’d help improve the formula, “even if it means lowering my future chances”.
Deeb, who received public backing from fellow players Chris Brewer, Landon Tice, Derek Kwan, and David “ODB” Baker, went on to say that he has been “chasing” the recognition “for years”
Never thought I’d be backed up by @RealKidPoker (Daniel Negreanu) while getting blindsided by Phil Hellmuth — but here we are. Some people evolve. Others just keep rewriting history to stay the hero of their own story. Props to Mizrachi. Props to Benny.
