Poker legend Phil Hellmuth was at his best in every way possible on Thursday night with a thrilling victory at the World Series Poker European Championship at the Majestic Barrier Hotel in Cannes, France.

Helmut's victory was monumental in every way – at first, it was another exclamation point in the history of the world's most accomplished and respected WSOP player. In addition, Helmut not only overwhelmed his opponents in a game that may have been watched by as many people as any poker game in history, but also entertained viewers around the world. Last but not least, Helmut's second gold bracelet of the year won the leader board's 2012 WSOP Player of the Year race.

For Hellmuth, this was the 13th place to win the gold bracelet. It came three months after his 12th victory in the $2,500 Raise match in Las Vegas. It was Hellmuth's first non-hold bracelet victory.

However, Hellmuth returned to more familiar territory this time, and dominated the tournament for the last two matches, including a difficult final table featuring seven other victory-hungry players. They fell short of awards one by one, leaving the poker superstar with more chips every hour.

The following tournament ended with Helmut beating Ukraine's second-place finisher Sergiy Barronov with a pair of aces and a better kicker. The final win of the tournament was worth €1,022,376 to the new champion. But at least two other things seemed to be on his mind. 실시간 바카라사이트

"I don't say this very often, but I'm really humbled by it," Helmut said afterwards. "It's one of the most prestigious titles in poker, and to get it, the World Championship (1989) is right on top of that."

In fact, it was Helmus' 13th win, the most wins in history at the WSOP. The poker superstar, from Palo Alto, California, now leads his closest rivals, Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson by three bracelets. Neither Chan nor Brunson has won any bracelets since 2005.

In the WSOP Player of the Year race, only Greg Merson can outrun Helmuth, which requires him to win the WSOP Main Event Championship. The final will be held in late October, when the winner of the year will be determined.

This is the sixth WSOP European Main Event Championship and the second time the competition has been held in France. Major poker superstars from almost every continent advanced to the French Riviera for this year's competition. Among those with cash were gold bracelets winner Jason Mercier, Scott Saber, David Benjamin, Andy Frankenberger, Bertrand Grospellier, Keven Stammen, Elio Fox (last year's WSOP European Main Event Champion), Eugene Kachalov, Daniel Negreanu, and Justin Bonomo.

Helmut's victory is another thrilling moment after six years of action-packed excitement at WSOP Europe. From the start of 18-year-old Annette O'Brestad's stunning victory at the inaugural event in 2007, to John Juanda's marathon victory, the longest WSOP finals table in history, and Phil Lark and Goose Hansen's first gold bracelet a year later, WSOP Europe has given the world of poker more than great memories.

But for Helmut, he will never have a memory of surpassing the lucky number 13. With this supreme achievement, Helmut seriously insists that it is probably the best ever, especially when it comes to tournament poker. Not only has Helmut won the most games, but he has also played in the last table game in history, but he has the most records in his life.

"I played the best poker of my life in this tournament," Helmut later announced. "My game keeps improving. I tried new things this time that really worked. My game is never the same. You have to keep improving, and that's what I do."

It was the seventh and last gold bracelet event in Cannes. The competition attracted 420 contestants, down almost 30 percent from 593 last year. The total prize money reached 4,032,000 euros. The top 48 finalists were given prize money.