It seems like 2011 is turning into something of a big frustration for Phil Hellmuth as he is once again denied of getting his 12th bracelet. A few days ago, it was John Juanda who defeated Hellmuth at heads up, but now it’s Eric Radowig’s turn. The two of them were the last ones left on the No Limt 2-7 Lowball Event. Hellmuth looked poised to take the gold, but alas, the bracelet was not to meant to be his.

The Final Table

In one of the most star-studded final tables of the WSOP, Hellmuth faced the chance to snatch his 12th WSOP bracelet – and missed. They were on Day 3 of the event, the 168 players down to its last 18. Rodawig, in fairness to him, actually had a huge chip lead as they entered the final table. Ali Eslami, on the other hand, was plagued with a painfully short stack. As such, it was him who first had to exit, courtesy of Ted Forrest. Joe Tehan was the next one to go after clashing with Rodawig. Saminov was the next one to exit, this time courtesy of David Benyamine. Ironically, it was Benyamine who was eliminated next, at fifth place. It was Hellmuth who offed him. Next to leave the table was Ted Forrest, eliminated through a joint effort by Hellmuth and Racener. Forrest was eliminated at fourth place, leaving only Racener, Hellmuth, and Rodawig. At this point, it could have been either Hellmuth or Racener sitting down at heads up. Rodawig had a pretty comfortable chip lead. Of course, the moment of truth came, and Racener had to exit the game, his Sevens woefully inferior to Hellmuth’s Queens.

Heads up with Hellmuth and Rodawig

Finally, it was Hellmuth and Rodawig’s turn to hash it out at the last leg of the event. Rodawig held a 3:1 advantage against Hellmuth. Hellmuth, disadvantaged by his short stack of chips, was simply unable to cope. He did manage to hold on for an hour before finally bowing out of the tournament, once again thwarted from getting his 12th bracelet – a frustration that I can’t even begin to comprehend.

Rodawig, on the other hand, was pretty ecstatic to have won the title, the bracelet, as well as the $442,183 prize money. This was his first ever WSOP bracelet, adding yet another name to the ever-growing list of first-time winners.