Jesse Klein Tilts Phil Hellmuth and Wins First WSOP Bracelet

Now we all love an underdog, right? But it’s not often that an amateur strolls into Las Vegas for the World series of Poker and plays a star-studded table of opponents, to not only come out on top but tilt one of the of the best in the game. Maybe the likes of Chris Moneymaker and Scott Farnsworth come to mind – both tales that will remain in the history books forever. Fortunately for us all, we have a huge underdog win in just the 2nd event of the 2021 WSOP.

Event #2 was $25,000 HORSE. 78 players entered this $25k buy-in event, aiming to win the top prize of $552,182 in a pool worth over 1.8 million dollars. After coming into Vegas completely unknown, Jesse Klein emerged victorious, playing against opponents with a collective 22 gold bracelets.

That’s a feat Klein will never forget, but what he’ll more likely take to his grave, is winning a hand over Phil Hellmuth and having a front row seat to a Hellmuth classic freak-out after tilting the WSOP bracelet record holder. Phil entered the event chasing what would have been a record-extending 16th WSOP gold bracelet, but he fell short, coming in 6th place – although he still cashed in a handsome $95,329.

Here's Klein's own rundown of Hellmuth's outburst after winning a 'razz pot':

“In a Razz hand he limped, and I completed. I made a nine and I think he made a ten, he just went off and I loved it. It made me laugh, all that kind of stuff cracks me up. It’s part of the entertainment I guess.”

Klein states that he's “not intimidated ever playing poker” and that's just as well - as he didn’t only outplay and outlast Hellmuth. He was also up against three-time winners Benny Glaser and Ben Yu, as well as David Benyamine – the World Poker Tour champion and WSOP bracelet winner - so keeping his nerve couldn't have been more important. Klein simply says “when you’re comfortable playing different games you just play your game. You try not to get too high or too low, just stay steady.”

Klein’s relaxed nature seemed to be there from the get-go. He entered the competition because he enjoys playing and as the owner of a recruiting business with a wife and two children at home, he doesn’t seem interested in playing professionally even after a win like this.

After his win he commented:

“I’m feeling great. It was a lot of fun. The players were awesome, it was an awesome structure. I’m feeling good. I play poker to win, but I don’t play poker professionally. The H.O.R.S.E. event is what I wanted to play. I love all the different games. It’s just fun.”

After the win he said - “I’ve got a gold bracelet. I’m fired up. I love playing poker. This event was about as competitive as can be. A perfect little couple of days.”

This is how Event #2: $25k HORSE finished up as a whole:

Fingers crossed we get another event like this in the coming weeks.

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