Poker player Phil Hellmuth expresses his disapproval over Shaun Deeb winning the 2025 World Series of Poker Player of the Year title.
In the world of poker, the debate about the WSOP Player of the Year (POY) award has taken a new turn, with 17-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth questioning the validity of Shaun Deeb's 2025 POY victory.
Hellmuth, a poker legend, has expressed his concerns about the current scoring system, believing that winning premier events should matter more than accumulating multiple deep finishes in smaller tournaments. According to Hellmuth, Deeb focused too much on volume rather than quality in his poker play.
Deeb secured the 2025 WSOP POY title with five final tables and one bracelet, but many of the events he participated in had smaller fields and lower buy-ins. This has led to a controversy that continues to grow within the poker community.
Deeb, however, defended his approach to poker on social media, stating that he earned the title through outplaying and outlasting opponents. He argues that his consistent deep runs and high event participation were key factors in his victory.
The WSOP POY scoring system is determined by a points formula that awards points based on playersβ finishes in WSOP bracelet events throughout the series. Points typically consider factors such as the buy-in amount, field size, and finishing position, rewarding deeper runs in bigger-field and higher-buy-in events more heavily.
As the series evolves, discussions about potential changes to the WSOP POY system for the 2026 series are common among players and analysts. These discussions usually revolve around adjusting weighting factors to better balance the value of winning prestigious, high-buy-in events like the Main Event against accumulating multiple deep finishes in smaller or lower buy-in tournaments.
Other proposed changes include incorporating different formats or event types into the POY calculation to reflect evolving variations of poker and ensuring transparency and fairness in how the formula calculates points.
The debate about the WSOP POY award adds to the ongoing drama within the poker community, with many fans and players expressing their opinions on various online platforms. Some agree with Hellmuth's views on the scoring system, while others support Deeb's approach.
Hellmuth has previously criticized the WSOP's POY scoring system and emphasizes that consistency and major event wins are the true measures of excellence. He advocates for a formula that rewards high-stakes victories more heavily.
The controversy surrounding the WSOP POY award has been escalated by Hellmuth's comments, renewing the debate about the appropriate criteria for the prestigious award. For full details, official WSOP communications or industry coverage closer to the 2026 WSOP would be needed.
Hellmuth, in criticizing Deeb's 2025 WSOP POY victory, argued that he primarily focused on quantity rather than quality in his casino-games, which prompted discussions about potentially adjusting the WSOP POY scoring system to place more emphasis on premier events like casino-and-gambling tournaments. Despite having five final tables and one bracelet, Deeb's win was partly achieved through participating in smaller-field and lower-buy-in events, which sparked controversy within the poker community.
