Phil Hellmuth Wraps Up The "Holidays" In Style on "Poker After Dark"

If you came into tonight’s Poker After Dark looking for storylines, they were there in abundance. Putting the bow on “Holidays with Hellmuth” week was a $25,000 Sit-n-Go that featured “The Godfather of Poker” and another one of the all-time greats battling exclusively on PokerGO.

Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson both appeared on the “Return of Tom Dwan” episodes and made their first Poker After Dark showing since August.

Hellmuth finished second to Maria Ho on the first night of the “Holidays” and then booked a win in last night’s $20,000 cash game. In an attempt to pull off a trifecta for the week, Hellmuth would have to battle against old adversaries and hungry newcomers.

Ho returned to defend her title from earlier in the week and Brunson made a rare and welcome appearance. New to the game were businessmen Dave Penski and Joe Marchese, who didn’t back down from the table full of pros.

Hellmuth and Negreanu were bound to dance during the match and didn’t waste much time to throw jabs. Decades of hands played together culminated in an early showdown which set the tone for the full show.

Early. Often. @Phil_Hellmuth and @RealKidPoker open the "Holidays with Hellmuth" $25K sit and go with another #PokerAfterDark collision.
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/rP1pY3VmIH pic.twitter.com/jJf3aFkvaE

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) December 21, 2017

It looked early like it would be Hellmuth’s night. A lot of things went his way and if there was any doubt, it was all but erased in a hand against Penski. The stage was set for another great rant from “The Poker Brat” but somehow, the deck held up and Hellmuth collected a large pot to set himself up for at least a spot in the money.

RT if you were rooting AGAINST @Phil_Hellmuth's pocket aces, just because you were rooting FOR a Phil Hellmuth blow-up!#PokerAfterDark's final episode of 2017 is LIVE: https://t.co/rP1pY3VmIH pic.twitter.com/BlRTa6f95J

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) December 22, 2017

If the episode wasn’t amazing enough, the whole Poker After Dark year ended with a giant exclamation point. In a true “made for TV” moment, Hellmuth and Negreanu had the ARIA stage all to themselves. It didn’t take long for the fireworks to get in the air as Hellmuth continued to run well. Negreanu did all he could to fight the good fight and almost made the hero fold of the week.

"Holidays with Hellmuth" ends with @Phil_Hellmuth in the #PokerAfterDark winner's circle thanks to an ice-cold cooler against @RealKidPoker.
?❄️?❄️?❄️https://t.co/rP1pY3VmIH pic.twitter.com/TFFtNoSHSu

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) December 22, 2017

Hellmuth wound up with $100,000 for first place while Negreanu earned $50,000 for his efforts.

This episode wraps up another week of live poker streamed on PokerGO as “Holidays with Hellmuth” closes out Poker After Dark for 2017.

Subscribe now to PokerGO to catch up on the full week of “Holidays with Hellmuth” action. Follow Poker Central and PokerGO for all updates on the upcoming Poker After Dark schedule.