Gossip Column: Jason Koon Ends Phil Hellmuth’s 9-1 Winning Streak After Championing $1.6 Million Round 5 of High Stakes Duel III

Phil Hellmuth‘s aggression served him well in the first four rounds of PokerGo’s High Stakes Duel III, but his hot run fizzled out in his $1.60 Million High Stakes Duel III clash with Jason Koon on Wednesday. The duo’s much-hyped heads-up match played out yesterday at the PokerGO Studio at the Aria.

Koon’s selection as Hellmuth’s newest opponent was made on August 16 after Scott Seiver backed out following his Round 4 defeat.

37-year-old Koon is one of the most accomplished poker pros to step into the ring with the 16-time WSOP bracelet-winning legend, boasting over $40 Million in live tournament earnings, placing him seventh on poker`s All-Time Money List.

Hellmuth had reacted to his selection by acknowledging that he would be up against “a great great player, one of the best in the world today.” Well, as it turns out, the 16-time bracelet winner wasn’t wrong about his assessment, as Koon became the second player after Tom Dwan to curb Hellmuth’s winning streak, distorting his glittering High Stakes Duel record to 9:2.

Last night Hellmuth faced his second defeat in 11 HSD matches, and his well-timed bluffs were vital in many of those victories. However, Koon needed less than two-and-half hours to bust the Poker Brat in one of the shortest matches on the show to date.

Koon earned the $1.6 Million cash prize, the largest pay cheque in HSD history.

“I had great hands,” Koon told PokerGO. “Even the hands that I bluffed, almost all of them kind of presented themselves in a natural way, so it was just one of those days where almost anybody in my seat is going to win.”

Koon continued: “Like I said coming in, I was ready to lose this thing quite often because of the structure. I could have been on the other end of that, where Phil just had huge hands all of the time, and that’s just the nature of poker. You shouldn’t feel bad the days that you run good, and you shouldn’t feel bad the days that you run bad. It’s just the process of it all. Today, I got to be the winner, and it’s nice to do that for gigantic stakes.”

Hellmuth vs. Koon: Round 5

The biggest-ever $1.60 Million match began with Hellmuth and Koon exchanging the lead often. Both players started with 800,000 in chips and the blinds at 1,500/2,500. For about 45 minutes, the two hovered around the starting stacks before the first big hand came up, and it was one that Hellmuth picked at the wrong time to bluff. Hellmuth engaged in a preflop raising war and five-bet Koon, who was holding pocket aces. Hellmuth was forced to fold his shoddy queen-six after Koon moved all-in, and the bluff cost Hellmuth close to 40 percent of his stack.

From there, it just went downhill for Hellmuth, who cursed and chastised himself for several minutes after the hand played out. Hellmuth briefly recovered, but the momentum soon shifted as Koon won 10 of the 11 pots in one stretch.

Koon held a 7-to-1 chip advantage after two hours of play and continued to hit with the deck, to Hellmuth’s disgust.

Bringing the match to an end, Hellmuth announced all-in for his last 103,000 with ace-king against Koon’s queen-eight. A queen on the flop gave Koon a pair, and the last two cards didn’t improve Hellmuth’s hand.

Hellmuth had profited $1.25 million from the show before the loss against Koon.

What’s Next?

Based on the rules of High Stakes Duel, Hellmuth has the first right to a rematch against Koon for a $3.20 Million winner-take-all prize. If Hellmuth chooses not to return, another opponent can step in and pay the $1.60 Million entry fee to face Koon.

“I just can’t really see anyone that will play me,” Koon said. “I’m not trying to be arrogant, it’s just that it’s a lot of money to move for a 1 percent or 2 percent edge that you’re going to have at most against me.”

“I did not play an optimal strategy today. I played a very Phil-specific strategy. But if I play another player, I will be ready to play them if they play the way that a solver would play.”

For now, Koon awaits a challenger.

Cover Image Courtesy: PokerGO.com