Poker legend Phil Hellmuth has spoken out in USA Today about the high number of professional players picking up bracelets in this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Hellmuth noted that despite the main event being won by amateurs in the last six years, the number of bracelets collected by the professional contingent this year is significantly stronger than the amateurs with 19 out of 25 going to pros.
The 11-time bracelet winner identified the changes of structure in the tournaments this year as being key aspects in the dominance of experienced players.
He pointed out that the back end of events had a lot more time allocated to them which meant that the better players were more likely to survive.
Hellmuth stated: "[They] did a great job adding more time to the back side of the tournament and less time on the front end, thus requiring a higher skill set at the end where the pots really matter."
Having collected 11 WSOP bracelets during his career, Hellmuth is top of the all-time list, ahead of Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan.
Poker legend Phil Hellmuth has spoken out in USA Today about the high number of professional players picking up bracelets in this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP).