Every sport needs a “bad boy”, and Phil Hellmuth (aka the “Poker Brat”) has gladly volunteered his services over the years. The Poker Brat has one of the best track records in No Limit Texas Hold’em tournaments, sitting first all-time in total number of WSOP bracelets with 11, but in recent years he’s been better known for his tantrums and grand entrances than for his results at the tables.

Phil Hellmuth was the youngest winner of the Main Event for nearly 20 years (winning at age 24 in 1989) until his record was eclipsed in 2008 by Peter Eastgate -- who barely held the youngest Main Event winner record for a year until Joe Cada bested it in 2009. Hellmuth has collected more than $6 million in lifetime winnings at the WSOP and won his record-setting 11^th bracelet at the 2007 WSOP. He’s also got the most lifetime WSOP cashes (75) and the most lifetime final tables (41).

Hellmuth’s past WSOP success and his penchant for arriving at the table late on his tournament starting day have led to some interesting moments in recent years at the WSOP Main Event, with the Poker Brat staging increasingly dramatic entrances. He’s strolled into the Rio dressed as General Patton, decked out as Caesar, and had planned to drive up in a race car before wrecking it in the Rio parking lot. He’s also always a favorite for the ESPN cameras during play at the Main Event, and has had plenty of his trademark blow-ups and tirades caught on film.

Hellmuth hasn’t quite been able to replicate his WSOP success at either WPT tournaments (where he’s still winless and has yet to crack the $1 million mark in career cashes) or at the cash game tables. While he’s appeared frequently on Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker, he’s spent more time providing comic relief than raking in big pots, often out of his league when battling against the world’s top cash game players.

Love him or hate him, Phil Hellmuth has played a big role in the rising popularity of poker, as he’s been more than willing to market himself in a variety of ways, pushing books, poker camps, poker television shows, video games, and other products. He’s also been the most visible poker pro sponsored by UltimateBet, which has made him the centerpiece of some of their marketing and television ad campaigns.