Poker legend Phil Hellmuth heaped praise on MrBeast, Ninja, xQc, and more, after having a blast at Ludwig’s $1m YouTube poker tournament and even claimed he made some new friends.
On Sunday, May 1, Ludwig hosted a $1 million YouTube poker tournament. It featured some of the biggest content creators on the planet, along with a handful of professional poker players, including Phil Hellmuth.
Not only did viewers have a blast watching the event, but the participants enjoyed it too.
Hellmuth shared his thoughts on it now that it’s done and heaped praise on the other participants in a series of tweets.
First, he praised Alexandra Botez, who dominated the tournament and won a whopping $456,900 for her efforts. It quickly became apparent that she wasn’t only the queen of chess but perhaps the queen of poker, too.
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“Alexandra Botez is a delight,” he said. “She is smart, gregarious, fun to be around, and she handles herself well at the poker table. She won big, and she handled my attacks with aplomb and clever retorts. Well done Alex!”
My thoughts regarding last nights stream: @alexandravbotez is a delight. She is smart AF, gregarious, fun to be around, and she handles herself well at the poker table. She won big, and she handled my attacks w aplomb, and clever clever retorts. Well done Alex! #POSITIVITY https://t.co/S4uFEwNNOK
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) May 2, 2022
Then, he turned his attention to MrBeast, who came in second place with a solid $438,900. The two of them have hung out together before. However, that didn’t stop him from heaping praise on the beloved YouTuber.
“Jimmy is an amazing human being! Having spent time with him on-and-off the table, I can tell you he is exactly who you see: caring, loving, fun AF, charismatic, and he helps the world! What an amazing role model for our kids.”
My thoughts regarding last nights stream (3): Jimmy (@MrBeast) is an amazing human being! Having spent time w him, on-and-off the table, I can tell you he is exactly who you see: caring, loving, fun AF, charismatic and he helps the world! What and amazing role model for our kids pic.twitter.com/KyQTw5Xldq
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) May 2, 2022
Eventually, he got around to Ludwig, who not only organized the event but also won big, taking home $404,700. “Ludwig was cool as the other side of the pillow!” he said. “He organized the game, he played great poker, and he won big.”
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He also commended Ludwig for handling the “ups-and-downs” of a poker tournament like a “true pro” before poking fun at himself for not doing the same. After all, he spat the dummy a few times throughout the night.
My thoughts regarding last nights stream (5): @LudwigAhgren was cool as the other side of the pillow! He organized the game, he played great poker, he won big, and he handled his ups-and-downs like a true pro (unlike me!). GG Ludwig #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/5yWm75X5YF
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) May 2, 2022
Next, he praised the juicer warlord himself, who was one of the stars of the show despite losing $100,000 throughout the night.
“xQc is a boss!” he said. “He fires millions of dollars off on his stream, just gambling and having fun. He handled himself perfectly at the poker table and had the best sunglasses. Great personality!”
My thoughts regarding last nights stream (6): @xQc is a boss! He fires millions of dollars off on his stream, just gambling and having fun. He handled himself perfectly at the poker table, and had the best sunglasses. Great personality! #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/7OUWBvCpOj
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) May 3, 2022
Last but not least, Hellmuth gushed over Ninja, who wound up in fourth place after netting $144,300 throughout the night. He praised his charm, cleverness, and work ethic and claimed they are now friends.
“I made a new friend in Ninja!” he said. “Tyler is a midwesterner and married to a Wisconsinite. His intelligence and charisma shine through. You can see why he became the number one streamer in the world. He worked hard for that.”
My thoughts regarding last nights stream (9): I made a new friend in @Ninja! Tyler is a midwesterner (Illinois), and married to a Wisconsinite. His intelligence and charisma shine through: you can see why he became the number 1 streamer in the world…He worked hard for that pic.twitter.com/GtpZh7uRd0
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) May 3, 2022
Ludwig proved once again that he’s the king of innovation when it comes to pushing the envelope of what streamers can do. He did it with Mogul Money, a Jeopardy-inspired game show. Now he’s done it again with Poker.
It’s not the first time streamers have gotten together to play poker on stream. However, it was arguably the biggest and most professionally organized tournament they’ve done, and it had some real pros in there, too.