Dan Colman: "Hellmuth's a spineless whore"
The Poker Brat "hurt" by Colman's tirade, but "proud" of who he is.
Poker's man on fire in 2014, Dan 'mrgr33n13' Colman, has unleashed a brutal tirade aimed in the direction of 13-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth on the forums of 2+2.
Colman, who has won an incredible $22m in live tournaments in 2014 alone - a run that has seen him rise to 3rd on poker's all time earners leaderboard - was evidently exasperated by some of Hellmuth's comments in a recent interview with 'Rounders' writer Brian Koppelman, and reacted with the following:
"Its embarrassing that we have to share our profession with whores like this guy. After I win one drop, he immediately comes on stage to shake my hand in front of a camera and congratulate me. As if he's the gatekeeper to the poker world and welcoming me inside."
"It is truly pathetic that a 40 year old would behave the way he does at the table, not to mention how spineless he is, just willing to take any sponsorship regardless of the company's integrity. Hey, anything for a payday! Really makes me sad to think there's a chance some people may look up to this charlatan. People of his attitude and character are a cancer to this world."
Hellmuth "hurt" by rant
As someone who rarely ventures onto the online forums, it's perhaps slightly surprising that Hellmuth even found out about what Colman said, but find out he did:
Ouch, I was just attacked big time on a terrific poker forum: TwoPlusTwo. It was personal and it hurts, but I am proud of the man I am!
— Phil Hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) November 13, 2014
Several other big name professionals have also chimed in with their two cents on what Colman had to say, and responses are mixed.
Some - such as Steve O'Dwyer and Lex Veldhuis - are calling Hellmuth out over his 'Poker Brat' tendencies and association with Ultimate Bet, while others - like Lon McEachern and Jay Farber - are preaching that he deserves more respect for what he's done for the game:
href="https://twitter.com/lonmceachern">@lonmceachern helping the game = being the face of a site that cheated plyrs out of 10s of millions, then stole all the remaining deposits?
— steveodwyer (@steveodwyer) November 13, 2014
@phil_hellmuth maybe you should think about that when you insult random people on national tv moron.
If Dan Colman does as much for helping the game as Phil Hellmuth has done, poker will be in great shape for many years to come. #ButWillHe
— Lon McEachern (@lonmceachern) November 13, 2014
@GTOisbadforme I'll take @phil_hellmuth over Colman any day. One person is an am ambassador for the game, the other rides a moral high horse
— Jay Farber (@JayFarber) November 14, 2014
Colman has since admitted that his comments were "harsh and over the top" and that his choice of words made him "come off poorly", but still insists that a debate should rage on over Hellmuth's "overall behaviour and representation of UB", and "would love to have some questions answered".
Is Colman in the wrong, or does Hellmuth need to explain himself? Should Hellmuth be respected as one of the game's greatest? Let us know your thoughts below.
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