As a young gun of the 80's and 90's, the stock answer would have been Hellmuth. However, Phil Hellmuth has not yet adjusted to the rigors of large fields filled with amateurs. Thus, his results in recent years at the World Series of Poker have been poor.Interestingly, Hellmuth continues to be a major threat against the top players. One instance was his win in last year's Heads Up tournament. His third in the Tournament of Champions was no slouch performance either. He was also 2nd in the previous Tournament of Champions, to Annie Duke.Matusow, however, has shown an ability in recent years to make a dent with the pros and in the large mixed fields as well. He made it to day four (87th place out of 2200 players) and the money in the 2004 Main Event. In 2005, he made the final table of the Main Event in excellent position and ran into a hideous beat. He did win the the Tournament of Champions as well.Both players do a good job of getting under one's skin. Both make excellent reads. But I feel Matusow deserves particular credit. I think very few pros in the world are as keenly perceptive as Matusow.It's a good question and a good debate. Though many reasons exist to tap Hellmuth, I think Matusow is the one that shows the most ability to win, irregardless of the environment.
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