A new Hellmuth contestant has appeared at the World Series of Poker.

Nicholas Hellmuth, the youngest son of 17-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, is competing in the 2026 WSOP. He recently turned professional and aims to win a tournament outright.

When your father is one of the greatest players in the history of the game, trying to make a living as a professional poker player is not easy.

But that's exactly what Nicholas Hellmuth is doing – he's competing in the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The youngest son of 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth entered Day 2, Group A of Event #34:$500 COLOSSUS on Thursday.

PokerNews interviewed the 23-year-old son of the legend to find out if he plans to follow in his father's footsteps and how much the image of the "poker brat" has left its mark on him.

Following in the footsteps of poker legends

It's no surprise that Phil Hellmuth's three children—Phillip Hellmuth III, Nicholas, and Nicholas—play poker. Their father has been competing for WSOP gold bracelets and appearing on televised poker shows for nearly 40 years. But Nicholas was never forced into the industry by either of his parents.

"My mother deliberately pushed us away from poker, especially when we were old enough to start gambling," he said, referring to his mother, a Stanford University psychiatrist.

Hellmuth's mother didn't encourage her sons to become professional poker players. As Nicholas explained, his father didn't try to force him to follow in his footsteps either. However, he said, "Now that Phillip and I are both in the poker world, he's actually very happy about it."

Phil, Phillip, and Nicholas are all ambassadors for BetRivers Casino, and they have all faced off against each other on the "Hellmuth Family Games" show. But Nicholas, who recently turned professional, shares one thing with his father besides his physical resemblance: he "100 percent" prefers tournament poker to cash games.

Phil Hellmuth holds the record for most WSOP bracelets and final table appearances, with over $31 million in live tournament winnings. Nicholas's first tournament winnings on The Hendon Mob were a few months ago at the Venetian in Las Vegas, with $3,533. He has a long way to go to catch up with his father's tournament achievements, but that's not his focus.

“Right now, I’m just trying to reach milestones,” Hellmuth said. “I just started last fall, so every time I make the money, it’s a celebration for me. My next milestone is winning a tournament outright. I’ve been to a few final tables and finished second a few times. But winning a tournament outright is my next milestone, and if I can do that here, win a gold bracelet, or win a ring online or something, that would be huge. That would be my next milestone.”

Nicholas quit his job last year, "not sure what to do at first." He seemed curious about his brother Phillip, who started making a living playing poker about a year ago, so "I thought I could give it a try."

The youngest, Hellmuth, said he competes "a little" with his older brother in poker, but "we're very supportive of each other." Phil Hellmuth also supports his sons, frequently posting photos of himself with them before matches on social media. Nicholas said that as the children grew up and became professional poker players, their mother gradually accepted it.

More than just "little devils"

Many poker fans might think that Nicholas has the same "bad boy" attitude at the poker table as his father. However, this is by no means the case.

“I’m very different from him,” Nicholas said of his father. “People say I’m more like my mother. Even if they don’t know who she is or what her temperament is, they say I must look like her.”

Phil Hellmuth's infamous outbursts and breakdowns—which he experienced just a few days ago after being eliminated from the WSOP—used to embarrass Nicholas when he was a child. But now that he's grown up, he realizes that his parents' behavior "doesn't reflect who you are."

"So, when you grow up, you'll just laugh at how ridiculous those things are."

Nicholas did not make the money in Group A of Colosus Day 2, but he re-entered Group C on Day 1 in an attempt to win his first WSOP prize 38 years after his father first won.

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