Daniel Colman Rails on Phil Hellmuth, Calls Him “Cancer”

Daniel Colman, AKA Mr. Warmth, launched a verbal attack on the legendary Phil Hellmuth recently, calling him a “cancer to this world.” (Image: WSOP.com)

Poker pro Daniel Colman might not like talking to the media, but put him in front of a forum audience and he doesn’t hold back.

The 2014 winningest tournament pro in the world is grumpy and he knows it, but that doesn’t mean he plans to be the only poker pro to be reviled by lesser players. Following Phil Hellmuth’s appearance on Brian Koppelman’s podcast, Colman decided to let his feelings about the 13-time WSOP bracelet winner be known in a big way.

According to a forum post, Hellmuth made a number of claims during the interview with Koppelman, including the notion that he invented “small ball” poker, and that Internet poker math can be learned in a few hours. Naturally, a number of forum members were quick to criticize the interview, including Colman, who charmingly called Hellmuth a “whore” and a “cancer” in the game.

Name Calling

As ever, the post about Hellmuth attracted a slew of comments; however, it was Daniel “mrgr33n13” Colman’s response that really set tongues wagging.

Posting under his alias, “mrgr33n13”, the third-biggest money winner of all-time let rip on the “pathetic” Hellmuth: “It’s 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.”

But tell us how you really feel, Dan.

Pros Disagree with Colman

Not surprisingly, Colman’s comments drew a lot of attention from the forum faithful, but not everyone agreed with the outspoken pro. After spending a lot of time with Hellmuth over the last few years, Greg Merson joined the debate to offer his support for Hellmuth.

“He is much more humble then he comes off in interviews or on camera. He also understands that his ego is an issue and has worked on becoming even more humble. Being an ultra competitive person who holds all the records in the longest standing tournament series in the world and having the connections that he has will make that task more difficult for sure.”

Echoing Merson’s sentiment was WSOP commentator, Lon McEachern, who tweeted that if Colman can do as much for poker as Hellmuth has done, the game will be in “great shape for many years to come.”

Like most things in the poker world, news of Colman’s comments didn’t take long to reach Hellmuth. After taking time to recover from the verbal body blow, a humbled Phil tweeted that despite being “hurt,” he is “proud” of the man he is.

“@phil_hellmuth – 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!”

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