OK I'm gonna have to go look for the video of that final table... haven't seen a Helmuth hissy fit in yeaaaars!
His personality aside, he's a good poker player and he's got the glittery bracelets to prove it. I get the feeling that he's way to easy to get on tilt but that might just be because of the attention that those kinds of outbursts tend to attract so more air time is given to him when he's in those kinds of moods.
But it really is not about gaining airtime.
Helmuth himself has stated it is never an act and has even explained he acted out as a sore loser as a child playing games with his family. Other players have seen him lose it many times in various games with a camera nowhere in sight.
The difference this time was the level of vulgarity and the length of the tirade which went on for some twenty minutes in total- it was a manic episode.
The problem many are then left with is, there is no denying the talent involved to win the 16th bracelet. However, the question of whether Helmuth should have faced stiff penalties for his behavior or even ejected from the WSOP is a valid one. In which case he would have been in no position to win another bracelet in WSOP 2021.
Personally, I wouldn't have banned him from the remainder of the series but would have imposed say a one week ban and let him sit there and stew on it.
