Carter Phillips held the chip lead wire-to-wire at the final table

Growing up, Carter Phillips always thought he was going to be a professional baseball player. Even in high school, Phillips was a three sport athlete with a legitimate shot at the big leagues, but a bad experience with a coach led him to shy away from athletics before he began college at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

That’s where poker came in. It may not be a sport, but it proved to be the perfect outlet for Phillips’ competitive drive and it only took a couple of years before Phillips started racking up honors and poker accolades that longtime pros only dream of. Now, Phillips has poker’s highest honor and is the seventh-youngest bracelet winner in WSOP history. For those thinking that this kid came out of seemingly nowhere to pick up a bracelet, here’s a little more about this year’s youngest bracelet winner so far:

Name: Carter Phillips

Age: 21

Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Occupation: Professional poker player

Lifetime Tournament Winnings: $1,821,461

Notable poker achievements: The bracelet may be Phillips’ first win on US soil, but it is not his only live tournament accomplishment. He is best known for his win at the European Poker Tour Barcelona stop last September, where he picked up $1,219,377. He also has cashes at EPT Prague, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and the WSOP Circuit event in Tunica, Mississippi.

Memorable Quotes: (On his notoriously aggressive style of play) “I am definitely one of the more aggressive players. Live by the sword, die by the sword.”

(On playing at the final table with good friend Craig Bergeron) “It made it weird in a couple of spots – that friend dynamic. I thought, ‘He is doing something because he knows how I play.’ And vice versa. But for the most part, I just ignored the fact we were friends and played him like any other player. Obviously, I would like to have seen him do well, because we travel some together and room together at various tournaments. But it did not change my game too much.”

Future WSOP plans: “I’ll party tonight,” Phillips said with a smile. “Then, I will play it out the rest of the Series, especially all of the No-Limit Hold’em events and maybe try and win another bracelet.” Beyond the WSOP, Phillips now has his sights set on poker’s triple crown and, moreso on becoming the first two-time EPT champion.

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