In his acceptance speechon Saturday for his 14th World Series of Poker bracelet, Phil Hellmuth thanked his sponsors. He thanked Ariaspecifically for “sponsoring me and taking really good care of me” and went on to thank other sponsors in general. Perhaps a bit surprisingly, Twitter erupted.

—

Tournament Poker Edgeis the only poker training site dedicated exclusively to MTTs and features over 1,000 training videos, blogs, articles, podcasts and a dedicated strategy forum for members. Check Tournament Poker Edge out on Twitter.

—

It all started with Olivier livb112 Busquet, who said on Twitter, “Did this guy really just thank his sponsor?” He added, “I found it inappropriate and disrespectful to use that moment/opportunity to make a shrewd business decision.”

Matt Glantz immediately responded with, “I find it odd that u wear a Free Palestine or Save Israel t-shirt on a TV table but Phil can’t thank his sponsor… Phil thanking his sponsor can only help the possibility of some other poor schmuck getting a sponsorship in poker.”

Scott Seiver was another player who weighed in, saying, “Olivier(pictured), I’m so confused. That is so normal for sponsored athletes. There is nothing wrong with it whatsoever.” Darryl DFish Fish also opined, asking, “If Nike offered you a sponsorship contingent on you plugging them in speeches, you wouldn’t do it?”

Glantz then added, “Would be weird for an NBA broadcaster to admonish Lebron James for thanking Nike after winning the championship.” We’ll see if that happens soon enough.

Bryan Davilapromptly posted a picture of Busquet rocking a Full Tilt hat and shirt with a big smile on his face. The caption: “You look awfully happy plugging the man.” Zing!

Kevin KevmathMathers referenced an acceptance speech 12 years ago by Prahlad Friedman: “Prahlad Friedman giving his views about the war in Iraq after winning a bracelet in 2003.” Mathers added, “Not that I can get into someone’s thought process, but assume Olivier would feel the same if Negreanu thanked Stars?”

And yes, Twitter erupted because Hellmuth mentioned Aria in an acceptance speech. Now we’ve seen everything.

Stay tuned to PocketFives for the latest WSOP coverage, brought to you by Tournament Poker Edge.

Want the latest poker headlines and interviews? Follow PocketFives on Twitterand Like PocketFives on Facebook.