Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke leave Ultimate Bet | Online Poker Club MPC

The two biggest names of Ultimate Bet (or UB.com as they call themselves nowadays) Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke are quite suddenly leaving after 10 years of being sponsored by the online poker room. The group of UB-sponsored pros has for sure shifted to a younger and lesser known group of poker pros, with several new names expected to be announced in the beginning of 2011.

The exit of Phil Hellmuth was the least surprising from the two, as the ‘Poker Brat’ was seen numerous times in public the past months without wearing his typical Ultimate Bet patches. The multiple WSOP bracelet winner recently made poker headlines with his appearance on Dancing with the Stars.

The depart of Annie Duke was a bigger surprise. In a statement on her site she made clear it was her own choice: “I’m going to explore and pursue other business opportunities on a full-time basis.”

UB.com had nothing to say about the exit of Duke, but about Hellmuth they had this to say:

“The poker pro who is famous for his grand WSOP entrances is making one final exit. Today we are announcing that UB.com and Phil Hellmuth have mutually parted ways. It has been great working with Phil over the last decade and we know we’re with the rest of the poker world when we say that we look forward to Phil’s next move on the world poker circuit. While Hellmuth is no doubt an instantly recognizable poker personality, Team UB will continue to be stacked with young, aggressive poker professionals who today’s passionate online poker players can really identify with.”