It came off very defensive to me. He probably would view Hellmuth as a mark (and rightly so - heads up for cash is not remotely Phil's game, he'd probably get pwned), but in context it looks a lot like "Oh, you're questioning me? Well ANY TIME ANY STAKES, PUNK! I'LL SMITE YOU GOOD!"

It's silliness. Unless of course he's levelling Phil (and by extension, me) and thinking the whole time he can get into a good game by challenging the guy's ego. Which is plausible. But it doesn't stop him looking like a douche on TV.