"That was so sick. I had 2.7 million."
It was a cruel twist of fate for Allen Kessler, who fell just short of his first-ever WSOP bracelet on Sunday night.
"I played really well," he said after his late-night bustout. "I got really unlucky."
Kessler would fall in three-handed play, making way for Naoya Kihara to win his second Championship bracelet in a row after he claimed the $10K 2-7 finale just a few days ago. It's an incredibly rare feat, and Kihara is the sixth player ever to do it, joining names like Doyle Brunson, Jason Mercier, and Stu Ungar.
Meanwhile, it was the fifth top-three finish for Kessler at the WSOP and the first time he's hit the medal stand since 2017.
Kihara and Kessler were just two of many storylines, with reigning WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi also in the mix, along with legacy-seeking pros like Chris Brewer and Jeremy Ausmus. There was even room for James Cheung, who won the $1,500 version of this event, but his quest for the sweep fell just short in second place.
They all returned for Day 3 among the 11 players left, and Mizrachi was at the top. He would show up late, but that didn't stop him from parlaying the big stack into a sixth-place finish, followed by Brewer in fifth and Ausmus in fourth.
Kessler's WSOP medal stand finishes (Top 3)
- 2nd - 2005 - $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo
- 2nd - 2010 - $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8
- 2nd - 2011 - $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em
- 2nd - 2017 - €2,200 PLO (WSOP Europe)
- 3rd - 2026 - $10,000 Stud Championship
Three-handed charge fizzles
Kessler entered three-handed play as the short stack, but a buzz started to build around the room when he climbed off the bottom of the leaderboard. He would stack up to the aforementioned 2.7 million while the other two were laser-focused on one another.
The buzz didn't last long, however, and Kessler suffered through a pair of tough hands that put him on the road to ruin.
The first, against Cheung, saw Kessler's two pair lose to an unlikely straight. He called it "bingo" in his post-game interview.
The second beat was the tougher one, and Kessler wouldn't recover.
"I had tens and eights against one pair of sixes," he told us. "[Kihara] caught a six on Sixth Street. He raised me [on Fifth Street] with nothing!"
Kessler was out a few moments later, leaving Kihara and Cheung to battle for the big prize. It was a chance at back-to-back Championships for Kihara, or a sweep of the Stud category for Cheung. Kihara entered with the chip advantage and pulled away quickly, finding a big push after an ill-timed bluff from Cheung.
The match would last until shortly after midnight, when Kihara took the last big bet with two pair.
Fantasy implications
Kihara continues to be a runaway dark horse in the WSOP Fantasy race, where he picked up another 126 points for the victory on Sunday night. His grand total, 254 points, leads all players by a wide margin after two wins on four cashes in 2026.
Meanwhile, Kessler is also surprising his critics and validating his owners with two cashes in 2026.
What does he have to say to everyone who passed on him?
"They made a mistake. But I don't know how big a mistake. I don't even know how many points I got."
The $2 pick scored 81 points for his third-place finish. What next?
"I think I might win the 10K Razz."
2026 WSOP $10,000 Seven Card Stud championship results
- Naoya Kihara - Japan - $301,970
- James Cheung - UK - $201,308
- Allen Kessler - USA - $139,036
- Jeremy Ausmus - USA - $98,782
- Chris Brewer - USA - $72,254
- Michael Mizrachi - USA - $54,458
- Ryan Miller - $43,333
Images courtesy of World Series of Poker.
