Stud specialist: Matt Grapenthien wins second bracelet in $10K Championship

There aren't too many Seven Card Stud specialists left in the poker community. 

In the years since the Moneymaker boom of the early 2000s, no-limit hold'em has become the game of choice for most poker players, professional and recreational alike, relegating the once-dominant Stud variants to the sidelines. Still, there are a select few players who remained devoted to the seven-card streets. 

Matt Grapenthien is one of them – and his dedication to the format paid dividends yesterday as he claimed his second World Series of Poker bracelet in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. Across the first two days of play, the record-breaking 190-entrant field was whittled down to just 13 remaining players. When play resumed on the final day, the unofficial final table quickly came together as the short stacks made their exits. 

Grapenthien was up against it – facing off against a lineup of opponents that included Chris Brewer, Maxx Coleman, Caitlin Comeskey, and ACR Team Pro Mark Rubbathan – but he had a healthy stack to work with and no shortage of skill to put to good use. 

Chris Brewer reached his third $10K Championship event final table, but came up short of the victory.

Hayley Hochstetler

Despite the stiff competition, Grapenthien held all the chips after the final hand was dealt – a result that cements his standing as one of the world's best Stud players. 

Grapenthien outlasts them all

When the final table came together, Matt Vengrin was the first to hit the rail after successfully navigating his short stack to earn a couple pay jumps. 

After taking down Nick Schulman during heads-up play to win the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship, Koji Fujimoto found himself back at another Championship event final table. This time, however, he fell short of the win as he bowed out in eighth place. 

With seven remaining, the short stacks battled to outlast one another. Rubbathan was the first to go, sent to the rail by the hands of countryman Jack Germaine. Brewer and Comeskey followed shortly after – for the latter, a first cash in a five-figure buy-in was nothing to sneeze at despite coming up short of the bracelet. 

Walter Chambers went next – despite holding the chip lead at one point, he failed to pick up meaningful pots and his run came to an end in fourth place. 

The three-handed battle between Grapenthien, Germaine, and Coleman dragged on for quite a while. It took the better part of two hours for another elimination to ensue – and it was Coleman who was on the wrong side of the equation. 

Despite starting heads-up play about even in the chip counts, Grapenthien made quick work of Germaine to capture his second bracelet. 

$10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Final Table Results