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Matt Grapenthien turned a lifelong stud focus into another WSOP title, winning Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $415,648.
Good to know
- Grapenthien beat 190 entries for his second WSOP bracelet.
- The $10,000 championship created a $1,767,000 prize pool.
- Jack Germaine finished second for $277,087 after a heads up battle.
Grapenthien Adds A Second Stud Bracelet
Poker has moved heavily toward no limit hold’em, but Grapenthien remains one of the rare modern players known for stud. The Chicago native now has two WSOP bracelets, and both came in $10,000 stud championship events.
His first bracelet came in the 2014 WSOP $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. Twelve years later, he won the split pot version, taking down Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship at the 2026 World Series of Poker.
The result also gave Grapenthien the largest live tournament score of his career and lifted his total tournament earnings beyond $1.5 million. Four of his five largest scores have now come in stud events, a clear pattern dating back to his first recorded tournament cash in the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic stud championship.
Grapenthien said his heads up background helped him close the match.
“I spent a very long time online playing short-handed and heads-up stud. For many years, when I started playing poker, I would sit and wait for people to play me one-on-one,” Grapenthien told PokerNews after closing out this win. “I have more experience than almost anybody heads-up in these games.”
Final Table Turns Into A Heads Up Test
The field paid 29 players, with several well known names cashing before the final table, including Michael Moncek, Phil Ivey, Bryce Yockey, Calvin Anderson, Andrey Zhigalov, and Ryutaro Suzuki.
Maxx Coleman started day three as chip leader, while Grapenthien sat in the middle of the pack. Koji Fujimoto went out eighth, followed by Mark Rubbathan, Chris Brewer, Caitlin Comeskey, Walter Chambers, and Coleman.
The key late hands came quickly. Comeskey survived an earlier full house versus straight flush hit by Grapenthien but later fell to Germaine. Coleman exited in third when Grapenthien improved to trips. Heads up, Grapenthien pulled away after winning a huge pot with quad deuces, then sealed the title when running eights beat Germaine trip fives in the final hand.
Germaine earned $277,087, the largest live tournament score of his career. Coleman took third for $191,165.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Matt Grapenthien | $415,648 |
| 2 | Jack Germaine | $277,087 |
| 3 | Maxx Coleman | $191,165 |
| 4 | Walter Chambers | $135,065 |
| 5 | Caitlin Comeskey | $97,785 |
| 6 | Chris Brewer | $72,587 |
| 7 | Mark Rubbathan | $55,282 |
| 8 | Koji Fujimoto | $43,226 |
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