Matt Grapenthien Wins the $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship

There are many in the poker world who believe that Stud formats are a dying breed, and their community of supporters has grown smaller over the years. However, there is still a contingent that finds beauty in the game, and such is the case with Matt Grapenthien. For over twenty years, he has specialized in Stud poker, and today proved that he made the right decision.

A record-breaking field of 190 entrants was assembled for Event $75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship at the 2026 World Series of Poker, generating a prize pool of $1,767,000. Three days of split-pot limit action would ensue before a champion was crowned and the $425,648 first-place prize was awarded.

The Chicago-native Grapenthien was the one hoisting the bracelet once the dust settled, earning his second piece of WSOP hardware after winning the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship back in 2014.

The champion has already displayed his ability to succeed in the single-winner Stud formats with many deep runs in Stud Hi and Razz, but a deep run in Stud Hi-Lo had eluded him until today.

Grapenthien defeated a stacked field that included some of the brightest minds in the poker world to claim the largest cash of his career, and he was joined by several of his closest friends as he made quick work of heads-up opponent Jack Germaine on his way to the title.

Event #75 Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

Grapenthien first tasted World Series of Poker success back in 2014, but he had to wait 12 years to climb the throne once again. He credits his confidence and experience for paving the way to victory, along with some good fortune.

“I was super confident after I bagged the Day 1 chip lead, but today it just wasn’t fair,” Grapenthien described, “When I had the hand against Caitlin [Comeskey] where I made a straight flush on fifth street, and she filled up on the river, I knew it was gonna be my day.”

That was only the first of many big hands, as Grapenthien would make quads twice and was rolled down on three occasions, winning a substantial pot each time.

Aside from the good card distribution, Grapenthien is no stranger to playing Stud outside of full ring, something that proves vital at final tables.

“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,” the champion explained, “I have more experience than almost anybody heads-up in these games.”

In any tournament, having experience short-handed is a massive advantage when the pay jumps grow more significant.

“You don’t get to play short-handed very often in a tournament, almost never. You have to get to the very end.”

“I was excited to get heads-up and have lots and lots of bets on the table,” Grapenthien continued, “I told people it would take hours, but I just ran really good.”

The most crucial hand of the tournament took place during heads-up when Grapenthien made quads on fifth street. However, he was check-raised on both fifth and sixth street, and was able to get a third bet into the middle on both streets.

“I had seven-deuce-deuce showing and pocket twos in the hole,” he elaborated while pointing to Benny Glaser, “The guy raised me on fifth, and I smiled at you [watching from the rail]. That’s like the best feeling in the world.”

The newly minted two-time bracelet winner is looking forward to playing the $25,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event at the end of the summer, and he had an important instruction for his friends sitting alongside him as he cracked a smile.

“I can’t complain about bad luck for a while, so someone please smack me when I complain next week.”

Day 3 Action

The final day began with 13 players still in contention, but the remaining field quickly dwindled as the unofficial final table of nine was reached during the first level of play.

Bradley Jansen was eliminated on the first hand of the day, and Jose Paz-Gutierrez followed just a few hands later. In tenth place was Stud regular Paul Volpe, and Nicolas Milgrom was eliminated on the final table bubble after coming second best in two consecutive large pots.

The remaining nine players then combined at a single final table, with the three players who ultimately finished on the podium atop the counts, as Germaine held a slight lead.

Matt Vengrin’s short-stack survival came to an end after he laddered up to ninth place, and Koji Fujimoto was unable to replicate his success from the 2-7 Triple Draw Championship as he hit the rail in eighth.

Seven-handed, it was a battle of the short stacks as Mark Rubbathan, Chris Brewer, and Caitlin Comeskey all spent time on the button as they fought for pay jumps.

It was ultimately Rubbathan who became the next casualty after he made trips with a low draw on sixth street, but could not improve against the straight and low of Germaine, who became the sole representative of the Union Jack remaining.

While Chris Brewer is traditionally known for his big bet prowess, he advanced to his third final table in $10,000 Championship events this summer, but his quest for a third bracelet ended in sixth.

Fan-favorite Caitlin Comeskey was powered by her boisterous rail as she survived several all-ins before eventually bowing out in fifth place. Her first-ever cash in a five-figure buy-in proved to be fruitful after she took home nearly $100,000 for her efforts.

High buy-in mixed game regular Walter Chambers would be the next to fall after he lagged behind during four-handed play. After briefly holding the chip lead at the final table, Chambers struggled to find any momentum, and his luck ran out after his two pair could not improve against the straight of Maxx Coleman.

A lengthy three-handed battle between Grapenthien, Germaine, and Coleman ensued, with each player taking turns holding the chip lead as they played for nearly two hours before another elimination.

Ultimately, it was Coleman who found the exit in third. He fell on the wrong end of a few coolers before getting the last of his stack in on third street with kings against the ace-queen-six of Grapenthien, who improved to trip queens on sixth street to send the Poker Players Championship fourth-place finisher to the rail.

Grapenthien and Germaine began their heads-up match even in chips, with both players having nearly 30 big bets. Under normal circumstances, the two would be battling for several hours, but Grapenthien was able to close it out within an hour.

He won several small pots before the aforementioned pivotal spot in which Grapenthien made quads on fifth street. Three bets went in from each player on fifth and sixth streets, and he took a commanding lead.

It was all over just a few hands later, when Germaine got the rest of his stack into the middle on fifth street with a pair of fives against the ace-high of Grapenthien. Germaine made trips on sixth street while Grapenthien paired his eight. However, a third eight arrived on the final card, securing the title for Grapenthien, who was finally able to celebrate WSOP success once again with his rail, 12 years removed from his first victory.

That concludes our coverage of Event $75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. Stay tuned to PokerNews as we continue to provide updates from all events here at the 2026 World Series of Poker.

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