Matt Grapenthien Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Stud Eight-or-Better Championship

Matt Grapenthien, a stud specialist, won the 2026 WSOP $10,000 stud eight-or-better championship, earning a career-high $415,648 and his second gold bracelet. This victory came a dozen years after his first bracelet win in the 2014 WSOP $10,000 stud championship. Grapenthien beat out 190 entries in the split-pot affair, showcasing his expertise in the game.

Grapenthien's success in stud events is well-documented, with four of his top five scores coming in stud tournaments. His first tournament cash was in 2004 at the L.A. Poker Classic, where he finished third in the stud championship. A few years later, he recorded his first cash at the WSOP in the $1,500 stud, placing 15th. This win increased Grapenthien’s career tournament earnings to more than $1.5 million and secured 416 PokerGO Tour points, enough to climb to 71st place on that high-stakes-centric leaderboard.

The top 29 finishers earned a share of the $1,767,000 prize pool. Notable players like Michael Moncek, Phil Ivey, Bryce Yockey, Calvin Anderson, Andrey Zhigalov, and Ryutaro Suzuki were among those who hit the rail before the final baker’s dozen bagged up ahead of day 3. Two-time bracelet winner Maxx Coleman was the overnight leader, with Grapenthien in the middle of the pack. Bracelet winners Bradley Jansen, Paul Volpe, and Matthew Vengrin all fell ahead of the official final table. Grapenthien then busted recent $10,000 triple draw deuce-to-seven championship winner Koji Fujimoto to narrow the field to seven. Mark Rubbathan and two-time bracelet winner Chris Brewer were both sent packing by the UK’s Jack Germaine. Caitlin Comeskey, fresh off a fourth-place finish in the ladies event, also fell at Germaine’s hands. Walter Chambers bowed out in fourth place when his eights and sixes were bested by a rivered nine-high straight for Coleman. Coleman ended up with the one pair he started with, while Grapenthien’s trips earned him the pot. Coleman earned $191,165 as the third-place finisher. Grapenthien took a slight chip lead into heads-up play with Germaine. Grapenthien’s chip advantage grew to more than 8:1. Grapenthien hit running eights down the stretch for trip eights and the scoop. Germaine was awarded $277,087 as the runner-up.