The rail was treated to a thrilling five-hour heads-up battle after the 127-entry field was thinned to only two.
Mike Matusow fans tasted disappointment after “The Mouth” was eliminated in eighth place. Matusow was hoping to end a 12-year wait for another bracelet but he’ll have to try again another day.
Guagenti picked up a career-best prize of $295,008 to take him right up to the $3 million mark. It was also pointed out that the American’s three bracelet wins have all come in different formats — NL Hold’em, Limit Hold’em, and Seven Card Stud.
Action Recap
Seven Card Stud might be a relic of the past, according to the younger generation, but there are still plenty of fans out there.
This $10,000 event attracted 127 players which built a $1,181,100 prize pool.
Chino Rheem was the early pace-setter on Day 3, hitting all manner of big hands throughout the first few hours.
Mike Matusow was doing well by the end of Day 2 and he told PokerNews that he wanted this bracelet more than anybody left in the field. We can believe that; there are few players we’ve seen this century who can match Matosow’s passion for the game.
Sadly for him it didn’t work out but it was fitting that it turned out to be Rheem that crippled his stack and then Guagenti finished him off in eight place.
The $33,190 prize won’t be anywhere near enough compensation for the heartache we know Mike Matusow will feel after coming close again.
Dan Heimiller followed Matusow to the rail, unable to replicate his success in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud last week, and then Adam Friedman was next out in sixth place.
TV producer Mori Eskandani is a fan favourite after bringing the likes of Poker after Dark and High Stakes Poker to the masses, but the will of the rail wasn’t enough to protect him from Chino Rheem who was on fire right now.
Qiang Xu sent Paul Volpe home in fourth after he hit a straight to beat the American’s trips.
Three-handed play was more drawn out than expected, lasting for a few levels. It took Rheem to make a full house on sixth street leaving Xu drawing dead to send us to heads-up.
Rheem had a considerable lead by now and was ever so close to getting the job done, but Guagenti just wouldn’t go away.
Even with both players tired at the late hour, Rheem refused to bag up and come back in the morning. He was determined to finish his opponent off.
But then Guagenti stepped up to the mark as the cards started to fall for him. Rheem lost three decent sized pots on seventh street to leave him with only three big bets.
The next hand it was all over. After more than five hours of gruelling competition with just the two of them at the table, it came to a head.
Guagenti had split sevens on fifth street and Rheem was showing sixes. Guagenti hit kings up and Rheem whiffed sixth and seventh street to deny him poker’s prestigious Triple Crown.
Event #25: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Nick Guagenti | United States | $295,008 |
| 2 | Chino Rheem | United States | $196,662 |
| 3 | Qiang Xu | China | $135,828 |
| 4 | Paul Volpe | United States | $96,502 |
| 5 | Mori Eskandani | United States | $70,587 |
| 6 | Adam Friedman | United States | $53,201 |
| 7 | Dan Heimiller | United States | $41,357 |
| 8 | Mike Matusow | United States | $33,190 |
| 9 | Dave Rogers | United States | $27,528 |
