Richard Ashby returns to where he has been before – at the top of the world in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event as he wins his second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in this same event as he did in 2010. Ashby emerged victorious from a competitive field of 406 players, claiming the top prize of $113,725.
It was an impressive win for the Englishman who came from behind in the heads-up match against his fellow countryman Adam Owen. This victory adds to Ashby’s already stellar WSOP record, which now includes eleven final table appearances, all in non-hold’em events, cementing his status as a true mixed game specialist.
If you ask him what his best game is, he will tell you it’s certainly not the Seven Card Stud, despite his success and two bracelets won. Omaha was always his preferred poker variant, where he also made a name for himself in the late 2000s and early 2010s, playing nosebleed PLO cash games online under the nickname Chufty.
This was Ashby’s fourth time competing heads-up for a bracelet, and his current record stands 2:2. He was previously a runner-up in two championship events: the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship in 2010, where he won $274,019, and the $10,000 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship in 2014, where he pocketed $378,027, his two biggest cashes.
With this latest victory, Ashby now has $3 million in live tournament earnings.
Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize Money |
| 1 |  Richard Ashby | United Kingdom | $113,725 |
| 2 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | $75,805 |
| 3 |  Michael Noori | United States | $51,626 |
| 4 |  MengQi Chen | China | $35,880 |
| 5 | Brandon Shack-Harris | United States | $25,458 |
| 6 | Jaycin Cross | United States | $18,450 |
| 7 | Aaron Kupin | United States | $13,662 |
| 8 | Hal Rotholz | United States | $10,343 |
| 9 | Chris Tryba | United States | $8,009 |
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Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Final Table Recap
After a long 12 hours on Day 2 of Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud, nine players emerged in contention for the coveted WSOP bracelet. Michael Noori led the charge with 23 big bets, followed closely by Adam Owen with 22 and Richard Ashby with 18 big bets. Others had 6 big bets or less, creating many important ICM spots for the players.
Bracelet winner from 2012, Chris Tryba, was the first to go on the final table. Tryba made a flush on seventh street, but Owen filled up with deuces full of queens, knocking out Tryba in ninth place.
Mengqi Chen, the shortest stack coming into the final table, managed to rack up some chips, including eliminating Hal Rotholz in eighth place. Rotholz put his last chips in the middle with trips holding K♦5♥5♠5♦10♥, while Chen hoped to improve with 9♠9♣A♠K♠Q♠. Chen hit 2♠ on the seventh street for a flush, and Rotholz blanked.
Aaron Kupin bet everything on his pair of sevens on fourth street, but Noori’s pocket eights held, sending Kupin to the rail in seventh place. A sixth-place finish is not bad for first cash at the World Series of Poker, and Jaycin Cross likely agrees. He was all-in on third street with A♦K♣3♣ against Chen and Ashby. The latter folded on sixth street, and after cards were turned up, Cross needed a club to beat Chen’s flush with a higher flush. But it was a blank, and Cross exited for $18,450.
Brandon Shack-Harris, probably the most accomplished player on the final table, played with a short stack for most of the final table and Day 2 as well. He finally had to lay down his cards in fifth place as his pocket queens were crushed by Ashby’s straight on seventh street.
Mengqi Chen had quite a run on the final table, surviving many eliminations and crucial spots. After he four-bet with his starting hand of J♠J♦5♥, he put his last bet in on the J♣, but that wasn’t enough for one of the three players who were still in the pot at that point. Ashby turned over a flush, while Chen couldn’t fill up his trip jacks and was eliminated in fourth place.
Only “the big three” remained, and start-of-the-day chip leader Noori was the next to go. Noori put his last chips in on fifth street with a pair of sevens 8♦7♠7♦K♦6♥, while Ashby was sporting two pair with A♦K♣2♥2♣A♣. Sixth street brought 3♦ for Noori, giving him additional outs for a flush, but the river blanked, and Noori finished in third place.
Heads-up between Richard “Chufty” Ashby and Adam “Adamyid” Owen started with Owen having a 2.5:1 chip lead, which he extended to 7:1 at some point as Ashby only had four big bets left. Still, he never needed to go all-in, even with a shallow stack like that, and then slowly but surely started chipping away at Owen. Once Ashby took control of the game, he never lost it.
In the last hand, Ashby opened with A♣ showing and A♠10♣ behind, and Owen called. Ashby led on fourth street with two pair, and Owen called with a pair of jacks. On fifth street, Ashby decided to check-raise with his two pair and then put Owen all-in on sixth street. Owen saw the bad news, needing one of the two remaining jacks to help him, but the river bricked. This sent Owen home in second place while Ashby celebrated with his rail, winning his second WSOP Stud bracelet.
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* Images and hands courtesy of WSOP and PokerNews.
