Persistence Pays Off: Dan Heimiller Takes Down $1,500 Seven Card Stud for Third WSOP Bracelet
Low Card: 50,000
Completion: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
Few players have had a record of success at the WSOP like Dan Heimiller. Before today, Heimiller had two WSOP gold bracelets, 28 final table appearances, and had cashed in at least one event at every WSOP since 1997.
He added to that legacy today at the 2025 World Series of Poker, held at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with a victory in Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud—ending an eleven-year bracelet drought. Heimiller outlasting a field of 377 entries, last defeating mixed game legend David Bach in heads-up play to win his third WSOP gold bracelet and the top prize of $106,840.
Heimiller, who described the win as "a long time coming", had one word to sum up what he felt was the key to his longevity and success at the WSOP over the past three decades.
"Stubbornness. I wouldn't quit poker when I should have," Heimiller added with a chuckle. "I could have quit a long time ago, but I was persistent."
Heimiller went into the heads-up match holding a massive lead over Bach, but the mixed game veteran wasn't going down easily and Heimiller noted that play could have dragged on for much longer if not for a timely run of good cards.
"It looked like he was coming back for a while, so it was a little scary, and it looked like it was going to take a very long time. But fortunately, I had a lot more luck than him. I think all day, I was catching two pair on sixth or seventh street. I was just so damn lucky."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Heimiller | United States | $106,840 |
| 2 | David Bach | United States | $70,568 |
| 3 | Tyler Phillips | United States | $47,660 |
| 4 | Jyri Merivirta | Finland | $32,921 |
| 5 | MengQi Chen | China | $23,271 |
| 6 | Kristan Lord | United States | $16,842 |
| 7 | Sam Jaramillo | United States | $12,487 |
| 8 | Greg Mueller | Canada | $9,490 |
| 9 | Ian Gavlick | United States | $7,397 |
Final Day Action
The day began with just six returning players, all of whom were guaranteed at least $16,842. Bach, who began the day in the middle of the pack, immediately got off to a hot start after cracking Kristan Lord's two pair with a straight to send Lord out in sixth. Just a few hands later Bach crushed MengQi Chen's stack and then won a sizable pot off Heimiller, overtaking him for the chip lead within the first hour of play. Chen couldn't recover and was out in fifth place shortly after.
The pace of play slowed considerably with four players remaining. Heimiller and Bach went back and forth for the chip lead while Jyri Merivirta and Tyler Phillips saw their stacks dwindle. Phillips was on the brink of elimination with just over one big bet before doubling up three times in quick succession to nearly take the lead. Merivirta couldn't find similar momentum and bowed out in fourth place after Heimiller spiked two pair on seventh street.
Heimiller never looked back following Merivirta's elimination. With sheer aggression, he soon found himself with half the chips in play with three players remaining. Phillips had gotten short once again and this time he couldn't recover—eventually falling in third after Heimiller made trip jacks to crack his pair of aces.
Bach had a tall order in front of him going into heads-up play against Heimiller, who held just over a 2:1 chip lead. Heimiller quickly extended that lead to nearly 20:1 but Bach, also known as "The Gunslinger," mounted an impressive comeback with three quick double-ups.
A relentless Heimiller soon put Bach all in again for a fourth time, holding a pair of sixes on fifth street to Bach's pair of fives. A fourth double up, which would have put Bach right back in contention, seemed likely after Bach improved to two pair on sixth, but Heimiller made a stronger two pair on seventh to win the final hand of the evening.
That wraps up this tournament's coverage, but stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide comprehensive coverage of the 2025 World Series of Poker.