Schulman shoots down stars in 2-7 Championship

Schulman conquers marquee field for the title.

A tough-as-nails final table assembled to duke it out in the $10k deuce-to-seven Championship event on Friday.

Come the final reckoning, it was young New York pro Nick Schulman who took down the title, the bracelet and $279,742 in cash.

Schulman has had many poker successes, including winning two WPT titles and nearly $4 million in tournament cashes but taking down the coveted WSOP bracelet meant more than just the money.

"The prestige of the bracelet is a little overwhelming," he said. "They say these tournaments aren't about the money and I never used to think like that but I kind of know what they mean now - the bracelet's a little sweeter than the cash!"

The Deuce-to-Seven Championship draws together the cream of the poker world and its winner can rightfully claim to have beaten the best of the best.

Every year the final table of this prestigious event reads like a who's who of poker and this year was no exception.

Michael Binger and French high-stakes player David Benyamine were the first men to stumble in 8th and 7th respectively, before the eliminations of Vince Musso and gambling legend Archie Karas in the next two spots left the play four-handed.

At this point Schulman looked like he may be the next big name casualty, but he was about to go on a huge tear that would see him rocket up to the chip lead, leaving John Juanda and Steve Sung in his wake on the rail.

Wahlbeck finished runner-up but takes the lead in the Player of the Year rankings.

Heads-up for the bracelet with Player of the Year contender Ville Wahlbeck, Schulman had a 2-1 chip advantage that he never relinquished, despite some tenacious play from his in-form opponent.

"I think he's a great player," said Schulman of Wahlbeck. "Any poker game he plays, he's going to be great at it."

Schulman accepted he had conquered a strong field but was humble in his assessment of his play.

"There wasn't a weak spot in that field," he acknowledged. "But the cards came my way and I was able to capitalize."

He went on to explain why Deuce-to-Seven is such a big draw for the big-name pros.

"It's a very simple game but the intangible qualities that make somebody a very good poker player are what would make them excel at Deuce-to-Seven," he said. "It's a game of very few decisions but they mean everything - it's pure poker."