Steinberg had the young pro dead-to-rights with ace-king over king-ten on the river of a Q-8-2-4 board with a bracelet on the line in Event 27 $3,000 Mixed Max.
Instead Hagerling binked a miracle ten to not only survive but win 97% of the chips in play.
Steinberg was shocked and even Hagerling admitted he thought he was done.
“I was thinking this is it,” he said. “I managed to look pretty dumb while coming in second place.”
Hagerling did not finish second, however. Instead he won the pot, and despite a late comeback by Steinberg, eventually sealed the deal to win his first gold bracelet and $372,387 in cash.
Amazingly the final day of the tournament also took place on Hagerling's birthday as he turned 26.
Hagerling Bests Pros Timoshenko, Ausmus to Make the Final
The No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max is a unique format that sees players start nine-handed, then move to six-handed on Day 2. When the field is cut down to 32 players the format moves to heads-up play.
This year the tournament drew 593 and the final 32 provided a fantastic showcase of poker talent with Jason Koon, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Jeremy Ausmus and Brandon Cantu in the final eight.
Hagerling, who hails from Cleveland, beat Timoshenko and Ausmus to get into the final heads-up match against Steinberg.
It was an incredible victory for a player who got into poker by playing $5 Sit & Goes in his College dorm just outside of Chicago.
It’s doubtful Steinberg will be able to find any solace tonight but Hagerling was humble in victory.
“This tournament had a lot of play but there is still a huge amount of variance in it. I don’t think it proves anything that I won this one,” he said.
“The money means a lot though.”
For even more info about the final day of the $3,000 Mixed Max check our live coverage here. Here's the complete payouts for the final eight places:
1st: Isaac Hagerling - $372,387 2nd: Max Steinberg - $231,501 3rd: Jeremy Ausmus - $132,748 4th: Jason Koon - $132,748 5th: Yevgeniy Timoshenko - $51,561 6th: Dan Healey - $51,561 7th: Chris Johnson - $51,561 8th: Brandon Cantu - $51,561Visit www.pokerlistings.com