The new king of the poker world is Las Vegas resident Qui Nguyen, who has won the World Series of Poker Main Event.
He wins an $8 million first place purse.
Nguyen was unknown in professional poker circles, but managed to build a large chip stack at the event’s final table and won by eliminating pro Gordon Vayo. During the final table, his colorful and sometimes erratic play made him an instant fan favorite.
The main event attracted 6,737 players this year to the WSOP’s $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship.
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Nguyen eliminated Vayo when he called Vayo’s all-in bet with suited K-10. Vayo was holding a suited J-10 and he failed to improve when the board fell 7-9-K-2-3. It was the 365th hand of the final table.
Vayo collected $4,658,452 for finishing second.
Nguyen’s only previous WSOP cash was for $9,029 check for taking 54th place in a $1,500 tournament in 2009.
The heads-up battle was the longest since the event switched to the current format where the top nine players return for a made-for-TV final table. The 181 hands of one-on-one play between Vayo and Nguyen surpassed the mark previously set when Pius Heinz beat Martin Staszko after 119 hands in 2011, the Review Journal said.
