Chris Ferguson wins Lake Tahoe WSOP Event
November 19, 2007
Full Tilt Poker's Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson has won the $5000 buy in championship tournament of the Lake Tahoe WSOP circuit event.
He took home $203,649 for first place after taking the chip lead into the final table.
There were many firsts at the Harvey’s Lake Tahoe World Series of Poker championship, which concluded on November 18th. First and foremost, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, one of the world’s most electrifying poker personalities and accomplished tournament players became the first person ever to win three WSOP Circuit championship events. He now owns three gold rings, each symbolizing a Circuit triumph, to go with his five gold bracelets won for World Series of Poker excellence.
There were also firsts in the way Ferguson accomplished his feat. The 44-year-old tournament pro played near-flawless poker and then caught two monster hands in the closing minutes to shatter the dreams of a would-be “David” in his quest to slay one of poker’s true “Goliaths.”
Heads up play featured a 25-year-old local man named Dustin Fox, playing against the former world champion. It took just one hand for Ferguson to drag the final pot of the tournament, holding a set of tens over Fox’s pocket aces, which brought a packed house to its feet and ended the Lake Tahoe championship in dramatic fashion.
This was the fourth straight year the World Series of Poker Circuit has made a stop at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. In fact, this was the largest turnout of the four tournament series held so far. More than 2,100 players entered the 11 events held on the south shores of beautiful blue Lake Tahoe.
The $5,000 championship event attracted 142 players, which created a prize pool totaling $677,700. The top 18 players all collected prize money. The tournament was played over three days. The first day eliminated much of the field, as only 39 players returned for day two. The second day eliminated another 30 players, leaving the nine finalists to play for the championship on day three.
Ferguson arrived at the final table with a sizable chip advantage with his 426,000 stack. His closest rival was Mark “Bonsai” Bonsack, with 252,000 in chips. The remaining players each arrived with 158,000 or less. Ferguson held the lead for all but about 15 minutes of play, when his rival Dustin Fox managed to gain a slight lead. Indeed, the day, the night, and the tournament victory belonged to the famous icon dressed in all-black.
To all poker players and fans the world over, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson is most famous for his 2000 World Series of Poker title. But this victory at Lake Tahoe will certainly go down as one of his most satisfying tournament moments. Afterward, Ferguson stated that winning a WSOP Circuit event is every bit as challenging as winning a WSOP event and even went so far to say he is just as proud of his gold rings as bracelets.
For first place in this tournament, Ferguson collected his third WSOP gold ring in four years, $203,649 in cash, and an embossed certificate entitling him to an official entry into the 2008 World Series of Poker main event. Perhaps just as memorable, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson wrote yet another exciting chapter in the exceptional story that is the tournament life of one of poker’s most respected players.
You can play, chat and learn with Chris Ferguson at Full Tilt Poker - where the pros play online.
