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WSOP 2016: Winner, Prize Money for November 1 Main Event Finals

7:16 AM
WSOP 2016: Winner, Prize Money for November 1 Main Event Finals
John Locher/Associated Press

Qui Nguyen prevailed in the 2016 World Series of Poker main event after a grueling 181-hand, heads-up battle with runner-up Gordon Vayo that ran into the early hours of Wednesday morning at the Penn and Teller Theater in Las Vegas. 

Cliff Josephy claimed third place, but it was all about Nguyen's battle with Vayo in an extraordinary final table clash.

Per the Associated Press' Jimmy Golen (via WSOCTV.com), Nguyen and Vayo's heads-up showdown was the longest in tournament history.

Having been on the edge of victory numerous times, the former nail salon owner finally prevailed on the 364th hand. 

ESPN.com's Tim Fiorvanti explained how the final hand played out:

Nguyen raised to 8.5 million chips and Vayo reraised all in for 53 million. Nguyen called with Kc-Tc and had Vayo's Js-Ts in bad shape, but Vayo improved from three winning cards to eight on a Kd-9c-7d flop. The 2s turn and 3h river triggered cannons of confetti to fire off in the Penn & Teller Theater inside the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino as the newest world champion of poker was crowned.

According to Case Keefer of the Las Vegas Sun, Nguyen, 39, takes home a first-place prize of just over $8 million, while Vayo captured $4,658,452 and Josephy won $3,451,175. There was a $10,000 buy-in for the event, and all three parlayed that into an incredible payday.

ESPN Stats & Info pointed out Nguyen was not accustomed to winning such incredible amounts of money entering the World Series of Poker:

Nguyen came into Tuesday's final session with 197.6 million chips, which just so happened to be more than Vayo (89 million) and Josephy (50 million) combined.

However, it took all of one hand for Nguyen to squander away most of that massive advantage.

According to the World Series of Poker's official website, Vayo folded on the opening hand, but Josephy went all-in and moved his chip total to more than 100 million with the maneuver. While Nguyen still had more than 147 million chips, he was no longer in control.

Poker News reacted to the change in momentum:

Josephy made waves early, but Vayo eventually took the chip lead on what Fiorvanti said "could end up being the largest pot of the 2016 WSOP main event." Vayo went over 200 million with a set of threes, while Josephy dropped to less than 10 million with a set of deuces.

Josephy was eventually eliminated and had to settle for third place after he lost a hand going all-in, but he left the tournament with supporters chanting his name and a hefty sum of prize money.

That left Nguyen and Vayo to duel for the $8 million prize in head-to-head fashion. Bernard Lee of ESPN.com underscored how unpredictable a two-man field can be at the end of the main event:

Nguyen battled back in the heads-up clash and re-took the lead after betting 39.9 million on a hold and forcing a fold from Vayo, per the event's official website. That lead lasted a mere five hands, though, as Vayo came storming back.

Nguyen seized full momentum on a large hand when he went all-in, and Vayo folded. Keefer said, "Vayo looks pale, sick over decision been deliberating for several minutes," and the boost put Nguyen at 229.7 million chips compared to Vayo's 106.9 million. 

Keefer reacted to the hand:

The two competitors continued to remain alive, but professional poker player Phil Hellmuth noted Vayo wasn't being nearly as aggressive as his opposition:

Nguyen kept up the pressure and forced another fold on a big hand to move his chip total to 279 million compared to 57.6 million from Vayo.

However, every time it appeared as if Nguyen was about to run away with the victory, Vayo crawled closer with critical hands. His cautious approach wasn't well suited to dramatic swings as he entered comeback mode, but it kept him alive in the race for the title well into the wee hours of Wednesday morning on the East Coast.

He climbed right back into contention with a 45.6 million chip pot to cut the deficit to 230.7 million chips to 105.9 million chips.

But Nguyen's aggressive play saw him regain momentum and open up a big chip lead, bluffing Vayo out of some significant hands. 

Per Keefer, Vayo was on the ropes and playing cautiously as the heads-up clash wore on:

But there was another big shift in momentum when Nguyen had a chance to win the main event with Vayo all-in, only for the San Francisco man to make a flush on the river, per Poker News:

Momentarily, it looked as though Vayo would claw back to parity as he cut Nguyen's lead to 192.8 million to 143.8 million.

It was not to be. Vayo continued with his cautious approach and failed to get much luck, and Nguyen built his lead back up again slowly and painfully.

Per PokerNews, a helpful double pushed Vayo up to 60 million chips, but he remained firmly on the back foot.

And finally, after more than seven hours of heads-up play, the 27-year-old was called all-in, and Nguyen took the glory with a pair of kings on the flop.

It was a deserved victory for the Las Vegas resident who played with great heart throughout, and he was the standout player on the final table. 

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