Jerry Yang is new WSOP Champion

After an all-out, seven-day battle, a new World Champion has been crowned: 39-year-old Californian Jerry Yang.

And his reward, besides a monumental and life-changing victory and at least a year in the international poker spotlight: a tidy $8.25 million.

Yang toppled a field of 6,358 players who put up the $10k for the Main Event this year, with the end finally coming down to a heads-up battle between the American Yang and Tuan Lam, a 40-year-old poker pro from Toronto, Canada.

The Laos-born Yang had a convincing chip lead against the Vietnamese-born Lam when the heads-up match began, with Yang at $104 million and Lam holding just $24 million. Quickly taking advantage of his lead, Yang played ultra-aggressive against the more conservative Lam, and after 36 hands it was all over.

The decisive hand - at roughly 4 a.m. and after 16 hours of play - went down like this: Yang raised to $1.5 million and Lam immediately pushed all-in. He was quickly called by Yang, holding pocket eights against Lam's Ad-Qd. It was virtually a coin flip, and the crowed went wild cheering for the two combatants.

The flop came Qc-9c-5s and Lam took a commanding lead with his top pair. The 7d on the turn gave Yang an inside straight draw and he needed an eight or a six to win.

This was Yang's day, and the 6h on the river filled his inside straight, making him the new World Champion of Poker and over $8 million dollars richer.

Lam earned $4,840,981 for his second-place finish, and Raymond Rahme from South Africa came third, taking $3,048,025 for his efforts.

Your new World Champion is a 39-year-old psychologist and father of six who won his seat to the Main Event in a $225 satellite. He grew up under tough conditions in the mountains of Laos and has publicly pledged to give 10% of his winnings to charity.

courtesy of Henrik Nilsson-Dahlbom

News Added: 18 July, 2007

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