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

Qui Nguyen prevailed in the 2016 World Series of Poker main event after a grueling 182-hand heads-up battle with runner-up Gordon Vayo that ran into the early hours of Wednesday morning at the Penn & 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, the heads-up showdown between Nguyen and Vayo 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:

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On the final hand, Nguyen raised to 8.5 million chips and Vayo re-raised 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 & Casino as the newest world champion of poker was crowned.

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Nguyen, 39, took home a first-place prize of just over $8 million, according to the World Series of Poker's official website, while Vayo won $4,661,228 and Josephy earned $3,453,035 for his third-place finish. There was a $10,000 buy-in for the event, and all three parlayed that into an incredible payday.

Heading into the World Series of Poker, Nguyen was not accustomed to winning much money in tournaments, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:

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

It took one hand for him to squander away most of that massive advantage.

Vayo folded on the opening hand, but Josephy went all-in and doubled up to more than 100 million chips after flopping top two pair. While Nguyen still had more than 147 million chips, he was no longer in a dominating position.

Poker News reacted to the early 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 after flopping a set of threes, while Josephy dropped to less than 10 million when he couldn't get away from his set of deuces.

Josephy was eventually eliminated after going all-in with a Qd-3d and losing to Vayo's Kh-6d, 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 top prize in heads-up 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 the turn and forcing a fold from Vayo. That lead lasted a mere five hands, though, as Vayo came storming back with two pair on Hand 196.

Nguyen seized momentum on a large hand when he went all-in after hitting a nuts flush on the river, per Fiorvanti, sending Vayo into the tank for more than six minutes. Keefer said, "Vayo looks pale, sick over decision been deliberating for several minutes," but Vayo ultimately decided to lay down his two pair. The boost put Nguyen's chip stack at 229.7 million compared to Vayo's 106.9 million. 

Keefer reacted to the hand:

The two competitors continued to battle back and forth, but professional poker player Phil Hellmuth noted Vayo wasn't being nearly as aggressive as his opponent:

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

Every time it appeared as though 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 by winning a 45.6-million-chip pot with top pair to cut his deficit to 230.7 million chips to 105.9 million chips.

But Nguyen's aggressive play helped him regain momentum and open up a big chip lead, as he bluffed 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 and heavily dominated, only for the San Francisco man to runner-runner 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 192.7 million to 143.9 million after taking down a pot with Jh-3d on Hand 304.

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

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

Finally, after more than seven hours of heads-up play, Nguyen called Vayo's all-in and took home the title with a pair of kings on the flop.

It was a deserved victory for the Las Vegas resident who put on a heads-up clinic against Vayo.

Unless otherwise noted, all hand details via the World Series of Poker's official website.