Cornel Andrew Cimpan has won the 2009 Los Angeles Poker Classic in fitting fashion: he sucked out.

Cimpan and Binh Nguyen played all-in tag for about 10 hands before finally getting all the money in, with Nguyen calling off his stack with A 9 and finding himself ahead of Cimpan's K 5.

Obviously, Cimpan was going to win this hand, as the man is utterly incapable of losing when he's behind. Case in point, the flop came T 5 3 to give the boy a pair of fives and leave Nguyen needing to hit an ace or a nine to stay alive.

The turn was the T, however, and the river the 4, and this tournament was over. Cimpan is the champ, taking home $1,686,760, while Nguyen earns $935,424 in a losing cause.

Congratulations to all finalists and to the World Poker Tour for another exciting event. We'll see you on Saturday for the Celebrity Invitational!

Binh Nguyen grinds back the chip lead and action continues to the 278th hand of play at this final table.

In Hand #278, Nguyen raises to 575,000 and Cornel Andrew Cimpan moves all-in over the top. Nguyen pauses for just a moment before making the call and is once again facing the prospect of his first WPT title, once again with the best hand.

Nguyen has T T and Cimpan has A 4, and you'd be out of your mind if you didn't think an ace was coming.

But the flop comes 8 6 4 and the tens retain the lead, though Cimpan pairs his four. The turn is the 8 and now dude picks up a flush draw, giving him 14 outs to stay alive.

The river is, of course, one of those outs, bringing the 5 to give Cimpan the flush, the pot and $12.8 million in chips.

Nguyen is down to $1.1 million, though he doubles up shortly thereafter with J 9 against Cimpan's 6 2 when Cimpan miraculously fails to hit his runner-runner straight to end the tournament.

We continue, then, heads-up.

Cornel Andrew Cimpan starts to bully Binh Nguyen around after taking over the chip lead, putting the boy to the test for his tournament life repeatedly and taking substantial pots from the man with the winning name.

Cimpan brings his stack up to nearly $10 million on the following hand, which saw Cimpan limp his button and Nguyen check his option.

The flop came T 5 2 and Nguyen checks to Cimpan, who bets $300k and is called. The turn is the 8 and Nguyen checks again. Cimpan bets $700k and Nguyen raises to $1.7 million.

Cimpan thinks for a moment before moving all-in over the top and, looking frustrated, Nguyen lays it down.

A few hands later, Nguyen open-shoves for his last $3.975 million and after asking for a count, Cimpan makes the call, turning up K J to Nguyen's K 5.

Cimpan has come back from behind twice to double up and now he's ahead with a chance to win the title. The flop comes 9 9 8 and Cimpan retains the lead. The turn is the 3 and the title is within reach.

The river is the 5 and we're going to play some more. Nguyen rivers a suck-out (only fair) to double up to nearly $6 million and prolong the agony - er, excitement - here at Commerce.

After a protracted bout of relatively unexciting play, Cornel Andrew Cimpan begins moving all-in with reckless abandon, at one point showing down J 2 when Bihn Nguyen folds out.

This nonsense goes on for a few hands before Nguyen raises and Cimpan moves all-in over the top. Nguyen insta-calls, turning up A 9, and when Cimpan turns up K Q, only needs to fade kings, queens and strange combinations to win the title.

The flop, however, comes K J 2 and once again, Cimpan flops the best hand while behind. The turn is the K and the boy makes trips, and after the river is the T, he has doubled up to take over the chip lead with $8.2 million to Nguyen's $5.7 million.

After 75 hands of passive heads-up play, Cornel Andrew Cimpan raises preflop for the first time. He takes down the pot and flashes T-9 as he rakes the pot.

Meanwhile, Binh Nguyen has built his stack up to $11 million before the following gem occurs:

Nguyen raises to $375,000 and Cimpan moves all-in over the top. Nguyen immediately makes the call, turning up A Q. Cimpan is in terrible shape with Q T and will need to hit a ten to stay alive. Yeah, he can also hit some running cards, but still. He's in bad shape.

The flop reverses Nguyen's advantage, though, coming Q T 4 and giving Cimpan two pair. The turn is the T, and now Nguyen can only hope for a queen to chop.

The river is the 4 and Cimpan doubles up, building his stack back up to $4,450,000. Nguyen still has $9,450,000.

Binh Nguyen raises to $375,000 and Cornel Andrew Cimpan makes the call in the big blind. The flop comes Q 6 3 and both players check. The turn is the J and Cimpan checks to Nguyen, who bets out $400,000.

Cimpan raises to a cool $1 million and Nguyen makes the call, putting his head in his hands as we go to the river. The river is the 8 and Cimpan checks. Nguyen checks behind, turning up K-Q for top pair. Cimpan mucks and Nguyen takes the pot, which is enough to push his stack up over the $10 million marker.

Binh Nguyen raises to $310,000 and Cornel Cimpan makes the call. The flop comes A 5 2 and Cimpan checks to Nguyen, who bets out $300,000. Cimpan makes the call and the turn is the K.

This time, both players check and the river is the Q. Cimpan checks again and Nguyen fires out $1 million. Cimpan folds and Nguyen takes the pot, regaining the chip lead as he does.

A few hands later, Cimpan limps his button and Nguyen checks his option. The flop comes 8 6 4 and Nguyen leads out for $175,000. Cimpan makes the call and the turn is the 4.

Nguyen bets $350,000 and Cimpan again opts to smooth-call. The river is the 3 and Nguyen fires a third barrel, this time of the $600k caliber. Cimpan again calls, only to muck when Nguyen turns up a pocket pair of aces.

Nguyen is now back to around $8.33 million, or just a bit less than what he started the heads-up match with.

After Cornel Cimpan limps in for $120,000, Binh Nguyen checks his option. The flop comes A 6 4 and both players check.

The turn is the 9 and Nguyen bets out $175,000. Cimpan makes the call and the river is the K.

Now Nguyen checks and Cimpan fires, making it $350,000 to go. Nguyen makes the call, turning up A-T to take down the pot.

The hand gives Cimpan - who has ground his way back to even - new title to the chip lead.

On the next hand, Nguyen raises to $310,000 on the button and Cimpan makes the call.

The flop comes 8 7 2 and Cimpan check-calls Nguyen's $400,000 wager. The turn is the 7 and this time both players check. The river is the 5 and they check again.

Both players show an eight, but Cimpan's jack-kicker (J 8) takes the pot and extends the boy's lead.

Just moments after Chris Karagulleyan's elimination, Binh Nguyen raises to $300,000 on the button and Cornel Cimpan moves all-in for $2.625 million from the small blind.

In the big blind, Mike Sowers asks for a count and, after a moment or two, makes the call with 5 5 to Cimpan's A Q. It's another race.

The flop comes A 4 2 and Cimpan flops the best hand, though Sowers still has the gut-shot straight draw.

The turn is the K and Cimpan needs to dodge fives and threes to stay alive. The river is the 2 and his crowd goes wild; he's doubled through Mike Sowers and is still alive.

A few hands later, Sowers raised to $300,000 on the button and Nguyen made it a million to go from the small blind. Cimpan got out of the way in the big blind and Sowers moved all-in over the top, putting his last $2.425 million on the line.

Nguyen insta-called, tabling a pocket pair of queens to counter Sowers' pocket fours.

The board came J 9 8 J K and the queens held, busting SowersUNCC in third place and reducing the field to two.

Heads-up play is about to begin between Binh Nguyen and Cornel Cimpan with Nguyen holding $8.45 million to Cimpan's $5.45 million.

Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion!

Update: Cards are in the air and heads-up play is under way.

This final table is now 100% Chris-free, after Chris Ferguson's elimination in sixth place and WPT1 Legends of Poker champ Chris Karagulleyan's fourth-place elimination just moments ago.

In Karagulleyan's final hand, Cornel Cimpan open-shoved all-in for $1,285,000 from the small blind and Karagulleyan made the call for his tournament life in the big, tabling A 9 against Cimpan's Q 8.

The flop came A Q T, giving both players a piece, but Karagulleyan retained the lead as his legions of fans/backers celebrated in the aisles.

The turn, however, was the heartbreaking Q, giving Cimpan trips and leaving Karagulleyan needing an ace to continue.

The river card was the 7, however, and the queens held, giving Cimpan the pot and busting Karagulleyan in fourth place for $430,963, the biggest score of his seven-year career - discounting, of course, the approximately 80% of his action that he sold off before the tournament began.