You came in as the short stack, but held on like a barnacle and at one point you looked like the best player and had a legitimate shot. Were you feeling that way?

At one point I really believed that I had a great chance. I got up to about $22 million and then everything changed. I was running bad. I couldn't catch cards, hit flops and I was reraised all the time until this final showdown.

Jerry Yang seemed to want to take over the table with aggressive play from the get go. Was your strategy just to sit back and wait for a hand to pick him off?

I think No-Limit Hold'em is the kind of game where luck is such a huge factor in tournaments. If it was Limit with this kind of structure I think the skill would be much more of a factor.
It's hard to say how well he was playing because I didn't see his cards. Maybe he made a few bad calls on showdowns, but generally I think he played the best.
When I was short stacked I was certainly waiting for a chance to take a pot with a medium hand without a showdown or a really good hand with a showdown.

On your final hand you shoved with Big Slick, would you do it again if given the chance?

For sure. I knew it was a race or I was way ahead against a weak ace. I knew he couldn't have Aces or Kings.

With one bracelet this year and this huge cash you must be thinking of the 2007 WSOP as a major success?

Yes, sure. I will come back next year for sure and I will play (at the WSOP Europe).

So what's next for Alex Kravchenko?

I want to go home as soon as possible because I've been here for six weeks already and I'm tired.

Jerry Yang raises to $2.5 million preflop and Raymond Rahme re-raises to $6 million from the big blind. Yang makes the call and the flop comes A J 8. Rahme checks to Yang, who bets out a cool $10 million. Rahme grabs a stack of chips and re-raises all-in. Yang goes into the tank for a good five minutes, eying down Rahme and trying to get a read.

"Just play your hand," says Rahme.

"My decision, huh?" says Yang. "I think you're on a draw."

Finally Yang decides to call and turns up A 5. "Weak ace," he says.

Rahme shakes his head and takes a long time to turn up his hand, showing K K. The cowboys are beautiful but behind to Yang's pair of aces, and the crowd roars in approval as the men await the turn.

The turn card is the 3, which is no help for Rahme, who needs a king and a king only to stay alive. The river card is the 2 and Raymond Rahme has been eliminated in third place.

The South-African will take home $3,048,025 for his tremendous accomplishment, while the Canadian contingent cheers wildly knowing that their horse, Tuan Lam, is still alive and guaranteed at least $4.8 million.

We're now on another twenty-minute break to prepare for heads-up play. Meanwhile, sate your hardcore poker addiction with our update chip counts, right thurr ---> * .