2000 World Series or Poker Main Event winner, and the player with one of the best nicknames in the business, Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson has won the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Championships played recently at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Ferguson beat fellow pro Andy Bloch in the final match to triumph, having placed second in the competition on two previous occasions.

The tournament attracted a field of 64 pros and celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment.

The field read like a who's who of poker pros with all the big names present, and they were joined by celebrity participants that included Jennifer Tilly, Jason Alexander, Don Cheadle, and Shannon Elizabeth.

After a few upsets last year that saw Cheadle eliminate Phil Ivey, and Elizabeth advance to the semi-finals, this year went much more to form with most of the celebrities exiting in the first round.

One notable exception was ex-baseball player Orel Hershiser, who cut his way through the field with excellent, aggressive play, knocking out Allen Cunningham, Ted Forrest and Freddie Deeb. Hershiser went all the way to the quater-finals before he was stopped by Bloch.

Reigining champion Paul Wasicka was unable to repeat his success of last year, after getting knocked out in the first round by Deeb.

“This has truly been the best year ever for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship,” offered Jon Miller, Executive VP of NBC Sports.

“The players were better than ever, Orel Hershiser provided a great deal of excitement and buzz, we had a superb final four players and a genuinely exciting finale.”