Prahlad Friedman Wins 2009 WPT Legends of Poker

Poker pro Prahlad Friedman took down the WPT Legends of Poker event in the wee hours of this morning. (Image courtesy WickedChopsPoker.com)"]

Hell of a way to make a comeback. Online poker legend Prahlad Friedman has managed to roar back onto the poker scene with a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event followed by a win at the WPT Legends of Poker event in the wee hours of this morning. For the win, Friedman becomes the newest WPT-Made Millionaire, earning $1,009,000 and a $25,500 buy-in for the WPT World Championship.

Friedman first made a splash on the live poker tournament circuit when he made a deep run at the 2009 WSOP Main Event, eventually finishing in 20th place for $494,797. At that point, he had already racked up more than $1 million in career tournament earnings in a short live career. Before he even stepped up to a poker table in a casino, Friedman had already built up a fearsome reputation online under the handle "Spirit Rock" and was one of the first online superstars, considered by many to be the best online poker player in the world.

Then he virtually disappeared. For about three years. Until this summer. After his 64th-place finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, this win at the WPT Legends of Poker puts him squarely back in the poker limelight.

Friedman took on 2009 WSOP November Niner Kevin Schaffel heads-up for the win in a battle that lasted just less than an hour and saw Friedman enter with a 4 to 1 chip lead. Another notable player, Toto Leonidas, finished in fourth place.

The next stop on the World Poker Tour is the WPT Slovakia and then onto the WPT Cyprus before heading back to the US for the WPT Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City. Qualify online for the WPT with Bodog Poker and win a $12,000 prize package to the WPT event of your choice.