Chris Ferguson officially secured the coveted number one spot on the WSOP tour on Monday after his nearest competitors failed to capitalise on his misstep at Europe’s Main Event.

Ferguson, who goes by the name of Jesus, busted out in the final tournament of the year alongside rivals John Racener and Ryan Hughes to move into an unassailable lead at the top of the rankings.

Jesus cashed out in 17 events in the summer in Las Vegas, a single-year record, and followed it up with 6 cashes out of 11 in the WSOP Europe events.

“WSOP 2017 POY! Thank you for the support and thanks! It’s been a struggle but glad to be thriving once again,” tweeted Ferguson on Monday.

John Racener has been eliminated from the WSOPE Main Event, meaning Chris Ferguson is the 2017 WSOP Player of the Year winner.

— WSOP (@WSOP) November 6, 2017

Ferguson is now only the second man to become WSOP Player of the Year and win the WSOP Main Event, however the win didn’t come without controversy.

2017 was Ferguson’s first year back on the poker circuit following allegations that he took millions from Full Tilt Poker just before the government shut the website down in April 2011.

The shutdown left many users out of pocket, and his continued refusal to apologise has left poker players around the world embittered by the fiasco.

Ferguson was never legally convicted of any wrongdoing citing that the issues were down to mismanagement rather than malice, and when asked to say sorry for his part in the case, Ferguson replied saying, “apologize for what?”

The World Series of Poker were pressured by a number of organisations not to allow Ferguson to play, and the backlash Jesus received throughout his comeback has been heavy.

Couldn’t find time to grab a selfie with Harvey Weinstein, Chris Brown, or Bernie Madoff? Next best thing I guess.
Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) November 2, 2017

“As one of the most successful poker players of his generation, he is intelligent enough to know that his presence at the tables would have been a major “fuck you” to the people his company destroyed,” said Poker Pro Europe columnist Lee Davy.

“I have a feeling of ambivalence towards the WSOP for allowing him to play. I have criticised their decision, but take away the emotions, and logic dictates that it wasn’t an easy one to make.”

Ferguson returned to the poker tour in June 2016, and has won over $9m from 96 tournament placings throughout his 23-year professional career.