2000 WSOP Champ Chris Ferguson was born in 1963 in Los Angeles, California. Ferguson attended UCLA where he received a Ph.D in computer science. Ferguson's parents also hold doctoral degrees. His father is a game theory teacher at UCLA.

Ferguson started playing poker even before he turned 10 years old. In college, he tested his skills mostly at online poker rooms. In 1994, he switched to land-based tournaments in California. Ferguson always looking for gaming facilities that would allow him to pit his gaming skills against those of other dedicated poker players. In 1995, he participated in his first World Series of Poker event.

In 2000, Ferguson outplayed prominent poker pro T.J. Cloutier and won the WSOP's No-Limit Hold 'em main event. His play during this final table event was truly exceptional. Cloutier held AQ, Ferguson had A9. The flop came 2K4 with a king on the turn. An 9 came on the river and Chris nabbed the coveted World Champion title along with the $1.5 million first place prize.

According to Ferguson, his favorite place to play poker is at the final table. His unstoppable desire to win along with his remarkable math skills have made him a genuine poker pro. He holds several World Championship titles, two of them from 2003. Those titles are 2000 7-Card Stud, 2001 Omaha Hi-Lo, 2003 Mixed Games, 2003 Omaha Hi-Lo, and the final table in 2000. In addition, he finished fourth in Lowball, second in Pot-Limit Hold 'em and sixth in Omaha High in the 2003 WSOP.

His general advice to players who find themselves in a difficult poker situation is indeed very simple: "If you're not sure whether to fold or call, fold. If you're not sure whether to call or raise, raise."

Nowadays, Ferguson is mostly concentrated on the bigger buy-in events. Surprisingly enough, his non-gaming interests include swing dancing. He has earned himself the nickname "Jesus" because of his signature long brown hair and beard. Ferguson is a poker pro team member at Full Tilt Poker, a popular online poker destination that opened two years ago.

2000 WSOP Winner Ferguson works very hard to improve his poker skills. As of 2006, his total tournament winnings exceed $5,700,000.