Brett Parise won 180,000 dollars in prize money and a place in December's grand final in Sydney, Austrailia for his first place finish.
Parise, a political science and economics major at the University of California, was the youngest player at the final table. More than 200 players from 30 countries had started the three day event.
Pokerstars pros and favorites Joe Hachem, World Series of Poker champion in 2005, Vanessa Rousso and Daniel Negreanu, were eliminated on the first day.
Parise, who has been playing poker since he was 18, won his seat in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) through an online freeroll.
He sees the game as a good way of making money but he doubted whether he would take it up full time.
"I'll finish my degree but I don't have any idea what I will do after that. I like poker but it won't be my life," he said.
The next leg of the APPT takes place in Seoul in September and two other venues in Asia yet to be decided before finishing up in Sydney.