He may have angered his customers in the process, but Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA completed a stunning comeback on Wednesday to snatch the America's Cup sailing trophy from New Zealand in the last race of the competition.
The U.S. team had been seven races behind at one point last week in a contest that is decided by the first to win nine races. It clawed its way back with eight consecutive wins on the choppy waters of San Francisco Bay. Oracle Team USA actually won 11 races but began with a two-race deficit because it was caught cheating in a preliminary round.
The victory coincided with Oracle's OpenWorld conference in San Francisco, which might have pleased Ellison had the penultimate race not fallen at the same hour as his closing keynote speech on Tuesday. Ellison gave his spot to a deputy and stayed on the water, irritating customers who had lined up to hear him speak.
He's probably not worrying about that today, having pulled off perhaps the biggest comeback in America's Cup history. Emirates Team New Zealand, whose fans were already celebrating their expected win last week, will be devastated by its loss.
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