On last night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars: Season 6, the last contenders got their chance to prove they were worthy of the finals. In the first ever “face off,” all three couples performed the same style of dance (the Cha Cha) within the same song. This was an opportunity for the viewers and the judges to see how they all tackled an identical challenge. Then in the no holds barred Freestyle round, the stars were allowed to bring whatever their momma gave them.

By night’s end:

• Cristián da le Fuente earned a 26 for his Cha Cha (an improvement from his earlier 21) and a 26 in the Freestyle round.  TOTAL: 52
• Jason Taylor scored a disappointing 24 for his Cha Cha (a tie with his last attempt) and a 27 for the Freestyle. TOTAL: 51
• Kristi Yamaguchi achieved perfect scores in both styles. TOTAL: 60

Despite landing in the middle of the pack yesterday, Cristián da le Fuente was the first celebrity to be sent home tonight. Even though he had made great strides (especially post-injury), this announcement wasn’t exactly a surprise. The actor was still ranked third amongst the finalists in the overall averages. (Cristián had a 25.21, Jason was at 26.07 while Kristi lead with 28.21.)

After the first elimination, the final two competitors got the chance to perform one more time for a whole new set of scores. Kristi and Mark smartly chose to redo their first jive of the season. They scored a 30 for their initial attempt and earned another 30 for the same dance this time around. (This gave her a perfect 90 out of 90 for the two nights.)

Jason and Edyta later dusted off their Quickstep, a style they had received a 29 for in Week 7. Tonight, they walked away with their first 30 of the whole season. This brought their two-day total to 81 out of 90.

When all was said and done, Kristi Yamaguchi was crowned the winner of the Dancing with the Stars: Season 6.  This was a first for a woman since Season 1. But unlike the controversial finale between Kelly Monaco and John O’Hurley, this skater’s victory left no doubters.

You can see the final announcement below:

(You can find all the Dancing with the Stars: Season 6 posts here.)