Nate Jackson had a lot of "almosts" on his resume until last weekend. Semi-finalist at the 2007 Bay Area Black Comedy Competition and Festival (BABCCF). First runner-up in the 2008 Seattle International Comedy Competition. Finalist in the 2008 California Comedy Festival.

But now the 26-year-old gets to add winner of the BABCCF to his Wiki page, after impressing the crowd at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on April 17. He joins a list of pretty impressive alumni—Jamie Foxx, DL Hughley, Don "DC" Curry, Mark Curry (Mr. Cooper!), Katt Williams, Chris Tucker, and Nick Cannon—and enjoys the additional honor of being the first winner from the Pacific Northwest. Olympia native Jackson started out doing stand-up at Spokane comedy clubs (on a dare) as a student at Eastern Washington University; his first joke was about Michael Jordan’s divorce. Find out how it went over in the interview below, and check out some of his stand-up clips at natejacksoncomedy.com. Congrats, Nate.