Patrick Chan of Canada claimed silver while France's Brian Joubert got the bronze.

Lysacek captured the gold to go with two bronze medals he won in 2005 and 2006.

“The nervous energy was a positive for me, because I turned it into adrenaline tonight,” said Lysacek, who earned US$45,000 in prize money. “Stamina-wise I was good and I felt strong.”

Skating brilliantly to the music “Rhapsody in Blue”, the 23-year-old Lysacek, who trains in Los Angeles, received a rousing ovation from the crowd of about 6,000 at the Staples Center arena.

Lysacek was second after the short program but surged past 2007 World Champion Joubert to clinch the gold.

Lysacek's routine included nine triple jumps, a double Axel and a flying sit spin for a final score of 242.23. He started celebrating early pumping his fists in the middle of his closing change foot combination spin.

“I just wanted to throw my hands in the air,” Lysacek said. “That's why near the end I was celebrating a little bit.”

Lysacek finished well clear of the pack and over four points ahead of Chan who posted a 237.58 score.

This event marked the 18-year-old Chan's breakthrough on the world stage as he picked up his first World Championship medal.

Chan entered the long program in third place but vaulted past Joubert after nailing all eight of his triple jumps.

“I was happy to stay on my feet throughout the whole program,” Chan said. “It is like a 1,000 piece puzzle. There's so much stuff to a perfect program. Everything has to tie in properly.”

There were jeers and boos for the judges after Chan's short program scores were posted on the electronic scoreboard but not this time.

Chan won his first International Skating Union championships title in February with a season's best of 249.19 points. It is also the highest score any skater has achieved this season so far.

Joubert led after Wednesday's short program but stumbled on his long program and dropped to third.

Joubert completed just one of two scheduled quad jumps and fell face first late in the program which helped lower his final score even to 235.97.

“I am very disappointed. I have to take something from this defeat for the Olympic year,” Joubert said.