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  At the start of Event #48's final table, Marco Johnson had almost exactly twice as many chips as middle of the pack dweller, Alexandre Gomes. In fact Gomes was firmly ensconced in fourth place when the day started, but these two would eventually meet at the final table. Of course before that could happen, seven other players would have to find their way to the rail, and in most tournaments, nobody is really anxious to be relieved of their place at the final table. This tournament was a little different. At times it looked more like speed dating than a poker tournament. What would have been a full day affair in any other tourney, turned out to be a final table that was over in just a few short hours.



  Things started fast when Dan Rome decided that a suited 5s-4s was the hand he was willing to bet his tournament life on. As the Sicilians say though, don't bring a knife to a gun fight, so when he went all in with a hand that had flush/straight potential, he was blown away by an opponent who had a couple of Aces in his hand.



  Ryan D'Angelo had been dealt the holy grail of hole cards. When the board refused to do anything to help Dan's drawing hand, Rome fell.



  This was just the start - as Ryan D'Angelo really dominated the final table for some time. After Robert Brewer eliminated Gabe Costner in 8th place, D'Angelo started going through the competition like "Friday the 13th's" Jason Voorhies carving a path through a bunch of horny co-eds with a machete.



  Ryan punted Sverre Sundbo in 7th place and eliminated Kirill Gerasimov by sending him and his pocket Jacks away in 6th place. Gerasimov actually started pretty much even with D'Angelo. Kirill had a pair of Jacks in his hand while Ryan had and offsuit A-Q.



  The flop delivered a pair of 5s that upgraded Gerasimov to a Jack high two-pair, and the turn did nothing to help D'Angelo. It was looking bad for Ryan until an Ace saved his bacon on the river and sent a stunned Russian to the rail.



  Alexandre Gomes was heavily outmatched after going all in with a suited 6s-7s. His opponent, Alan Cutler had an unsuited A-Q, and was looking to take possession of Gomes' stack after the flop produced a A-Q-J. Things went badly for him after that. A 6 hit the board on both the turn and the river. Shellshocked, Cutler left the table in 5th place.



  Ryan D'Angelo went back to his destructive ways when he flopped a set of Kings, and set his sights on Robert Brewer's cache of chips. Brewer obliged and went all in one card shy of a straight or a flush. The river was not kind to him, and he was gone in 4th place. And then there were three.



  Like a speeding Ferrari that suddenly discovers somebody has dropped a medium sized sphinx across the Autobahn, Ryan's day went splat against an unexpected obstacle. A suited A-Q is generally a good hand to bet your tournament life on, but when the other guy has a pair of 9s, and flop gives them a set, chances are your tournament is going to finish. That is exactly what happened to the destructive Mr. D'Angelo when he found himself confronted by Alexandre Gomes. Ryan went to the rail in 3rd place. The knowledge that he was personally responsible for the elimination of most of the table seems like cold comfort when you're playing like a Titan, and suddenly your luck runs out just shy of the WSOP bracelet.



  Marc Johnson owned the chip lead at that start of the day, but had done very little besides survive by the time he was heads-up against Alexandre Gomes. The lack of activity on his part cost him badly in terms of a chip deficit. He was severely behind the Gomes when it came to stack sizes. Even though Marc managed to double-up a couple of times through Gomes, the hole was just too big.



  In the final hand, Johnson moved all in over the top of Gomes. Marc was holding a suited Js-Qs at the time. And Alexandre had a couple of Royal spades himself. He called the all or nothing gamble with As-Ks. No spades ever hit the board, or anything else that might help Johnson. Conversely, an Ace and a couple of fours showed up to give Alexandre Gomes the win and the championship.



  The win gives Alexandre his first bracelet, and $770,540. Congratulations Alexandre Gomes!