Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em

Thomas Pomponio outlasted a giant field of 18,054 to reach the poker pinnacle in Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em. Pomponio took home $1,000,000 for his outstanding performance, along with his first WSOP bracelet.

"It feels... just surreal," the Champion said. Pomponio's live tournament cashes had totaled less than $140,000 before he entered this tournament. Earning a seven-figure score is certainly an amazing feeling for anyone who makes their breakthrough in poker, but for Pomponio, the bracelet is even more meaningful.

"Ever since I was a kid, I was dreaming about sitting there and holding that gold," said Pomponio, who hails from New Jersey.

Pomponio came back for the final table fourth in chips. There were only about 180 big blinds in play, and all of the finalists played at a high tempo. Most of the decisions were made within just a few seconds, and the fast-paced action brought the casualties early.

The eventual Champion was involved in the pot that saw the first player lose his stack. He held ace-king and so did Erkut Yilmaz, who also joined the contest against Luke Vrabel, whose ace-deuce didn't find any help on the board.

Eleven hands into the final day, the field was reduced to seven players as Matt Affleck, the biggest star on the final table, sent his short stack to Kent Coppock.

Just like Affleck, Ralph Massey couldn't get much going, and he never bounced back from the ten big blinds he maneuvered. He hit the rail in seventh place.

Taylor Black's tournament was on the line when he shoved with nine-seven of clubs, running into the ace-queen of diamonds of Kent Coppock. Black, however, flopped a flush to soar into the chip lead.

Coppock's stack took a massive hit, but he laddered one more pay jump. Erkut Yilmaz clashed with pocket fours against John Hanna's aces and walked away in sixth place. With that knockout, Hanna suddenly guarded more than third of all the chips in play.

Hanna, however, wasn't among the dominant players on the final table; Pomponio and Black were the ones who kept things rolling. Pomponio knocked out Coppock in fifth, holding Big Slick against a weaker ace.

Then it was Black's turn, tangling with start-of-day chip leader Mark Babekov in a brutal cooler. Babekov's queens couldn't hold versus Black's ace-king as the king of diamonts landed on the turn. Black took over the lead and finished Babekov off the following hand.

Black held more than 50 percent of the tournament chips to begin three-handed play, and his railbirds were ecstatic. Pomponio was the shortest stack among the three remaining players, but the meat cutter from the east coast was relentless. Pomponio shoved on Black several times and always took the pot without contest.

The final duel was set when Pomponio's ace-high held strong in a preflop war against Hanna's queen-ten of clubs. Hanna's hand improved to a flush draw on the flop, but the rest of the board bricked.

Playing for a pay difference of close to $500,000, Black started the heads-up match with about a five-to-three chip lead. That dramatically changed after four hands, though. The two were both dealt a strong hand for heads-up play, which resulted in Black's five-bet shove with ace-ten. Unfortunately for him, Pomponio had ace-king.

Black first thought he got there when he saw a ten hitting the felt, but the flop also included a king, and the better starting hand stayed firmly ahead. Pomponio earned a huge lead and he never relinquished it. After 142 hands played on the final table, he remained the last man standing, with all the chips of all 18,054 entrants.

As the story unfolded, Pomponio became this year's second WSOP winner to collect a seven-figure prize, following the One Drop High Roller Champion, Doug Polk.

Final Table results:

Hand #137: Thomas Pomponio raised to 2,500,000. Pomponio and Taylor Black checked through a board of      . Pomponio turned up    and that was good enough to take down the pot.

Hand #138: Pomponio received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #139: Black received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #140: Black shoved all from the button and Pomponio folded.

Hand #141: Black received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #114: Thomas Pomponio received a walk.

Hand #115: Taylor Black received a walk.

Hand #116: Taylor Black raised from the button and took Pomponio's big blind.

Hand #117: Thomas Pomponio opened for 2,000,000 and Taylor Black three-bet to 6,000,000. Pomponio wasn't going anywhere. He moved a tower of 500,000-chips out front together with a smaller one, a four-bet worth 13,500,000. Black announced he was allmin and Pomponio wasted no time before calling.

Thomas Pomponio:   
Taylor Black:   

Black first saw the   and immediately reacted, "Ten!" But in a microsecond added an, "Oh," as the dealer rolled over the     flop.

Pomponio faded the remaining two tens on the   turn and   river, securing a giant double-up for 33,125,000.

Thomas Pomponio	66,000,000	30,575,000
Taylor Black	23,000,000	-31,550,000

Hand #113: From the button, John Hanna moved all in. Thomas Pomponio moved in from the small blind. Black folded and the two players turned up their hands.

Pomponio:   
Hanna:   

The board ran out       which locked up the pot for Pomponio with ace high. Hanna will take home $406,474 for his third-place finish.

Thomas Pomponio	35,425,000	18,425,000
John Hanna	0	-24,000,000

Hand #94: Taylor Black raised to 2 million and folded to Thomas Pomponio's shove.

Hand #95: John Hanna open-shoved and won the pot.

Hand #96: Black limped from the small blind and, when John Hanna checked, they went to a flop of    . The turn   was for free and Black won the pot right there, betting one big blind.

Hand #97: The same pattern as in the previous round occurred. Black's button raise didn't get through as Pomponio moved all in from the big blind. Black folded again.

Hand #98: Black got a walk.

Hand #99: Pomponio's min-raise forced folds from the other players.

Hand #100: Black's min-raise had the same impact as Pomponio's raise in the previous hand.

Hand #101: Pomponio limped from the small blind but he couldn't make it to the flop, folding to Black's raise to 2,500,000.

Hand #102: Pomponio opened for 2,000,000. Black cut down chips for a three-bet and then made it 4,700,000. Pomponio wasn't done just yet and returned the ball to Black's court, announcing he was all in. Black gave up.

Hand #79: Taylor Black opened with a raise to 1,600,000. Next to act, John Hanna raised to 4,900,000 from the small blind. Action folded around and after giving it some thought Black did too.

Hand #80: Black received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #81: Black limped from the small blind. Hanna checked his option. On the     flop, Black bet 800,000 and Hanna folded.

Hand #82: Black raised to 1,800,000 and was called by Thomas Pomponio in the big blind. On the     flop, Pomponio checked to Black who bet 1,600,000 and that was enough to elicit a fold from Pomponio. Black scooped the pot.

Hand #83: Hanna raised to 2,600,000. Black called from the big blind. The flop came     and both players checked. On the   turn, Black led out for 2,800,000. Hanna reraised to 6,500,000, and Black called. The river was the   and both players checked. Black showed    and that his two pair was good enough to take down the pot.

Hand #84: Thomas Pomponio raised to 1,600,000 and everyone folded.

Hand #85: Black raised to 1,600,000 from the button and everyone folded.

Hand #86: Thomas Pomponio raised to 1,600,000 from the small blind and Taylor Black folded his big blind.

Taylor Black	46,000,000	25,500,000
Thomas Pomponio	27,000,000	11,375,000
John Hanna	12,250,000	-22,250,000

Hand #71: John Hanna received a walk.

Hand #72: Thomas Pomponio received a walk.

Hand #73: Mark Babekov received a walk.

Hand #74: Mark Babekov completed from the small blind and then called Taylor Black's raise to 2,100,000. The flop     was checked through. Black bet 1,600,000 on the   turn and Babekov called. The river   completed the board. Both players checked and Babekov announced, "Nine," showing    to take this one.

Hand #75: Mark Babekov won a third hand in a row, raising to 2,200,000 from the button. None of the players in the blinds fought back.

Hand #76: Thomas Pomponio received another walk.

Hand #69: Kent Coppock moved all in from the button. Next to act, Thomas Pomponio moved all in over the top. Action folded around the cards were turned on their backs.

Coppock:   
Pomponio:   

The board ran out       and that was enough for Pomponio to lock up the pot. Coppock was eliminated from the tournament in fifth place and will collect $230,564 for his efforts this week.