If battling through some of the toughest poker players in the world wasn’t enough, players at the final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship at the World Series of Poker experienced one of the longest final tables on record before David Bach emerged as the champion.

Over twenty hours, the remaining eight players whittled down to one, with pros such as 2009 bracelet winners Vitaly Lunkin and Ville Wahlbeck looking for their second piece of jewelry of this year’s WSOP. While both would come up short – Wahlbeck ended in sixth place and Lunkin departed in fourth – the true battle wouldn’t begin until heads up play started between eventual champion Bach and John Hanson. The duo stuck it out over seven hours before Bach was able to defeat Hanson at 10AM this morning. For his victory, Bach picked up slightly over $1.2 million and the coveted Chip Reese Memorial Trophy along with his gold WSOP bracelet.

With the $10,000 Championship Event scheduled to start on Friday, there are only three more open bracelets left up for grabs. There will be two bracelets awarded today, with 28 players remaining in Event #54, one of the $1500 No Limit Hold’em tournaments, and nine players remaining in Event #55, the $2500 Deuce to Seven Triple Draw Lowball tournament. Day Two play in Event #56, the $5000 Short Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament, commences this afternoon with final table play scheduled for Thursday.

In addition to the final table of Event #56, Thursday also marks the play of the 3rd Annual “Ante Up For Africa” event. The $5000 buy in charity event, created by actor Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke, will feature some of the top celebrities from the world of television, movies and music playing alongside some of the biggest names from the poker world. The tournament will raise funds for relief in the war-torn country of Darfur.

Friday is the day that the poker world is waiting for. The first of four scheduled Day Ones in the $10,000 Championship Event will kick off, with the other three days played out over the Fourth of July weekend. WSOP officials have estimated that this year’s field will crack the 7000 mark, which would make it the second largest WSOP Championship Event field in the forty year history of the WSOP.

With the Championship Event counting towards this year’s WSOP Player of the Year race, we will not know who takes the POY title immediately. Jeffrey Lisandro, who became the first player in six years to win three bracelets during a WSOP schedule, has to face only Mixed Game World Champion Ville Wahlbeck to win the coveted award. Lisandro’s 35 point lead means that Wahlbeck would have to at least finish seventh in the Championship Event; if Wahlbeck is able to make the final table, we wouldn’t learn until November - due to the delayed final table being run at that time for the second time - what position Wahlbeck finishes in and whether Lisandro or Wahlbeck takes the POY championship. With the large field, however, Lisandro seems to have a lock on the title.

After over fifty events, the World Series of Poker is preparing for the home stretch. PokerBonuses will continue to update the action over the next two weeks as the $10,000 Championship Event plays down to its final table.