The 2008 World Series of Poker marked a first for the event that has been held for 41 years in that the final table of the Main Event will be moved forward almost four months. This is to satisfy the ESPN coverage of the WSOP so as to improve ratings. The answer for whether it will work out or not will just have to wait until Nov. 9 and 10 when the Main Event finally concludes.

However, we didn’t have to wait till November to find out who won events 46-53 as they wrapped up well before the November Nine final table participants were ever set. And most of the people who took these events did so in upset fashion.

Event #46: This obscure six-handed No Limit Hold’em tournament was a big surprise in that 805 people paid the $5,000 buy-in to make the prize pool near $4 million. No big-time pro players were in sight when the final table came around but Joe Commisso wasn’t complaining as he won $911,855 for getting first place.

Event #47: One of the top gambling authorities on the planet in David Sklansky made a run at the bracelet in this Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo event but couldn’t survive as long as Ronald Long and Ryan Hughes did. In heads-up play, it was Hughes who emerged the victor and he earned $183,368 after doing so.

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Event #48: Brazilian player Alexandre Gomes had never cashed in a WSOP event in his life until this No Limit Hold’em tourney. He not only cashed but he achieved a gold bracelet for winning as well and took home $770,540 for his efforts.

Event #49: This event saw another No Limit Hold’em tournament take place and it also saw Rasmus Nielson attempt to upset J.C. Tran for the win. However, Tran became the first big pro player in a while to take a bracelet.

Event #50: All of the best Pot Limit Hold’em players were in on Event #50 as it was the World Championship of this poker variation. 381 people paid the hefty $10,000 buy-in fee and Marty Smyth’s 10K turned out to be the smartest investment among the field since he took first place and $859,549 too.

Event #51: This H.O.R.S.E. tournament wouldn’t be quite as big as Event #45’s since over $7 million was up for grabs in #45 but there was certainly no lack of quality players in this one. Perhaps the most quality player of them all (as far as the WSOP goes) might have been Phil Hellmuth who was gunning for bracelet #12 to add to his all-time lead. However, he came up just a bit short in 3rd place while James Schaaf grabbed the bracelet instead.

Event #52: David Daneshgar was able to maneuver through a No Limit Hold’em field that included 2,693 entrants to capture his first ever WSOP bracelet. His ninth cash overall netted him $625,443.

Event #53: This Limit Hold’em Shootout tournament featured Matthew Graham and Jean-Robert (Bobby) Bellande going to the wire for the victory. Graham was the one who came out on top in the end and he earned $278,180 for first while Bellande got $173,564 for getting second.

Event #54: The World Series of Poker definitely seems to be on an upward swing again ever since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act put a damper on the game of poker towards the end of 2006. This was evidenced by the 6,844 players who put 10 Grand in each for the Main Event which was up from the 6,358 players who did so in 2007.

Things could get even better for the Main Event if the final table move to November pays off in higher ESPN ratings. The players who will be looking to make things better for themselves are listed below along with their current chip counts.

Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Seat 6: Chino Rheem - 10,230,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000

Arguably, the most skilled player of this group would be Chino Rheem who placed fifth in a WSOP event earlier but will be facing legal trouble after skipping out on a misdemeanor charge. Ivan Demidov may be a favorite since he is a semi-pro player who’s second in chips while Dennis Philips is on top in terms of chips and has been playing for a while at lower levels.

Kelly Kim is a professional player but may not be much of a factor due to his anemic chip count. Another pro is Scott Montgomery who figures to be a bigger factor than Kim since he’s sitting in third with over 19 million chips.