In front of a packed hometown crowd at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., Gagliardi stunned the bass-fishing world with a final-day limit of 13 pounds, 14 ounces that bumped his tournament total to 51 pounds, 2 ounces – just 1 ounce more than Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury’s final weight. For his victory, Gagliardi was handed a $500,000 check from Forrest L. Wood.

From out to in by one place; from the middle of the pack to champion by 1 ounce – Anthony Gagliardi is the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup champion.

Check back soon for the full story of Gagliardi’s Cup victory.

Lead Changes

Today’s final weigh-in was a nonstop parade of lead changes and close calls. Steve Kennedy shocked the crowd by weighing in first with 20 pounds, 2 ounces, the tournament’s biggest limit. His four-day total reached 50 pounds, 7 ounces for the early lead.

Casey Ashley soon followed with 14 pounds even, tying Kennedy and taking the lead via tie-breaker because of his higher spot in the standings on day three.

The next leader was Canterbury, who lamented the loss of a 5-pounder but exploded with excitement when his final weight of 51 pounds, 1 ounce gave him a narrow lead.

But it only lasted so long. Gagliardi weighed in, snatched away the lead and survived to the end when Bryan Thrift and Brent Ehrler weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces and 11 pounds, 10 ounces, respectively.

The Top 10

1: Anthony Gagliardi, 51-2

2: Scott Canterbury, 51-1

3: Brent Ehrler, 50-11

4: Casey Ashley, 50-7

5: Steve Kennedy, 50-7

6: Matt Herren, 48-0

7: Bryan Thrift, 44-6

8: Michael Wooley, 43-4

9: Scott Martin, 35-13

10: Jacob Wheeler, 33-7

For full results, click here.