On Saturday, January 8th at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, California 26-year old Isaias Gil beat out four other Drum-Off finalists.

He left more than 4,000 drummers behind at preliminary rounds across the 214 Guitar Center locations nationwide.

Isaias took home a prize package worth over $40,000 USD and earned the title of Guitar Center's Drum-Off Champion. Watch Isaias Gill's winning performance here:

Isaias was chosen by a panel of judges that featured professional and acclaimed drummers such as John Tempesta (The Cult), Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp) Trevor Lawrence Jr (Herbie Hancock, Eminem), Tony Royster Jr (Jay-Z) Adam "Atom" Willard (Angels and Airwaves, Social Distortion), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Dave Elitch (The Mars Volta), Keith Harris (Black Eyed Peas), Rick Latham (Juice Newton) and Jason Sutter (Foreigner).

As Guitar Center's Drum-Off champion, Isaias takes home a grand prize package worth more than $40,000 including

• $25,000 Cash
  
• Custom drum kit (provided by DW, Gretsch, OCDP, Pearl or Tama)
  
• Drum stick, cymbal, and drum head endorsement deals
  
• Complete set of cymbals (provided by Paiste, Sabian or Zildjian)
  
• Roland TD-20SX electronic kit and PM30
  
• $500 Converse gift card
  
• Monster Energy Drink endorsement deal
  
• Feature in Modern Drummer magazine
  
• 2011 NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show VIP Experience

Right after winning the competition Isaias said:

"When [host] Stephen Perkins began saying 'From Houston...' I lost it. He hadn't even said my name! Guitar Center has opened up the door for me to continue drumming on a completely new level and I'm so grateful for such an awesome opportunity. It's a tremendous blessing and I cannot wait for what is to come next."

More than just a culmination of the world's largest drum competition, Guitar Center's Drum-Off Finals featured exclusive performances by many of today's drumming elite.

The evening began with an exclusive collaboration by hip hop and R&B icons Nisan Stewart (50 Cent, Beyonce), Trevor Lawrence Jr, Cora-Coleman Dunham (Prince) and Tony Royster Jr, followed by a duet by prog-rock masters Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) and Simon Phillips (Toto, Brian Eno, King Krimson).

Up next was Guitar Center's Drum-Off final competition where the top five undiscovered drummers in the nation competed for the drum world's ultimate prize.

Following the Drum-Off finals was Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, with surprise guest guitarist Kerry King performing with him on Reign in Blood. Lombardo then switched kits and performed with Philm.

The evening culminated in a world music performance by drum legend Steve Smith accompanied by a who's who of guests that included Jojo Mayer, Pete Lockett, Jeff Hamilton, Mahesh Vinayakram, Kai Eckhardt, Fareed Haque, and George Brooks.