<<< VOTING CLOSED FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 5 2013 >>>

And then there were four. ...

Believe it or not, fine readers, there have been days during the Tournament of Sandwiches when, by noon or so, it was already obvious which sandwich would be moving on and which would be going home. There were blowouts ... oh were there ever. Sometimes, it made our job a little easier; we could work on the next day's copy at a decent hour of the evening without fear the game would suddenly turn. Oh, but yesterday was different. Yesterday, the votes just kept coming - from tip off to the final buzzer. Two of the games were indeed blowouts. One game was fairly close. One was a dead heat with an hour left to vote.

Yesterday's Results

Game 1: Mike's Deluxe (MSM Deli, 2220 Sixth Ave., Tacoma) vs. Reuben (Eleven Eleven, 1111 S. 11^th St., Tacoma)

We feel bad for the rock stars on this one ... especially the ones with beards. But something tells us they'll survive, and they'll do so in tasty style with the Eleven Eleven Reuben they - and much of the area, it seems - adore. Unfortunately for Eleven Eleven, the task yesterday of taking down MSM Deli's Mike's Deluxe was simply too much - and the votes told the story. When all was said and done, the Mike's Deluxe moves into the Final Four with nearly 65 percent of the votes.

Game 2: Lobster Sandwich (Oliver's Sandwiches, 900 Meridian Ave. E., Milton) vs. Dungeness Crab & Shrimp Melt (The Lobster Shop, 4015 Ruston way, Tacoma)

The Lobster Sandwich is so beloved votes poured in from Wichita, Rochester, Durham, San Diego, Houston - all across the nation. The way Oliver's Sandwiches has managed to bring it during this year's Tournament of Sandwiches has been nothing short of amazing. Even against The Lobster Shop's popular Dungeness Crab & Shrimp Melt, a sandwich that smoked its competition, the Lobster Sandwich made it look easy. With 82 percent of the votes, Oliver's Sandwiches moves on to the Final Four

Game 3: Turkey BLT (The Hub, 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma) vs. Stinker (STINK - Cheese & Meat, 628 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma)

Despite a late push from fans of The Hub's Turkey BLT, STINK and its popular Stinker sandwich proved too powerful in yesterday's action. The popular peanut butter, bacon and bleu cheese baby nabbed 53 percent of the votes and is headed to the Final Four. Could it be the fact that the peanut butter is spread to absolutely every edge of the bread's crust? It can't hurt.

Game 4: Steak Torta (Vuelve a la Vida, 5310 Pacific Ave., Tacoma) vs. Italian Sub (Meconi's Italian Subs, 5225A Lacey Blvd., Lacey)

These two sandwiches traded bread shots all day until around 11 p.m. when Vuelve a la Vida began to pull away. Rumor has it that Steak Torta fans took a longer than normal siesta, accounting for the sandwiches late surge. As the clock hit 11:45 p.m., Vuelve had 51 percent of the votes, and a spot in the Final Four.

Let's remember that every sandwich that made it into the tourney is worth a nosh. Still, someone's gotta win. We started with 64 of the South Sound's best sandwiches. Now, these four titanic puppies face off for the ultimate glory - bread to bread battles to determine the best sandwich in the South Sound.

>>> The daily sandwich battles here on Spew are sponsored by SUBWAY in Orting, Puyallup, Tacoma, Spanaway and Lakewood.

OK, let's check out today's Final Four sandwich battles. Vote for one sandwich joint per battle. Voting for today's sandwich battles ends at 11:45 p.m.