Joey Hamilton Named Winner of INK MASTER Season 3

In a live finale that was both intense and exciting, Joey 'Hollywood' Hamilton was named winner of Season 3 of "Ink Master." Hamilton wins a cash prize of $100,000, a feature article in the premiere tattoo publication Inked and the ultimate bragging rights title of 'Ink Master.' In addition, Kyle Dunbar was given a second chance at tattoo redemption and voted on to "Ink Master" Season 4 airing next year after Being voted back by the fans during a LIVE tattoo challenge at the finale.

Sixteen of the top tattoo artists from around the country battled it out all season in permanent ink, competing in various tattoo challenges that not only tested the artists' technical skills, but also their on-the-spot creativity where they had to create and execute an original tattoo on a 'human canvas.' Each week's challenges focused on a different tattoo technique and style. After every challenge the contestants faced a tough panel made up series host Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction) and judges, renowned tattoo artists Chris Nunez ("Miami Ink") and Oliver Peck (Elm Street Tattoo). The masterpieces these artists created will last forever, but so will their mistakes.

The final three contestants: Katherine 'Tatu Baby' Flores, self-employed tattoo artist in Miami, FL, Joey 'Hollywood' Hamilton, tattoo artist at Club Tattoo in Las Vegas, NV and Jime Litwalk, artist at Hart and Huntington in Orlando, FL were each assigned their own master canvas. They were sent back to their home bases to complete a 35-hour tattoo, where they had five, seven-hour sessions with their master canvas to create the best tattoo design of their career.

In the finale Flores, Hamilton and Litwalk revealed their master canvases to the judges and America. After the judges reviewed the artwork, 'Tatu Baby' was eliminated from the competition. In the end it came down to Joey 'Hollywood' Hamilton and Jime Litwalk with the judges in a close call, ultimately naming Hamilton the season 3 winner of "Ink Master."

In last week's semi-final episode, a surprise twist was introduced for the 13 eliminated. Series host Dave Navarro announced that all of the eliminated contestants would get a second chance to prove themselves worthy on "Ink Master," where it would be up to the fans to vote for their top two favorite artists to compete in a LIVE head-to-head tattoo competition. The two finalists were Kyle Dunbar and Chris May, with Kyle Dunbar ultimately Being given the opportunity to compete on "Ink Master" Season 4.

"Ink Master" is produced for Spike by Charlie Corwin's Original Media, with Charlie Corwin and Andrea Richter as Executive Producers of the series. Original Media currently has seventeen television series on air including the hit shows "NY Ink," "Comic Book Men," "The Rachel Zoe Project," "Swamp People," "BBQ Pitmasters," "Dual Survival" and "Mudcats." Headquartered in New York, Original Media is a subsidiary of Endemol USA.

Sharon Levy is Spike's Executive Vice President, Original Series, Chris Rantamaki and is Senior Vice President of Original Programming for Spike and oversees production of "Ink Master" and Kevin Bartel serves as the network's Executive in Charge of Production.

About Spike TV:

Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.

Photo courtesy of Ink Master Facebook