Juan Miguel Espinar(credit: Poker Stars Blog)
351 players took to the felt in Punta del Este, Uruguay for the final event of the inaugural season of the Poker Stars Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT). These players came from all around the world and drove up the prize pool to an impressive $851,175. 32 players cashed in the tournament including Costa Rican superstar Humberto Brenes, Argentinian phenom Veronica Dabul, and American player Vanessa Rousso, who narrowly missed the final table. Rousso finished in tenth place, claiming $11,065 for her efforts.
As the final eight made their way to the felt for the last time, Brazilian player, Alexandre Gomes, who won the first WSOP bracelet for South America this summer and a sponsorship deal with Poker Stars, had a bit of a chip lead over the rest of the field, which included Brenes’ brother, Alex.
However, it would be the Spaniard, Jose Miguel Espinar who would claim several of the first eliminations and rise to the top of the chip heap. The Valencian played very well and made it all the way to heads-up play against Alex Brenes. Brenes dispatched of the former chip leader, Gomes in fourth place. Then, he took out Lisandro Gallo in third position and entered heads up play at a slight disadvantage against the Spaniard.
Despite that, the heads-up match last several hours. Espinar, who picked up the game less than a year ago and has already cashed at the Caribbean Adventure, came out on top and joins Julien Nuijten and Valdemar Kwaysser as LAPT champions.
Here are the final results:
1) Jose Miguel Espinar - $241,735
2) Alex Brenes - $127,675
3) Lisandro Gallo - $93,630
4) Alexandre Gomes - $68,100
5) Gylbert Drolet - $ 51,070
6) Sydney Chreem - $ 34,045
7) Juan Jose Perez - $ 25,535
8) Paulo César Ribeiro - $17,025
Qualifiers for the European Poker Tour Barcelona Open are going on now at PokerStars. Go there now to qualify for this fantastic tournament!