March 25 2012, Chad Holloway

Day 4 of the 2012 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Chile concluded on Sunday by crowning the first champion of Season 5. The final eight players of a 651-player field returned to the Enjoy Casino & Resort in Viña del Mar to play down to a winner, which took approximately five hours to determine. At the end of the day, Aliro Diaz hoisted the trophy and took home $76,560 in prize money.

2012 LAPT Chile Final Table Payouts

At the start of the final table, which included three Chileans, two players from Colombia, two Brazilians and one Argentinian, the big question was whether of not a local would capture the LAPT Chile National Poker Championship title.

Here’s a look at how the final table stacked up at the start of the day.

2012 LAPT Chile Final Table

It took about 40 minutes for the first elimination of the day to occur, and it happened right after Nicholas Batt doubled Javier Venegas. It began when Felipe Velasquez opened for 90,000 and was met with an all-in shove by Batt, for around 725,000. Velasquez made the call with and was off to the races against Batt’s .

The railbirds were on their feet as the dealer put down the flop of . The Velasquez contingent erupted in cheers as their man had hit an ace to take the lead. The turn was of no consequence, and neither was the river. Velasquez chipped up to 2.8 million on the hand, while Batt became the eighth-place finisher worth $13,040.

Not long after, action folded to Diaz in the cutoff and he opened for 95,000. After the button got out of the way, Halysson Sala moved all in from the small blind for 505,000 total holding . The big blind got out of the way, and Diaz called with .

It was a classic race, but Sala needed to improve to stay alive. The flop was not what he was looking for, and neither was the turn, though it gave him some extra outs. Unfortunately for Sala, salvation would not be delivered on the river as the bricked, and he was eliminated in seventh place for $17,470.

It was at that point that a six-handed deal that was struck. Chip leader Velasquez guaranteed himself $60,000, while each of the other five players locked up $40,000. Per the terms, each would add to their respective totals depending on their finish as follows: first – $36,560; second – $26,000; third – $18,000; fourth – $14,000; fifth – $10,000; and sixth – $7,000.

It took some time for the next elimination to develop, but it came when Velasquez opened to 140,000 in the hijack and was called by Diaz in the cutoff. From the small blind, Sergio Escobar, who began the day as chip leader, shoved for about 475,000, and Velasquez isolated with an all-in re-raise.

Showdown
Velasquez:
Escobar:

The flop paired Velasquez and left Escobar in a world of hurt. Neither the turn nor river offered help, and Escobar’s Main Event run ended in sixth place for $47,000.

A few hands later, action folded to Venegas on the button and he wasted little time in moving all in for 710,000. Leonardo Olivares was in the big blind and thought for a solid minute before making the call. Venegas turned over , and seemed excited his cards we live against the of Olivares.

When the flop came down and Venegas hit his king, his supporters erupted with cheers from the rail; however, it was short lived as the peeled off on the turn. This time it was Olivares’s rail that erupted. During the commotion, the harmless was put out on the river, and Venegas shook hands with the victor before taking his leave in fifth place for $50,000.

In a blind-versus-blind battle of Chileans, Velasquez moved all in from the small for around 1.4 million and Diaz snap-called from the big blind. Velasquez flipped over and was in trouble against Diaz’s , especially after the flop delivered the latter a set. Velasquez picked up a gut-shot straight draw to a three, but it was not meant to be as the hit the turn followed by the on the river. Velasquez was eliminated in fourth place for $74,000.

A short time later, Joao Lopes opened to 300,000 on the button and Olivares folded his small blind. Diaz, though, re-raised all in from the big blind with the big stack. Lopes called all in for about 1.3 million.

Showdown
Lopes:
Diaz:

Lopes’ cries for a three failed to materialize as the board came down to end his Main Event in third place.

On the seventh hand of heads-up play, Diaz opened for 185,000 and then called Olivares’s three-bet to 500,000. When the flop fell , Olivares thought for a moment before announcing all in for around 2.5 million. Diaz thought long and hard, approximately two minutes, before announcing a call.

Showdown

The crowd was on its feet as the dealer burned and turned the . In order to survive, Olivares needed either an ace or queen on the river. The dealer burned one more time and put out the . With that, LAPT Chile was over as Olivares shook hands with his opponent and made his way to the payout desk to collect $66,000.

The next stop on the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour will be in May at the Mantra Resort, Spa and Casino in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and of course PokerNews will be there to bring you all the action straight from the felt.

Remaining LAPT Season 5 Schedule

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March 22 2012, Chad Holloway

Season 5 of the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Chile continued on Thursday at the Enjoy Casino & Resort in Vina del Mar with Day 1b of the Main Event, which attracted 367 players. Combined with Day 1a’s 284, that brought the total to 651 players, surpassing last year’s field of 621 players and creating a prize pool of $651,840.

Among the players who took a shot at the $129,470 first-place prize on Thursday were Team PokerStars Pros Nacho Barbero, Humberto Brenes, Andre Akkari, as well as Flavio Reis, Eric Brenes, Luis Montano, and Thiago “XtheDecanoX” Nishijima, a Brazilian online pro who has had quite a bit of success on both the live and virtual felt.

In one of the more interesting hands of the day, a player in middle position opened for 2,000 and was met with an all-in three-bet to 3,000 by the player on the button. When action was on Nishijima in the big blind, he thought for a moment before putting out a four-bet to 5,200. The player in middle position called and the flop fell.

Nishijima was first to act and slid out a bet of 5,000, which inspired the player in middle position to fold.

Showdown

It was a sweet flop for Nishijima, who held middle set, but the player on the button was in big trouble. The turn did give him a gut-shot straight draw to a jack, but it was not meant to be as the river gave Nishijima quads! He advanced to Day 2 with 92,900.

Unfortunately not everyone was so lucky. Humberto Brenes lasted until after the dinner break, but soon met his demise. It happened when he defended his big blind after the button had raised, leading to a flop. Brenes committed the rest of his stack with , his opponent called with and while the turn changed nothing, the completed the opponent’s straight draw and ended Brenes’ tournament.

Likewise, Akkari put up a good fight for much of the day, but couldn’t hold on after he lost the majority of his chips in a monster pot after hitting an ace with only to have his opponent hit a runner-runner flush with . A short time later, action folded to Akkari on the button and he moved all in for around 12,000, which the player in the big blind called.

Showdown

The flop gave Akkari a pair and a straight draw, but he was behind his opponent’s flopped pair of jacks. Neither the turn nor river were what Akkari needed, and he was eliminated from the tournament.

Others who found themselves on the rail were Barbero, Ariel Celestino, Wilmer Gomez, Miguel Solano, Samar Hodali, Alex Brenes and Fernando Araujo.

Those who managed to punch their ticket to Day 2 were Joao Lopes, who emerged as the Day 1b chip leader with an impressive 207,000; as well as, Alejandro Vargas (162,600), Odilon Machuca (143,500), Julio Kim (130,600), Javier Pinto (127,700), William Espinosa (123,000) and Luis Montano (118,000).

They will all join Day 1a big stacks like Waldermar Barrientos (140,300), Jaime Farriol (128,300), Sebastian Rios (126,200), Carlos Munoz (124,100) and Daniela Horno (122,200), all of who hail from Chile.

End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts

The 101 surviving players will combine with the 89 remaining players from Day 1a and return to action on Friday at 1200 CLST (0800 PDT) for Day 2, which will be covered in great detail right here on PokerNews.

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