LAPT San José Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2008 PokerStars.net LAPT - San José
LAPT San José Main Event
Day: 3
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 21
: 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
In thrilling fashion, Ryan Fee has just claimed the title of champion here at the PokerStars.net LAPT San Jose! Fee outlasted Humberto Brenes, Victor Ramdin, Alexandre Gomes, Andre Akkari, Carter Gill, Eddy Sabat, and a field of 219 skilled players to claim the title. Along the way, Fee proved that he will be a force to be reckoned with in live tournament poker for the foreseeable future, playing competently alongside some of the best players in the world.
The field of 219 players represents a sharp decline from the 397 who played this event the last time around. The staff was a bit disappointed by the turnout, but there's no indication that poker is falling off in this area of the world. A huge number of local and semi-local players came out to play, and they were cheered on by a supportive and attentive group of spectators for the duration of the event. Regardless of the reason for the decline, poker is alive and well in Latin America.
Fee, who is just twenty years old, was the chip leader for the vast majority of the last two days, only relinquishing the top spot on a few short occasions. He took a reasonable lead into heads-up play, but Joel Micka battled back, proving his own worth as a heads-up specialist. When all of the chips went into the middle on the closing hand, Micka was just barely covered, and things could have ended drastically differently for both men if not for a dramatic ace on the river.
With that, the second PokerStars.net LAPT San Jose has come to a close. Congratulations to our champion, Ryan Fee! Until next time, buenas noches from Costa Rica!
Showdown:
Micka:
Fee:
As a crowd of media and spectators pressed in on the table, the dealer ran out the flop of
. It was a miss for Fee, but he did pick up a gutshot straight draw. The turn was a meaningless 
. The crowds inched their way closer to the table, and flash bulbs were popping as everyone was craning their necks to catch a glimpse of what would be the final river card of the tournament.Fifth street:
Ryan Fee struck his ace on the river, earning him the massive pot. The two men were virtually even in chips, but it was Fee who had Micka just slightly covered. With that, Joel "JMPRODIGY" Micka was eliminated in second place, taking home $148,993 -- his biggest cash finish in his poker career.
Micka picked his way through the field with bold raises and well-timed aggression for the past three days. With two tables left last night, Micka was very short on chips, but he managed to hang on to his stack and was just one card away from a victory. Congratulations to Joel Micka for his fine performance this week!
"Two hundred more," said Micka, making it a total bet of 305,000. That was enough for Fee as he slid his cards into the muck.
We have still yet to see a single flop in heads-up play!
Showdown:
Micka:
Sheirbon:
The board frowned on Sheirbon, coming out
. Failing to find his outs, Brent Sheirbon was sent to the exit in third place, earning $109,913 for his hard work during the last three days.
Level: 21
Blinds: 8,000/16,000
Ante: 2,000