Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2011 PokerStars.net LAPT Colombia
Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011 PokerStars.net LAPT Colombia
Entries
681
Level
31
Blinds
75,000 / 150,000
Ante
20,000
Level 31
: 75,000/150,000, 20,000 ante
The first-ever Latin American Poker Tour stop in the South American country of Colombia proved to be more than anyone could have hoped for. The beautiful Allegre Casino in Medellin played host to what would be the largest LAPT Main Event in history with 681 players, surpassing Chile’s LAPT Vina del Mar back in March (which had 621 entries). After three long days of play, it was Julian Menendez who emerged victorious to claim the $64,710 first-place prize and become the first LAPT Colombia champion!
Usually Day 3’s of an LAPT are reserved for the final table, but given the field size, there were still 28 players remaining on Sunday. The field included an American, an Australian, and many others from throughout South America, including quite a few native Colombians. With the blinds and antes so high, it didn’t talk long for the field to whittle itself down to a final table. Here is a look at the eliminations leading up to the final table:
LAPT Colombia Payouts
| Place | Player | Winnings |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | Carlos Ponce | $9,654 |
| 11th | Gilberto Castillo | $9,654 |
| 12th | David Garcia | $9,654 |
| 13th | Marta Ramírez | $7,162 |
| 14th | Luis Vayas | $7,162 |
| 15th | Francisco Corvalan | $7,162 |
| 16th | Jason Sudol | $5,294 |
| 17th | Cesar Mejia Medina | $5,294 |
| 18th | Miguel Solano | $5,294 |
| 19th | Simon Campo | $3,737 |
| 20th | Daniel Hurtado | $3,737 |
| 21st | Carlos Perez | $3,737 |
| 22nd | Francisco Cortaza | $3,737 |
| 23rd | Norberto Iglesias | $3,737 |
| 24th | Andres Felipe Corrales Giraldo | $3,737 |
| 25th | Ernesto Barros | $3,737 |
| 26th | Rafael Velandia | $3,737 |
| 27th | Tulio Bertoli | $3,737 |
| 28th | Roxana Azar | $2,492 |
The chip leader headed into the final table was Jonathan Monsalves, who got a good portion of his stack on the final table bubble. It happened when Julian Menendez opened for 80,000 under the gun only to have Carlos Ponce move all in from the button for about 600,000 total. When action was on Monsalves in the blind, he moved all in over the top!
Menendez got out of the way, leaving Ponce and Monsalves to do battle for the approximately 1.3 million pot.
Showdown
Monsalves: 
Ponce: 
It was a cooler for Ponce, no doubt about it. All he could do was shake his head as the dealer put out the 
on the flop, followed by the 
turn. "King," Ponce shouted as if trying to will the river. Unfortunately for him, it was all in vain as the 
bricked. Just like that, we had our final table:
LAPT Colombia Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jhon Jairo | 415,000 |
| 2 | Stuart McDonald | 1,235,000 |
| 3 | Jonathan Monsalves | 2,495,000 |
| 4 | Julian Menendez | 735,000 |
| 5 | Victor Forero | 2,045,000 |
| 6 | Rafael Pardo | 660,000 |
| 7 | Jessica Bedoya | 290,000 |
| 8 | Alexis Gomez | 910,000 |
| 9 | Jonathan Markovitz | 1,150,000 |
The first elimination came just minutes into the final table when Jhon Jairo ran 
into the pocket aces of Alexis Gomez. Jairo couldn’t crack the pocket rockets and ended up finishing in ninth place. It took a long time for the next elimination to occur, but it came when Jonathan Markovitz’s 
failed to get there against Stuart McDonald’s 
. Not long after, Rafael Pardo was eliminated in seventh place at the hands of Alexis Gomez.
At this point in the tournament, the remaining six players opted to strike a deal, each locking up a portion of the prize pool. However, not all was said and done. As part of the deal, $14,666 was set aside, which would be awarded to the winner, and the players continued to battle for the LAPT Colombia Championship.
After the deal was struck, McDonald took an ultra-aggressive approach, one that ended ironically as he was the first to go post-deal even though he had locked up the most prize money. It took some doing, but one by one the rest of the players fell. Gomez fell in fifth, followed by Forero and Bedoya, with the latter notching the best ever LAPT Main Event finish for a woman.
That left just Monsalves (Colombia) and Menendez (Argentina), with the latter taking a 4-1 chip lead into heads-up play. Menendez, who hails from Argentina, had an up-and-down experience at the final table, but he caught the cards when he needed them most, which included heads-up play as he dispatched his Colombian foe.
LAPT Colombia Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Original Payout | Amount Awarded Through Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Julian Menendez | $151,027 | $64,710 |
| 2nd | Jonathan Monsalves | $86,882 | $55,256 |
| 3rd | Jessica Bedoya | $58,544 | $67,591 |
| 4th | Victor Forero | $42,663 | $71,249 |
| 5th | Alex Gomes | $33,321 | $53,592 |
| 6th | Stuart McDonald | $27,093 | $87,129 |
| 7th | Rafael Pardo | $20,864 | NA |
| 8th | Jonathan Markovitz | $14,636 | NA |
| 9th | Jhon Jairo | $12,145 | NA |
Congratulations to Julian Menendez, LAPT Colombia Main Event Champion!
LAPT Season IV winners
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAPT Brazil | 536 | R$2,391,630 | Alex Manzano (Chile) | R$615,840 |
| LAPT Viña del Mar | 621 | $602,400 | Murilo Figueredo (Brazil) | $146,000 |
| LAPT Lima | 350 | $774,000 | Kemal Ferri (Peru) | $207,400 |
| LAPT Punta del Esta | 422 | $941,480 | Alex Komaromi (Uruguay) | $244,720 |
| LAPT Colombia | 681 | $622,813 | Julian Menendez | $64,710* |
*Denotes prize was part of a deal.
Julian Menendez limped in on the button and Jonathan Monsalves shoved all in for about 3.2 million. Menendez carefully studied his opponent's stack before opting to call.
Menendez: 
Monsalves: 
The flop came down 
, offering little help to Monsalves. The turn left him six outs to keep his title hopes alive, but the 
river ended his run with a second-place finish.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
10,215,000
3,315,000
|
3,315,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 31
Blinds: 75,000/150,000
Ante: 20,000
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,900,000
-600,000
|
-600,000 |
|
|
3,300,000
580,000
|
580,000 |
Jonathan Monsalves is a fighter. He recently shipped his stack of about 1.35 million into the pot on the button with 
and was called by the 
of Julian Menendez. It was a race, but after the flop came down 
, Monsalves became the favorite with overs, an open-ended straight draw, and a bigger flush draw.
The 
turn was one of his outs and gave him a hammerlock on the hand. The 
river changed nothing and Monsalves lived to play another hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,500,000
-600,000
|
-600,000 |
|
|
2,720,000
620,000
|
620,000 |
Julian Menendez raised from the small blind and Jessica Bedoya shoved from the big blind for about 1.1 million. Menendez called and tabled , slightly ahead of Bedoya's 
.
The flop rolled out to put Menendez well ahead with top pair. Bedoya found a little hope with the 
turn, but the river ended Bedoya's Main Event run in third place.
Bedoya's incredible run also earned her the highest finish ever by a woman in a LAPT Main Event.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,100,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
|
Busted |
Julian Menendez has been pulling away from the pack ever since Victor Forero's elimination. In a recent hand, he raised to 250,000 on the button and was called by Jonathan Monsalves in the big blind. When the flop came down , Monsalves checked, Menendez bet 300K, and Monsalves check-raised to 625,000.
Not to be outdone, Menendez moved all in and pushed Monsalves off the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,000,000
2,000,000
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
2,100,000
-1,500,000
|
-1,500,000 |
|
|
900,000
-520,000
|
-520,000 |
Julian Menendez opened to 275,000 on the button and was called by Victor Forero in the small blind.
The flop came down 
and Forero check-called 200,000, landing the 
on the turn. Another check from Forero led to a bet of 300,000 from Menendez. Forero instantly re-raised all in for about 1.3 million and Menendez called immediately with for trips. Forero was well behind with 
and found no help from the river to finish in fourth place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,000,000
1,400,000
|
1,400,000 |
|
Busted |
Alexis Gomez moved all in from the button for his last 785,000 and was quickly called by Jonathan Monsalves in the small blind.
Showdown
Gomez:
Monsalves:
Gomez was in big trouble and desperately needed a nine, though one did not appear on the 
flop. The turn left Gomez in need of help on the river, but it would not be delivered as the fell. Monsalves won the pot with a pair of queens while Gomez was eliminated in fifth place, for which he will take home $53,592.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,600,000
1,940,000
|
1,940,000 |
|
Busted |