Matthias Habernig: A Blast from the Latin American Poker Tour Past
Back in 2010, 19-year-old Matthias Habernig from Klagenfurt, Austria made poker headlines when he topped a field of 364 players to win the Latin American Poker Tour Season III Florianopolis Main Event for $247,491. It was an exciting moment for Habernig, who had been playing online poker since he was 18. Prior to it, his career highlights include an $11 re-buy win on PokerStars and cashing in a $1,000 side event at LAPT Lima.
As if things couldn’t get any better, Habernig was back at a LAPT final table a month later. That’s when he navigated a field of 258 players to make the final table of the LAPT Season 3 Grand Finale in Rosario, Argentina. Habernig was looking to follow in Team PokerStars Pro Nacho Barbero’s footsteps by winning back-to-back LAPT titles, but that dream ultimately came to an end in sixth place for $49,400.
Since then Habernig has essentially disappeared from the poker landscape. In July 2011 he finished sixth in a €300 no-limit hold’em event at the CAPT Velden Open for €1,390, and in August 2013 he placed 25th n the IPT Nova Gorica Main Event for €3,300. Other than that, Habernig has stayed out of the poker eye.
That said, the poker eye is a keen one, and we happened to spot the now 22 year old, who will be celebrating his 23rd birthday on June 27, here in the EPT Grand Final field. Habernig was kind enough to inform us that since his win he has been focusing on his studies at the University of Graz, though he still enjoys playing poker.
He hopes to make it out to the World Series of Poker for the first time either this year or in the future, but for now his focus is on his education. In the meantime, he’ll remain content playing European events. Well today he’s playing arguably Europe’s most prestigious tournament, and only time will tell if the Austrian can find himself the last man standing once again.
That said, he’ll face an uphill battle as he’s already down to 16,000 in chips. “I donked off a little,” Habernig said with a smile.