Fabian Ortiz Wins LAPT Panama for $143,930; Becomes Second Ever Two-Time LAPT Champion
Season 7 of the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) continued this past weekend with their latest $1,550 Main Event from Panama. After four days of play, Argentina’s Fabian Ortiz, who was the LAPT2 Chile champion, emerged victorious to capture the $143,930 first-place prize and become just the second player — the other was fellow Argentinean and Team PokerStars Pro Nacho Barbero — to win two LAPT titles.
The tournament attracted 550 entrants and created a prize pool of $826,925 that was distributed to the top 79 players. Among those to earn a payday were Samuel Phillips (67th - $3,060), Humberto Brenes (57th - $3,060), Leo Fernandez (35th - $3,880), and Alex Brenes (10th - $11,500).
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabian Ortiz | Argentina | $143,930* |
| 2 | Guillermo Olvera | Mexico | $114,115* |
| 3 | Alexander Haber | Jamaica | $71,280 |
| 4 | Nick Russo | Australia | $55,560 |
| 5 | Hugo Suarez | Mexico | $43,580 |
| 6 | Javier Rios | Colombia | $34,240 |
| 7 | Antonio Hogaza | Mexico | $25,560 |
| 8 | Hugo Lemaire | Malta | $17,700 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
According to the PokerStars Blog, the first elimination of the final table came when Antonio Hogaza moved all in for 700,000 from middle position, Javier Rios called from the cutoff, and Hugo Lemaire called off his last 250,000.
Rios: 8♣8♠
Hogaza: A♦10♥
Lemaire: K♥Q♠
The A♠7♦9♠ gave Hogaza the lead with a pair of aces, and he held onto it as the K♦ appeared on the turn followed by the 3♠ on the river. Lemaire fell in eighth place for $17,700 while Hogaza doubled through. Even so, he would be dispatched a short time later in seventh place for $25,560, and three other players followed him out the door minutes later.
Rios and Hugo Suarez bowed out in sixth and fifth place respectively, and then Australia’s Nick Russo took his leave in fourth. It happened at the tail end of Level 29 when Russo moved all in for 540,000 under the gun and Ortiz three-bet all in over the top from the small blind. The big blind folded and Russo discovered the bad news.
Russo: K♦2♣
Ortiz: A♥A♣
Ortiz had woken up with the goods, but Russo got a little help as the K♠6♥10♣ flop paired his king. He needed either a third king or a deuce to take the lead, but it wasn’t in the cards as the 8♣ blanked on the turn followed by the 3♣ on the river. Russo earned $55,560 for his fourth-place finish while Ortiz stacked more than two-thirds of the chips in play.
After Alexander Haber’s A♥7♠ failed to overcome the A♣J♥ of Ortiz, the Jamaican made his way to the payout desk in third place to collect $71,280 — enough to give him the all-time money lead for his country. That left Ortiz holding a 4-1 chip lead over Mexico’s Guillermo Olvera, but the latter doubled on the very first hand of heads-up play. Not long after, the duo struck a deal that left $15,000 on the table as well as the title.
Both men had plenty to fight for as Ortiz was seeking a second LAPT title, while Olvera was hoping to become the first Mexican to win an LAPT. Despite doubling four more times, Olvera was unable to best his opponent. In what would be the final hand after two hours of heads-up play, Olvera opened for 250,000 only to have Ortiz three-bet all in. Olvera, who had about 1.855 million total, eventually called off and discovered that he was a huge favorite.
Olvera: A♦7♦
Ortiz: K♣7♥
As Martin Harris of the PokerStars Blog pointed out, Olvera was ahead, but the king-seven was the very same hand Ortiz held when he won the LAPT2 Chile Main Event. The 8♥7♠4♥ flop paired both players’ seven, but of course Olvera’s kicker had him well out in front. That is when the dealer burned and turned the K♠.
Ortiz hit two pair, and after the J♥ was put out on the river, he became the LAPT’s second-two time champion.
The LAPT7 will continue in October in Lima, Peru from October 15-19, 2014. For more information, visit LAPT.com.
*Information and photos courtesy of the PokerStars Blog.
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