Mario Lopez Wins LAPT Chile For $117,991
March 25, 2014 12:07 pmArgentina’s Mario Lopez has won the Latin American Poker Tour Chile, after overcoming a field of 609 players over four days to capture the title, and collect the first-place prize worth $117,991 (following a four-way deal).
The $1,700 buy-in event took place at the beautiful coastal city of Viña del Mar in Chile, and by the end of the two starting days a prize pool worth $943,950 was created. Day 2 saw the field reduced to just 32 players and by the end of Day 3 the final table of eight had been set.
On the fourth and final day of action, Mario Lopez (K-8) proceeded to bounce Raul Pino (Q-J) from the competition in 8th ($18,960), before being dealt pocket kings and doing likewise to Guilherme Pita in 7th for $27,560.
Mario Lopez (6-6) subsequently took out North America’s only contender Robert Lipkin (4-4) in 6th for $37,260, and after Luis Resk (A-K) eliminated Johann Ibañez (9-8) in 5th ($47,620), the remaining four players struck a deal with Perez receiving $120,000, Resk $95,000, Lopez $95,000, and Melo $90,000, with the extra $22,991 set aside for the eventual winner.
Jefferson Melo (Q-9) then sent Luis Resk (A-J) to the rail in 4th ($95,000), but was then eliminated by Rodrigo Perez in 3rd ($90,000) to set up up the heads-up between Argentina’s Lopez and Chile’s Perez for the title.
As the final battle commenced, Perez held a more than 3-1 chip advantage, but Lopez was soon able to overcome his deficit and forge ahead before the final hand was played with Perez all-in holding A-Q to his opponent’s pocket tens. Despite a Q falling on the flop, the 10 on the turn sealed Perez’s fate who finished the runner-up, while Mario Lopez walked away with the title.
Final Table Payouts:
1 – Mario Lopez (Argentina) $117,991*
2 – Rodrigo Perez (Chile) $120,000*
3 – Jefferson Melo (Brazil) $90,000*
4 – Luis Resk (Chile) $95,000*
5 – Johann Ibañez (Colombia) $47,620
6 – Robert Lipkin (Canada) $37,260
7 – Guilherme Pita (Brazil) $27,560
8 – Raul Pino (Panama) $18,960