Online poker player takes LAPT Brazil

08/10/2010

A 19-year-old Klagenfurt, Austria internet poker player who qualified in an online satellite took home the $247 441 main prize in the Pokerstars Latin American Poker Tour Brazil this week, achieving the lead in the first day's action and managing to hold it through to the end of the tourney three days later.

Held at the island resort of Costao de Santiago near Florianopolis, the $2 500 buy-in event attracted a field of 364 hopefuls, ultimately distilled to a final table that comprised eventual winner Matthias Habernig, Alex Martins, Dayan Vardanega, Rudy Blondeau, Rodrigo Scartezini, Roberto Kozan, Andre Scaff and Miguel Velasco.

Habernig went into the final table with pretty much half the chips in play and dominated the action, crushing all opposition until he faced Brazilian player Dayan Vardanega in the heads up after five hectic hours of action.

Although maintaining a 4 to 1 chip lead going into the heads up, Habernig had one scary interval when the lead was snatched by his determined opponent, but he managed to regain control to end the competition victorious and claim the main prize.

Vardanega received a second placing check for $143 174 for his time and trouble.

In related news, the Unibet Open Prague tournament also ended this week, having started with 424 players on August 5.

The Euro 1 500 buy-in event generated a prize pool of Euro 636 000, and was won by Finn player Henri Ojala, who collected the first prize of Euro 157 000.