Mario Lopez Continues Hot Streak, Wins Second LAPT Title
Ever since he topped a field of 609 entries in the 2014 LAPT Chile $1,700 Main Event for $117,991, Argentina's Mario Lopez has been on a tear. Now, he's added another major title by winning the 2015 LAPT Punta del Este $3,300 Main Event for $155,730 this week.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Lopez | Argentina | $155,730 |
| 2 | Hilario Quijada | Argentina | $103,580 |
| 3 | German Christiansen | Argentina | $75,760 |
| 4 | Chadi Moustapha | Lebanon | $61,140 |
| 5 | Ariel Eghi | Argentina | $47,940 |
| 6 | Patricio Rojas | Chile | $36,280 |
| 7 | Jorge Alberto Cantos | Argentina | $26,660 |
| 8 | Ruben Barros | Argentina | $19,580 |
Although Lopez banked three wins worth a total of nearly $300,000 prior to his first Latin American Poker Tour main event win in 2014, he's earned $1,294,662 of his $1,637,035 career live tournament earnings from March 2014 on. For those that don't want to grab their calculators, that's 79.1 percent. In 2015 alone, Lopez has banked $1,139,736.
As reported by the PokerStars Blog, Lopez battled his way to the LAPT Punta del Este final table from a field of 267 entries. A prize pool of $776,970 had been generated, and it the end it was Lopez versus fellow Argentinian Hilario Quijada for the title.
On the final hand, Lopez called Quijada's shove with the J♠J♣. Quijada had the 6♦6♣ and was behind, but he flopped the best hand when the dealer fanned the 6♠5♥2♦. The 4♥ on the turn added a sweat for a chopped pot, but it was the J♦ on the river that provided maximum elation for Lopez and ultimate devastation for Quijada.
"Quijada fell silent, while Lopez screamed and jumped in the air," Alex Villegas wrote on the PokerStars Blog.
"I've been playing poker for a while, but I've really been trying to win some big tournaments recently," Lopez told the PokerStars Blog after the win. "I got a few this year."
Indeed he does. The win comes just one month after Lopez took the top prize of €408,000 in the record-breaking Estrellas Barcelona €1,100 Main Event. In that event, Lopez topped a huge field of 3,292 entries. He then followed up his performance in that event with a deep run in the record-breaking European Poker Tour Barcelona €5,300 Main Event, finishing in 20th place from 1,694 entries to win €53,570.
Plus, both of those results come after a summer out in Las Vegas that saw Lopez take second from a field of 4,555 in the World Series of Poker $1,111 Little One for One Drop for $399,455.
*Photo courtesy of Carlos Monti/PokerStars Blog.
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