$5,200 Mar del Plata Main Event Day 2 | 2009 PokerStars.net LAPT Mar del Plata

04-18-2009 21:03 UTC-4

Mark Ioli Eliminated in 11th Place ($24,700)

[user37786]

Mark Ioli was the chip leader for much of the day and, had he not lost with K-Q to Dominik Nitsche's K-10, he might've powered his way to the title. But he lost that hand, and he just lost his final hand of the night, when he moved in for nearly 250,000 and Sergio Farias announced that he was all in as well. The throng of Argentinian fans on the rail exploded into shouts as the other players got out of the way.

Farias held {K-Diamonds}

to Ioli's

, and when the board ran out {6-Hearts}

the gallery again exploded with a chant of "ARGENTINA!! ARGENTINA!!". Ioli shook hands with everyone and will take home $24,700. And probably some nightmares about what might've been.

04-18-2009 21:16 UTC-4

The Leo Show

[user24788]

There are two tables left with five players on each table. Leo Fernandez was under the bright lights on the featured TV table for the majority of Day 2. In order to rebalance tables, Leo was moved to the outer table and he quickly showed his new table mates a display of his aggression.

Hand #1: Jose Barbero opened for a raise, Leo went over the top and moved all in. Jose folded.

Hand #2: Dominik Nitsche opened for a raise, Leo went over the top and moved all in. Dominik folded.

Hand #3: Action was folded to Dominik Nitsche in the small blind, he limped and Leo checked his big blind. Dominik checked the flop and Leo fired out a bet. Dominik insta-folded.

It looks like everyone at Leo's new table is going to get out of his way on his quest to advance to the final table.

Tags: Leo Fernandez

04-18-2009 21:24 UTC-4

Vincenzo Gianelli Eliminated in 10th Place ($24,700)

[user37786]

Vincenzo Gianelli moved all in for 142,000 and got a call from Jason Skeans, with Gianelli's {K-Diamonds}

needed to hold against Skeans' {A-Hearts}

. All was well after the {5-Diamonds}

flop, but after a long pause for the TV cameras, the dealer planted the {A-Spades}

on the felt. Vincenzo turned his baseball cap around to the front and tugged it down tight as he paced along the length of the stage.

He needed a king to keep his final-table dreams alive, but instead it was the {3-Clubs}

that fell and Gianelli was the last player who will be eliminated tonight. He wins $24,700 for his tenth-place finish--the other nine players win a seat at tomorrow's final table.

04-18-2009 21:32 UTC-4

Day 2 Complete

[user24788]

62 players began Day 2 of the $5,200 buy-in main event at the PokerStars.net LAPT Mar del Plata . The top 27 places paid prize money which meant that 35 unlucky souls were going home with no money. Nada.

Robin Chesne, an online qualifier from France, began the day as the chipleader. He'd lose it early on to American Mark Ioli. For most of the afternoon, Ioli and Dominik "DOMinator" Nitsche from Germany battled back and forth and the chiplead changed hands several times.

As action approached the money bubble, a couple of notables busted out. That group of players who failed to make the money included Alex Brenes, Maria Stern, Jose Rosenkrantz, and Martha Eneida Herrera Gonzalez.

Here's a list of players who cashed on Day 2:
10. Vincenzo Gianelli - $24,700
11. Mark Ioli - $24,700
12. Hugo Spangenberg - $24,700
13. Alejandro Rodriguez - $21,160
14. Eduardo Santi - $21,160
15. Damian Salas - $21,160
16. Jaime Ateneloff - $17,640
17. Rodrigo Caprioli - $17,640
18. Pat Van Dijk - $17,640
19. Julian De Berti - $14,120
20. Luis Jaikel - $14,120
21. Damian Tinca - $14,120
22. Daniel Bizoza - $14,120
23. Carlos Benatuil - $14,120
24. Robin Chesne - $14,120
25. Hector Luis Aceval - $14,120 PokerStars
26. Jose Nadal - $14,120
27. Marcelo Giorgetta - $14,120

The final table of nine is set with Dominik Nitsche holding a sizable chip advantage. You can click here to watch Melissa Castello's interview with the "DOMinator" moments after he first secured the chiplead.

Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez advanced to the final table, which was an impressive feat considering his dire circumstances on Day 1b. In Level 1, Leo was crippled and lost almost 90% of his stack. Despite the huge obstacle and playing with a short stack for the majority of Day 1b, the former chessmaster hung on to advance to Day 2. And on Day 2 he went to work and slowly built up a stack at the featured TV table en route to advancing to the final table.

LAPT Mar del Plata Final Table Chip Counts:
Dominik Nitsche - 817,000
Sergio Farias - 474,000
Jason Skeans - 338,000
Jorge Landazuri - 329,000
Leo Fernandez - 329,000
Jose Barbero - 181,000
Rodolfo Awad - 170,000
Derek Lerner - 155,000
Alfons Fenijn - 65,000

Argentina's native son Leo Fernandez will be attempting to win his first ever LAPT event on his own country's soil. Check back in with PokerNews.com starting at 2pm local time for complete coverage including live updates and video interviews (in both English and Spanish).

Buenas noches!

Tags: Domink Nitsche

$5,200 Mar del Plata Main Event

Day 2 Completed