2009 PokerStars.net LAPT Mar del Plata

$5,200 Mar del Plata Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info

2009 PokerStars.net LAPT Mar del Plata

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
kj
Prize
$381,030
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,000
Prize Pool
$1,411,350
Entries
291
Level Info
Level
21
Blinds
10,000 / 20,000
Ante
2,000

Day 1b Complete

Day 1b chipleader - Robin Chesne
Day 1b chipleader - Robin Chesne
The second flight of the PokerStars.net LAPT Mar del Plata kicked off at the Casino de Central on Friday afternoon. 151 runners were in the mix on Day 1b. The field was stacked and included a bevy of Team PokerStars Pros including Joe Hachem, Leo Fernandez, Veronica Dabul, Andre Akkari, Alex Gomes, Humberto Brenes, J.C. Alvarado, and Dennis Phillips. Other notable players in the field included APPT Macau winner Eddie Sabat, Alex Brenes, Max Stern, Maria Stern, Jose Rosenkrantz, and Ibuki Fukui.

The Brenes clan were well represented in Argentina. In addition to Humberto, his brother Alex and his youngest son, Roberto, were among the players on Day 1b. Unfortunately, only Alex Brenes advanced to Day 2.

Early on in the tournament, all eyes were on Zach "Umbrella Man" Hall. He showed up to the tournament wearing an umbrella hat which easily made him the most recognizable person in the tournament (not named Humberto Brenes).

Shortly after the dinner break, Costa Rican player Luis Jaikel emerged as the chipleader and closed in on 100,000. He held the lead for most of the evening until Robin Chesne, Jason Skeans, and Marcelo Giorgetta caught up with him. When play ended, Robin Chesne (an online qualifier from France) finished up with 148,900... good enough to be both the Day 1b chipleader and overall chipleader.

Probably the most impressive feat of the day was the remarkable comeback from Leo Fernandez. The former chess master from Argentina was crippled on one of the first hands of the tournament. He lost almost 90% of his stack and battled back from 1,100 in chips. He was short-stacked for the entire day and made a miraculous triple up late in the evening to give him a bit of breathing room. And when Day 1b ended, Leo Fernandez was among the 35 players remaining when play ended.

A total of 291 entrants participated in the $5,200 buy-in tournament for the grand finale event of the second season of the LAPT. The total prize pool for the final event was over $1.4 million and the top 27 places will pay out. $381,030 will be awarded to the eventual champion.

27 players survived Day 1a and 35 survived Day 1b. A total of 62 players will return on Day 2 as both flights will combine into one field. Those fortunate 62 players will play down to the final table.

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Tags: Robin Chesne