PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Season 1

He beat a field of 350 other players to take home the title and prize money of $241,735. The final table saw lots of fast-paced action, with many of the short stacks being sent to the rail in quick succession. When play got to heads-up, it was just Espinar and Alex Brenes left standing, and so began a long and tense session. All the money went into the pot with Espinar holding A-10, dominating Brenes’A-9. Things looked good for Brenes when a nine came on the flop, but fate swung back in favour of Espinar when a 10 was dealt on the turn. This left Brenes crippled, and it was all over by the next hand.

Among the 398 players that took part were Team PokerStars Pro members Daniel Negreanu, Victor Ramdin, Isabelle Mercier and local legend Humberto Brenes. Kwaysser, a 24-year-old player from Hungary, held his own against a final table that included six other PokerStars qualifiers. Down to just three players, his 10-5 managed to crack the K-K of 3rd place finisher Steven Silverman, giving Kwaysser the chip lead going into heads-up against Max Steinberg. The final hand saw Steinberg push with J-9 on a flop of 9-8-8, no match for Kwaysser’s pocket aces.  

Playing the role of aggressor right from the start, 19-year-old Nuijten held a healthy chip stack for much of the tournament, making him a big favorite when play got down to the final few. The final table featured a total of five PokerStars qualifiers, including eventual runner-up Vitaly Kovyazin. After an hour of back-and-forth heads-up action, the chips finally went into the middle when Nuijten made trip 7’s, crushing the top pair held by Kovyazin. The win was good for $222,940 and a place in the poker history books.