They are down to five now at the LAPT Chile Main Event, with Robert Lipkin having lost the last of his short stack to go out in sixth. As a consolation, Lipkin can now check in on the University of North Carolina Tar Heels’ second-round NCAA tournament game this afternoon, if he wishes.
Lipkin’s knockout was preceded by other notable action.
First, after that early rush to the top of the counts to start the day, Mario Lopez’s fortunes swiftly reversed as they moved into Level 28 (30,000/60,000/10,000).
First Luis Resk of Chile doubled his short stack through Lopez. After Lopez had opened UTG for 125,000, Resk had shoved for 905,000 from the big blind, and Lopez called. Resk’s 8♣ 8♦ led Lopez’s 6♣ 6â™ , and after an eight flopped the hand was over by the turn.
Then Lopez got involved in a hand with Rodrigo Perez that saw the pair battle to the turn with the board showing J♥ 3♥ 4♣ 5♣ . Playing from the big blind, Perez checked, and Lopez fired 290,000 only to see his opponent check-raise to 975,000. Lopez thought for a while, then called the raise, building a pot of 2.68 million.
Both next checked the 7♥ river, and when Perez tabled 7♣ 6♥ for a turned straight, Lopez mucked having slipped back to about 1.7 million
Meanwhile Perez had become the new chip leader with more than 4.5 million.
The slide continued for Lopez, who soon was sitting with less than 900,000 and was among the trio of short stacks with Lipkin and Johann Ibanez.
Near the end of the level Ibanez improved his situation after Melo raised to 125,000 from the cutoff, Ibanez reraised all in for 580,000 from the big blind, and Melo called.
Ibanez had A♣ Q♣ but Melo was drawing live with J♥ 9♦ . But the flop came 7♣ 2♣ 6♥ and after the K♣ turn, Ibanez was safe, having doubled to 1.25 million while Melo slipped to 2.46 million.
They moved into Level 29 (40,000/80,000/10,000), and that’s when Lipkin open-raised all in for 605,000 from under the gun, Lopez reraise-shoved for a little over a million from the small blind, and Jefferson Melo folded from the big blind.
Lipkin: 4♦ 4♥
Lopez: 6♣ 6â™
Lipkin needed a saving four, but the board ran out 2♣ 9♥ 9♦ , then 5♥ , then 3♥ , and the day was done for the player from Illinois.
Perez still leads with five left.
Photography from LAPT7 Chile by Carlos Monti. Live streaming of the final table in both Spanish and Portuguese is available via PokerStars.tv. You can also follow the Spanish feed at PokerStars or via Facebook, and the Portugeuse feed at PokerStars or via Facebook.
Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
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