Friday, 29th March 2024 09:14
Home / Uncategorized / LAPT7 Chile: Take two for Tavitian

Pablo Tavitian is among the Day 1B field, returning to the place of his first and most notable poker performance a year ago when he won LAPT6 Chile. From a huge 1,024-entry field, Tavitian outlasted everyone — including third-place finisher Nacho Barbero (as we were just discussing) — to earn a $184,220 payday.

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Tavitian after taking the title

After his big Viña victory, Tavitian would pick up cashes in the Main Events at both LAPT6 Colombia and EPT10 Barcelona, then added another final table in a preliminary event at this year’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure as well.

In fact in Barcelona the Argentinian enjoyed the chip lead at the conclusion of Day 2, positioning himself for a run at what would be an amazing achievement to score titles on both the LAPT and EPT. That story would have been even more remarkable given the improbable path Tavitian took to enter the €5,300 buy-in Main Event.

In Barcelona only to visit family, Tavitian had taken some satellite shots but failed to earn a seat in the tournament, and practicing sound bankroll management had made a decision against paying the full entry fee.

Then came an encounter with a most friendly slot machine in the Casino de Barcelona. Committing just 10 euros to a spin, Tavitian improbably won €8,000. That was enough to persuade him to try his luck further in the Main Event which ultimately drew a record 1,234 entrants.

Alas Tavitian woudn’t be able to top another 1,000-plus entry field in 2013, ultimately tumbling to cash in 127th for €10,000.

By contrast, Tavitian’s intentions to play here this week were firmly established some time ago. He tweeted back in late January how he’d already qualified and was eager to return to try to defend his title.

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Tavitian trying for two

The first three-and-a-half levels have been a struggle for Tavitian as he presently sits with about 11,000 or just over half the starting stack.

We’ll keep an eye how Tavitian manages going forward. And if he happens to wander over to the slots downstairs during a break, we might just have to follow him there, too.

Photography from LAPT7 Chile by Carlos Monti. Follow live streaming coverage throughout LAPT7 Chile in Spanish at PokerStars or via Facebook as well as in Portuguese, also at PokerStars or via Facebook.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

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