The first ever Latin American Poker Tour event has concluded, with 19-year old Dutchman Julien Nuijten emerging as the victor. Nuijten earned $222,940 for his victory. He will be the only LAPT champion until the second event which begins on May 22nd and will take place in Costa Rica.
Severin Walser of Switzerland finished in ninth place, unable to overcome the disadvantage of being the short stack. Walser had pushed all-in with [Ac][Jc] before the flop, but had the misfortune to go up against the pocket aces of Colombian Rafael Pardo. No help came for Walser and he exited in ninth place, earning $11,775.
Venezuelan Juan Carlos Burguillos was the next to fall, moving his short stack into the center while holding [Qd][8d]. Oliver Kugler of Germany called with [Ah][9h] and held the advantage. After the unhelpful board ran out Burguillos headed for the exits after earning $15,700 for his eighth place performance.
Rafael Pardo finished in seventh place after tangling with Julien Nuijten on a flop of [Kh][9s][4h]. Pardo went all-in and found himself in trouble as his [10d][9d] couldn’t compete with Nuijten’s [Ks][Qh]. Pardo would not overcome his disadvantage, but his final table appearance was rewarded with $23,550.
Oliver Kugler would fall to the American, Vitaly Kovyazin. Kugler bet when the flop fell [10c][4c][3c]. Kovyazin called and they saw the [2c] fall on the turn. Kugler immediately pushed all-in and received just as immediate of a call from Kovyazin. Kugler turned over pocket queens and Kovyazin turned over the [Ac] for the nuts flush. The German earned $31,400 for his sixth place finish.
The home town favorite, Brazilian Eduardo Henriques would fall in fifth place. Henriques pushed all-in with [8s][7c] and found himself facing the [Ah][5c] of Julien Nuijten. Henriques took the lead on the flop of [8h][4c][4d], but his hand would not hold up, as Nuijten won the hand on the river when the [Ac] fell to finish up the board. The only Brazilian at the final table was gone, having earned $47,100.
Alex Brenes, younger brother of the entertaining Humberto Brenes, exited in fourth place. Brenes had suffered a crippling defeat at the hands of Nikolai Senninger of Germany, bringing him down to less than 7,000 chips. Brenes managed to double up several times, but ended up losing the rest of his chips while holding Q-3. Costa Rican Alex Brenes earned $62,800 for his performance.
Senninger would exit in third place after taking his pocket jacks up against the pocket kings of Nuijten. No help came for Senninger, and the 18-year old would head back to Germany richer by $86,350.
Heads-up play began between Vitaly Kovyazin and Julien Nuijten, with Kovyazin holding a slight advantage. Nuijten used his aggressive play to build his own chip lead. On the final hand both players saw a flop of [Qs][7s][7d]. Nuijten called a check-raise by Kovyazin, and the two saw the [2s] fall on the turn. Kovyazin moved all-in and Nuijten immediately called. Kovyazin showed [Qh][5s] for two pair while Nuijten held [8s][7c] for three sevens. The [Ad] fell on the river, and Julien Nuijten was the champion of LAPT Rio.
Kovyazin earned $117,750 for his runner-up performance while Julien Nuijten of the Netherlands won the grand prize of $222,940.