The rain on the Spaniard: Jose Miguel Espinar emerges from the ticker tape as a champion

Espinar came through a super-tough final table in Punta del Este, Uruguay, tonight, and won a mammoth heads-up battle against Alex Brenes, of Costa Rica. But at the end, it came down to a huge hand when both players got their level chip stacks in the middle with A-10 and A-9. Espinar had the A-10, and although Brenes thought he'd outdrawn the Spaniard when a nine flopped, the ten on the turn sealed the hand for Espinar.

Delight turns to despair as Alex Brenes outdraws but then is outdrawn on

That left Brenes with just 40,000 in chips, not even a small blind, and Espinar's king-three was enough to win it on the next hand.

The ticker tape rained down, the 80s pop songs boomed out from the speakers. Espinar and his friends from Spain wiped away tears and we crowned a worthy champion.

Espinar deserved it. After two days of stiff competition, we reconvened at the Mantra Resort in Punta at 1pm today with a typically-formidable line-up around the final table. Leading the way was Team PokerStars Pro Alexandre Gomes, fresh from World Series success, and carrying the hopes of the Team on his capable shoulders.

But not even Gomes could get away from a hand against Alex Brenes at about the mid-point of the day, when he flopped straight and flush draws but missed them all. Brenes, in fact, hit his straight and sent Gomes out in fourth.

By then, we had already accounted for Brazil's Paulo Cesar Ribeiro, Argentina's Juan Jose Perez, Brazil's Sydney Chreem and Canada's Gylbert Drolet in an all-action opening couple of levels.

We were hardly five minutes in when Ribeiro was forced out: he got all his chips in with pocket jacks, but Espinar, whose king-queen had tripped up on the flop, had trapped him.

Out went the first Brazilian and Espinar was up and running.

Next up for the guillotine was Perez, from Argentina, who also ran into the immovable object Espinar. This time Espinar had a suited ace jack and was way behind against Perez's aces. But the flop, turn and river got progressively straighter for the Spaniard and the king on the river ended it.

Espinar punched the air, Perez punched holes in a voodoo doll of youngster from Valencia. We were down to six.

For a while, it became the Lisandro Gallo show. The Argentinian busted Sidney Chreem, of Brazil, with pocket sevens against Q-10. Then the final PokerStars qualifier and only North American, the Canadian Gylbert Drolet took the walk.

He had been card dead for the whole final table and had been reduced to a small stack when he got it all in with jacks. But the vibrant Gallo, the most vociferous around the table for the best part of two days, called with ace-queen and ended up making a flush.

Then it was time for Gomes to go, to leave Gallo, Brenes and Espinar to fight it out three handed. Gallo was the short stack and although he yo-yoed up and down a couple of times, he eventually ran a pair of sixes into a pair of jacks and then a nine high into aces. Gallo shrugged, smiled, shook hands and walked. Good game Gallo.

The heads up battle pitched two of the most accomplished players against once another. Espinar is a familiar face on the European Poker Tour and had cashed in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure earlier this year. Brenes had already been on an LAPT final table -- in Rio in March -- as well as appearing in the final stages of World Series and WPT events.

What's more, the two of them had been facing off against one another all day; the poker gods had pitted the two against each other numerous times. This heads-up battle had been brewing and then we had what we wanted. They jabbed, they parried, they ducked and weaved.

It went on for more than three levels before that big hand with the ace-ten and the ace-nine. And after all the money had gone in and all the chips had been shipped, they shook hands, hugged and knew it would all happen again some other day.

The first season of the Latin American Poker Tour is over. But it will all start again in November. In the meantime, take a look back at this tournament with the links below, and check out the PokerStars site for satellite tournaments to be a part of season two.

Day one wrap
Day two wrap

A full list of prize-winners can be found HERE.

Read all about it in Spanish HERE and read all about it in Portuguse HERE.

Gracias y adios.

All photographs (c) Joe Giron/IMPDI

***
The PokerStars team of video bloggers has been hard at work, as ever, in Punta del Este. Once the tournament got heads up, they reviewed the day with the first clip here. Their full interview with the champion follows.

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: An Over View on PokerStars.tv

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: The Winner! on PokerStars.tv

Check out all the action over at PokerStars.tv.

11.30pm -- Massive, massive hand that should have won this thing for Jose Miguel Espinar. They conspire to get it all in with A-9 (Brenes) against A-10 (Espinar) and the chips are counted. Brenes had edged slightly into the lead after a previous hand in this level, but only by 40,000 in chips. If Brenes could outdraw Espinar, he'd be champion. If Espinar's hand held up, he' be dominant. But there was drama. A nine flopped sending the partisan Costa Rica crowd wild. But then a ten turned and there was silence as Espinar took the lead again. Brenes is down to air.

11.20pm -- We're into level 27, with blinds at 50,000-100,000 and a 10,000 ante. That's an ante worth every player's buy-in.

The chip counts are as follows:

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain -- 1,950,00
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica -- 1,570,000

11.05pm -- After a period of small-ball jousting, there's a raise and a re-raise pre-flop with Espinar repopping Brenes to the tune of about 250,000. Brenes thinks and thinks, then he stands up and looks for all the world as though he's folding. But then ..... he folds.

10.55pm -- A sizeable pot goes to Alex Brenes, which levels everything up. Espinar mucked his cards at the end, but he had been beaten by two pair in Brenes's hand -- eights and fives -- which came on turn and river.

10.45pm -- This is kind of like live blogging a metronome. It's going backwards and forwards but the net result is always something similar: Espinar currently has 2,000,000 and Brenes 1,500,000. Tick, tock, tick...

10.30pm -- It's following a definite pattern here: Jose Miguel Espinar gets about a million chips ahead by playing small-pot poker, then Alex Brenes scoops a biggie and they get back even again. We're nearing the mid point of level 26 and they're all but even again. Tournament director Mike Ward is considering breaking out the white 25,000-value chips to take some of the strain away from the players who are doing a lot of shifting of chip towers.

10.15pm -- Almost imperceptibly, we're into level 26. The blinds now are 30,000-60,000 and a 5,000 ante.

10.05pm -- There's more to think about than there is to write about.

10pm -- But that's a bigger pot. They get to the flop with the minumum of betting, and it comes A-A-8. Check, check. The turn is a 2 and Espinar bets 200,000. Brenes calls. The river is a six and now Brenes bets 300,000. Espinar calls and is shown A-8 for the flopped full house. The pot is close to 800,000 and the players end up back to where they started the level.

9.55pm -- The first all in of the heads up comes when Alex Brenes check-raises Espinar. The Spaniard never looks like calling and doesn't. Small pot only for the Costa Rican.

9.45pm -- As the tension mounts in Uruguay, here's some light relief courtesy of our video bloggers. First, Alexandre Gomes talks about his charge to the final table, then the Brenes brothers give their thoughts on the tournament:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Alexandre Gomes on PokerStars.tv

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Brenes Brothers on PokerStars.tv

9.40pm -- Brenes folds. He's left with 900,000; Espinar has 2.4million.

9.30pm -- Another small pot for Brenes, 88,000 to be precise, comes when he bets the river on an A-Q-K-3-4 board and Espinar folds. Soon after, Espinar raises about 100,000 pre-flop and Brenes calls. The flop come 9d-7d-6s and Espinar bets again, which Brenes calls to swell the pot to 538,000. Espinar checks the 4s turn and Brenes bets 400,000. This prompts Espinar to move all in -- the first of the heads up battle and Brenes has a decision...

9.20pm -- The first flop of the new level comes eight high, and when another eight comes on the turn, Jose Miguel Espinar bets 60,000 at it. Alex Brenes, with the Costa Rican scarf draped over his shoulders, a Brenes-trademark sun visor over his eyes, calls. The river is a four, a second four, meaning the final board reads 8-8-9-4-4 and prompts Espinar to bet 180,000. Brenes thinks about this one for a long time, munching on chewing gum, before he calls and shows A-3, for eights and fours with an ace kicker.

It's good and Brenes takes a 580,000 pot. It's now 1.9m for Espinar, 1.7m for Brenes. On we go.

9.10pm -- After some nourishment (well, a players' buffet) we're back for level 25. Tournament officials took a count at the break and this is it:

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain -- 2,257,000
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica -- 1,264,000

Espinar, therefore, has about a million more than his Costa Rican adversary, but the new blinds are still only 20,000-40,000, with a 4,000 ante. Plenty of play left.

8.20pm -- We've been playing heads up for about 50 minutes and the players are still about even in chips. Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes is calling the action and is trying to get the railbirds involved. Some of them ran forward to drape a Costa Rica flag over Alex Brenes's shoulders.

No one has a Spanish flag for Jose Miguel Espinar.

8pm -- Flops have been few and far between. And both these players are extremely deep-stacked, meaning this one could definitely go on for a good long while assuming there are no aces versus kings style blow outs. In one hand that did go past the pre-flop action, Espinar check-raised Brenes on a flop of As-2d-4d, and Brenes let it go.

7.45pm -- We're heads up, and here's a bird's, a Brenes' and an Espinar's eye view:

7.40pm -- A small pot for Jose Miguel Espinar, who bets the flop of 2h-9s-5d, then bets the turn of 5s. Alex Brenes calls the first tickle of 40,000, but gives up when it goes up to 80,000.

7.30pm -- This should be a fairly tasty heads-up battle as these two players have clearly dominated this table to date and have not shown any fear of one another. In fact, on occasion, they've seemed to seek out one another in the big pots and this one-on-one contest has been waiting to happen for quite some time.

7.05pm -- The elimination of Lisandro Gallo was the last action of level 23. They've taken a short break before starting level 24 (blinds 15,000-30,000 with a 3,000 ante) and here are the chip counts for mano-a-mano action:

Jose Miguel Espinar -- 1,993,000
Alex Brenes -- 1,528,000

***
Lisandro Gallo's run to third in this event was a truly spectacular one. Here's how he described it to our video bloggers:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Lisandro Gallo on PokerStars.tv

And here's what Alex Brenes, who is now heads up, had to say:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Alex Brenes on PokerStars.tv

Adios Lisandro

6.40pm -- Lisandro Gallo raises pre flop and Jose Miguel Espinar re-raises about another 110,000, giving the decision back to the Argentinian. He calls. The flop comes 2d-6h-10d and both players check. The turn is the Jh and Espinar bets 200,000. Gallo thinks, then moves all in for about 800,000, which just covers Espinar. Espinar calls and shows A-J for top pair; Gallo has six-eight. The river is another jack and Espinar takes a massive pot, all but eliminating Gallo. The count down takes an age.

6.35pm-- Double up for Lisandro Gallo, courtesy of an outdraw. He was short stacked and got it all in pre-flop behind ace-five. Alex Brenes had ace-nine, but the five flopped and Gallo takes a pot of around about 900,000 to stay alive.

6.30pm-- Alex Brenes and Jose Miguel Espinar are at each other's throats again. Brenes takes a pot with a flop bet, but then Espinar gets it back, and more, when his 9-10 hits a ten on the flop and also gets a call from Brenes's J-8, who hits an eight. It's worth about 150,000.

6.20pm -- Lisandro Gallo is spending only about 50 percent of his time around the table, otherwise speaking to his friends on the rail. When he comes back, he's in shove mode and takes a pot off of Jose Miguel Espinar with one pre-flop all in.

6.10pm -- Big pot goes to Alex Brenes, denting Jose Miguel Espinar. Brenes raises from the button, Espinar bumps it up to 105,000 from the small blind pre-flop. The flop comes 4h-4d-Ah and both players check. They also check the turn of Jh, but the river of 8h gets the betting going. Alex Brenes bets 250,000 and Espinar makes a seemingly-reluctant call. He has rivered two pair with his A-8 (no heart) but Brenes has pocket eights for eights full of fours.

Jose Miguel Espinar knows he is beat

6pm -- With blinds now at 12,000-24,000 (3,000 ante), and with Alex Brenes and Jose Miguel Espinar holding more than a million in chips, the pressure is on Lisandro Gallo, who has the small stack of 625,000. He doesn't seem to have been feeling much pressure in the tournament so far and has enjoyed it start to finish. But let's see how he copes from here on in.

5.35pm -- Players are taking a 15 minute break before we enter level 23. Their chips counts -- and their photos -- look like this:

Alex Brenes, Costa Rica, 1,655,000

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain, 1,240,000

Lisandro Gallo, Argentina, 625,000

5.20pm -- Approximate chip counts with three left:

Jose Miguel Espinar - 1,740,000
Alex Brenes - 1,220,000
Lisandro Gallo - 602,000

5.15pm -- Jose Miguel Espinar wipes some of the smile off of Alex Brenes's face when he takes the mighty 9-3 up against Brenes's Q-4 and spikes a third nine on the river to scoop a 500,000-odd pot. Brenes had flopped a queen and Espinar had flopped a nine. But most of the money went in when that third nine rivered, and Espinar has levelled things out a bit.

5pm -- There's a special kind of grin in poker, known as the chip leader's grin. It looks something like this:

4.50pm -- Team PokerStars Pro Alexandre Gomes, Brazil, eliminated in fourth place, earning $68,100
Level 22 starts with a flourish, but unfortunately means that the final Team PokerStars Pro is out of here. All the money goes in on the flop on 4s-3c-6s between Alexandre Gomes and Alex Brenes. They have very similar stacks -- about 880,000 for Brenes against Gomes's 815,000 -- and they actually have pretty similar hands. Brenes shows A-5, for the up-and-down straigh draw; Gomes has Qs-7s for the inside straight draw and flush draw. The 7h on the turn fills the straight for Brenes and the flush card doesn't river. Gomes is out, Brenes is the last Alex standing, and he's in the chip lead.

Alexandre Gomes sees the bad news

***
Before the final table got underway, Gylbert Drolet, the PokerStars qualifier from Canada, who finished fifth, spoke to our video bloggers:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Gylbert Drolet on PokerStars.tv

Jose Miguel Espinar -- 1,063,000
Alex Brenes -- 880,000
Alex Gomes -- 815,000
Lisandro Gallo -- 620,000

4.40pm -- Alex Brenes wins a pot of about 250,000 from Lisandro Gallo. Brenes flops a full house with A-J when the flop comes A-J-J. Gallo has A-K and calls a bet of about 120,000 on the river. Brenes moves back from the short stack to contention.

4.30pm -- Alexandre Gomes picks up a pot, beating Jose Miguel Espinar to the punch. The Spanish player Espinar raises pre-flop to 45,000 and Gomes calls. Both players check the flop of 4h-3s-3d, then Gomes fires 70,000 on the turn of 6d. The river is the 7h and Gomes now leads out for 130,000. Espinar folds.

4.10pm -- Gylbert Drolet, PokerStars qualifier from Canada, eliminated in fifth place, earning $51,070
Finally a hand, and it accounts for the final PokerStars qualifier in the field, Gylbert Drolet, from Canada. Lisandro Gallo raises pre-flop from under the gun, making it 44,000. Drolet, one to his left, moves all in for 151,000 more and although Jose Miguel Espinar thinks about calling, he gets out of the way and allows the Argentinian to make the call. Gallo shows Ac-Qh against Drolet's pocket jacks. But it's the suits that are important: the flop is all clubs, the turn is a heart, but the river is the fifth club to make the ace-high flush for Gallo. Drolet is ousted.

Victory again for Lisandro Gallo

A decision and then defeat for Gylbert Drolet

4pm -- Alexandre Gomes just took down a small pot with that rarest of beasts in Punta del Este: a re-raise. Alex Brenes had jacked it up pre-flop to 45,000; Gomes added another 150,000 and after a moment of posturing, Brenes let it go. Still pretty slow here.

3.45pm -- The lack of updates here in Punta de Este represents a distinct lack of action. Yesterday, Drolet was the action player, playing a lot of pots and bullying. But since he has become the short stack, he's not been able to play his natural game and instead is being pushed around a bit by the likes of Lisandro Gallo, to his left.

3.20pm -- After a 15 minute break, we have entered level 21. The blinds are 8,000-16,000 with a 2,000 ante. Chip counts at the break:

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain -- 1,350,000
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina - 775,000
Alexandre Gomes, Team PokerStars Pro, Brazil -- 621,000
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica -- 490,000
Gylbert Drolet, Canada, PokerStars qualifier -- 227,000

Alex Brenes, one of the final five on the LAPT. Again.

2.50pm -- It's tightened up considerably in Punta del Este, with few hands making it to the flop and any pre-flop raise usually taking it down. Lisandro Gallo just took a decent-ish pot from Gylbert Drolet, when he check-called all the way in a battle of the blinds and showed down A-10 for ace-high which, remarkably, was good enough. Drolet shipped the best part of 200,000 to the Argentinian. Previously, Alex Brenes kept himself ticking over, when he took a nibble out of Jose Miguel Espinar's chip-lead. Nothing major; we're still five players.

Humberto Brenes calls the action in Punta del Este

2.30pm -- Jose Miguel Espinar just flexed his muscles and took down a decent pot from Alex Brenes. Espinar check-raised Brenes's bet on a flop of As-2d-5s and that was enough to get Brenes to put it down. Espinar continues to climb.

2.10pm -- We're into level 20, where the blinds are 6,000-12,000 (1,000 ante). The approximate chip counts for the remaining five players are:

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain -- 1,145,000
Alexandre Gomes, Team PokerStars Pro, Brazil -- 800,000
Gylbert Drolet, PokerStars qualifier, Canada -- 600,000
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica -- 500,000
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina -- 450,000

One of these pictures shows the winner, the other the loser. You figure it out:

2pm -- Decent sized pot goes to Team PokerStars Pro Alexandre Gomes. Gylbert Drolet raises pre-flop to 27,000 and Gomes calls on the button. Everyone else gets out the way. The flop is queen-high rainbow -- 7h-8d-Qd -- and Drolet bets 45,000. Gomes re-raises to 106,000 and eventually Drolet folds. After some table banter, Gomes is persuaded to show his hand: J-10 off suit or, in another language, air.

1.45pm -- Juan Jose Perez, Argentina, eliminated in seventh place, earning $25,535
Jose Miguel Espinar accounts for another player in a whirlwind start to this final table. Perez opens for 35,000 from under the gun, and Espinar re-raises to 92,000 from the button. Everyone gets out of the way and Perez moves all in for about 160,000. Espinar calls, but is in bad shape with A-Jd against Perez's A-A. But the flop brings hope for the Spaniard, when it comes 10s-2c-Qh. The turn is the case ace, giving a set to Perez, but the king falls on the end, filling Espinar's straight and sending Perez to the rail.

Jose Miguel Espinar's great form continues

1.35pm -- Paulo Cesar Ribeiro, Brazil, eliminated in eighth place, earning $17,025
Espinar raises again, and again it's 26,000. This time, Paulo Ribeiro bumps it up to 52,000 and Espinar calls. The flop is 6c-Kh-Kd. Ribeiro bets about another 50,000 and Espinar moves all in, which Ribeiro calls. Espinar shows K-Q, Ribeiro shows pocket jacks but he's been outdrawn.

Vanquisher and vanquished. Espinar knocks out Ribeiro

The Brazilian is drawing dead by the turn, and that is that. We've lost our first player.

1.30pm -- Juan Jose Perez waits just one hand before he's moving all in. Alexandre Gomes opens for 27,000 from early position, Perez is all in for a further 128,000. The Team PokerStars Pro, and chip leader, tanks and ... folds.

1.25pm -- Our lone European, Jose Miguel Espinar, from Spain, takes the first pot with a pre-flop raise to 26,000. It's uncontested and he gets off to a winning start.

After a slight delay for the television crew to do what television crews do (record, re-record, record again for luck), play has started in Punta del Este. Here are the players:

We start today with 43 minutes remaining in level 18, where the blinds are 5,000-10,000 (1,000 ante). Cards are in the air. We'll follow it all the way to the end.

These are the contenders still standing in Punta del Este, Uruguay:

Seat 1: Sidney Chreem, 38, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Known as “flintstom” on PokerStars, Sidney mainly plays tournaments – both live and online. Today’s final table appearance is the best result he’s had so far but he also took sixth place in a Super Tuesday on PokerStars and won a deep stack tournament at the Conrad Casino in Punta del Este. Chreem started off as a backgammon player but, like many backgammon players, found poker more lucrative. Back in Rio, he runs a chain of clothing stores. His wife Silvia couldn’t come to Punta del Este – she’s back home caring for the couple’s two children Laura and Gustavo. “We talk every day though so I can tell her I’m getting on," Chreem said. "I’m in this tournament to win so I expect to do well today.”

Seat 2: Alexandre Gomes, 26, Coritiba, Brazil – Team PokerStars Pro - 763,000 chips

Two years ago, Gomes was fully set on a career as a lawyer. He played poker at home with friends but was committed to his career and was already a partner in a corporate law firm. However once he started playing online poker, he was soon winning big money, including first place in the Wednesday Hundred Fifty Grand for $65,333. Eventually Gomes had to make a choice but doesn’t regret his decision to turn pro. In the past six weeks, his career has soared: first he took down the $2,000 NLHE at this year’s WSOP for an astonishing $770,540; then he was signed to join Team PokerStars Pro and now he is chip leader on the final table at his first ever LAPT. Gomes is a keen sportsman and plays soccer regularly as well as supporting his local team, Coritiba FC. He plays online as 'Allingomes'.

Seat 3: Jose Miguel Espinar, 27, Spain - 675,000 chips

Espinar began playing poker in December 2007 but took to the game instantly. A month later, he found himself at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. A friend convinced him to leave his job and dedicate himself to poker. It was a good decision: Espinar came 44th at the PCA, winning $24,000. Following that, he played the rest of the European Poker Tour season four events. He came to LAPT Punta del Este with a bunch of Spanish friends but has been the only one to make the money. He reached the final table courtesy of busting Team Poker Stars Pro Vanessa Rousso, who came 10th. Vanessa had the misfortune to find pocket nines against Jose Miguel’s pocket aces.

Seat 4: Lisandro Gallo, 41, Argentina - 465,000 chips

Gallo has been playing poker for ten years both live and online. His recent successes include winning a tournament at the Conrad Casino in Punta del Este in March and also a “Argentinians-only“ tournament on PokerStars. By day, he manages an agricultural products company. Gallo hasn’t had it that easy in this tournament – by the time we reached two tables, he was down to just $40k. But a run of good cards brought him back up to 465,000. Despite this low point, he is still supremely confident he can win. He said: “When I walked in here the first day, I pointed at the final table and told my friends “that table is waiting for me”. Gallo is married to Karina and the couple have three children: Maria Celeste, Maria Eugenia and Juan Paolo.

Seat 5: Paulo Cesar Ribeiro, 47, Belém, Brazil – PokerStars qualifier - 281,000 chips

Ribeiro has played all the LAPTs so far: in Rio he went out on the first day and in Costa Rica he made day two but busted short out of the money. Last Sunday he chopped a tournament in a São Paulo poker room, taking Reais $40,000. This inspired him and his best friend Piragibe to try the third and final LAPT season one event in Punta del Este. Ribeiro started playing Texas hold ’em about a year ago but before that he used to play five-card stud. Known online "PC PORTUGA", Ribeiro has tried not to think about what he'd do with the money if he wins, but would definitely set aside some of it to bankroll more tournaments on the live and international circuit, especially EPTs. He has thoroughly enjoyed the LAPT and now plans to bring the trophy and title back to Brazil.

Seat 6: Gylbert Drolet, 21, Quebec City, Canada – PokerStars qualifier - 691,000 chips

Drolet has been playing poker seriously since he turned 18 three years ago but is already enjoying considerable success. He qualified for both LAPT San José and Punta del Este via the steps satellites on PokerStars. He normally plays online as well as in home games with friends, and prefers tournaments. He has won three $100 online tournaments on PokerStars and also cashed in the Sunday Million around a month ago. He said: “I want to be sponsored and I know I can play really great poker.” Drolet is currently studying technology but will focus on business studies at university. He said: “My parents aren’t that keen on me playing poker but they recognise that I’m pretty good at it.” He is being supported in Punta del Este by his good friend Andreane. He added: “I had a really good feeling about this tournament. It started very badly though. In the first hour, I was dealt kings but ran into aces which took me down to $6k. Despite that setback, I always felt very confident.”

Seat 7: Alex Brenes, 44, San José, Costa Rica - 457,000 chips

Brenes has already set a phenomenal LAPT record by making two final tables in the first three events. He came fourth at the first LAPT in Rio. Alex is the younger brother of Team PokerStars Pro Humberto and has been playing poker for 20 years. He used to watch Humberto and their other brother Eric play home games and when the game shifted to a local casino, he started playing himself. He said: "There was a group of around 30 regulars at the casino. We used to have two tournaments a week and at the end of the year, the top ten on the leader board would play a final table. I won it every year from 1988 to 1996." If he wins today, it won't be his biggest live result – aside from LAPT Rio where he won $62,800, he has come second in two WSOP events, won a WPT title in Los Angeles and a $250,000 first prize in another Las Vegas tournament. Nevertheless, it’s the LAPT title he wants – and which he aims to get today.

Seat 8: Juan Jose Perez, 30, Buenos Aires - 167,000 chips

Perez is a professional player who took up poker four years ago, playing online on PokerStars. He makes most of his money playing cash games, at the 3-6 and 5-10 tables. He also plays live in casinos in Argentina. He has played relatively few tournaments but has thoroughly enjoyed the LAPT. Being short-stacked, Perez plans to play aggressively today. “My only goal is to win.”

***
As we wait for the final table to start, take a look back on day two courtesy of our video bloggers:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: End of Day Two on PokerStars.tv

Once there were 351, now there are eight. The final table for the LAPT event in Punta del Este, Uruguay, has been set. Before we describe how we got there, here are the players who made it. Each is now guaranteed at least $17,025, although all will be eyeing the first prize of $241,735.

Alexandre Gomes, Brazil, Team PokerStars Pro, 763,000
Gylbert Drolet, Canada, PokerStars qualifier, 691,000
Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain, 675,000
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina, 465,000
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica, 457,000
Paulo Ribeiro, Brazil, PokerStars qualifier, 281,000
Juan Jose Perez, Argentina, 167,000
Sidney Chreem, Brazil, 93,000

Of those, at least a couple of names are leaping a mile from the page. Team PokerStars Pro Alexandre Gomes earned a place on the team when he became the first-ever Brazilian to win a World Series bracelet in Las Vegas last month. He came back to his native Latin America as something of a hero. And his performance here, as he bludgeoned his way to the final table as chip leader, has proved already that he is no one-hit wonder.

Gomes was a formidable force today, starting strongly and finishing stronger. He settled the final table late on when he made a mandatory value call against short-stacked Carlos Curi's pre-flop all in. Gomes managed to outdraw the Argentinian and we reached the last eight with his name at the top.

The other familiar face around tomorrow's felt will be Alex Brenes, baby brother of Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes, but an LAPT star in his own right after reaching the final table of the inaugural event in Rio de Janeiro in May. There, he came fourth for $62,800, but a second appearance already consolidates his glittering reputation, whether he betters that score or not.

Typically, the PokerStars qualifiers have also been having a lot of fun here in Punta del Este. Gylbert Drolet, from Canada, was another player on an irrepressible charge to the final table, and his play around both bubbles -- the cash bubble and then the final table bubble -- showed some excellent tournament savvy.

Drolet took out his fair share of players along the way to the second spot on the chip ladder, and with Julien Nuijten and Valdemar Kwaysser before him showing the way to success, the young Canadian will fancy his chances.

Of course, in order to reach this point in the tournament, we have to have shed a great many others, and among the unfortunate fallers today were Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso, Humberto Brenes and Greg Raymer, who all had high hopes but came up just short.

Rousso, in particular, must be feeling especially disappointed right now after she seemed set for a brilliant final table appearance but ran pocket nines into the aces of Jose Miguel Espinar to bust in tenth. That's a tough pill to swallow, just two from the final table and the biggest bucks.

But after a short cooling off period, Lady Maverick can look back on a spectacular showing here in Punta del Este. And she has $11,065 reasons to be happy.

Humberto Brenes also made the money, his first cash on the LAPT, and it meant a great deal to the Costa Rican poker legend.

Amazingly, this was the first time the Team PokerStars Pro had cashed in a PokerStars-sponsored event, despite about a million lifetime cashes in the World Series. It's been a long time coming, Humberto, but worth the wait.

So it is that we'll reconvene here at noon tomorrow and prepare to play to a champion. The LAPT is almost done for its first season, but the grand finale tomorrow will surely be worth waiting for.

In the meantime, remember that you can catch up on the day's action in Spanish by clicking HERE, in Portuguese by clicking HERE and step by step in English by clicking any of the below:

A second day dawns
Chips and chairs
Stories so far
Tension mounting
End of the day for Raymer
Bubble pops!
Pre-prandial punches
Level 16 updates
Level 17 updates
Level 18 updates
Level 19 updates

Of course, our video bloggers have also been hard at work in Uruguay following the tournament -- as well as following some of those who are also following the tournament. Nolan Dalla, best known as the media director of the World Series, is vacationing here in Punta del Este and he popped in to take a look at the LAPT and share some of his thoughts:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Nolan Dalla on PokerStars.tv

All the work from the video blog team, including an archive of previous coverage, can be found over a PokerStars.tv

All photographs (c) Joe Giron/IMPDI

12.15am -- The final eight are set, and tomorrow these players will return to play for the LAPT championship:

Alexandre Gomes, Brazil, Team PokerStars Pro, 763,000
Gylbert Drolet, Canada, PokerStars qualifier, 691,000
Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain, 675,000
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina, 465,000
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica, 457,000
Paulo Ribeiro, Brazil, PokerStars qualifier, 281,000
Juan Jose Perez, Argentina, 167,000
Sidney Chreem, Brazil, 93,000

12.10am -- And that's it. The shortest of all the short stacks, Carlos Curi, from Argentina, just shoved them all in. He had the best hand -- A-Q against Alexandre Gomes's Q-6. But a six came on the turn and Curi's day was done.

We're down to eight and a final table.

11.50pm --
A ten-minute break in the action, as the tournament officials coloured up the pink 500 chips, gave us a chance to get the counts of the remaining nine. They are:

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain, 643,000
Gylbert Drolet, Canada, PokerStars qualifier, 665,000
Alexandre Gomes, Brazil, Team PokerStars Pro, 570,000
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica, 420,000
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina, 360,000
Paulo Ribeiro, Brazil, PokerStars qualifier, 227,000
Sidney Chreem, Brazil, 140,000
Carlos Curi, Argentina, 105,500
Juan Jose Perez, Argentina, 67,000

One more needs to bust before we have our final.

11.40pm -- The big stacks are pushing, the small stacks are clinging on. So it always is. Here's something from the video blog team to take some attention as the war of attrition continues in front of us:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Excitement is in the aire on PokerStars.tv

11.20pm -- We're now on the final table bubble and it's sloooow going. None of us can complain too much, since it was super-fast from about 25 to now, but everyone is clinging on until the death. There are four players on the feature table: Espinar, Gomes, Curi and Chreem, while the remainder -- Gallo, Perez, Ribiero, Brenes and Drolet -- are on the outer felt. Brenes, of course, is eyeing his second LAPT final table in only the third event. That's not bad going at all. Meanwhile, Gomes could become the first Team PokerStars Pro to reach the final table of an LAPT tournament. What a way to celebrate his first appearance in the team colours.

11.10pm -- We're closing in on our final eight and the chips have been flying all over the place tonight. Accurate counts are all but impossible, but the big stacks are the following, probably in this order:

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain
Gylbert Drolet, Canada, PokerStars qualifier
Alexandre Gomes, Brazil, Team PokerStars Pro
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica

Of the smaller stacks, it's Curi and Perez under the most pressure.

10.50pm -- Make that nine. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso just became the latest victim of Jose Miguel Espinar. The Spaniard had aces, Rousso had nines and it all went in pre-flop.

That was a sizeable chunk -- Rousso had about 230,000 -- but Espinar had her covered. He's now chipped right up and is the probable chip leader. It's now hand-for-hand with nine left.

10.45pm -- And after that flourish to end level 17, we enter level 18 with just 10 remaining, on two tables. The final will be eight handed and we'll play to that tonight. Hold on, this has been breakneck so far.

The remaining players are:

Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain
Alexandre Gomes, Brazil, Team PokerStars Pro
Gylbert Drolet, Canada, PokerStars qualifier
Paulo Ribeiro, Brazil, PokerStars qualifier
Juan Jose Perez, Argentina
Carlos Curi, Argentina
Jose Ramon Ponce Mohamed, Mexico
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica
Vanessa Rousso, USA, Team PokerStars Pro

And the prize-winners to date can be found HERE.

10.35pm -- Right at the end of level 17, the lone Spanish contender Jose Miguel Espinar busted Pablo Stella from the feature table. Espinar had 5-6s and loved the flop of 4s-Qs-3d, which gave him a straight and a flush draw. Stella was all in with A-J of hearts but Espinar hit one of his many outs on the turn -- 8s -- and the Spaniard battles on.

10.30pm -- And now Fulvio is out. He got his last chunk in behind A-3, but was in deep trouble when both Juan Jose Perez and Jose Ramon Ponce Mohamed called. Ponce had K-K, Perez A-8 and when an eight turned it was Perez who was in the lead. Fulvio was knocked out, but Ponce survived, albeit on life support. Perez is now chipped up.

10.25pm -- Ferrero Fulvio, the PokerStars qualifier from Italy, has just had to ship a a huge bunch of his chips to Lisandro Gallo, from Argentina.

Lisandro Gallo

Gallo, who once had about 10,000 to his name earlier today, now has about 360,000 after a succession of double ups. This time he had king-jack on a king high flop, and another king on the river convinced Fulvio to make the call with his king-ten. Both had trip kings but Gallo's kicker played.

10.15pm -- Rosemelia Ferreira is eliminated in 14th place, earning $9,360. The chip leader Gylbert Drolet, from Canada, opened to 22,000 from under the gun.

Ferreira shoved all in for 150,000 more from the big blind and Drolet tanked for a while before calling. He showed ace-king, Ferreira had shoved with queen-jack, and although a jack flopped, so did an ace and that was the end of Ferreira. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso is the last woman standing in Uruguay.

10.10pm -- Goodbye Walter Oaquim. The Brazilian player has been on a short stack for quite some time and eventually got it all in on the feature table. He had ace-queen against Espinar's jack-ten but the worst hand came from behind to take it. Oaquim is out in 15th and has $9,360 and a hug from Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari for his troubles.

9.50pm -- No sooner is one player's bust out reported, than another is taking the walk. Or two. This time it's Chad Hendricks, from the United States, and Veronica Dabul, the PokerStars player from Argentina, who are out.

Dabul followed up her three World Series cashes with a debut cash on the LAPT. Tens weren't good enough to beat queens here, but her 16th place is good for $9,360. They're now down to two tables accommodating the final 15 players.

9.40pm -- Wow. The carnage that characterised the end of level 16 has continued into level 17. We've lost another handful, including Daniel Benjamin, the player who made a charge to the top of the standings earlier in the day. This time, however, he ran into the latest irresistible force/immovable object, Gylbert Drolet, whose aces were too huge for Benjamin's ace-king.

All this action is making the bubble period seem tame, but here's Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso talking about that period earlier in the day to our video blogers:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: Vanessa Rousso on PokerStars.tv

And here's the bubble explained by Tournament Director Mike Ward:

Watch LAPT Punta del Este: The bubble explained on PokerStars.tv

9.30pm -- There was a good deal of carnage in the closing stages of level 16, with at least five more players perishing, two of them in a multi-way all in pot. Those that remained after the dust settled were the following, with the eliminations and prize-winners to be found HERE.

Feature table
Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain, 158,000
Alexandre Gomes, Brazil, Team PokerStars Pro, 495,000
Chad Hendricks, USA, 120,000
Carlos Curi, Argentina, 125,000
Vanessa Rousso, USA, Team PokerStars Pro, 170,000
Pablo Stella, Argentina, 230,000
Sidney Chreem, Brazil, 75,000

Table two
Daniel Benjamin, Brazil, 60,000
Walter Oaquim, Brazil, 31,100
Gylbert Drolet, Canada, PokerStars qualifier, 460,000
Veronica Dabul, Argentina, PokerStars player, 121,000
Paulo Ribeiro, Brazil, PokerStars qualifier, 392,500
Juan Jose Perez, Argentina, 151,000

Table three
Jose Ramon Ponce Mohamed, Mexico, 97,000
Ferrero Fulvio, Italy, PokerStars qualifier, 160,000
Lisandro Gallo, Argentina, 90,000
Rosamelia Ferreira, Brazil, 190,000
Alex Brenes, Costa Rica, 260,000
Javier Sastre, Argentina, PokerStars qualifier, 98,500