After a perfect mood-setting morning, we started our abbreviated Day 1 by looking back at Season 4. There were six LAPT awards up for grabs in Season 4, and all six were presented last night at the welcome party for this event. Spoiler alert: Colombia took four of the six awards.

While we were telling you about the Season 4 award winners, the players were finding their seats. It's no easy task at the Mantra Resort & Casino, as the popularity of this event means that players are spread out over four tournament locations. The LAPT supplied plenty of friendly faces to make sure players found their assigned seats.

My blogging partner, Martin Harris, has been to Punta del Este once before and knows the town like the back of his hand. He gave blog readers a first-hand look at Punta del Este's signature icon. It was my favorite post of the day, hands down.

Back in the tournament room, the war of words continued between Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari and Jose "Nacho" Barbero. Each one has put his money where his mouth is, hoping to inspire his countrymen to a commanding final table presence. There will be at least one less Brazilian in the Day 2 field, however; Akkari busted out on Day 1. Barbero is through to Day 2 with 22,650, a bit more than his starting stack. Lynn Gilmartin chatted with him mid-day.

While the players were winding down for the day, knocking each other out, and consolidating their chip stacks for the tag-and-bag portion of the night, we took a look back at the Season 4 installment of Punta del Este. Alex Komaromi was the champion last August and has returned this year to defend. The top prize is a bit less this time around, but $181,000 is still something to shoot for.

The big board shows 274 players remaining of the 375 to start the day, but the likely total is slightly less than that. However many there are, they'll be back at 12 noon Atlantic Standard Time tomorrow. That's GMT -3 for those of you following along in other parts of the world. It's likely to be an abbreviated day tomorrow as well, followed by significantly longer Days 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday.

Until then, we'll be enjoying an early evening and formulating plans for our own blogging union.

As the name suggests, Punta del Este sits on kind of a "point" -- the east point, naturally -- of the bay of Maldonado. A unique feature of the geography is that from Punta del Este one can actually see the sun both rise and set on water, coming up out of the Atlantic then disappearing beyond the Rio de la Plata.

The dawning of the Season 5 version of the LAPT Punta del Este Main Event came a little late today, delayed just a bit to begin about a half-hour after the scheduled noon start. As Dave Behr explained earlier, when players arrived they were situated throughout the Mantra Casino, with tables in a large main poker room, a few more outside of that, and a number also upstairs in the casino proper.

By the time registration ended a total of 375 players had taken seats in those various locations, together creating a total prize pool of $836,620. The top 56 finishers will be dividing up those riches, with $186,200 going to the player holding all of the chips when the sun finally sets on the 2012 LAPT Punta de Este Main Event sometime Sunday evening.

Uruguay's own Alex Komaromi was the winner here last August during Season 4, topping a similarly large field to capture a first prize of $244,720. Komaromi is here today to defend his title, and through the first five hour-long levels has accumulated a few chips to build a stack of around 35,000. That's ahead of the average of around 25,000 at the moment with the field having shrunk thus far to just under 300.

It's a good start. But there's a long way to go. Nearly seven-and-a-half million chips' worth, that is, for Komaromi to claim in order to snare another LAPT trophy for Uruguay.

Despite the late start, we'll be ending relatively early today as the plan is to stop after just six levels. That'll probably add up to longer days going forward, but a relatively early exit today.

That also means the Day 1 survivors -- and those of us reporting on them -- will likely be leaving the Mantra before dark tonight, thereby getting a chance to gaze across the water upon that picturesque sunset.

When it comes to LAPT championships, however, there's no rivalry at all. Argentina has claimed 4 of the 19 LAPT championships over four-plus seasons of the LAPT, led by Team PokerStars Pro Jose Barbero's back-to-back wins in Season 3 at Punta del Este and Lima. Brazil, on the other hand, didn't win its first and only championship until the second event of Season 4, when Murilo Figueredo took down the trophy at Vina del Mar.

Barbero likes to remind fellow Team Pro (and Brazilian) Andre Akkari of the 4-1 score whenever he can. In April, Akkari responded with a Twitter challenge.

"Hey @nacho_barbero do u want to make a bet for LAPT Punta? Who'll put more players at the final, Brazil or Argentina? Make the price!"

Barbero isn't the type to back down from that kind of bold challenge. He quickly responded "I give you 2-1 ez money filho!" Akkari suggested $2,000 and the bet was set. If Argentina out-mans Brazil at this week's final table, Akkari will pay Barbero $2,000. If it's the other way around, Barbero will pay Akkari $4,000.

I asked Akkari why he thought Barbero would be willing to give such generous odds a month in advance of the event, without knowing the nationality breakdown of the field.

"He's Argentinian," said Akkari, as if no other explanation was necessary.

The two friends and Team Pros have been having lots of fun on Twitter with the bet.

Akkari: Dear @nacho_barbero u'll pay my bills in may buddy! Thanks a lot!!! u r a great friend!
Barbero: @aakkari ahahaha, yeah I was thinking of a nice pair of dolce gabbana to buy with your money also! Cant wait to be spend yours @laptpunta

Akkari: @nacho_barbero Hey cabron, ready to gimme my money? Want to pay 50% now?
Barbero: @aakkari looool stop drinking caipirinihas bro, u losing your mind! You going down, vamooos argentina, los necesito hermanos!

Akkari has a secret weapon in the bet. He spent all of the last month rallying as many Brazilians as he could to attend this week's tournament. He's promised them that if he wins the bet, he'll throw a big party with Barbero's $4,000. To hear Akkari tell it, Barbero has made no such promise to the Argentinians and is likely to spend the money on himself if he wins.

"He's Argentinian," said Akkari a second time, as if no other explanation was necessary.

At the end of Level 4, each Team Pro had about 18,000 in chips. The LAPT staff are busy crunching the numbers on the field, trying to figure out how many other Argentinians and Brazilians figure into this bet. We'll be following up in the coming days on where the bet stands as the field consolidates.

But as partiers and fans of the underdog, we're rooting for Akkari all the way. Vamooooooooo!

Speaking of big hands and sinking, one of the attractions not to be missed on any visit to Punta del Este is the mind-bending Monumento al Ahogado, a.k.a. the Monument to the Drowned, located at Brava Beach, not too far from the Mantra Resort Spa and Casino where this week's event is taking place.

Around here those referring to the sculpture usually don't bother with the full name, simply referring to it instead as "La Mano" or "The Hand." As in "Did you see the Hand?"

It's a question you hear a lot around poker tourneys, although only here in Punta del Este might the speaker be referring not to poker, but to a hand suddenly poking up through the sand to send passersby into a minor wonder-induced trance.

An artist from Chile, Mario Irarrázabal, created the uncanny work thirty years ago as part of a competition of sculptors. The four fingers and thumb are made of made of concrete, plastic, and metal mesh, with steel reinforcements. Irarrázabal's idea was to create a kind of warning to swimmers, and indeed there is something kind of haunting about the fingers signaling a drowner's final, desperate message.

But really, you can't help but smile at "The Hand." Check out our buddy Reinaldo Venegas who mans PokerStars' Latin American blog pictured here with the hand from a previous Punta trip.

Last August when Brad Willis and I made the trip to Punta during Season 4, Reinaldo took us to see the hand where more photos were taken. My witty colleague sent out a tweet soon afterwards of one picture showing him standing amid the fingers, adding the note: "Sorry, I can't talk. I'm in a hand."

There haven't been too many big hands thus far during the early going here, although Humberto Brenes did find himself nearly sunk in a hand near the end of the first level in which a flop brought him a set kings and his opponent bottom two pair, but running hearts on the turn and river gave Brenes' opponent a flush to help him claim nearly all of the Costa Rican's stack.

But a couple of levels later, Brenes is still here, nursing a short stack that sits before him like a few tiny, colorful fingers standing up from the table's green surface.

A warning to others, you might say.

Lots of players means lots of table and creative use of space at the Mantra. That lead, however, to some confused players trying to locate their tables as they walked into the Mantra this morning. You could ask the LAPT staff for help, but what fun is that?

The lobby of the Mantra soars to a skylight 50 feet overhead, flooding a three-tiered white marble entryway with brilliant natural light as you enter the building. Your first decision of the day is immediate: duck left into a ballroom, or stop at the lobby bar for a quick coffee or beer (and try the calamari) before heading up an escalator to your right.

Should you find yourself seated in the ballroom, you still have to determine which walled-off half of the room you're in, front or back. Not the biggest decision in the world, obviously - an open double door connects the two - but with black felt draped everywhere it's possible you might miss the back half of the room.

Six tables are found in the front, situated beneath a video screen made up of 112 (16x7) one-foot square pieces of posterboard clipped together by metal rings. PokerStars.net and LAPT video ads are playing on that screen in an endless (and mercifully silent) loop. 19 tables around back have an excellent view of the large video "Twitter Wall". Tag your tweets #LAPTPunta or #LAPTPuntaBR to ensure they show up on the wall. Bonus points for using the word "brick" in your tweet.

But maybe, just maybe, your table isn't in either half of the ballroom. At the top of the lobby escalator you'll find the entrance to the casino. (If you hit the pool, you've gone too far.) Past a few banks of slots is a table-game area, where six poker tables are roped off from the rest of the floor. Beyond those six tables is a twisting hallway that leads to the casino's poker room. Another 13 tables (and hooray, another bar!) are tucked away back there. Neither one gets any fancy video screens or Twitter Walls, but those tables will also be the first to break, if that's your "thing".

In total there are 44 tables at the disposal of Tournament Director Mike Ward. 40 of them are in use to start the day. Late registration extends through the end of the first break, after Level 2, so there's a chance we'll put a few more of those empty tables in play by then.

Ballroom front, ballroom rear, casino floor or poker room: your table is out there somewhere. This Punta del Este Day 1 video blog with host Lynn Gilmartin might help you find it. And if not, it'll give you some pointers about where to go in Punta del Este if you bust out today.

Pablo Gonzalez of Colombia took away the big one -- LAPT Season 4 Player of the Year -- on the strength of a third-place finish at LAPT Lima back in April plus many cashes in other LAPT tourneys last year, including side events.

Among the other Season 4 awards handed out last night was the one for Best Online Qualifier of the Year, won by the Venezuelan Engelberth Varela. Varela also made a run at Gonzalez' POY title last season, ultimately finishing seventh in that race.

The award for Best LATAM Country was given out last night as well, recognizing the country making the best showing at LAPT events during season 4. The winner was determined via a formula in which the number of players registered per country was divided by the number of players cashing in an event. Costa Rica took the prize with nine cashers out of 47 entrants (19.1%), just edging out Guatemala and Brazil.

The LAPT Venue of the Year was named, too, an award determined by a vote of players. Medellin's Allegre Casino, host of LAPT Colombia, took away that award, thanks no doubt to the large field that inaugural event attracted.

Finally, Daniel "DazzleO" Ospina of Colombia managed to snag two awards last night -- the LAPT Shorthand Player of the Year as well as the Best LAPT Achievement of the Year.

The latter Ospina also won as a result of a vote by fellow players, recognizing for a bit of hustle at LAPT Lima. After final tabling the Main Event (finishing seventh), Ospina dashed over to join the six-max event where he topped a field of 62 to win the title. As an achievement it was... well... dazzling.

Word is that Ospina is on his way to Las Vegas at the moment for the upcoming WSOP and thus isn't trying to replicate any other hustling feats by playing here first.

Gonzalez and Varela are here, however, and will no doubt being among ones to watch as we follow the early action. They were all smiles last night, though today it's back to business as they each look to snag some Season 5 LAPT hardware.

It's not yet winter in Punta del Este, Uruguay, but it's pretty close. And I'm loving it here.

At this time of year - late autumn in the Southern Hemisphere - Punta del Este is a sleepy, seaside hamlet of about 7,500 people. It's a far cry from a summer weekend, when out-of-town visitors clog the roads and increase the population by a factor of 20. The off-seasons vibe makes it perfect for a few hundred poker players to shed the cares of their day-to-day lives and come play a little high-stakes tournament poker.

Yes, this week the LAPT is returning to Punta del Este for the fifth time, bringing with it the second event of Season 5, the LAPT5 Punta del Este at Mantra Resort. Punta del Este is the sole surviving stop from the abbreviated, three-stop first season of the LAPT, which should tell you something about the popularity of this place with the players. Each of the first three seasons saw between 300 and 350 players make the journey here. Last year 422 played. They were all defeated by Alex Komaromi.

Komaromi is back this year to defend his title. So is Season 4 Player of the Year Pablo Gonzalez, who received his Player of the Year award at the welcome party last night. My colleague Martin Harris will tell you more about the party, and the Season 4 awards, later today.

Right now we're busy getting set up for what is expected to be a field of 450 players. They'll be packed at tables in the main tournament room, in the ancillary tournament room, even up the escalator just outside the tournament room. Basically, any free space the LAPT staff can find near the tournament room is fair game for a poker table.

If you have $2,500 and you're anywhere near Punta del Este, come on down to the Mantra Resort, Spa & Casino. We'll save a spot for you. On the off-chance you get knocked out, you can spend part of your afternoon the way I spent part of my morning: on my couch writing while I listened to the ceaseless pounding of the Atlantic surf.

Imagine yourself sitting in a pub late one night. It's last call, and the bartender is ready for you to finish your pint so he can get home to his cats. The bell over the door dings, and a mysterious guy in a long dark coats walks in.

"I'm sorry, we're clo--," the barman begins. The man in the coat holds up a hand, and the dude behind the bar shuts his mouth. He rubs a clean glass with a dirty towel and watches at a distance.

The man in the coat turns to you. "What do you want?" he says.

"What do you mean?" you ask. "I'm fine. Just finishing up."

"What do you want?" he says. "Anything. It's your choice."

In your head, you make your choice. Before you open your mouth to give voice to your greatest wants and desires, the Man in the Coat (of course he's taken on capital letters in his name) removes something from his breast pocket and puts it on the table in front of you.

As he walks out into the night, the barman says "G'night, stranger." You look down in front of you and see something that looks like this.

That doesn't sound like real life, either? Very well, then. Here's the skinny:

For the next two months, PokerStars will be offering a wide variety of satellites that can earn you a Main Event Passport. Win one, and you get to pick the main event you want to play. Here are your five choices:

The package itself is worth $13,000 and good for almost any main event at any of the above tours or festivals (see the Frequently Asked Questions for any clarification you might need). PokerStars has cash, FPP, and Steps satellites available for every bankroll. Just look under EVENTS and PASSPORT to start playing today.

Get to work. You only have until July 1st to win your Main Event Passport. If you can't do it by then, you're going to have to count on the bartender and his cats to keep you company while everybody else is playing the main event of their choice.

For complete information and all you need to know, visit the PokerStars Main Event Passport information page.

If you are among the eligible voters, head on over to the LAPT Awards page to cast your votes. There you will get to decide which venue from Season 4 stood out among the crowd. You will also get to decide who put up the best achievement of the year.

Here are your choices:

LAPT Season 4 Achievement of the Year

LAPT Venue of the Year

Three of the awards for Season 4 have already been decided by the points the players massed during the year. Pablo Gonzalez put on an amazing performance to finish at the top of the Player of the year leaderboard. The man from Colombia managed to finish first on the leaderboard without winning a main event. Meanwhile, fellow Colombian Daniel Ospina edged out Gabriel Lo Valvo for the top spot for the Short-Handed Player of the Year Award. Finally, Engelberth Varela finished as the Online Qualifier of the Year and won satellite tickets to every main event for Season 5.

Now all that remains are the votes for Achievement of the Year and Venue of the Year. If you're eligible, cast your vote on the LAPT Awards before Monday, May 7.

Happy voting!

Fortunately, PokerStars is on top of it. Need something to do in the next six weeks? Here are four different cures for the wanderlust that ails you.

UKIPT Nottingham

The UKIPT is not messing around in Nottingham next week. The tour is offering a £1 million guarantee and two Day 1 flights. All of that's available for a £770 buy-in. Running April 6-11, the main event is expected to pull in more than 1,400 people. Last season, Gareth Walker topped a 1,058-player field for a £109,000 first prize. You'll find the tournament at the Nottingham Dusk til Dawn venue. For more information, visit the UKIPT Nottingham page.

EPT Berlin

The EPT is still getting some rest after a long, long, long final table in Campione, but there isn't long until EPT Berlin kicks off. Running April 16-21, the €5,300 main event will draw players from all over Germany, Europe, and the world. Online satellites to the main event are still available for as little as €1.10. Last year in Berlin, Ben Wilinofsky won €825,000 and the EPT trophy for his first place finish. For the full festival schedule, visit the EPT Berlin web page.

APPT Cebu

Need a quick stop in paradise? Try APPT Cebu. A circuit favorite in that part of the world, Cebu's main event goes off April 25 at Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino. Meanwhile, PokerStars qualifiers will relax in style at the amazing Shangri-La Mactan resort. Last season, Vivian Im won in Cebu and paved her road to becoming a Team PokerStars Pro. For full information and the tournament schedule, visit the APPT Cebu page.

LAPT Punta del Este

It's still 45 days away, but LAPT Punta del Este is one of the most relaxing autumn trips you'll take. Held at the exclusive Mantra resort in the La Baraa community of Punta del Este, the LAPT event in Uruguay. Last season, Alex Komaromi became the first player from Uruguay to win an LAPT title. This year, the $2,500 main event runs May 23-27. Satellites are running on PokerStars right now.

So, there you go. If you have happy feet and need to get on the move, there are four amazing places where you can visit and have a chance at winning a bunch of money and a poker title.

Safe travels!

We came across an empanadas restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. Without a Spanish speaker in our group, ordering was more like empanada roulette. In the end though, it didn't matter because every empanada we had was so delicious. We went back three times during the trip.

The next day, we set out to enjoy the sights of the city and film our welcome video. Viña del Mar is really split into two areas: downtown and the beachfront. Though downtown has some really incredible tourist hotspots like Quinta Vergera and Reloj de Flores, I most enjoyed the gorgeous Renaca beach.

After soaking up some much-needed vitamin D, we regrouped and went out to dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. It was there that I was introduced to Carmenere, a wine made from a grape that is almost exclusively grown in Chile. In fact, its nickname is, "The Lost Grape." In the mid-19th century, the Carmenere grape disappeared from European vineyards. It didn't reappear again for 100 years and was found on Merlot vines in Chile. A long-time red-wine lover, I thought it was divine and before the end of the trip, I made sure to buy a couple of bottles to take back home with me to Las Vegas.

Day 1a of the Main Event kicked off the next day. The turnout was 284. For Day 1b, we hoped we'd see another large number in hopes of beating last year's field of 621 players. By the time registration closed on Day 1b, there were 367 entrants that day, bringing the final count to 651. Unfortunately, none of the Team PokerStars Pros made it out of their starting days.

The biggest story to come out of Day 2 was that of Daniela Horno, who finished sixth in this very event last year. With 32 players remaining at the end of the day, she was chip leader. However, after a few big pots that didn't go her way, she was eliminated in 17th place on Day 3. For eight players though, the dream remained alive.

It was 40 minutes before the first player was eliminated from the final table. After one more competitor busted, the final six players stopped the clock to discuss a deal. Twenty minutes later, a deal was struck, and the cheap leader at the time, Felipe Valasquez, guaranteed himself $60,000 while the other five players locked up $40,000. The remaining prize pool was divided up into the following payouts: first -- $36,560; second -- $26,000; third -- $18,000; fourth -- $14,000; fifth -- $10,000; and sixth -- $7,000. With everyone happy, the cards went back in the air, and within two hours, we had a winner.

Here is the video we shot just after the deal was made which also includes a quick highlight reel from the week.

Aliro Diaz, from Chile, took home $76,560 and the title. During his winner interview, he became emotional and dedicated the win to his friend who had passed away the day before. It was a bittersweet accomplishment and one that he shared with a number of loved ones.

After wrapping up our work, a group of us headed to a restaurant just off the beach called Enjoy del Mar. I was a few minutes late, and apparently didn't feel the earthquake that shook the city. We'd just had one a few days prior with no ill effects, so no one thought much of the slight rumble. We ordered drinks and sat back to enjoy the stunning sunset.

Moments after the sun tucked itself under the ocean, we were told to pay the bill and to evacuate. At first, confusion set in. Discussions about what was happening were all in Spanish. When it was explained to me, I learned that there was a tsunami watch and we needed to leave because we were so close to the shore.

As a chronic worrier, I started to panic. Some people seemed quite laid back about the situation, while others, mostly locals, were very worked up. I can imagine they would be after the earthquake in 2010. Either way, in my book, it's better to be safe than sorry, so we headed to high ground.

About a mile away we learned that the tsunami warning had been called off. Our empty stomachs were screaming at us, so we u-turned and headed back toward the casino. With the threat of tsunami behind us, we found yet another Mexican restaurant, drank more bottles of Carmenere, and enjoyed each other's company on our last night Chile.

The next day, I hopped on another plane back to the United States. The plane ride leaving a gorgeous location is never as good as the one arriving.

It marked the third time the LAPT has visited the Viña del Mar Enjoy Casino & Resort, and the second time since a tragic earthquake forced the cancellation of the event back in 2010.

The new season kicked off in a big way as the Chilean contingent turned out in full force. Day 1a attracted 284 players, including 203 Chileans, while Day 1b saw 367 players enter, bringing the total to 651 and making it the second largest tournament in LAPT history behind Season 4's stop in Colombia.Among the players to take part in the tournament were Team PokerStars Pros Freddy Torres, Leo Fernandez, Andre Akkari, Nacho Barbero and Humberto Brenes.The former pros were both eliminated on Day 1a, while the latter three tried their luck the following day.

"I'm really excited about the LAPT's new season because it's growing," Akkari said the PokerStars Blog. "Poker in Latin America is like a fever now. This season is probably going to be bigger than the last one, and the next one is going to be bigger than this one I'm pretty sure. In Brazil, we're doing great things with poker. I think it's going to affect all the LAPT stops. People are playing much more online and studying a lot. I think it's going to be a great season."

While he wasn't in his homeland, Akkari was more than excited to be in Viña del Mar.

"Chile is great. The most important thing for me in Chile is the people," Akkari explained "The people here are amazing, they're like people in Brazil that are open, talk a lot and are nice people. I love to be here because people take care of me."

When asked about poker in Brazil, Akkari lit up with excitement: "It's incredible what's happening there. Some media companies are concentrating on poker and putting it on their schedule, something we didn't believe would happen three years ago, but it's happening now. I'm really happy that there are a lot of jobs being created by poker, a lot of people making money playing poker, and I think we're in really good shape. I can't even imagine what's going to happen with poker in the next three years."

Likewise, Brenes was excited for what the new season has in store. "I think this is going to be the best season because the tour has been consolidated over the years and David Carrion has done a very good job, organizing it very well," Brenes said. "For me, the best stop, obviously, is Costa Rica. We have a lot of fun in the Dominican Republic. I also like Brazil."

In regards to the Chile stop, Brenes added: "The vineyards are very nice, and the people (are nice too), not just the Chilean people, but the Chilean girls!"

Brent Sheirbon, who moved from the U.S. to Panama qualified for the Viña del Mar stop.

"I qualified for this event in a $10 rebuy satellite on PokerStars," Sheirbon said. "A great way to qualify, as over half the players choose not to rebuy and get eliminated before the huge add-on bonus, and the tournaments are relatively quick and don't consume a lot of time."

Sheirbon is no stranger to the LAPT, having finished in third place in the 2008 LAPT San Jose Main Event for $109,913, which accounts for less than 25 percent of his $490,416 in career tournament winnings.

"I like the LAPT events for a few reasons," Sheirbon expounded. "I live in Panama, so they provide an excuse to travel to great locations in Central and South America that aren't too far away. Also, the poker player culture in Latin America is very friendly. Poker is still growing and emerging here so there is definitely a passion and excitement for the game that you see with a lot of new blood. Ultimately, I've had a lot of success in Latin America with great fortune in Panama and previous LAPTs, so that makes it enjoyable."

While the other LAPT stops have treated Sheirbon kindly, he was quick to point out the benefits of Season 5's first stop: "My favorite thing about Chile so far is the beauty of Viña del Mar. You can really see the effects of a strong economy as the city parks and beaches are in great shape. I also like the feel of the Enjoy Casino, with it's big rotundas, well-dressed guests, and casino chip plaques. It feels like it could be in a James Bond movie."

It's been said that war is 90 percent boredom, 10 percent fear.

The same could be said about poker.

We saw one level go by without action, and then the next looked like it was going to bring more of the same, but then it happened.

That 10 percent of adrenaline-packed situations where hands tremble, foreheads sweat and players go all in, was upon us.

It was a perfect storm of increased blinds, short stacks, big cards and a six-way deal that created a total of five eliminations in under one hour.

That's right, we have our winner.

Aliro Diaz has won the LAPT:Viña del Mar.

He's the first Chilean to keep the trophy on home soil at the LAPT and the second Chilean ever to take down an LAPT.

With the six-way deal, our champion took home a total of $76,580.

Diaz's road to victory was short, but hard-fought.

When we came back from the break, Felipe Velasquez had a commanding chip lead with 2.8 million.

But then things went south.

Leonardo Olivares had moved all in for just over 1 million and Velasquez made the call.

Velasquez held a pair of eights and Olivares showed a pair of nines.

There were few outs for Velasquez and he managed to hit none of them.

His chip stack shrunk to 2.6 million, but he managed to bounce back up for a bit.

Sergio Escobar moved all in and Velasquez made the call, showing [ad][qh].

The flop brought Velasquez the ace he needed and Sergio Escobar was eliminated in sixth place, earning $47,000.

Our next elimination happened moments later. Javier Venegas was short-stacked and moved all in for 710,000 from the button. Action was folded to Leonardo Olivares in the big blind who went into the tank.

He eventually made the call and showed [ad][10s]. When Venegas showed his [kh][3d] it was clear to Olivares that he made the right call.

"Lets go!" Olivares shouted.

The flop came [7h][kd][jh] and Venegas jumped up in celebration. But the turn brought an [ah] and Venegas sat right back down.

"Corazon! Corazon!" he shouted, begging for a fourth heart on the board.

But the [10c] that came on the river wasn't what he hoped for and he was eliminated in fifth place, earning $50,000.

This left three Chileans at the table with a lone Brazilian, João Lopes, standing in the way of a local taking the title.

But a Chilean would be the next to go.

Velasquez faced two big hits, one from each of his countrymen.

In a pre flop battle, Velasquez had raised to 700,000, but Aliro Diaz moved all in. It was a move that made Velasquez fold immediately.

Velasquez then lost another 600,000 to Leonard Olivares when he tried to bluff Olivares with ace-high.

But Velasquez was betting into a set, and Olivares would take the pot, sending Velasquez down to 1.5 million.

When the small blind came around to Velasquez, he moved all in and got a call from Diaz in the big blind.

Velasquez's final hand would be [as][5s] and it was up against Diaz's [9d][9c]. The flop brought Diaz a nine and Velasquez a straight draw.

But the set of nines would hold up and our former chip leader would be eliminated in fourth place for $74,000.

This left Aliro Diaz, Leonardo Olivares and João Lopes.

Lopes was what we refer to as a short-stack master. After having the chip lead at the start of Day 2, he ended it near the bottom of the field.

The following day he managed to grind his way back to the top three, but would make it to the final table seventh in chips.

And while at the final table, he was short-stacked the entire time. He managed to steal blind after blind, get a few timely double ups and stay in the game.

Lopes was the short stack when the deal was made, but he managed to outlast three opponents.

But that's as far as he'd make it.

Lopes raised to 300,000 and Aliro Diaz moved all in.

Lopes made the call and showed a pair of threes. If he was hoping for a flip, he wouldn't get one.

Diaz showed a pair of sevens and eliminated the Brazilian in third place.

Lopes was eliminated in third place for $58,000, guaranteeing that LAPT Viña del Mar would be won by a Chilean.

Diaz came into the heads up match with the chip lead, 6.5 million to Olivares's 3.2 million.

The heads-up battle would only last a total of seven hands.

In the last hand of the tournament, Diaz raised to 185,000 and Olivares bumped it up to 500,000.

Diaz made the call and the flop came [jh][9c][9d]. Olivares moved all in for his remaining 2.5 million and action was back on Diaz.

Diaz sighed and looked at his hand, thinking hard. He finally made the call, it'd be the last call of the tournament.

Diaz showed [jc][7c] and Olivares turned over [as][qd].

The turn was a [5s] and a [js] came on the river, giving Diaz the full house and title of LAPT champion.

Olivares won $66,000 for his second place finish while Diaz would take home $76,580 and the LAPT trophy.

When the river was dealt, the crowd exploded. Diaz had lots of friends in the stands and he ran up to them and hugged them all.

He jumped up and down and when he finally got the trophy, he kissed it and thrust it in the air.

The crowd went wild.

"I played the best tournament of my life," Diaz said with a smile on his face. He went on to thank his friends, sister and brother-in-law.

But then he mentioned how much of an emotional win this was for him.

Just yesterday, one of Diaz's friends passed away in an accident.

"He was a friend, a brother," Diaz said before choking up.

"I want to dedicate this to a friend who's been watching over me since yesterday," Diaz said. "This is for you Jorge."

Diaz thrusted the trophy into the air again, with tears in his eyes.

The crowd cheered again and Diaz was given his large LAPT check worth a large amount of money.

The white-and-red confetti cannons went off to "We are the Champions" while Diaz held his trophy and looked up, whispering something.

He was looking at something we couldn't see, talking to someone we never knew.

That's it for LAPT Viña del Mar. We'll see you in Uruguay.

Our first level of play brought us two eliminations, the second brought none.

While not much was going on, we did manage to see one showdown last level.

It was the only one.

Javier Venegas raised to 100,000 and Felipe Velasquez called.

The flop came [6s][3h][4h] and both players checked. A [js] came on the turn and Venegas led out for 50,000, the minimum bet. Velasquez made the call and a [4s] came on the river.

Venegas led out again, this time for 150,000. Velasquez made the call and showed king-high. Despite not hitting the board, he still beat Venegas's queen-high.

What followed was a series of pre flop raises followed by all ins, followed by folds.

When the break came around the chip counts looked like this:

Javier Venegas - 1,415,000
Sergio Escobar - 1,140,000
João Lopes - 830,000
Leandro Olivares - 1,105,000
Felipe Velasquez - 3,785,000
Aliro Diaz - 1,455,000

When the players returned from break, they decided it was time to cut a deal.

The deal guaranteed $40,000 for the five smaller stacks and $60,000 for Velasquez. The remainder of the prize pool would be divided up like so:

1st - $36,580
2nd - $26,000
3rd - $18,000
4th - $14,000
5th - $16,000
6th - $7,000

Now that everyone's guaranteed a nice chunk of change, we'll see if action picks up.

The day started off fairly tight, but before the end of the level, we'd have our first two eliminations.

Some players folded some big hands early on. We started the day off in Level 25, with 20,000/40,000 blinds and a 5,000 ante.

In one of the first hands of the day, our start-of-day chip leader, Sergio Escobar, raised to 100,000.

Aliro Diaz re-raised to 240,000 and action was folded back to Escobar. Escobar acted fairly quickly and open-folded ace-king.

We didn't see a flop for a while, as all hands were settled preflop.

Then there were a few all ins and no calls. Javier Venegas raised to 90,000 one hand and was faced with an all-in re-raise from João Lopes. Venegas look conflicted for a bit but eventually folded.

"I'd call anybody else," Venegas said. "But not him."

The next hand Venegas moved all in but got no callers.

But the third hand would bring more action.

Nicholas Batt raised to 100,000 and was faced by a 250,000 re-raise from Venegas. Batt moved all in and Venegas called, flipping over [as][ad].

Batt sighed and showed [ah][qd].

The flop, [10h][ac][10d], gave Venegas a full house and the double up, putting him at 1,600,000. Batt, meanwhile, was left with 700,000.

"I'm back," Venegas said.

Batt moved his short stack all in the next hand and got one caller, Felipe Velasquez.

Batt held a pair of jacks and was up against Velasquez's ace-king.

Velasquez won the flip and Batt became our first elimination of the day. For his eighth place finish, Batt will take home $13,040.

While Batt would go home, Velasquez would get the chip lead with 2.8 million.

The next elimination would come a few minutes later. Aliro Diaz raised to 95,000 and Halysson Sala made his move.

Sala started the table as the short stack, and was chipped down even more. When he moved all in, it was worth 505,000 and he showed [ad][jc].

Diaz called and showed a pair of eights. In the previous race, the overcards hit, but here, the pocket pair would be prevail.

Sala was eliminated in seventh place for $17,470 and Diaz saw his stack grow to just over 1.5 million.

João Lopes is now our last Brazilian standing while Chileans represent 50 percent of the final table.

We're entering Level 26 with 25,000/50,000 blinds and a 5,000 ante. Follow all the action with our live updates and take a peek at our final table intro: