All good things must come to an end, and now the first season of the Latin America Poker Tour (LAPT) is in the record books. After Julien Nuijten in Rio de Janeiro, Valdemar Kwaysser in San Jose, the third and final champion has also been decided. And he is also...more

11.40pm -- Jose Miguel Espinar, Spain, champion of LAPT Punta del Este, earning $241,735 Alex Brenes, Costa Rica, eliminated in second place, earning $127,675 It all goes in next hand and Brenes has A-10 against Espinar's king-five. But a king flops and it stay good, giving the title to the...more

11.10pm -- We have a ten minute break at the end of the level and white chips are coming into play. 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,...more

10.10pm -- King high good. They get all the way to the river, and see a board of A-9-5-3-5. Espinar bet the turn but Alex called, and after they both checked the river, Brenes showed jack high. That was no match for Espinar's king. 10.05pm -- There's more to think...more

8.30pm -- The level is over, and we're off to dinner. It was a largely uneventful first hour of heads up action and the stacks are almost level. We'll be back for level 25 soon. 8.20pm -- We've been playing heads up for about 50 minutes and the players are...more

7pm - Lisandro Gallo, Argentina, eliminated in third place, earning $93,630 After the huge hand against Espinar, Gallo was left with just 10,000, putting him all in in the big blind. Remarkably, he doubled up twice, with nine-six and then ace-king, but the third time he tries it, he can't...more

5.25pm -- Alex Brenes and Jose Miguel Espinar are at it again, with Espinar raising from the button pre-flop (to 55,000) and Brenes reraising 220,000 from the big blind. Espinar calls. The flop is 8s-Jd-9h and both players check. The 7s comes on the turn and Brenes moves all in...more

4.50pm-- That's the end of the level, with the chip counts something like this. 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...more

3.10pm -- The level ends with Lisandro Gallo taking another pot, this time from Alexandre Gomes. The tactics are the same: Gallo calls a button raise in the big blind, then check calls all the way to the river. By that point, the board features two aces, a three, a...more

2.05pm -- Sidney Chreem, Brazil, eliminated in sixth place, earning $34,045 The tournament short-stack Sidney Chreem moves all in pre-flop for his last 50,000. Lisandro Gallo reraises from the button and everyone else folds. They're racing, as Gallo flips pocket sevens and and Gallo shows Q-9d. The all-in player picks...more

It's the final day on the first season of the Latin America Poker Tour. The final table action is due to start at 1pm local time. These are the contenders still standing in Punta del Este, Uruguay: Seat 1: Sidney Chreem, 38, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Known as “flintstom” on...more

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...more

We are into level 19 in Punta del Este. The blinds now are 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante. 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...more

We are into level 18 in Punta del Este. The blinds now are 4,000-8,000 with a 500 ante. 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...more

We are into level 17 in Punta del Este. The blinds now are 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante. 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,...more

With the tournament now reduced to its final three tables, we'll be changing our coverage at LAPT Punta del Este to just the nitty gritty. They will play down to eight players tonight. 8.55pm -- We have a new force here in Punta del Este in the form of PokerStars...more

We were all just getting ready for our dinner break when all hell broke loose on the feature table. Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes was involved -- that explained the increase in volume -- and so was his Team PokerStars team-mate, Alexandre Gomes. Gomes had sat beside Greg Raymer for...more

And there we have it. The bubble has burst. After a relatively short period of hand-for-hand combat, it was a sick outdraw that ended it. It usually is, if the truth be known, and so it was in Punta del Este. Alex Brenes, who was comfortably stacked, raised under the...more

Well, the bubble hasn't yet burst but still the day is done for Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer. It's been brutal at the feature table this afternoon with chips flying one way and then the other, but, ultimately, away from the World Champion. He doubled up the South African player...more

Poker tournament reporters are really no different from anyone else who has to work for a living. They try to enjoy what they can from a day in the office, but all they really want to do is go home. As a result, they are acutely aware of any looming...more