Mario Lopez Continues Hot Streak, Wins Second LAPT Title
Ever since he topped a field of 609 entries in the 2014 LAPT Chile $1,700 Main Event for $117,991, Argentina's Mario Lopez has been on a tear. Now, he's added another major title by winning the 2015 LAPT Punta del Este $3,300 Main Event for $155,730 this week.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Lopez | Argentina | $155,730 |
| 2 | Hilario Quijada | Argentina | $103,580 |
| 3 | German Christiansen | Argentina | $75,760 |
| 4 | Chadi Moustapha | Lebanon | $61,140 |
| 5 | Ariel Eghi | Argentina | $47,940 |
| 6 | Patricio Rojas | Chile | $36,280 |
| 7 | Jorge Alberto Cantos | Argentina | $26,660 |
| 8 | Ruben Barros | Argentina | $19,580 |
Although Lopez banked three wins worth a total of nearly $300,000 prior to his first Latin American Poker Tour main event win in 2014, he's earned $1,294,662 of his $1,637,035 career live tournament earnings from March 2014 on. For those that don't want to grab their calculators, that's 79.1 percent. In 2015 alone, Lopez has banked $1,139,736.
As reported by the PokerStars Blog, Lopez battled his way to the LAPT Punta del Este final table from a field of 267 entries. A prize pool of $776,970 had been generated, and it the end it was Lopez versus fellow Argentinian Hilario Quijada for the title.
On the final hand, Lopez called Quijada's shove with the J♠J♣. Quijada had the 6♦6♣ and was behind, but he flopped the best hand when the dealer fanned the 6♠5♥2♦. The 4♥ on the turn added a sweat for a chopped pot, but it was the J♦ on the river that provided maximum elation for Lopez and ultimate devastation for Quijada.
"Quijada fell silent, while Lopez screamed and jumped in the air," Alex Villegas .
"I've been playing poker for a while, but I've really been trying to win some big tournaments recently," Lopez told the PokerStars Blog after the win. "I got a few this year."
Indeed he does. The win comes just one month after Lopez took the top prize of €408,000 in the record-breaking Estrellas Barcelona €1,100 Main Event. In that event, Lopez topped a huge field of 3,292 entries. He then followed up his performance in that event with a deep run in the record-breaking European Poker Tour Barcelona €5,300 Main Event, finishing in 20th place from 1,694 entries to win €53,570.
Plus, both of those results come after a summer out in Las Vegas that saw Lopez take second from a field of 4,555 in the World Series of Poker $1,111 Little One for One Drop for $399,455.
*Photo courtesy of Carlos Monti/PokerStars Blog.
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