tilted behaviour

The sun had finally decided to make a strong showing, and about time as we took to the final day of the PokerStars.net LAPT Florianopolis Main Event!

The Costao de Santinho, in conjunction with the LAPT and PokerStars, did a fantastic job of structurally organising the make-shift tournament room so that it felt both accommodating for the players and media, but also like a real poker room. On one side of the room was a huge stage that housed the feature table where filming had been taking place over the past couple of days, as well as throughout the duration of the Final Table.

Unfortunately for us media members, we weren’t allowed up on stage like many other tournaments, and although it didn’t bother some of the other media sites, it meant that our PokerNews coverage was going to be jeopardised in the way our followers had become accustomed to; such as quality photos and detailed hands. When you throw in the Spanish-speaking, but uber-yummy Eva Mendes lookalike Costa Rican announcer (who was actually one of our PokerNews’ reporters sister), we knew it was going to be a frustrating day.

We were told that all the important hands would be repeated in English, but when perfectionists such as Donnie and I are working, we like to put in as many hands as possible – but unfortunately it wasn’t to be on this occasion!

Four and a half hours would be all that Matthias Habernig needed to hoist the trophy high in the air as he became the first Austrian LAPT Champion. It was a fairly dull final table, but I wrote the full recap for PokerNews, and it can be found here; PokerStars.net LAPT Florianopolis Day 4: Habernig Rides Chip Lead to Victory.

Trophy, Final Table, The Crowd, Rudy Blondeau, Miguel Velasco, Chips, Matthias Habernig, Dayan Vardanega, Matthias Habernig, Robson Vinicious Kozan

With only twenty-eight eliminations needed until we reached a final table, Day 3 of the PokerStars.net LAPT Florianopolis Main Event was always going to be short and sweet for the penultimate day of a tournament.

After a 20-minute delay to proceedings, there was a flurry of eliminations as Matthias Habernig captured the lead to be back in a similar position to the one he was in for the majority of the first two days. The action really started to get interesting when there was only sixteen remaining as players began to see how serious the event was, and consequently began taking an eternity to act on each decision. After moving all in, they would stand up and start to pray, before eventually collecting the pot and flashing whatever they risked their tournament life with. It was unbelievable the amount of times they would show their cards – virtually every hand!

Inevitably after six levels of play and nearly thirty eliminations, the final table would be set with Habernig amassing a stack amounting to nearly half the chips in play and four-times the amount of his closest rival.

Jorge Pereira, Alessandra Correa Dos Santos, Miguel Velasco, Jorge Arias, Matthias Habernig, Paulo Rink, Engelberth Steve Varela Moreno, Marco Caicedo Jaramillo, Matthias Habernig, Richard Gui, Andre Sa, Homero Ribeiro, Rudy Blondeau

It is always fun working a tournament in a place where you have never been, but with that tingling excitement of being somewhere new comes plenty of obstacles to stand in your way.

Walking into the Costao do Santinho, and the subsequent ballroom where the tournament was being housed, the first concern Donnie and I had was where to sit. With two long desks next to each other, we decided to take the one closer to the action to allow easy access to the floor, however this prime location would be ruined . . . but more on that later.

After some internet issues were resolved and the opening posts were written, I went for a stroll around the hotel. I found a lobby-esque store and purchased some gum and mints to satisfy our fondness for fresh breath. On return to the desk I found two Brazilian media guys seated within a few centimetres of my laptop. Why would I be annoyed at this? Well instead of basically sitting in my lap there were five other seats vacant on the opposite side of the desk, but instead had chosen to cramp up the right hand corner.

Obviously annoyed, I shot a look at Donnie which blatantly read if these guys don’t move I’m probably going to punch them in the face! Regardless of the amount of times I tripped on their bags, or slide their computer over when they weren’t there or even plonked the camera in between us, they never budged.

Oh well, we had a tournament to cover with the inaugural PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Florianopolis Main Event kicking off!

One of the major issues that became apparent once the cards hit the air was the language barrier. We spoke English while the majority of the field spoke Spanish or Portuguese and about half a dozen English words. But like the professionals we are, we battled through as the 364-starting field was reduced to just 183.

A handful of PokerStars.net Team Pros bite the dust including Andre Akkari, Alexandre Gomes, Christian de Leon, Gualter Salles, Humberto Brenes, reigning World Champion Joe Cada and two-time back-to-back LAPT Champion Jose Ignacio Barbero. However, it would be Austrian Matthias Habernig that would lead the field that still included Felipe Ramos, Angel Guillen, Brandon Demes and Veronica Dabul.

As for Donnie and I . . . the end of the night would see us grab some dinner and tackle a bout of online tournaments and cash games!

Starting table, Matthias Habernig, Maridu Mayrinck, Angel Guillen, Leo Fernandez, Joe Cada, Dan Frank, Felipe Ramos, Jose Barbero, Andre Akkari, Chips