Bodog Beat

LAPT Punta del Este champion Jose Miguel Espinar had to survive a heads-up match against Alex Brenes to win the title. (Image courtesy of LAPT.com)

The inaugural season of the Latin American Poker Tour wrapped up over the weekend in Punta del Este, Uruguay, when Jose Miguel Espinar captured the title, crystal trophy and $241,735 in prize money.

Heading into the final table, Espinar was in third place behind Canadian Gylbert Drolet and Brazilian Alexandre Gomes with his eventual heads-up opponent, Costa Rican Alex Brenes, sitting in fifth. After three quick eliminations, three of which were sent home courstesy of Espinar, the chip counts had changed dramatically. Gomes fell victim to Brenes, going home in fourth, putting the Tico's chip stack almost equal to the Spaniards. This almost equalit in chips led to a four-hour marathon long heads-up battle, which finally ended when Espinar flopped a pair of kings to take it down. Brenes won $126,625 for second.

The Spanish poker player has reportedly only been playing for just about nine months now but already has two major poker tournament cashes under his belt. His first came back in January when he placed 44th at the EPT Caribbean Adventure. Something tells us that we'll be seeing a lot more of him around the poker circuit.

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