by Brad Willis and Change100

In the late hours of Day 2, Tournament Director Mike Ward began joking with 20 year-old Norwegian Karl Hevroy. Ward called the young online poker player "Houdini." At first, it was an inside joke between the two men. Tonight, it has a lot more meaning.

Hevroy is, in fact, the LAPT's master of escape. No matter how dire the situation, no matter how deep the hole, no matter how sure the lock, Hevroy managed to get free. The result? One very impressive feat of magic, $283,500, and an LAPT title.

Three hundred twenty-seven players started this event three days ago. The top 36 walked away with cash, but the big money was handed out tonight at the final table.

Nine people from around the world made it to this ultimate felt. Here's how they stacked up going into final table action (you can learn more about the players at our LAPT Punta del Este final table profiles report).

Seat 1: Andre Ventura 103,000
Seat 2: Oliver Rowe 412,000
Seat 3: Bolivar Palacios 167,000
Seat 4: Waldemar Cago 263,000
Seat 5: Karl Hevroy 1,079,000
Seat 6: Magno Aragao 153,000
Seat 7: Angel Guillen 572,000
Seat 8: Alejandro De Arruabarrena 397,000
Seat 9: Ron Wasiel 134,000

Andre Ventura was the comeback story of the tournament. At the end of Day 2, Ventura got pocket sixes in against queens and was crippled to 13,000 chips--less than one big blind. Within an hour, Ventura had doubled up a few times and made the final table.

On the very first hand of the final table, Angel Guillén came in for a raise. Ventura pushed all in with pocket queens and got got called by Guillén's A-7. Ventura doubled up and looked to go deep. It took a minor cooler to bust him.

After Ventura opened for 41,000, Oliver Rowe reraised to 101,000, Ventura moved all in for 153,000 total and Rowe quickly called. It wasn't pretty: Ventura's Jh-Jd against Rowe's Qs-Qd. Ventura's chorus of railbirds started chanting "Jota! Jota! Jota!" imploring for a jack on the flop for their man.

The flop, though, came down 9h-5h-2s. The "jota" chorus turned into the "corazon" choir when the Kh appeared on the turn, Ventura picking up a flush draw, but he couldn't get there, the 3d landing on the river to eliminate him in 9th place.

Magno Aragao was without a doubt one of the most affectionate poker players we have ever seen. When someone won, when someone lost, when someone looked like they just might need it, Aragao offered a giant, warm, manly hug. In our time as poker reporters, we have only one person offer so many hugs. That top spot was once held by Gentleman John Gale at the 2005 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Mr. Gale, you have some competition in the Department of Affection.

Eventually, there came a time when Aragao needed a hug. Under-the-gun and with only 30,000 remaining, Magno Aragao dribbled his remaining chips into the middle and got two callers in Oliver Rowe and big blind Karl Hevroy. The flop came down Ts-7c-5c. Hevroy checked, Rowe bet 40,000 and Hevroy folded. With no more action to be had, the cards were turned up. Aragao held Qd-Qc to Rowe's Jc-Td.

The room buzzed as Aragao's pocket queens were revealed. Were we going to witness yet another amazing comeback? The turn was the 8h. Now Aragao was really sweating, as Rowe could win with a ten, a jack or a nine. And the river... was the 9h, making him a jack-high straight.

The always-affectionate Aragao hugged his opponent before heading out to collect his $26,640 in winnings.

It had only been a couple of days since we saw Bolivar Palacios take seventh place in the LAPT Mexico event. Today, he came here looking to better that performance. He was in pretty good shape to do that after a couple of timely double-ups in the early going. His Panamanian Rat Pack of poker players cheered him with as much gusto as any other group in the room. Finally, Palacios picked up a big hand and got his chips in with two black queens. He was racing against Alejandro De Arruabarrena's As-Ks.

All looked well on the early part of the board. The first four cards came out 5d-4h-4s-7c. Then that ugly Kd fell on the river and Palacios was out in seventh place...again. He earned $37,740.

If you're the kind to root for an underdog, Waldemar Cogo was your man today. Short-stacked for his entire time here, he managed to turn one big blind into a couple of money jumps. Every time it looked like he was out, the cards brought him back in. Ultimately, he used the last of his nine lives. With the action folded to the small blind, Oliver Rowe completed, Cogo moved all in and Rowe made the call. It was the Ks-7h for Rowe, dominating Cogo's Kh-3s. The board ran out Kc-5s-2d-Jd-4s and Cogo headed out the door in sixth place. He won $48,840.

With Cogo gone, most of the stacks at the table were pretty big. We expected things to go slowly. They did not.

The next big hand was the kind that could make a player give up the game forever. On a flop of Js-9s-3h Oliver Rowe led out for 50,000 from the small blind and Karl Hevroy called.

The Kd came on the turn and Rowe considered for several minutes before settling on a bet of 115,000. Hevroy moved in and Rowe quickly called, showing 3d-3c for bottom set to Hevroy's Kc-Qh. The young Norwegian who entered the final table as the dominant chip leader was now drawing to only four outs that would save his tournament life.

What happened next was the stuff of tin foil hats. The Th landed on the river. Hevroy made a king-high straight and claimed the rest of Rowe's stack. Rowe's face told the story.

With Rowe out of the way, short-stacked Ron Wasiel finally gave up the ghost. He got the rest of his chips in on a flop of Td-Ts-9s and Karl Hevroy made the call. Wasiel was in a tough spot, his Js-9c up against Hevroy's pocket jacks. The 8c on the turn gave him some outs to a chop should a seven or a queen appear, but the 3c hit the river, giving the hand to Hevroy and sending Wasiel to the rail in fourth place.

We all started to learn our lesson on the next hand. The lesson?

Don't ever count out Karl Hevroy when he's behind.

Angel Guillen opened from the button for 64,000. Hevroy bumped it to 210,000 from the big blind and Guillen quickly moved all in. Hevroy made the call.

Guillen had his opponent dominated, holding the Ac-Jh to Hevroy's As-Tc. But remember what we told you...

The flop came down Qd-Ts-6c, pairing up Hevroy. The crowd roared in a mixture of celebration and total disbelief. The turn was the 6h, the river was the 7d, and just like that, Hevroy had claimed another victim.

And so we went to heads-up play. How long would you expect it to take when Hevroy had a nearly 6-1 chip lead on Alejandro De Arruabarrena?

Answer: One hand.

Alejandro De Arruabarrena completed the small blind and Karl Hevroy checked his option. The flop came down 9c-9d-8s. Hevroy checked over to De Arruabarrena, who bet 70,000. Hevroy called. The turn brought the 4h and another check from Hevroy. De Arruabarrena fired another 100,000, Hevroy moved all in and De Arruabarrena called.

It was all over as soon as the cards were turned up. Hevroy had flopped the nut full house with 8h-9h. De Arruabarrena was drawing dead, holding the Qd-Js. No river card was necessary, but for posterity's sake, we'll let you know it was the 4c.

Hevroy leapt from his chair and embraced his friends on the rail. It's probably the most emotion we've ever seen from a Scandinavian poker player.

De Arruabarrena was gracious and shook the young man's hand, wearing the same bewildered look that so many opponents have shown after playing a hand with this one-man wrecking crew.

Afterward, Hevroy could barely speak. Just a few days ago, he was having trouble withdrawing money from his online account. He borrowed $4,000 from a friend to buy in. Now, he is $283,500 richer.

"I'm so happy, I don't feel like I know anything. It's so sick," Hevroy said.

If there's any way to sum it up, it was this final quote from the man with the trophy.

"I had a few moments where I was in danger," he said,"and then I luckboxed my way out of it."

Congratulations to Karl Hevroy on his knockout win.

For a look back at our coverage from the day, check out any of the links below.

Final table player profiles</a.
Level 19 live updates continued
Level 20 live updates
Level 21 live updates
Level 22 live updates
Level 23 live updates

Of course, we hope you take the time to go over to PokerStars.tv and check out all the great video blogs there. If the Spanish or Portuguese word is more your style, please head over to the coverage on the PokerStars Spanish blog and PokerStars Brazilian blog

For a complete look at the winners in this event, see our LAPT Punta del Este payouts page.

The next stop on the Latin America Poker Tour will be our final of the second season. Join us in just a few weeks as we cover the finale in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

All photography Joe Giron/IMPDI

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 23 (15,000/30,000/3,000) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 9:12pm

9:12pm-- Karl Hevroy wins the LAPT Punta del Este ($283,500), Alejandro De Arruabarrena eliminated in 2nd place ($155,420)

I think the entire room agrees. It's good to be Karl Hevroy. And we all want to run as well as he does.

Heads-up play took exactly one hand. Alejandro De Arruabarrena completed the small blind and Karl Hevroy checked his option. The flop came down 9c-9d-8s. Hevroy checked over to De Arruabarrena, who bet 70,000. Hevroy called. The turn brought the 4h and another check from Hevroy. De Arruabarrena fired another 100,000, Hevroy moved all in and De Arruabarrena called.

It was all over as soon as the cards were turned up. Hevroy had flopped the nut full house with 8h-9h. De Arruabarrena was drawing dead, holding the Qd-Js. No river card was necessary, but for posterity's sake, we'll let you know it was the 4c.

Hevroy leapt from his chair and embraced his friends on the rail. It's probably the most emotion we've ever seen from a Scandinavian poker player. De Arruabarrena was gracious and shook the young man's hand, wearing the same bewildered look that so many opponents have shown after playing a hand with this one-man wrecking ball.

Congratulations to Karl Hevroy, our newest LAPT champion. We'll have a full wrap-up of all the final table action shortly.

9:06pm--Back in action

Heads-up play has just started. Blinds will go up in a matter of minutes.

8:59pm--Time to go

The players are coming back from dinner. While we wait, check out what our chip leader had to say before play started today.

Watch LAPT Punta del Este S2: Karl Hevroy - Final Tablist on PokerStars.tv

7:48pm--Updated heads-up chip counts

Karl Hevroy -- 2,927,000
Alejandro De Arruabarrena --543,000

7:41pm--Dinner break

Before we get to the heads-up match, the players are going for a bite of dinner. We'll be back at 9:00pm local time.

7:32pm-- Angel Guillen eliminated in 3rd place ($99,120)

Don't ever count out Karl Hevroy when he's behind.

Angel Guillen opened from the button for 64,000. Hevroy bumped it to 210,000 from the big blind and Guillen quickly moved all in. Hevroy made the call.

Guillen had his opponent dominated, holding the Ac-Jh to Hevroy's As-Tc. But remember what we told you...

The flop came down Qd-Ts-6c, pairing up Hevroy. The crowd roared in a mixture of celebration and total disbelief. The turn was the 6h, the river was the 7d, and just like that, Hevroy had claimed another victim.

"Luckbox," Hevroy said, patting his chest and looking back at the crowd.

With that, we're now on a 75-minute dinner break. We'll be back just before 9 p.m. local time (EDT+1).

7:22pm-- Ron Wasiel eliminated in 4th place ($82,160)

Ron Wasiel got the rest of his chips in on a flop of Td-Ts-9s and Karl Hevroy made the call. Wasiel was in a tough spot, his Js-9c up against Hevroy's pocket jacks. The 8c on the turn gave him some outs to a chop should a seven or a queen appear, but the 3c hit the river, giving the hand to Hevroy and sending Wasiel to the rail in fourth place.

Here's an interview with Wasiel from a little earlier.

Watch LAPT Punta del Este S2: Ronald Wasiel Final Tablist on PokerStars.tv

7:06pm-- Oh, the humanity... Oliver Rowe drowns on the river, finishes fifth ($59,960)

It was the kind of hand that could make a player give up the game forever. On a flop of Js-9s-3h Oliver Rowe led out for 50,000 from the small blind and Karl Hevroy called.

The Kd came on the turn and Rowe considered for several minutes before settling on a bet of 115,000. Hevroy moved in and Rowe quickly called, showing 3d-3c for bottom set to Hevroy's Kc-Qh. The young Norwegian who entered the final table as the dominant chip leader was now drawing to only four outs that would save his tournament life.

And in a stroke of luck that made us all want to break out our tin foil hats, the Th landed on the river. Hevroy made a king-high straight and claimed the rest of Rowe's stack.

Wow. I mean, just... wow.

"Just like your queen from last night!" exclaimed a railbird as Hevroy circled the table in a daze.

"This is worse," he replied.

Hevroy is still stacking up his massive lake of chips, but our estimate puts his chip count close to the 2 million mark.

Here is an interview we did with Rowe...back when we all still believed in justice.

Watch LAPT Punta del Este S2: Oliver Rowe Final Day on PokerStars.tv

6:57pm--Anyone want to see a flop?

In the 22 minutes that have ticked off the clock since returning from break, we've seen precious few flops. A pre-flop raise has been typically met with a reraise from the blinds and then a fold from the opening bettor. While Karl Hevroy and Angel Guillen still control most of the chips in play, Ron Wasiel's stack has been whittled down quite a bit by the blinds and antes.

6:30pm--On break

Players are on a short break before coming back to 15,000/30,000/3,000 blinds. Updated chip counts are:

Seat 2: Oliver Rowe 613,000
Seat 5: Karl Hevroy 1,052,000
Seat 7: Angel Guillen 760,000
Seat 8: Alejandro De Arruabarrena 450,000
Seat 9: Ron Wasiel 295,000

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 21 (12,000/24,000/2,000) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 5:51pm

6:11pm--A moving look at the final table

Watch LAPT Punta del Este S2: Final Table Intro on PokerStars.tv

6:01pm--Hevroy takes a chunk out of Guillén

Karl Hevroy raised from the small blind and Guillén called out of the big (it's becoming a bit of a common thing these days). The flop fell Kh-Jh-7d and 90,000 came out of Hevroy's stack. Guillén called. The Qc on the turn slowed both players down. They checked and saw the Jd on the river. Now, Hevroy bet 170,000. Guillén seemed to be considering a raise, but eventually just called to see Hevroy's A-J.

5:51pm-- Waldemar Cogo eliminated in sixth place ($48,840)

Waldemar Cogo has used the last of his nine lives. With the action folded to the small blind, Oliver Rowe completed, Cogo moved all in and Rowe made the call. It was the Ks-7h for Rowe, dominating Cogo's Kh-3s. The board ran out Kc-5s-2d-Jd-4s and Cogo headed out the door in sixth place.

5:39pm--Cogo can't, won't, and don't stop

Waldemar Cogo just keeps doubling up. He doesn't have a lot of chips, but as long as he keeps winning, he's not going anywhere. Just a couple of hands after doubling through Angel Guillén once, Cogo did it again.

Cogo went all in for his final few chips from the button and got the call Guillén in the big blind.

Cogo: Kh-Jc
Guillén: 5c-Td

The board ran out Ah-Th-Kc-3s-2d and the Little Cogo (his nickname, not one we gave him) is still here.

5:30pm--Bolivar Palacios eliminated seventh place ($37,740)

It;s only been a couple of days since we saw Bolivar Palacios take seventh place in the LAPT Mexico event. Today, he came here looking to better that performance. He was in pretty good shape to do that after a couple of timely double-ups in the early going. Finally, he picked up a big hand and got his chips in with two black queens. He was racing against Alejandro De Arruabarrena's As-Ks.

All looked well on the early part of the board. The first four cards came out 5d-4h-4s-7c. Then that ugly Kd fell on the river and Palacios was out in seventh place...again.

5:23pm--Moving up

The remaining seven players are now on 12,000/24,000/2,000 blinds.

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 21 (10,000/20,000/2,000) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 5:11pm

5:20pm--Half-million pot in battle of the blinds

After play folded around to the blind, Karl Hevroy raised to 60,000 out of the small blinid and Angel Guillén called in the big. The flop showed Qd-2d-6h. Hevroy bet out 80,000 and Guillén called. The turn brought the 3c. Hevroy didn't slow down and put out a bet of 150,000. Guillén, again, called. The river was the 9d. Hevroy finally backed off and checked. Guillén checked, too.

Wanna guess their hands?

Hevroy had 8-5 to Guillén's 8-6 and Guillén raked a pot worth more than half a million chips.

5:11pm-- Magno Aragao eliminated in 8th place ($26,640)

Under-the-gun and with only 30,000 remaining, Magno Aragao dribbled his remaining chips into the middle and got two callers in Oliver Rowe and big blind Karl Hevroy.

The flop came down Ts-7c-5c. Hevroy checked, Rowe bet 40,000 and Hevroy folded. With no more action to be had, the cards were turned up.

Aragao Qd-Qc
Rowe Jc-Td.

The room buzzed as Aragao's pocket queens were revealed. Were we going to witness yet another amazing comeback?

The turn was the 8h. Now Aragao was really sweating, as Rowe could win with a ten, a jack or a nine. And the river... was the 9h, making him a jack-high straight.

The always-affectionate Aragao hugged (hugged!) his opponent before heading out to collect his $26,640 in winnings.

5:07pm--Waldemar Cogo stays alive again

With only enough chips to pay his big blind, Cogo had no choice in the matter. When play folded to Oliver Rowe on the button, he pushed all-in to drive small blind Bolivia Palacios out of the pot. After Palacios folded, Cogo realized he was ahead.

Oliver Rowe -- Qs-6c

Waldemar Cogo -- Ad-3c

The board ran out Ks-5-s-5c-9c-Kh and Cogo lived to see another hand.

5:02pm-- Now that's a pot

After a thus-far subdued level of play, Angel Guillen and Oliver Rowe finally obliged us with a bit of action. Guillen opened for 42,000 and Rowe made the call. Guillen led out for 51,000 on the Ts-8s-5d flop and was met with a raise from Rowe to 151,000. Not content to give it up, Guillen three bet to 451,000. Apparently it was enough for Rowe, who mucked his hand.

4:43pm-- Another double for Wasiel

Ron Wasiel just earned another double-up courtesy of Magno Aragao. The action played out almost exactly the same as last time, Wasiel moving in for 104,000 from early position and Aragao making the call from the big blind. This time, though, Aragao had the best hand with 5c-5d, racing with Wasiel's Ad-Qc. The board ran out As-7d-2s- Qs-2c, Wasiel making aces up to double his stack and then some to 246,000. Aragao was left crippled with less than a big blind.

4:31pm-- Guillen playing back at Palacios

Bolivar Palacios opened for 60,000 and Angel Guillen made the call. The flop came down 8s-5s-4h. Palacios led at it for 80,000 only to have Guillen almost immediately move in. Looking a bit frustrated and taking off his sunglasses, Palacios reluctantly folded and gave up the pot to Guillen, who currently sits in second place in the chip count.

4:20pm-- Ron Wasiel doubles through Magno Aragao

Extremely short-stacked, Ron Wasiel moved in for his remaining 62,000 and with the action folded around to Magno Aragao in the big blind, he made the call. Wasiel showed the Ad-7d while Aragao turned up the 3c-5c. The Qs-9d-4s flop was safe for Wasiel, but the 6h on the turn gave him pause, Aragao making an open-ended straight draw. A deuce, three, five, or seven could do it for Aragao, but the river fell the As and Wasiel earned a reprieve with a double-up to just over 150,000.

4:16pm-- Updated chip counts

Here's how our remaining eight players stack up as of the first break:

Seat 2: Oliver Rowe 539,000
Seat 3: Bolivar Palacios 313,000
Seat 4: Waldemar Cogo 78,000
Seat 5: Karl Hevroy 1,237,000
Seat 6: Magno Aragao 174,000
Seat 7: Angel Guillen 542,000
Seat 8: Alejandro De Arruabarrena 333,000
Seat 9: Ron Wasiel 64,000

4:12pm--New level

After the break we'll be at 10,000/20,000/2,000 blinds.

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 20 (8,000/16,000/1,000) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 4:00pm

4:00--SIETE!!!!!!!!!

Play folded around the the blinds and Bolivar Palacios almost immediately announced "All-in." The only thing faster was Waldemar Cogo's call

Cogo: Ad-Ts

Palacios: Ah-7h

"Lucky siete!" Palacios' crowd yell from the rail. "Vamos siete! Siete! Siete! Siete!"

From this side of the room, but to the guys waving a Panamanian flag scarf, it seemed sure to come. The flop came Kh-2d-3d, but it didn't quiet down the Panamanian Rat Pack.

"SIETE!: they screamed

And there it was. The 7c.

Palacios jumped in the air and landed with both feet flat on the ground, mouth agape, and his arms flexed (think King Kong if Fay Wray had just offered him special favors).

Palacios got a key double up and Cogo is now on the short stack.

We're on a 15 minute break.

3:33 pm-- Hevroy hits the turn

On a flop of Kh-7d-4h, Waldemar Cogo checked over to Karl Hevroy, who bet 52,000. Cago came along with a call and both players checked the 8c on the turn. The river fell the Ad and was met with checks again. Cogo had middle pair on the flop with 9h-7h, but Hevroy caught up on the turn with Ts-8d. Hevroy dragged the pot, adding to his already-formidable chip lead.

Cogo (left) and Hevroy

3:27pm-- Bolivar Palacios not letting up on the gas

Thus far, Bolivar Palacios has been playing quite aggressively despite his short stack, opening more than his fair share of pots. After open-shoving from early position, and Alejandro De Arruabarrena pondered a call, Palacios taunted, "This game is made for men... I'm not afraid of you!" De Arruabarrena must have believed him, as he gave up his hand and ceded another pot to the Panamanian.

3:09pm-- Andre Ventura eliminated in 9th place ($21,000)

Andre Ventura opened for 41,000, Oliver Rowe reraised to 101,000, Ventura moved all in for 153,000 total and Rowe quickly called. It was a bit of a cooler-- Ventura's Jh-Jd against Rowe's Qs-Qd. Ventura's chorus of railbirds started chanting "Jota! Jota! Jota!" imploring for a jack on the flop for their man.

The flop, though, came down 9h-5h-2s. The "jota" chorus turned into the "corazon" choir when the Kh appeared on the turn, Ventura picking up a flush draw, but he couldn't get there, the 3d landing on the river to eliminate him in 9th place.

Andre Ventura, 9th place

3:00pm--Blinds up!

After finishing off the last half of Level 19, we're now in for one hour of 8,000/16,000/1,000 blinds.

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 19 (6,000/12,000/1,000) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 2:55pm

2:55pm--Magno Aragao forcing the action

Magno Aragao is not going to be content to sit back and get blinded out today. Two hands ago, he pushed all-in pre-flop and got the blinds and antes. On the next hand, Bolivar Palacios raised to 30,000. Aragao wasted no time before pushing all-in again. Palacios took a long time to fold, but eventually put his cards in the muck. Palacios told Aragao, "I'll see your hand later." While Palacios may see the cards on TV at some point, he's going to have to wonder today. Aragao didn't show his hand before raking in the chips.

2:43pm--New LAPT record

This is the first time in its two season history that the LAPT has had a prize pool of more than $1 million.

2:40pm--Hey, Mom! I'm on the TV!

If you've ever hung around the 441 production crew (the same folks who do the fantastic work for the ESPN WSOP broadcasts, you know the TV stage is pretty spectactular. It's no different here. The guys behind the cameras are top pros. They're here today to make stars of the nine men left in the tournament.

2:34pm-- Andre Ventura doubles through Angel Guillen

Angel Guillen kicked off the action with a raise to 29,000, Andre Ventura moved all in for 102,000 and Guillen made the call. It was Qc-Qs for Ventura against Guillen's As-7h. The flop came down Qh-5s-2d, Ventura letting out a deafening roar as he flopped top set. The 4h on the turn gave him a bit of a sweat as Guillen picked up a gutshot wheel draw, but the 6c on the river game Ventura a much-needed double up on the first hand of the final table.

2:30pm-- And... we're off

Our fearless tournament directors have introduced our nine final table players to the audience in both English and Spanish and play is now underway.

2:15pm--Final table about to begin

With 29 minutes left in Level 19, the final table players are taking their seats. We will begin shortly.

The final table of the Latin American Poker Tour event in Punta del Este is scheduled to begin in about an hour. Nine people out of the original starting field of 327 remain and will be competing for the $283,500 first prize. The PokerStars Blog will have live coverage beginning at 2pm local time.

Here is a little bit about the final table players.

Seat 1: Andre Ventura (Brazil) 103,000 -- You may look at Andre Ventura's chip stack and wonder if he's at all happy with being the shortest stack at the table. Consider this: just an hour before play broke for the night, he only had 13,000 chips--not even enough to pay the blinds. After getting crippled with pocket sixes against pocket queens,

Ventura battled back to make the final table. The 28 year-old hedge fund manager is a married man, but after not having a vacation in two years decided to come to Punta with his buddies. He's been playing online since 2004, but this is his first live event.

Seat 2: Oliver Rowe (Canada) 412,000 -- If you look at Oliver Rowe the right way, you might think he's a South America revolutionary.

With a bit of scruff on his face and a particular kind of cap, he could pass pretty well. In fact, the online poker pro is from Vancouver, Canada. S

oft-spoken and hard to read, Rowe came out of Day 1 with the chip lead and powered through Day 2 to make the final table.

Though he's played the World Series Main Event and a tournament on at APPT, this is his first big live cash. Rowe qualified for this event through a PokerStars Steps tournament.

Seat 3: Bolivar Palacios (Panama) 167,000 -- Bolivar Palacios, born and still living in Santiago de Veraguas, Panamá was an industrial engineer for 5 months until he received a check for $300 and deposited it online. Since that deposit, he has cashed for $350,000 in lifetime winnings online. Now a professional poker player for a year, he has two final tables under his belt. He took seventh place in the LAPT Mexico event and now is ready to play his second. He think he is a better online tourney player than live tournament player, but he seems to be proving his theory wrong so far this week.

He is a member of the "rat pack of Panama" along with his best friends, Jose Severino, Victor Lemos and Jose Miguel de la Guardia.

Seat 4: Waldemar Cogo (Brazil) 263,000 -- Waldemar Cogo hails from Ponta Porã in Mato Grosso.

Retired and living strong at 64 years old, he's living the high light afteer a career seeling auto parts. Cogo only started playing online poker a couple of months ago. This is his first live tournament ever.

Cogo carries himself quietly and plays with a general calm that is an example to anybody who plays.

Even when doubling up just before the final table, Cogo barely raised his voice.

Married with three daughters, Cogo is known in his home town as "Coguinho"...short for "Little Cogo."

Seat 5: Karl Hevroy (Norway) 1,079,000 -- Karl Hevroy had a problem with his buy-in. He couldn't withdraw enough money from his account in time to buy into the event. Fortunately, the 20-year-old politics student had some friends to call on. Hevroy had met a bunch of Peruvians buddies at EPT Copenhagen and decided to come visit. The friends were headed to Uruguay for the LAPT, so he joined them. It turned out to be a good decision. He's the chip leader in this event with nearly double the chips of his closest competitor. Hailing from Bergen, Norway, Henvroy is a long way from home, but already showing he has adapted well to warmer climes.

Seat 6: Magno Aragão (Brazil) 153,000 -- Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Magno Aragão was chip leader on Level 3, but ended up losing most of his chips before the end of Day 1.

At 42 years old--married with three kids--he chalked up his Day 1 losses to fatigue. After making it to Day 2, he hoped to make the money. He did more than that.

After spending the entire day on the short stack, he "climbed the ladder step by step" and made the final table.

The aluminum company owner also likes to drive rally cars in his spare time.

Seat 7: Angel Guillén (Mexico) 572,000 -- Angel Guillen hopes to be the first Mexican to win the coveted title of LAPT champion. The opportunity is source of pride not only for him, but for Mexico in general.

Guillén represents the PokerStars-sponsored Team Mexico. Guillén has been playing poker professionally more than two years.

His day job consists of live cash games, and on Sunday he likes to sit back and relax while cashing in the Sunday 500. Having recently placed 51st in the PCA, Guillén is still hungry for a live tournament victory and hopes Friday will be that day.

Seat 8: Alejandro De Arruabarrena (Argentina) 397,000 -- Alejandro De Arruabarrena is looking at an ideal situation for any sport: beautiful weather and homefield advantage. De Arruabarrena has been playing poker for the past four years in Uruguay, and he's done well. He's won five tournaments in Uruguay. His most recent victory was in December. When he's not tearing up the Uruguayan poker scene, this father of two returns to his day job of importing computers and electronics. De Arruabarrena recently discovered the joy of online poker. He joined PokerStars under the name of 'Alex6818' and has been spending his Sundays on the virtual felt. De Arruabarrena feels confident about Friday, and expects to improve his homegame record to 6-0.

Seat 9: Ron Wasiel (USA) 134,000 -- Normally a $10 rebuy tournament player on Pokerstars, Wasiel is about to embark on his biggest poker performance ever. The union painter from the south Chicago, Illinois suburbs is playing on only his second big live event ever. He played one event on the APPT in Macau, but didn't manage to cash. Now, he's made it all the way to the final table. The return on his investment looks to be a good one. He got into this event through a PokerStars $10 3x chance qualifier. Now he stands to make a minimum of $21,000. No matter how he paints it, it's a good showing. "Hey, I made it," he said as he walked off the stage on Day 2. "I didn't expect to be here tomorrow." You are, sir. You are.

Latin American poker players are an emotional bunch. It's almost impossible to spend more than a few minutes inside of the tournament room here at the Mantra Resort & Casino without witnessing a wild outburst, hearing a palm slam against the felt in frustration or seeing a fist pumped into the air in victory. While poker phrases like "so sick," "pair the board," and "one time!" are so overused these days they have become cringe-worthy, these words somehow seem all the more dramatic when bellowed en espanol. Even as I type this, some poor man in the next room is shouting "SEIS! SEIS! OH MY GAAAD! SO SEEEEK!" at the top of his lungs after suffering a brutal river suckout.

Welcome to the Latin American Poker Tour, where the sun shines, the breezes are warm, the beef is plentiful and grown men can sound like psychiatric patients when the cards don't fall their way.

64 players returned to action today, 36 would earn prize money and nine would make the televised final table. With a second-chance event running in the main ballroom, the remaining field moved to a smaller adjacent room adorned with camera-friendly lighting and ringed with red curtains. Alberto Font and Oliver Rowe came into Day 2 as the chip leaders, with 135,000 and 136,000 respectively, though only one of them would reach the final table.

Alex Brenes' Day 2 started and ended on the TV featured table. The tournament's third-shortest stack coming into play today, Brenes moved all in for 22,600 from under-the-gun and Magno Aragao made the call from the button. It was a race situation with Th-Ts for Brenes and the Ad-Jd for Aragao. The flop was Kh-Qs-7d, Brenes still leading, but the Td on the turn made Aragao an ace-high straight. It also gave Brenes a set and some hope of survival if the board paired on the river, but it blanked out with the 2h and Brenes exited stage left. Brenes finished in second place in Season 1's installment of this event, but a final table repeat for him just wasn't in the cards.

Alex Brenes departs from the featured table

Brazilian pro Christian Kruel had been playing a tight, calculated game the entire tournament and seemed a shoo-in to go deep, but he would hit the rail well before the money. Kruel ultimately got his chips in the middle with a monster draw, holding Ah-Qh vs. his opponent's pocket kings on a Js-Th-8h flop. The turn and river blanked out for him, however and his tournament came to an end.

So Kruel...

It took four hours of play for us to hit the money bubble, which was burst by Alberto Araujo. Down to less than three big blinds and with the action folded to him, Araujo moved all in from the small blind. It was up to Oliver Rowe in the big blind.

"You have the odds, you have to call!" quipped Araujo, who was already out of his seat in eager anticipation.

Rowe couldn't have liked the 3d-6c he saw, but nevertheless was compelled to call. Araujo turned up Kd-Qs.

The flop, though, came down Jd-7c-3s, pairing up Rowe. The Ad came on the turn, giving Araujo outs with a king, a queen or a ten, but the river was another three, and Rowe took it down with trips, leaving Araujo as Punta del Este's bubble boy.

Alberto Araujo sees the bad news

Once our remaining 36 players were in the money, the chips really started flying. We lost ten players in the space of an hour, including three who busted on the same hand and ended up splitting the $2,780 difference between 28th and 27th place three ways.

With three tables remaining, a trio of players began taking control of the action and collecting most of the chips. Ron Wasiel, a house painter from suburban Chicago, started flopping two pair like it was nothing. First he cracked Gabriel Loyo's pocket kings with A-Q when the flop came down A-Q-5 to send him to the rail. Only minutes later, Ricardo Goncalves moved his short stack in from the button with A-6 and Wasiel called from the big blind with K-6, the flop coming down K-6-9.

Ron Wasiel

Oliver Rowe took the chip lead early in the day when he opened from UTG for 20,000 only to be met with an all-in reraise to 115,000 from Alberto Font. With 165,000 behind, Rowe made the call for most of his chips and saw his A-K hold up against Font's 9s-7s to vault him over the 300,000 chip mark. He ended the day with 412,000, good for third in chips.

Oliver Rowe

The story of the late evening, though was Karl Hevroy, aka the one-man Norwegian wrecking ball. He of the perfectly messy blonde hair knocked out Walter Arakaki in 20th place when his A-Q flopped trips against pocket fives. Minutes later he did away with 19th place finisher Hernan Reyes, his 7h-7c flopping a set against Reyes' Kh-Ts. 17th place finisher Adolfo Vaeza also hit the rail courtesy of Hevroy, as did Octavio Bernardini (12th), and Alejandro Bonnanato (11th).

Karl Hevroy

On the final table bubble, Hevroy's Houdini-esque powers would give all of us a relatively early night. On the very first deal of hand-for-hand play, Rommer Prado pushed for 120,000 with Ad-Jd and Hevroy made the call with Qs-Jh.

Oh, the agony

"How can you call with that?" asked Prado in Spanish as the board ran out Tc-Ts-2h-7d-Qd. The room exploded and our final table players celebrated around Prado's grief.

A bewildered Hevroy can't believe he rivered the queen

Our final nine will return at 2 p.m. local time (EDT+1) tomorrow to crown a new LAPT champion. Here's how their chip counts stack up:

Seat 1: Andre Ventura 103,000
Seat 2: Oliver Rowe 412,000
Seat 3: Bolivar Palacios 167,000
Seat 4: Waldemar Cago 263,000
Seat 5: Karl Hevroy 1,079,000
Seat 6: Magno Aragao 153,000
Seat 7: Angel Guillen 572,000
Seat 8: Alejandro De Arruabarrena 397,000
Seat 9: Ron Wasiel 134,000

If you missed any of our live coverage today, click on any of the links below to relive all the action.

One room to one table
Level 12 live updates
Level 13 live updates
Level 14 live updates
Level 15 live updates
Level 16 live updates
Level 17 live updates
Level 18 live updates
Level 19 live updates

Or, if you'd rather read all the gory details in one of South America's native tongues, check out the PokerStars Spanish Blog or the PokerStars Brazilian Blog. And for more details on who finished where, click on the LAPT Punta del Este prizes page.

All photography &copy Joe Giron, IMPDI

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 19 (6,000/12,000/1,000) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 11:45pm

11:45pm--Final table to begin at 2pm Friday

Join us here for a live coverage of the final table Friday at 2pm. We'll be back with a full wrap-up in just a bit.

11:30pm--Final table chip counts

Karl Hevroy 1,079,000
Angel Guillén -- 572,000
Oliver Rowe -- 412,000
Alejandro De Arruaballena -- 397,000
Waldermar Cogo -- 263,000
Bolivar Palacios -- 167,000
Magno Aragao 153,000
Ron Wasiel -- 134,000
Andre Ventura -- 103,000

11:15pm--Rommer Prado eliminated 10th place ($18,320)

The final table of nine is set, Rommer Prado was just beat in a dirty, dirty way. He pushed all in for nearly 120,000. Karl Hevoy called with Q-J. Prado asked in Spanish, "How can you call with that?" The board ran out Tc-Ts-2h-7d-Qd. The room exploded and our final table players celebrated around Prado's grief. Prado finishes 10th for $18,320.

11:00pm-- Alejandro Bonanata eliminated in 11th place ($18,320)

Making his last stand with Kd-Th, Alejandro Bonanata moved all in from middle position only to run smack into Karl Hevroy's pocket aces. Though the Ks-Js-8d flop paired him up, the Ah on the turn made Hevroy a set, leaving him drawing only to a queen. The river came the 2s, though and Bonanata's tournament came to an end. He'll go home with $18,320 as well as the autographed fossil he earned yesterday by knocking out Greg Raymer.

10:45pm--Octavio Bernardini eliminated in 12th place ($18,320)

As it looks right now, there's no stopping Karl Hevroy, who just added even more to his massive stack by taking out Octavio Bernardini. Their money went in a flop of Qc-Ts-7s, each having hit a piece of it-- Bernardini with Ah-Td for middle pair and Hevroy the Ac-Qd for top pair. There was no help for Bernardini when a deuce hit the turn and an eight the river, leaving him to hit the rail.

10:30pm-- Blinds up!

The blinds have climbed up once more, with our final twelve playing 6,000/12,000 with a 1,000 ante.

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 18 (5,000/10,000/1,000) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 10:38pm

10:38pm--Mario Salvagno out in 13th ($15,540)

You might have noticed a trend here. People are saying all-in more than they're saying fold. This time, it was our early Day 2 chip leader Mario Salvagno. He got Ac-Qc all-in pre-flop against Oliver Rowe's pocket aces. The board came Qd-Jd-3s-Kc-8d and Salvagno was gone.

10:34pm--Lisandro Gallo eliminated 14th place ($15,540)

Lisandro Gallo spent most of his day beating up on people, but in the end, he couldn't outrun a pair of eights with his K-J all-in pre-flop. He's out in 14th place for $15,540.

10:27pm--Oscar Hilarro Quijada eliminated in 15th place ($15,540)

Moments after doubling up against Karl Hevoy, Octavio Bernardini put Oscar Hilarro Quijad out of the event, his Qh-Jh beating K-2 all-in preflop. The board ran out Qs-5c-3h-8d-Qd and Quijada was eliminated.

10:20pm--Andre Ventura crippled, doubles -- Magno Aragao loves his lady

Moments ago, Andre Venture got all in with pocket sixes against Waldemar Cogo's queens and was left with barely enough to pay the blinds after failing to suck out. On the next hand, he doubled up against Cogo with Ac-9c against Ah-8d.

On the outer table Magno Aragao got all-in with K-Q versus against Karl Hevoy's black jacks. Aragao paired both his king and queen to double up.

9:57pm--Felipe Ivar eliminated 16th place ($12,760)

Brazil's Felipe Ivar just got Ac-9c all in against pocket tens. Though he flopped a nine and turned a club draw, he couldn't get there on the river and was eliminated in 16th place for $12,760. 

9:44pm--Adolfo Vaeza eliminated 17th place ($12,760)

Adolfo Vaeza just got it all-in pre-flop with chip leader Karl Hevroy. At this point in the tournament, you could call this one a cooler. Vaeza held Ac-Qd to Hevroy's Ad-Kd. Hevroy made his king on the flop and that was that.

9:40pm--Antes up

We're now playing 5,000/10,000/1,000 blinds with 17 players remaining. We will play until we reach the final table of nine.

While we get rolling here, here's what some of the people here thinks goes into making a good poker tournament.

Watch LAPT Punta del Este S2: What makes a great tournament on PokerStars.tv