LAPT Florianopolis: Day 2, level 15 and 16 updates (blinds 2,000-4,000, 400 ante)

9.46pm: Dinner break
We've had 8 levels of play today and the tournament staff has decided to give players a one hour dinner break. We'll be playing down to 24 players today, 55 remain.

We'll see you in an hour. Ate mais!

9.40pm: Flying Dutchman
Sander Aalders just won a pot from Guillermo Montero, both of whom checked a board showing 4♣K♦3♥Q♠2♦. Aalders bet on the end, enough to persuade Montero that it wasn't his time. the Dutchman moves up to around 90,000.

9.30pm: Matthias Habernig claims another victim
Habernig raised to 8,800 from early position. Marcos Sanchez thinks for a bit before making a call from the big blind.

The flop was, 6♣3♥2♦. The low cards brought a lot of action. Sanchez moved all-in for his remaining 30,000.

Habernig snap-called and showed a pair of sevens. Sanchez showed an inferior pair, a pair of fives.

The turn and river changed nothing, and Sanchez was eliminated. Habernig, is yet again, our chip leader with 360,000.

9.20pm: Scaff up to 300k
Andre Scaff is the next player up past the 300,000 mark. He used a paid of jacks to beat pocket tens to a pot, taking him over and above the latest hurdle.

9.15pm: Doubling up
A short while ago Wallacy Marcal moved all-in for 13,800. He got a call and doubled up when his A♣T♦ dodged A♥5♣. He made a flush on the river and moves up to around 30,000.

9.10pm: News just in
At the completion of this level in about 30 minutes time players will go on dinner break.

9.05pm: Feature table features
Access to the feature table is limited to players, cameraman, and people clothed solely in black. We here at the PokerStars Blog are none of those things. The limited information we get from the table are courtesy of card caller/floor person, Melina Villegas and here are a few feature table tidbits.

Matthias Habernig found himself all-in on the flop. He held pocket kings, his opponent, ace-ten. The flop? T♠8♣3♥. The turn brought a king, giving Habernig the set and the double-up. Habernig now finds himself at 315,000.

While this information was being relayed to us, Team PokerStars Online Pro Jorge Arias, doubled-up as well. He's managed to shed image of "short stack" as he now has 150,000.

Jorge Arias

9pm: Pot heard around the world
Alessandra Braga moved all-in but got no action from Kwang Han ho who opted to pass. While that hand fizzled out without fanfare the same could not be said for the one involving Mario Donoso. Fair enough, his rebirth from a stack of 10k to a new stack of around 160,000 is something to marvel, but his celebration, which resembled a man trying to resist the effects of a police stun gun, had nervous types looking for the exits.

Mario Donoso

Back in his seat and apologising to his table mates, Donoso retold the hand. He'd called an under the gun bet, as had Rudy Blondeau who was responsible for taking Donoso's chips earlier today in a 230k pot.

The flop came A-2-3 and Donoso got his chips into the middle. Blondeau called which the original raiser folded pocket tens face up.

Blondeau showed ace-jack but the Donoso miracle showed ace-queen. The blanks on the turn and river changed nothing. Cue theatrics.

8.50pm: Frankly Fernandez
We walked by Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez' table and Fabiano Negrelli was walking away. Fernandez was raking in his chips.

The board was J♣T♥8♣6♦4♠. An A♣ and a 6♣ were in front of Negrelli's empty seat. His pair of sixes was no match for Fernandez' set of 10's.

Fernandez is now up to 118,000.

8.45pm: Level done
Blinds are now 2,000-4,000 with a 400 ante as we go into level 16.

8.40pm: Ticking down
We're down to 65 players in the Main Event with 48 places paid.

8.30pm: Kim powers to six figures
On a flop of 5♦K♣2♦ Bruno Kim was in action again, as was Wallacy Marcal. A Kim bet was called by Wallacy for a 7♠ turn card. Kim, in the small blind this time, checked, as did Marcal for a K♥ river. A check from Kim. Marcal then bet 9,000 which Kim called. Marcal shrugged and turned over A♠Q♦. Kim took the pot showing K♠8♠, now up to around 120,000. Marcal slips towards the 30k mark.

Wallacy Marcal

8.25pm: Donoso not done
Mario Donoso is back from the dead. Left with around 10k after an earlier run in with Rudy Blondeau, he was responsible for the maternity noises when up against Blondeau again. This time with a board showing 3♣8♥A♠Q♠5♣ Donoso showed Q♦J♥ to Blondeau's pocket sevens, taking a pot that, combined with others, takes him back up to 80,000.

8.20pm: Angel's on the out list
Short stacked, and looking for a double-up, moved all-in from the button. Homero Ribeiro made the 40,000 chip call from the big blind.

This is what they had:

Guillen: A♣4♠
Ribeiro: A♦7♦

The flop, A♥J♠4♣, was a good one for Guillen, it gave him not one, but two pairs. The turn was a mere K♣, but the river brought a game ending 7♣.

Guillen is out and Ribeiro is now up to 120,000.

8.10pm: Kim powers to nearly six figures
A bet of 6,500 from Wallacy Marcal, called by Frenchman Gerard Pancie on the button at the other end of the table. When the action reached Bruno Kim in the big blind he raised to 18,300 forcing Marcal to revaluate the whole situation.

Gerard Poncie

As a man made maternity noises across the other side of the room, either in labour or doubling up, Marcal called. Pancie asked how much, wearing a suit and a permanent look of confusion on his face. He passed, leaving it to the other two.

The flop came 9♠3♥3♦. Kim moved all-in for around 47,000. Marcal tanked for a while but folded, showing A♣Q♣ and leaving Kim with a better looking stack of more than 80,000.

8.05pm: Unstoppable Caicedo
A bet of 7,500 from Chile's Rodolfo Awad and a call from chip leader Marco Caicedo of Colombia. The saw a flop of 2♣4♥9♥ which Caicedo checked. Awad bet another 9,500 which Caicedo raised to 20,000. Awad, with a natural furrowed brow, ran through options but none looked good. He folded, sending more chips to Caicedo.

7.55pm: Think Rink
This is the story of a Brazilian sports star, turned poker player who wins a big pot. And no, it's not Gualter Salles.

Paulo Rink was a soccer force to be reckoned when he played for one of Brazil's top soccer teams, Atletico Paranaense. Later in his career, he went to Germany to play for the Bayern Leverkusen.

There he became more than a sports star, he became a super star. He was loved to the point that Germany decided to make him an official German citizen.

Rink has since retired from playing soccer, and is now trying to add poker star to his resume. He seems to be well on his way.

After a 12,000 raise from the cutoff, Rink moved all in, for 97,000, from the button. With only around 80,000, Franceseco Conte made the call from the big blind. The cutoff folded. Rink and Conte were heads up.

Conte flipped over a pair of queens. They looked good until Rink showed aces.
Conte begged for a queen in Portuguese, but the board brought blank after blank.

9♥5♥8♠K♥4♦ to be precise.

Soccer/Super/Poker Star Paulo Rink

Conte was eliminated and Rink now has close to 200,000. Propelling him closer to the chip lead and title of LAPT champion.

7.45pm: Back playing cards
Another extended break with television adjustments each side. Cards are now in the air though with 75 players remaining and blinds at 1,500-3,000 with a 300 ante. We play down to 24 tonight.

The feature table at LAPT Florianopolis

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Florianopolis:(In order of dreams crushed this week) Alexander Villegas (8, including the one about the Brazilian girl) and Stephen Bartley (6, including the one about the atomic fireball).