Articles

Relative unknown wins inaugural LAPT event

Poker has always been a sport where players can come from nowhere to topple more illustrious opponents.

And this was exactly the case in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend, where Julien Nuijten outlasted a star-studded field to win the first Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) competition.

The relatively unheard-of Dutch player defeated numerous major titlists to win his first big trophy, including Greg Raymer, Gavin Griffin and Vanessa Rousso.

Another famous player who was knocked out was Chris Moneymaker, who made his name by being perhaps the biggest underdog poker winner of all, when he triumphed at the World Series of Poker main event in 2003.

Nuijten beat Vitaly Kovyazin at the end to take the title, commenting: "I was playing pretty aggressively heads-up and I knew I could break him."

He received a cheque for $222,940, which is the highest ever payout for a poker tournament in Brazil.

LAPT spokesman Glenn Cadmartori said the event was a "phenomenal success".