Canadian poker pro Shakeeb Kazemipur (20) is $180,112 wealthier this weekend after taking down the $2,500 buy-in main event of the Latin American Poker Tour Panama.
The event attracted an entry field of 442 players to the Sortis Hotel in Panama City, generating a prize pool of $930,932.
Final table survivors facing Kazemipur were an international group comprised of Ukraine’s Olga Iermolcheva (chip leader), Pierce McKellar and Derek Ecenarro from the United SDtates, Tullio Bertoli from Venezuela, Chile’s Francisco Rocha, Canadian Francois Lincourt, and Damian Salas from Argentina.
It had not been an easy ride for Kazemipur, who prior to making the final table exhibited considerable determination in the event by re-entering four times after busting out repeatedly.
The heads up battle between Eugene Katchalov-trained Olga Iermolcheva and Kazemipur was a tense, three hour affair which saw the Ukrainian holding a significant chip lead at the start. The Canadian managed to counter this very late in the encounter with a strategic double which took him into the lead and enabled him to dispatch his last opponent shortly thereafter,
Iermolcheva nevertheless earned a useful second placing pay check of $113,580.
The rest of the final table enjoyed good take-homes as well:
Tullio Bertoli $81,460
Francisco Rocha $64,700
Francois Lincourt $50,740
Damian Salas $39,760
Pierce Mckellar $29,880
Derek Ecenarro $21,220