Today marked the beginning of Daylight Savings Time in various locations around the world, and so for many, having to “spring forward” an hour perhaps introduced a feeling of losing something.
But after observing DST for many years, Chile abolished it this year, meaning all of the clocks stayed right where they were this morning — including the pretty one on the hill here in Viña del Mar that’s correct twice every day, regardless.
That meant your U.S.-based scribbler awoke lamenting the loss of a precious hour of sleep, then realizing it hadn’t been lost at all. Despite nothing having changed, it’s hard not to feel ahead of the game somehow.
The 139 players returning for today’s Day 2 of the Latin American Poker Tour Main Event well know how one’s particular perspective can affect how everything looks. For those returning to stacks well above the 20,000 chips with which everyone started, today’s start of play probably can’t come soon enough.
Nicolas Fierro returns as the leader, his 197,500 an exact match of the lead Jefferson Melo had to start Day 2 in this same event a year ago. His edge on the field is much greater than Melo’s was, however, as the Chilean sits nearly 50,000 ahead of his nearest challenger.
Juan Guillermo Cordoba (147,900), Felipe Costa (142,700), Carlos Zapata (142,000), and Yury Kerzhapkin (140,000) round out the top five to start the day, with Team PokerStars Pro Christian de Leon not far behind that group with 128,500.
Among the notables lurking nearby is LAPT7 Peru Grand Final champion Oscar Alache who collected 122,900 on Friday’s Day 1A. Alache also collected another trophy on his day off yesterday, taking down a pot-limit Omaha side event here.
Other LAPT Main Event champions — Julian Menendez (96,800), Patricio Rojas (73,200), and two-time winners Nacho Barbero (44,800) and Fabian Ortiz (33,100) — are still in the field as well.
So is Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari. His stack of 18,300 isn’t far from that with which he began, putting him well below the average to start the day.
That said, while anyone can start Day 1, only some can start Day 2. It all depends on how you look at it.
Fewer still will get to play Day 3, as today’s schedule calls for the 139 returners to play down to just 32 — with the top 55 finishers getting to share the $904,460 prize pool and try to earn the $175,320 due the winner.
Come back here at 12 noon — now just one hour in front of Eastern time, and three hours behind GMT — and follow along.
Photography from LAPT8 Chile by Carlos Monti. Watch the stream at LAPT Live. You can also follow the action in Spanish on the PokerStars blog and on Facebook, and in Portuguese on the blog and on Facebook.
Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
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