Francisco Garcia Wins PokerStars Festival Uruguay $3,300 High Roller for $54,480
![[user339870]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Francisco Garcia took the top prize in the $3,300 High Roller at the inaugural PokerStars Festival Uruguay at the Conrad Hotel & Casino for $54,480, beating a 64-entry field.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francisco Garcia | Uruguay | $54,480 |
| 2 | Christopher Franco | Chile | $39,120 |
| 3 | Jean Sierra | Uruguay | $25,420 |
| 4 | Ernesto Panno | Argentina | $19,180 |
| 5 | Alejandro Lopez | Uruguay | $14,900 |
| 6 | Martin Crosa | Uruguay | $11,540 |
| 7 | Andres Viola | Argentina | $9,120 |
| 8 | Matias Scaffo | Uruguay | $7,080 |
| 9 | Christian Fernandez | Chile | $5,400 |
Thirteen players took took to the felt at the start of Day 3 action, including some notoriously tough ones like PokerStars Team Pro Leo Fernandez, recent bracelet winner Andres Korn, and previous LAPT champion Maria Lampropulos, who began the day as the short stack. However, only nine spots were paid in this event, and all three of the aforementioned players failed to make the money. Although Lampropulous found a couple of double-ups in fairly short order, she departed when she got her stack in preflop holding jacks against Alejandro Lopez's pocket fives to see her opponent flop quads. Fernandez took a healthy stack out of the bag at the start of play but found himself on the unfortunate end of a set-over-set confrontation early on which left him quite short-stacked, and while he managed to rebuild a bit, he lost a coin flip against Ernesto Panno to exit in 11th place. Korn became the bubble boy when he hit a runner-runner king-high flush and got his stack in on the river only to see his opponent, the eventual champion Francisco Garcia, table the nut flush.
After the bubble broke and the last nine contenders took their seats at the final table, eventual runner-up Christopher Franco knocked out Christian Fernandez and Matias Scaffo in a massive three-way all-in to take the chip lead. Franco held pocket tens and they held up against Fernandez's pocket sixes and Scaffo's suited ace-king. Fernandez had the shortest stack and finished in ninth while Scaffo took eighth place.
Andres Viola was the next to go in seventh place when he got the last of his short stack in the middle holding queen-ten against Garcia's king-eight and got no help from the board. Day 1 chip leader Martin Crosa hit the rail in sixth when he lost a coin flip holding pocket tens against Franco's ace-jack. Alejandro Lopez fell in fifth when he jammed preflop with queen-jack and failed to improve against Garcia's king-nine.
Argentinian Ernesto Panno, who finished in fourth place in the $1,650 Main Event earlier this week for $29,880, took fourth in this tournament, as well. He made his exit when he shoved holding ace-ten and got a caller from Franco with king-nine only to see his preflop advantage evaporate when the flop paired his opponent's king. Jean Sierra departed in third when he couldn't win a race holding ace-eight suited against Franco's pocket sixes.
The heads-up battle between Garcia and Franco lasted for over two hours. Franco had a small chip lead at the beginning and Garcia slowly accummulated the larger stack without any huge pots. In fact, the only hand of heads-up play in which there was an all-in and a call was the final one. Franco opened from the button, Garcia three-bet, Franco four-bet jammed, and Garcia called holding two black tens. Franco showed two black eights and Garcia's hand was still best when the final card hit the felt. When he posed for his winner's photo several minutes later, he was still shaking with excitement. The two tens which had been his vehicle to victory fluttered slightly in his unsteady hand as the surrounding cameras snapped away.
Even at the moment Garcia took the title, the atmosphere in the room was rather subdued. A small rotating cast of players lined the rail throughout final table play, including Leo Fernandez for a time. Just a handful remained by the time the tournament drew to a close on the final day of the first-ever PokerStars Festival Uruguay. And although the action in Punta del Este has concluded, the PokerStars Festival Dublin kicks off in just a few days. Be sure to check back for updates on the action starting on September 27 from the PokerNews live reporting team.