The attention of the poker community is fixated on the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) but it is not only Las Vegas where major poker events are taking place or have taken place. For example, the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Rio de Janeiro stop has just concluded while the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe festival is in full swing. Want to know what's gone down in them? Keep reading to find out.
Team PokerStars' Rafael Moraes Wins the BSOP Rio High Roller
Rafael Moraes is a member of Team PokerStars who plays at the online poker site under the alias "gm_valter." Moraes has a long list of recorded live poker tournament cashes to his name dating back to 2012. Five of those results were final table appearances at the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP).
Try as he may, Moraes never managed to turn any of those final table spots into a title. However, that all changed this week when he came out on top in the BSOP Rio de Janeiro High Roller event, a fantastic result that came with an R$290,000 top prize ($58,096).
Moraes battled his way through all but one of the 205 entrants to find himself heads-up against fellow Brazilian Junior Maia. The final hand saw al the chips go into the middle preflop, Moraes holding pocket nines and Maia king-eight of spades. An ace-high flop kept Moraes ahead but Maia picked up a flush draw on the turn. The river bricked and Moraes finally got the BSOP title he had long been hunting for.
BSOP Rio de Janeiro High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (BRL) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rafael Moraes | Brazil | R$290,000 | $58,096 |
| 2 | Junior Maia | Brazil | R$195,000 | $39,064 |
| 3 | Leo Rizzo | Brazil | R$135,100 | $27,064 |
| 4 | Thiago Tsukamoto | Brazil | R$110,350 | $22,106 |
| 5 | Jeferson Zaminhan | Brazil | R$86,200 | $17,268 |
| 6 | Andre Busato | Brazil | R$65,000 | $13,021 |
| 7 | Bruno Teching | Brazil | R$48,400 | $9,697 |
| 8 | Josiel da Cruz | Brazil | R$34,300 | $6,872 |
| 9 | Gouchi Grill | Argentina | R$29,250 | $5,860 |
Benitez Takes Down the BSOP Rio Main Event
Francisco Benitez, better known as "Tomatee" to online grinders, won the BSOP Rio de Janeiro Main Event, overcoming a field of 1,158 entrants to bank R$517,500 ($103,543). With his victory, Benitez became only the sixth non-Brazilian to triumph in a BSOP Main Event, joining Marcelo Jensen, Jhon Rua, Daniel Ateneloff, Gustavo Soler, and Hilario Quijada, the latter winning 2018.
Benitez sat down at the final table third in chips but found himself playing three-handed with 70% of the chips in play. He sealed his victory with a double elimination. All the chip went into the middle with Benitez holding ace-ten against the pocket kings of Carlos Villalba and the sevens of Carlos Arthur. The five community cards fell five-three-queen-four-deuce to improve Benitez to a straight, busting two opponents at the same time, locking in the title.
BSOP Rio de Janeiro Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (BRL) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francisco Benitez | Uruguay | R$517,500 | $103,543 |
| 2 | Carlos Villalba | Argentina | R$308,160 | $61,657 |
| 3 | Carlos Arthur | Brazil | R$216,860 | $43,385 |
| 4 | Matheus Freitas | Brazil | R$163,000 | $32,610 |
| 5 | Mario Niciforo | Argentina | R$124,300 | $24,867 |
| 6 | Marcelo Medeiros | Brazil | R$91,300 | $18,268 |
| 7 | Matias Lucero | Argentina | R$69,200 | $13,846 |
| 8 | Alfredo Zanotta | Brazil | R$49,450 | $9,894 |
| 9 | Andres dos Santos | Argentina | R$38,480 | $7,699 |
Teun Mulder and Luca Stevanato Win MILLIONS Europe Events
If you tuned into PokerNews earlier this week you will have read about how Team PokerStars' Ramon Colillas won the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe Open event for €45,000. Two other stars got their hands on winner's trophies and bankroll-boosting prizes in Barcelona.
Luca Stevanato won the €2,200 Warm Up and collected the €65,000 top prize after a drama-filled final table. Arthur Conan finished ninth in the Open event and ninth in the Warm Up, too.
The shallow stacks resulted in a lot of all-in action and it looked at one stage that Finland Mathias Siljander would walk away with the title because he won several key hands. The likes of Matthias Lipp, Teun Mulder, Firat Baltaci, and Vincent Huang bowed out.
Siljander held a commanding lead at the start of four-handed play but lost a large post with king-queen versus ace-king then his ace-seven lost to the pocket nines of Tomasz Kolewczynski and he headed to the cashier's cage to collect €22,640.
Andorra's Ignacio Molina crashed out in third, leaving Stevanato heads-up against Kolewczynski. The final hand saw Kolewczynski commit his last handful of blinds with king-seven, and Stevanato call with queen-ten. A queen on the river sealed the deal for the Italian.
MILLIONS Europe Warm Up Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luca Stevanato | Italy | €65,000 |
| 2 | Tomasz Kolewczynski | Poland | €46,000 |
| 3 | Ignacio Molina | Andorra | €32,000 |
| 4 | Mathias Siljander | Finland | €22,640 |
| 5 | Vincent Huang | Australia | €16,500 |
| 6 | Firat Baltaci | Hungary | €13,500 |
| 7 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | €11,218 |
| 8 | Matthias Lipp | Austria | €8,800 |
| 9 | Arthur Conan | France | €7,200 |
Teun Mulder came out on top in the €10,300 buy-in High Roller, a tournament that saw 10 players enter. Only two spots were paid, and it was Steve O'Dwyer who eliminated Gergely Kulcsar in third, with king-three versus jack-seven, to burst the bubble.
O'Dwyer soared into a 3:1 lead at one stage before Mulder rivered trip queens when O'Dwyer had paired his ace, and Mulder was paid off handsomely
The final hand saw Mulder flop a straight with ace-three when O'Dwyer had made a pair with his queen-five. Mulder check-raised the flop before calling when O'Dwyer stuck a raise of his own. Mulder check-raised all in an on ace turn, and O'Dwyer called only to be shown the bad news. The river was another ace, and Mulder became the High Roller champion.
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