Neymar Finishes Sixth in BSOP Sao Paulo High Roller to Player Delight
The Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Sao Paulo made headlines this week when football superstar Neymar Jr. was one of 288 entrants to jumped into the R$7,000 ($1,850) High Roller. He bagged the fourth biggest stack among the 19 survivors, and then upon making the final table his eight opponents agreed to come back a day later to allow him to attend a wedding as best man.
Prado: "To see the interest of a person like Neymar Jr. for this game is very gratifying."
On Wednesday, the final table returned to action at the WTC Sheraton with Neymar sitting sixth in chips. Fittingly, that is where he busted for R$79,440 ($21,470) after being on the bad end of a flush over flush cooler.
Another player at the final table was Eyal Bensimhon (pictured below in pink hat), who last year won the World Series of Poker International Circuit Rotterdam Main Event for $112,709. Bensimhon busted after defending his big blind with four-five and flopping two pair. Unfortunately for him, his opponent held pocket fives and Bensimhon hit the rail in eighth place for R$42,870 ($11,562).
“Playing with him was one of the best experiences I had in my poker career,” Bensimhon told PokerNews about playing with Neymar. “On the bubble final I open with queens under, he three-bet me from the small blind with nines, and I jammed. He took a while and called off. The flop came with a queen and two nines. He doubled up through me with quads. After it happen I told him that now as a compensation he must tag me on his Instagram story, and he did it twice! A few hours later I had 3,200 more followers and counting. Plus I got a story to tell my grandchildren.”
In the end, the title came down to two-time LAPT champ Oscar Alache and reigning BSOP Player of the Year Affif Prado. The two agreed to a heads-up deal and then played it out. In the final hand, Alache got it in with pocket fours only to run smack dab into Prado’s jacks.
"It was great to see him play, both for the illustrious person that he is and for the passion he has for the game," Prado told the PokerStars Blog about playing with Neymar. "It was cool to see him making plays, because he studies, he watches, and to see the interest of a person like Neymar Jr. for this game is very gratifying. Not to mention the boom this has generated today, this is sure to reflect even more for poker."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Affif Prado | Brazil | R$317,800* | $85,709* |
| 2 | Oscar Alache | Chile | R$250,000* | $67,423* |
| 3 | Daniel Croce | Brazil | R$165,850 | $44,729 |
| 4 | Bruno Marino | Brazil | R$133,880 | $36,085 |
| 5 | Wender Oliveira | Brazil | R$104,960 | $28,307 |
| 6 | Neymar Jr. | Brazil | R$79,440 | $21,470 |
| 7 | Alejandro Lopez | Uruguay | R$58,350 | $15,737 |
| 8 | Eyal Benshimon | Israel | R$42,870 | $11,562 |
| 9 | Lucas Tabarin | Brazil | R$35,550 | $9,588 |
*Indicates a heads-up deal
The live stream saw more than 16,400 people tune in, and you can catch the replay below:
Photos by Carlos Monti of PokerStars
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