Gabriel Nobrega Sets the Pace on Day 1a of R$25,000 Millions Championship
It was the opening flight of the 2024 BSOP R$25,000 Millions Championship in what turned out to be busier than expected for the tournament staff in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A total of 187 entries were recorded for Day 1a and the field was dwindled down to just 69 players when the lights were turned out. Gabriel Nobrega emerged as the chip leader with a healthy stack of 738,000 chips as he hopes to capture his third BSOP title of the year.
Nobrega is well-known in the Brazilian poker community, having earned his first live poker title back in 2018. From then, it's been a flurry of results for the Sao Paulo native who loves playing in his hometown. Nobrega has amassed over $600,000 in live earnings including the BSOP Main Event from earlier this year where he pocketed over $144,000. He also took down the Deepstack event two days earlier this summer as he appears to be running on a wealth of confidence.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriel Nobrega | Brazil | 738,000 | 123 |
| 2 | Matheus Grazziotin | Brazil | 678,000 | 113 |
| 3 | Joao Pontes | Brazil | 643,000 | 107 |
| 4 | Elson Pessette | Brazil | 635,000 | 106 |
| 5 | Herbert Farias | Brazil | 585,000 | 98 |
| 6 | Joao Valli | Brazil | 561,000 | 94 |
| 7 | Fabio Bezerra | Brazil | 496,000 | 83 |
| 8 | Jose Triana | Colombia | 487,000 | 81 |
| 9 | Lucas Rocha | Brazil | 457,000 | 76 |
| 10 | Dennys Ramos | Brazil | 437,000 | 73 |
It was over 12 hours ago that the action got underway with 35 players taking their seats for the shuffle-up and deal announcement. The field quickly grew over the course of the day, much to the delight of tournament staff. A promising R$10,000,000 guaranteed prizepool is sure to hit over the next two starting flights and could quite potentially double that.
There were quite a few notable Brazilian players who took to the felt throughout the day including Alexandre Mantovani, Pedro Neves, and Pablo Brito Silva. However, none of them were able to make it through to Day 2 as of yet. Some other notables that were in the Day 1a field that failed to advance included PokerStars ambassador Parker Talbot, Joao Vieira, Santiago Plante, and Richard Dubini.
There will be a few notables and big stacks to keep an eye on moving forward including Dennys Ramos (437,000), Rafael Furtanello (421,000), and Brazilian high-stakes player Joao Simao (213,000). These players all have a long resume of accomplishments in the poker world and will be some of the favorites heading into the latter stages of the tournament.
The second of three starting flights is on the schedule for tomorrow with another 12 hours of poker slated to take place over 10 levels. As always, the PokerNews team will be on the tournament floor to bring you all of the live updates throughout the day .