This Thursday (18th) could be historic for Brazilian poker. Belarmino Souza will represent the green and yellow flag at the final table of the US$ 25,000 Super Main Event of the WSOP Paradise, fighting for the bracelet and a prize of US$ 10 million. He is among the eight qualifiers for the decisive round.
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Belarmino Souza was able to advance on Day 4 of the competition, which took place this Wednesday (17th) in the Bahamas. The stage began with 24 remaining players from a field of 2,891 entries and play continued until only eight remained. The Brazilian has the fourth largest stack in the partial count, with 150,000,000 chips.
The chip leader is Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel, with 567,000,000 chips, a notable advantage over the second-place player, Bernhard Binder, who has 211,000,000. The final decision will feature only two players who already have a bracelet: Eric Wasserson and Franco Spitale.
Belarmino Souza was on the brink
Belarmino Souza’s journey has already been a comeback. This is because, when the final table began, the Brazilian had only 4 big blinds, and everything indicated that he would be the last eliminated on Day 4. However, Souza won a big pot against Binder, winning a cooler of flush against a straight, and gained a second chance.
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Brazil had advanced to Wednesday’s round with three representatives, and two of them were eliminated. Iuri Ribeiro also did well and came close to the FT, finishing in 11th place for US$ 665,875, a true big hit. Shortly before, Felipe Mojave left the competition in 23rd place, collecting US$ 415,000.
Brazilian poker record at stake
Should Belarmino Souza reach the heads-up of the Super Main Event, he will already be the owner of the new record prize for Brazilian poker. And this feat would come in the same tournament where Marcelo Aziz set the mark. A year ago, he finished in second place in the competition, earning US$ 4.6 million.
However, the runner-up of the 2025 Super Main Event will take home US$ 6 million, surpassing the record. For the champion, the prize of US$ 10 million plus the bracelet is reserved, and all eight finalists of the Final Day have already secured seven figures, with US$ 1.1 million being the minimum payout. The grand final takes place starting at 2 PM (Brasília time) this Thursday, with blinds at 2,000,000/4,000,000 with a 4,000,000 ante.
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Check the complete chip count:
| Name | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| Jean-Noel Thorel | France | 567,000,000 |
| Bernhard Binder | Austria | 211,000,000 |
| Natasha Mercier | Lebanon | 165,000,000 |
| Belarmino Souza | Brazil | 150,000,000 |
| Eric Wasserson | USA | 130,500,000 |
| Terrance Reid | USA | 114,500,000 |
| Peter Chien | Canada | 76,000,000 |
| Franco Spitale | Argentina | 33,000,000 |
