The world’s greatest athletes have all gathered in Paris, France for the Summer Olympics and while poker isn’t an Olympic sport – or maybe even a sport at all – WPT.com couldn’t help but take the opportunity to imagine what it just might look like if some of the world’s best poker players were representing their country in Paris.
In the true Olympic spirit, each country’s “organizing committee” was tasked with filling a five-person roster consisting of a specialist in each of the following:
- No Limit Hold’em Tournament
- Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
- Mixed Game Tournament
- Heads-Up No Limit Tournament
- No Limit Hold’em Cash Game
The five players would also be accompanied by a coach from their country. Each player would compete ONLY in their respective discipline, earning not only individual glory – medals available for each event – but also team points that lead to gold, silver, and bronze medals for the top performing country.
With that in mind, we’ve put together teams from Canada, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Great Britain, and the United States with insight from some of the top journalists in poker. Today, we present to you the 2024 Brazilian Olympic Poker team, with insights from Gabriel Grilo of Super Poker.
No Limit Hold’em Tournament
Brunno Botteon
When it comes to online No Limit Hold’em tournaments, few modern players can match the success of Brunno Botteon. Most notably, Botteon finished second to Damian Salas in the International version of the online WSOP Main Event in 2020, recording a career-best cash of $1,062,723. In all Botteon has accumulated well over $10 million in career online tournament earnings, including a WCOOP title in 2021, a $764,665 payday for winning the $1,500 GG World Championship in May of this year and several other notable titles.
“Botteon is definitely up there, especially if we’re talking about an ‘Olympic cycle’ of four years,” said Grillo. “He’s not the most active player right now, but he is definitely worthy of the spot. I’d say Felipe Boianovsky and Pedro Padilha are also two fair names to consider in this category.”
In this format Botteon will have to contend with some true giants in the game of poker. The biggest question would be whether or not his limited live experience could play a factor, although 2023 was far and away the most active period of live tournament results in Botteon’s career thus far.
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
João Simão
When it comes to Pot Limit Omaha, few Brazilian players can match the credentials of João Simão. In 2022, Simão won his second career WSOP bracelet and recorded a career-best result of $686,242 in a half Pot Limit Omaha, half No Limit Hold’em event. Simão also has a PokerGO Tour PLO win, a $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha side event win at the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and a third-place finish in the 2024 WSOP $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship.
“Also a great choice,” said Grilo, “He’s been known for his PLO skills for many years and has the results to back it up, even if he’s kept a lower profile for the past few years.”
Simão is well-established with 15 years of results and over $7.2 million in live tournament earnings on his resume, making him a clear choice as a No. 1 in this format. But Grilo points to another Brazilian on the rise in PLO to keep an eye out for, who just so happened to finish fourth in the 2022 WSOP PLO/NLH event that Simão won and took down a WSOP PLO bracelet of his own at WSOP Paradise back in December.
“Another name would be Dante Goya Fernandes,” said Grilo. “He’s known as one of the biggest Brazilian PLO players, won a bracelet last year, and has great results online, too.”
No Limit Hold’em Cash Game
Romulo Dorea
For some American poker fans, the first time they read the name Romulo Dorea was when he made the final table of WPT Voyage back in April, finishing in sixth place. But Dorea built up a significant following as a full-time poker vlogger.
Born in Belem, Brazil, the 29-year-old moved to Chicago to play college soccer and now travels between Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Florida, and Texas playing in cash games and vlogging about his adventures to more than 100,000 in Portuguese to a predominantly Brazilian audience. Dorea has proven himself capable of performing when the cameras are on and the lights are bright.
“I think Romulo is a fair name if we consider the live cash game scene in the US, and he also excels as a content creator,” said Grilo.
Grilo also pointed towards a strong secondary option in this format.
“The biggest Brazilian name is Mateus Carrion de Moraes, aka ‘Zinhão,’ said Grilo. “He has a cash game stable and plays higher stakes.”
Mixed Game Tournament
Yuri Dzivelevski
When it comes to listing the most successful Brazilian tournament poker players in the world, it’s difficult not to consider Yuri Dzivelevski in the No. 1 spot. He’s a five-time WSOP bracelet winner with $6.6 million in total lifetime live tournament earnings. All but one of those WSOP wins came in a non-Hold’em format, and Dzivelevski also has a runner-up finish in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
When it comes to online poker, Dzivelevski is a six-time PokerStars WCOOP champion with over $15 million in total online tournament earnings.
“No argument here,” said Grilo. “Yuri is the biggest name in the history of poker in Brazil and plays all games really well.”
There’s also no questioning his work ethic or ambition, which could be vital attributes when it comes to driving Team Brazil forward.
“I always say that I’ll overcome Phil Hellmuth [by the time I reach] his age,” Dzivielevski told Jeff Walsh in July. “It’s in jest, but there’s a grain of truth. Bracelets are awesome because of the memories you create. I play poker as a job, for the money, but winning bracelets turns it into more of a special activity, giving me awesome memories that I’ll have forever.”
Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
Thiago Nishijima
On a Team Brazil that seeks to balance between several generations of players, Thiago Nishijima brings another veteran presence into the equation. With live results that go back well over 15 years, Nishijima is a WSOP bracelet winner with $2.2 million in lifetime live tournament results and a number of other WSOP and WPT Main Tour final tables under his belt. He also has a $1,558,000 PokerStars WCOOP title back in 2009, with well over $4 million in lifetime online tournament earnings.
Nishijima has taken a step back from traveling the worldwide tournament circuit in recent years, with all of his live results dating back to 2019 coming at events in Brazil, but his heads-up bonafides are undeniable.
“When the Global Poker League happened, he was chosen as the heads-up player for the Sao Paulo Metropolitans,” said Grilo. “Thiago doesn’t really grind nowadays, but he’s still a big name in Brazilian poker history. He used to be the only Brazilian to play the $25K Heads-Up Championship at the WSOP.”
Coach for Team Brazil
Andre Akkari
When it comes to poker in Brazil, the first name that comes to mind is likely Andre Akkari. He was the second Brazilian player in poker history to win a WSOP bracelet when he recorded his $1,500 No Limit Hold’em victory in 2011; Alexandre Gomes was the first Brazilian bracelet winner, in 2008. Akkari continues to be a serious challenger in any event he plays, recording an EPT Barcelona final table in August 2023 and a second-place finish in a $2022 WSOP $2,500 Nine Game Mix event.
While he’d be a worthy player in most of the events, Akkari’s experience and connections within the Brazilian poker community are unmatched. Just as we’ve seen celebrities and world-famous athletes flock to watch other games during the 2024 Paris Games thus far, it wouldn’t come as any shock to see the legendary Neymar in attendance for an Akkari-coached Team Brazil.
“You can never go wrong with Akkari, as he’s probably the most important name in Brazilian poker,” said Grilo.
Coaching staffs run deep in most sports, and Akkari could also pull from a deep pool of candidates in terms of setting Team Brazil up for success.
“You could also put Felipe Mojave there as somebody with a big following and respect from the community,” said Grilo.
Stats courtesy of The Hendon Mob/GPI