button in SafariExpectant Father Yuri Dzivielevski Cements Brazil Legacy With $2.8M WSOP Victory
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Yuri Dzivielevski has won six World Series of Poker bracelets, but none of them brought him to tears quite like this one.
Moments after defeating Teun Mulder heads-up in Event #36: $100,000 High Roller, the Brazilian stepped away from the table and called home. As friends and fellow players celebrated around him, Dzivielevski struggled to hold back the waterworks after capturing the biggest score of his career and the first WSOP bracelet of his career in No-Limit Hold'em.
"This one was very emotional," Dzivielevski said. "This is the game that I dedicate my whole life for. That's the reason for the tears."
$100,000 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | $2,841,432 |
| 2 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | $1,894,282 |
| 3 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | $1,326,537 |
| 4 | Alexandros Theologis | Greece | $950,048 |
| 5 | Christopher Nguyen | Germany | $696,221 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen | United States | $522,347 |
| 7 | Biao Ding | China | $401,446 |
| 8 | Sam Soverel | United States | $316,234 |
| 9 | Martin Kabrhel | Czechia | $255,491 |
Bracelet number six elevated Dzivielevski into elite company. He now shares 18th place on the all-time WSOP bracelet leaderboard with a decorated group that includes Jason Mercier, Jeremy Ausmus, Kristen Foxen, Brian Hastings, Chris Ferguson, Jeffrey Lisandro, Ted Forrest, T.J. Cloutier, Jay Heimowitz, and the late Layne Flack.
The victory earned him $2,841,432 from the $11,040,000 prize pool, and came against a field of 115 entries in the second-largest buy-in event of the 2026 WSOP. Yet the money and prestige were only part of the story.
"I came to the series without my family. My wife is pregnant. All of these things together made me cry and be very, very emotional, more than usual"
"I came to the series without my family. My wife is pregnant. All of these things together made me cry and be very, very emotional, more than usual."
The couple are expecting their second son in mid-July, a date that will see Dzivielevski leave Las Vegas before the WSOP reaches its conclusion.
"I'll have to skip the Main Event, unfortunately, at the end of the series, but it's for the best reason," he said.
For most players, a result like this would define a career. For Dzivielevski, it was simply the latest stop in a run that stretches back more than six months.
A Heater That Keeps Delivering
In December, Dzivielevski recorded a then-career-best score of $1,409,000 at WSOP Paradise. February brought another huge score as he dominated the PokerGO Tour Mixed Games Series, winning twice and finishing runner-up twice, including a victory in the $100,000 Super High Roller Bowl: Mixed Games worth $1.3 million. Yet somehow, this one topped them all.
Dzivielevski didn't even enter the $100,000 High Roller until the final level of late registration. After a long day bouncing between tournaments, he decided he wasn't in the right frame of mind to jump into the six-figure buy-in event on Day 1.
"I was very stressed, to be honest," he said. "I played two tournaments on the same day and when I busted the second tournament, I was not feeling good. My head was not prepared to play my best."
Instead, he headed home, got some rest, and returned the next day.
"It worked out," he said.
Still Sharp in Hold'em
While many associate Dzivielevski with mixed games, he insists No-Limit Hold'em remains a huge part of his life, and that he's never been better at it, as shown by the six eliminations he recorded on the final table.
"People think that because I'm playing other games, I'm rusty in No-Limit Hold'em, but it's the opposite," he said.
"I have a poker school and a poker team in Brazil called Reg Life, and I need to be sharp to give my best to the students."
The final table certainly offered little room for mistakes. Mulder, Alex Kulev, Alexandros Theologis, Christopher Nguyen, Alex Foxen, Martin Kabrhel, Sam Soverel and Biao Ding all took their shot at the title, but Dzivielevski remained one of the steadiest players throughout.
Even when Kabrhel and Foxen spent much of the opening level exchanging words, Dzivielevski was never distracted by the theatrics.
"I basically don't care," he said. "I just block it and keep doing what I have to do."
That same approach carried him through the biggest moments of the tournament. While Mulder produced one of the strongest final table performances of the summer to reach heads-up play, Dzivielevski never looked rattled as the two battled for the bracelet, even when he faced a 4:1 chip deficit.
"I was prepared. I was calm," he said. "I don't get emotionally attached to these things, and I think it makes me perform better under pressure."
Six bracelets into a career that already ranks among the finest in Brazilian poker history, Dzivielevski finally got the one he'd always wanted.
