Rafael Mota Leads Star Studded Field Into Day 2 of $10,000 SHR Invitational
The opening day of the $10,000 Super High Roller Invitational delivered a strong start to the 2025 BSOP Super High Roller Series at the WTC Sheraton in São Paulo, as both BSOP-invited players and their chosen professionals took their seats for this unique split-field format.
The card room filled steadily as the event got underway, with the BSOP guests competing in one field and the professionals battling in another. In total, the field grew to 106 entries for Day 1, each playing through twelve 30-minute levels. By the time the bags came out, just 48 players remained.
Bagging the most chips and leading the way into Day 2, Rafael Mota amassed a stack of 1,333,000. When the fields merge for Day 2, and the players empty their chips onto the felt, Mota will have 111 big blinds to work with.
Hot on his heels, Alisson Piekazewicz, closed the day with 1,098,000, while Fabio Sanchez completed the podium places with 1,070,000.
Despite the international firepower in the field, the Brazilian contingent held strong, claiming all ten spots in the top chip counts.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rafael Mota | Brazil | 1,333,000 | 111 |
| 2 | Alisson Piekazewicz | Brazil | 1,098,000 | 92 |
| 3 | Fabio Sanchez | Brazil | 1,070,000 | 89 |
| 4 | Pedro Padilha | Brazil | 901,000 | 75 |
| 5 | Daniel De Almeida | Brazil | 838,000 | 70 |
| 6 | Marcelo Torii | Brazil | 830,000 | 69 |
| 7 | Ramon Silva | Brazil | 811,000 | 68 |
| 8 | Vinicius Rezende | Brazil | 779,000 | 65 |
| 9 | Leonardo Rizzo | Brazil | 645,000 | 54 |
| 10 | Felipe Boianovsky | Brazil | 613,000 | 51 |
The field featured no shortage of star power, with household names from Brazil and beyond taking their seats throughout the day. Many of them navigated the action successfully, with players such as Martin Kabrhel (554,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (551,000), Joao Simao (421,000), Renan Bruschi (176,000) and Masato Yokosawa (103,000), all punching their ticket to Day 2.
Day 2 gets underway on Saturday, November 15, at 2:00 p.m., with both fields merging into a single lineup. Players will still have the option to re-enter should they be eliminated, with re-entries available until the start of Level 14.
The action resumes at Level 13, with blinds at 6,000/12,000 and a 12,000 big blind ante, and the plan is simple: play until a champion is crowned.
Fans can follow every moment as coverage will be streamed from the start of Day 2—on a 30-minute delay—across both YouTube and Twitch.
Be sure to stay tuned as PokerNews brings you chip counts, updates, and all the action from the 2025 BSOP SHR Series here in São Paulo.