Leo Rizzo Blasts His Way to the Top on Day 1 of the BSOP $50,000 Super High Roller
“Pow, pow, pow!”
If that cry rings throughout the room inside Sao Paulo’s WTC Sheraton, it means Leonardo Rizzo won another pot. And the gregarious Rizzo did a lot of winning on Day 1 of the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Super High Roller Series R$250,000 ($50,000 US) Super High Roller.
Rizzo ended up with 1,000,000 and in second place among the 15 players who survived the day. He needed to fire a second bullet after busting early, but he then began his ascent to the top when he rivered a better two pair to knock out Gabriel Tavares. “Eliminacao!” he yelled out. Rizzo then rivered a straight to bust Renan Bruschi, before finally snapping off Iago Savino with a turned two pair to beat Savino’s top pair for another knockout. His trademark cry then rang out: “Pow, pow, pow!”
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felipe Boianovsky | Brazil | 1,045,000 | 52 |
| 2 | Leonardo Rizzo | Brazil | 1,000,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Vladimir Minko | Russia | 900,000 | 45 |
| 4 | Pedro Padilha | Brazil | 780,000 | 39 |
| 5 | Joao Simao | Brazil | 750,000 | 35 |
| 6 | Ottomar Ladva | Estonia | 665,000 | 34 |
| 7 | Rodrigo Selouan | Brazil | 655,000 | 33 |
| 8 | Rafael Mota | Brazil | 600,000 | 30 |
| 9 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | 580,000 | 29 |
| 10 | Thiago Crema | Brazil | 565,000 | 28 |
Rizzo is looking up only at Felipe Boianovsky (1,045,000). Boianovsky needed some good fortune to end up as the chip leader. He had most of his stack in the middle with two queens, while Marcelo Aziz was all in with a flush draw. Aziz hit his flush on the turn, but Boianovsky spiked a queen on the river to make a full house and earn the knockout.
Vladimir Minko (900,000), Pedro Padilha (780,000), and Joao Simao (750,000) round out the top five. Other players bagging up chips at the end of the night included Ottomar Ladva (665,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (580,000), Thiago Crema (565,000), and Vladas Tamasauskas (495,000).
Martin Kabrhel, a day after winning the $30,000 Super High Roller, needed four bullets before he finally made it through, bagging up a short stack of 280,000. Alisson Piekazewicz (270,000) and Zdenek Zizka (175,000) are at the bottom of the counts going to Day 2.
Among the players who couldn’t survive the day were Fabiano Kovalski, Ivan Luca, Kelvin Kerber, Daniel Rezaei, and $20,000 Super High Roller champion Mehdi Chaoui. They still have until the start of play tomorrow to reenter for another shot at the title.
Day 1 saw 37 total entries, but that number should grow by the time late registration closes at the start of Day 2 at 2 p.m. The official prize pool will be announced shortly after play begins. The action picks up on Level 13 with blinds of 10,000/20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante, making the starting stack worth just over 12 big blinds.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow following all the action as the field plays down to a champion.