Lucas Rocha Leads the Charge as BSOP Championship Gathers Momentum
With two opening flights now in the books, the 2025 BSOP Championship is beginning to take shape.
On a day that saw 113 players descend on the WTC Sheraton in São Paulo, 47 players advanced from the flight, joining the 63 who progressed from Day 1a. All now have their seats secured for Day 2 and remain on course in their pursuit of a share of the R$20,000,000 ($4,000,000 USD) guaranteed prize pool.
In a field loaded with talent, it was Lucas Rocha who rose to the top. No stranger to the BSOP stage, Rocha already owns a BSOP Millions title from his victory in the 2022 R$10,000 NLH One-Day High Roller. Looking to add the BSOP Championship trophy to his collection, he made the ideal start by bagging 670,000.
Hot on his heels, fellow Brazilian Luigi Soncin closed the day with 625,000, which will be good for just under 105 big blinds when play resumes for Day 2.
Rounding out the podium—and flying the flag for Argentina—Felipe Campins advanced with 603,000. Campins is also a BSOP titleholder, having captured the 2024 Pot-Limit Omaha Challenge.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Rocha | Brazil | 670,000 | 112 |
| 2 | Luigi Soncin | Brazil | 625,000 | 104 |
| 3 | Felipe Campins | Argentina | 603,000 | 101 |
| 4 | Vinicius Goncalves | Brazil | 555,000 | 93 |
| 5 | Eduardo Silva | Brazil | 522,000 | 87 |
| 6 | Ivan Luca | Argentina | 501,000 | 84 |
| 7 | Alexandro Carvalho | Brazil | 484,000 | 81 |
| 8 | Thales Morelli | Brazil | 441,000 | 74 |
| 9 | Marcelo Silva | Brazil | 422,000 | 70 |
| 10 | David Mancera | Brazil | 411,000 | 69 |
Further down the leaderboard—but most importantly with chips safely bagged—players such as Ivan Luca (501,000), Allan Mello (318,000), Carlos Serrano (239,000), Breno Drumond (203,000), and Tauan Naves (56,000) also punched their tickets to Day 2.
But where stacks are built, they can just as quickly vanish. Renan Bruschi, Zdenek Zizka and Benny Glaser all registered at the last possible moment, hoping to spin up a stack, but none of the trio managed to gain traction.
Meanwhile, Rafael Mota, Sebastian Fonseca, Renan Meneguetti and Humberto Galindo were among those who took the long route, entering the flight earlier, yet met the same fate. All will now have to turn to another starting day if they wish to keep their BSOP Championship dreams alive.
With two more starting flights remaining, each allowing one re-entry per flight, there are plenty of opportunities for players, new and eliminated, to enter the fray in the coming days.
Day 1c is the next available chance to join the field, beginning at 2:00 p.m. local time on Monday, November 24.
BSOP Championship Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1c | November 24 | 2pm |
| Day 1d | November 25 | 2pm |
| Day 2 | November 26 | 2pm |
| Day 3 | November 27 | 2pm |
| Day 4 | November 28 | 2pm |
| Day 5 | November 29 | 2pm |
All starting flights will feature ten hour-long levels, with a 75-minute dinner break scheduled at the end of Level 6. Late registration will be available until the start of Level 9.
Players will start with a 100,000 stack, with blinds starting at 300/600 and a 600 big blind ante.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews, where you will get the latest updates, chip counts and major moments throughout the 2025 BSOP Championship.