"I Knew It Was My Day"; Alen Fillipi Wins the Record-Shattering BSOP Championship
It took nearly 20 years for the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) to reach this point, and a sudden flash for Alen Fillipi to etch his name in the record books.
The BSOP promised to host the largest poker tournament in Latin American history this week at the WTC Sheraton in São Paulo, with a massive R$20,000,000 ($4,000,000 US) guaranteed prize pool. The R$30,000 ($6,000) BSOP Championship lived up to the billing, drawing 714 players from across the globe to Brazil’s metropolis, each trying to make history.
Fillipi, the local São Paulo native, was the one left standing, defeating Matheus Grazziotin on the first hand of heads-up play to take home the R$3,418,000 ($683,600 US) top prize and the trophy that forever cements his place in Brazilian poker lore.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (R$) | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alen Fillipi | Brazil | R$3,418,000* | $683,600* |
| 2 | Matheus Grazziotin | Brazil | R$2,115,000* | $423,000* |
| 3 | Diones Lopes | Brazil | R$2,597,000* | $519,400* |
| 4 | Pedro Padilha | Brazil | R$1,150,000 | $230,000 |
| 5 | Ramiro Araujo | Brazil | R$850,000 | $170,000 |
| 6 | Gregory Fabião | Brazil | R$620,000 | $124,000 |
| 7 | Giorgio Tonin | Brazil | R$475,000 | $95,000 |
| 8 | Bernardo Soares | Brazil | R$350,000 | $70,000 |
| 9 | Martin Kabrhel | Czechia | R$275,000 | $55,000 |
*Denotes three-handed deal
“It’s a dream. No matter what tournament we play, we always want to win, but we know how hard it is, especially in a high roller like this, where only the elite of poker are competing. You play because you have to persist,” Fillipi said through a translator after his victory.
“When I reached the final table, I was already very happy, and then things started happening. I had a really good day. I got lucky. I played well. It gave me a feeling that, honestly, I still can’t believe. I think I’ll only really process it later, when my blood cools down a bit, because my nerves are still running high.”
Fillipi had been playing at BSOP stops throughout the country since 2017, but had never taken home a title. He made the BSOP Main Event final table in 2021. He also finished seventh in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker at the 2022 WSOP, his largest career score before today, and was 83rd in the WSOP Main Event this summer. His win today nearly doubles his previous career earnings of $741,000.
Befitting the biggest title awarded on Brazilian soil, Fillipi was joined by a boisterous, overjoyed rail of supporters who, in true Brazilian fashion, erupted in celebration when he snapped off Grazziotin on the river during the final hand. “I’m also happy because (Eduardo Silva), a good friend of mine, shipped a High Roller, so it’s a double celebration. Just pure joy. It’s the biggest score of my life, and now I can play a little higher,” he said with a laugh.
Final Table Action
The final nine returned to the main feature stage inside the WTC Sheraton at 2 p.m. local time, having navigated through the massive field to set up a chance at history. Diones Lopes began as the chip leader with 14,810,000, while Fillipi was in the middle of the pack with 7,155,000. But it was a small miracle that Fillipi had gotten to this point. He was the chip leader back on Day 1, but entering play on Day 4, Fillipi was in last place among 24 players and needed a series of double ups to climb back into contention.
Martin Kabrhel, the headline-grabbing, highlight reel generating, controversial Czech superstar, was the short stack at the start of the day and quickly got in his last 3,300,000 with ace ten. Lopes, though, picked up ace king and held on to bust Kabrhel in ninth place.
After the final table got much quieter with Kabrhel’s departure, it soon became evident that the remaining eight players were in for a long night. Gregory Fabião first doubled up off Fillipi in a classic flip with queens against ace king, dropping Fillipi to the short stack. Fillipi doubled right back against Fabião in an aces versus kings cooler.
Fabião was all in again for 3,700,000, this time against Bernardo Soares, but spiked a flush on the river to beat Soares’ pocket eights and earn another double up. Soares then cracked Pedro Padilha’s kings with an ace on the river to stay alive, while Grazziotin’s turn to double up came when his tens beat Ramiro Araujo’s threes. Padilha then picked up kings once more, and they held up this time against Soares.
Finally, four hours after Kabrhel’s elimination, Soares got in his last 875,000 with a straight draw but missed the turn and river as Fillipi scored the knockout with king-high. Giorgio Tonin then moved all in for 2,000,000 with ace three but was dominated by Padilha’s ace queen as he busted in seventh.
Padilha pulled nearly even with Lopes atop the leaderboard when he doubled up with top pair against Lopes’ pair of eights. Fillipi then took the chip lead when he rivered a straight and got called for 1,700,000 by Lopes. As the remaining six players headed off on a 45-minute dinner break, Padilha had moved in front with 19,000,000, followed by Fillipi with 17,000,000.
Fabião was the next to fall, running his two eights into Fillipi’s kings as he was eliminated in sixth. Araujo then four-bet shoved for 7,900,000 with king-ten, but Grazziotin had ace king and called to put him at risk. Both players hit two pair, and Grazziotin’s ace-kicker played to send Araujo to the rail in fifth place.
Lopes moved up past 30,000,000 when he pulled off a big bluff with just nine-high on the river against Padilha, proudly hoisting his cards into the air and flashing them to his rail before taking in the pot. Shortly afterwards, Padilha committed most of his stack on the river with a bet of 5,200,000, leaving just 125,000 behind, but Fillipi had made the nut straight and shoved all in, forcing Padilha to lay down his hand. He was left with less than a big blind and was eliminated the next hand when Grazziotin turned a flush.
The final three players then paused the clock and agreed to a deal, Fillipi taking R$2,605,000 ($521,000 US), Lopes R$2,597,000 ($519,400 US), and Grazziotin R$2,115,000 ($423,000 US). That still left R$813,000 ($162,600 US), the trophy, and the title of BSOP champion to play for, and what had been a marathon final table soon became a sprint to the finish.
On the first hand of three-handed play, Lopes three-bet to 2,400,000 and Fillipi called. The flop came queen-high and Lopes continued for 2,500,000. Fillipi called, and Lopes bet another 4,200,000 on the turn. Fillipi then moved all in, and Lopes called for 23,000,000, creating a pot with 80 percent of the chips in play at stake. Lopes had top pair, while Fillipi was on a flush draw. The river gave Fillipi his flush and the massive pot, sending Lopes to the rail in third place.
Fillipi led Grazziotin 57,000,000 to 14,000,000 at the start of heads-up, and it took just one hand for them to get all the chips in the middle. In a limped pot, Grazziotin bet 2,800,000 on the turn and Fillipi called. Grazziotin then shoved the river with two pair, fives and fours, but Fillipi snap-called with jacks and fours to win the pot and take home the title.
Fillipi afterward reflected on the hand against Lopes that propelled him to the win, acknowledging that he felt like it was going to be his day. “When we made the deal, it already took some weight off me, like it or not. Diones is a guy who was putting a lot of pressure. Anyway, I won’t talk about the hand itself, but in that moment, I’ll be honest, I felt I was going to win it,” he said.
“Sometimes we just feel things. Just like I felt bad in that WSOP run, here I felt good, because everything was going right and I knew it was my day. But it takes a while to believe that. Deep down, we’re afraid something will go wrong, but thank God everything worked out, so I’m very happy.”
The BSOP began in 2006, steadily growing into a critically acclaimed tour and attracting attention from across Latin America and the world. The BSOP Championship was the pinnacle of all that success, a massive prize pool reflecting the growth of the tour over the last two decades. Fillipi ended up atop the summit, becoming the champion of a tournament the Brazilian poker community won’t soon forget.