The first-ever WPT Brasil was completed last night at Infinity Blue Resort & Spa in Balneário Camboriú, Brazil, where the event was hosted. Local player Raphael Francisquetti took down the R$1,500 Main Event to collect a first-place prize of R$781,546 and the tournament trophy.
The player emerged as the winner after entering the final day of play as the chip leader and maintaining his advantage for the greater part of the day.
The WPT Brasil Main Event, part of the schedule of the inaugural WPT Brasil presented by Brasil Poker Live, took place from August 23 through August 29. The tournament featured a guaranteed prize pool of R$2 million, which was later on swollen all the way up to R$4,269,746. Here it is important to note that the tournament attracted great interest among players from Brazil and the rest of South America. There were 3,386 entries to participate in the inaugural edition of the event.
Rafael Francisquetti wins first-ever #WPTBrasil! pic.twitter.com/ggvwCG3tIg
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) 30 August 2017
Final Day Recap
The final day of the tournament kicked off on Tuesday at the host venue with 18 hopefuls left out of the above-mentioned massive field. It was namely Francisquetti who led the survivors into Day 4 play. The player held 14.350 million in chips at the time cards were thrown in the air at the two nine-handed tables.
The official final table of nine was set with the elimination of local player Ivo Ferreira in tenth place. The player was paid R$44,700 for his deep run into the tournament. Francisquetti was the player to lead the nine finalists into the event’s closing stage. He had 26.425 million in chips at that point.
Alex Gelinski with 19.075 million and Fernando Konishi with 12.45 million were the other two players that had passed the 10-million mark at the beginning of final table play.
Chips swung back and forth for several hours, players saw their stacks go up and down, but Francisquetti never lost control of the field. Gelinski was the closest to him over the course of play, but never too close. The player was eventually eliminated in third place for R$307,800. However, it was not Francisquetti who set the heads-up match, but his final opponent Fernando Akyo Konishi.
The eventual winner entered two-handed battle holding 55.6 million in chips, while Konishi was trailing behind with 45.78 million. It was a relatively short match, during which Francisquetti only increased his advantage, robbing his opponent of his chips.
The final hand for the evening and the tournament as a whole occurred when Konishi bet 2.4 million pre-flop and Francisquetti three-bet to 5.9 million. Konishi then shoved to see his opponent call.
Francisquetti tabled [Jc][Js] against Konishi’s [Jd][7s]. A blank [Ah][Qc][4s][9s][2s] board secured Francisquetti with the title and the first-place prize. Konishi hit the rail in second place, putting an end to excellent performance in the tournament. The player collected R$469,700 for his deep run.
