2015 WSOP: Brazil's Thiago Nishijima Wins $3k NL For $546,843

Brazil has the most vocal supporters of any country across the world, and yesterday its poker fans had plenty of reason to celebrate, too, after Thiago Nishijima overcame a huge field of 989 players at Event #38: $3,000 No Limit Hold’em to claim a prestigious gold bracelet, as well as the top prize worth $546,843. Thiago “XTheDecanoX” Nishijima now boasts $1,660,499 in live tournament winnings to go with the $4,287,772 he has won online, and commenting on his latest victory said:
“This is the happiest day of my life, no doubt. I have to thank all of the Brazilians.. having them all here makes a big difference. With my confidence, with wanting to play good, and not wanting to let them down. I know they helped me to win today.”
Event #38 saw a total of 117 players receive cash payouts for their hard-fought efforts, and amongst the big name pros subsequently seeing a return on their $3k investment was Jackie Glazier in 91st ($5,561), Brian Rast in 52nd ($9,962), Chris Moorman in 32nd ($13,796), Aaron Massey in 25th ($16,523), Ryan Riess in 19th ($16,523), and Eric Baldwin in 15th ($24,731).
Day 4 of the tournament then saw five remaining players return to decide an ultimate winner, and following Samad Razavi‘s departure in 4th ($153,682), and Jesse Sylvia’s exit in 3rd ($211,731), heads-up play got underway between Thiago Nishijima and Greece’s Sotirios Koutoupas for the title.
As the final battle commenced, Thiago Nishijima held a 2-to-1 chip lead over his final opponent, and 40 hands later the deciding hand was then played with Koutoupas moving all-in preflop holding A-5, only to be called by Nishijima with A-9. The 4-4-2-6-4 board did nothing to change the balance, resulting in Koutoupas receiving $338,414 for his runner-up finish, while Thiago Nishijima walked away with a prestigious gold bracelet.
“I’ve waited for this moment for all my career,” explained an elated Nishijima. “I’ve played the WSOP since 2007. This is a dream come true. I am a professional poker player since 2006 and this is the dream. Everyone wants to get it.”
Final Table Results:
1 Thiago Nishijima $546,843
2 Sotirios Koutoupas $338,414
3 Jesse Sylvia $211,731
4 Samad Razavi $153,682
5 Yun Fan $113,452
6 Alexander Freund $85,049
7 Alexander Keating $64,691
8 Duncan McCallum $49,868
9 Steve Brecher $38,960