Poker Writer
The Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Millions has established the growing popularity of the game in South America, setting a record for the largest tournament prize pool in the continent’s history with over $4 million USD awarded in the Main Event. The BSOP had claimed in advance that the series would set a Brazilian record, and delivered on that promise.
The premier event of the BSOP Millions series at the Sheraton WTC in São Paolo was the $6,000 BSOP Championship. It saw 714 entrants playing for the $4 million guarantee prizepool. Brazilian local Alen Fillipi won the grand prize of $683,600 in a final table of eight Brazilians, alongside one familiar player from Czechia. The foreigner at the table was none other than Martin Kabrhel, who was one of the standout players at this summer’s WSOP.
The BSOP Millions series also achieved the milestone of having the first six-figure buy-in tournament in Brazil. The Super High Roller Main Event had a $100,000 buy-in, which served to attract global high rollers who might otherwise stick to North America, Asia, and Europe. That event drew 36 entries and was won by Zdenek Zizka for $1.2 million. That event was a part of the BSOP Super High Roller Series, which included a total of eight events.
Poker Growth in Brazil
This year’s prize pool was nearly double that of the 2024 version of the BSOP Millions championship. That event had a prize pool of just over $2 million with 503 entries.
The series is growing rapidly. Those numbers for the 2024 BSOP were themselves a 60% increase from the year prior. The 2025 version saw attendance improve in tandem with an increase in the buy-in — a rare feat, given that cost and turnout and usually inversely proportional.
Brazilians are known for their passion for a variety of sports and patriotic support for their athletes. This is evident in the UFC’s Caio Borralho and the Fighting Nerds, alongside more familiar areas of Brazilian excellence, most notably international soccer.
Poker is now taking on similar status as a popular, mainstream activity in Brazil, with many treating it like a spectator sport. Brazilians have applied their boisterous fandom to the game, with Brazilian rails becoming synonymous with loud cheering at WSOP events in recent years. When a Brazilian has made it to the final table, the whole room inevitably knows about it.
There has also been an explosion of Brazilian poker influencers on social media, with WPT Global Ambassador Romulo Dorea leading the way with 193,000 followers. The Brazilian poker pro has the most followers of Brazilian poker players as he describes himself as the “Largest Brazilian Poker Vlogger in the World” on his Instagram.
