Joao Simao Wins PLO High Roller for Fourth WSOP Bracelet on Father’s Day

Some Father’s Day presents are bigger than others, and in poker terms, proud Dad Joao Simao got a huge one on Sunday. Winning the $50,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller Event #55 in Las Vegas, the Brazilian took his fourth WSOP title. Along the way, he prevented three other finalists from winning their second gold of the summer as Simao’s fellow Brazilian Yuri Dzivielevski, Indian pro Santhosh Suvarna and Japan’s Naoya Kihara all fell just short of glory.

Early Levels Eliminate Three

When the final eight players sat down to play down to a winner in the $50,000 PLO High Roller WSOP bracelet event, there had been 102 eliminations before them. A prize pool of $5,225,000 paid 17 players, including stars of the felt such as Jeremy Ausmus (15^th for $102,800), Daniel Negreanu (11^th for $107,940) and Youness Barakat (9^th for $125,920), who bubbled the final table of eight.

It was the British player Robert Cowen who led the final table but as others started to fall, both Joao Simao and Santhosh Suvarna were often the ones holding the axe. Veselin Karakitukov fell in eighth for $152,020 before the Japanese WSOP 2026 bracelet winner Naoya Kihara cashed for $189,720. They had a full house of eights over tens but Simao’s tens over eights prevailed for a superior full house.

Back in December of last year, Simao claimed the third of his four bracelets by winning the $150,000 Triton NLHE 8-Max event at WSOP Paradise.  In doing so, he outlasted two fellow Brazilians three-handed, the eventual runner-up Felipe Boianovsky and the former online poker number one, Yuri Dzivielevski. Once again, Dzivielevski couldn’t beat his countryman here, sliding out in sixth place for $244,510 when his flopped top pair with a flush draw was beaten by Robert Cowen’s overpair of aces which faded turn and river to reduce the field to five players.

Cowen Goes from Hero to Zero

The Dutchman Carlo van Ravenswoud was the next player to depart, cashing in fifth place for a score of $325,080. All-in with a pair of jacks in his hand on a ten-high flop, he lost to Simao’s hand when the Brazilian paired the king in his hand as well as the ten on the turn.

Soon, the American player Venkat Chivukula busted in fourth place for $445,440. The last home country player in the field busted to the eventual runner-up as Santhosh Suvarna made two-pair on the flop and a full house on the turn, sending play three-handed. That was where it stayed for some time as Suvarna, Robert Cowen and Simao all held the chip lead for a spell.

Suvarna was all-in and at risk on a couple of occasions but bounced back to leave the British player Cowen under pressure. The proud Welshman had the nut flush draw along with top pair but Suvarna had flopped the straight and while he had no blockers to the flush, it didn’t come in and Cowen had to leave, cashing for $628,510 as he missed out on the final battle for the bracelet.

Simao Scores for ‘Tetra’ Triumph

“When Brazil won the World Cup for the fourth time, we used to call out ‘tetra, tetra’. It’s very special for Brazilian people.”

Heads-up, Santhosh Suvarna led his opponent as he looked to close out a special double of both the NLHE and PLO $50,000-entry high rollers in Las Vegas. However, Simao’s pocket aces got him a double-up out of trouble before a full house gave him the lead. The stacks were tight thereafter, but Simao held pocket aces and Suvarna’s draws missed on both turn and river to leave the Indian as the runner-up with $912,420.

For Joao Simao, it was a very special victory, taking home $1,368,700 but more importantly winning what he and his rail called the ‘tetra’ title.

“This one is very special, especially it being Father’s Day,” said Simao after the event. “When Brazil won the fourth time the World Cup, we used to call out ‘tetra, tetra.’ That means the fourth title. So it’s [popular] in Brazil to scream ‘tetra’ every time you make four times something. Fourth title for anything, fourth time you have anything. It’s very special for Brazilian people.”

Winning big in Pot Limit Omaha yet again, Simao credited the game variant as a ‘good way to learn [and] challenge yourself’, as well as making money.

“The ROI is, of course, are a lot smaller,” he told reporters. “The game is very tough, but when you make 10% in a $100,000 [tournament], you make $10K. If you make 50% in a $10K, it’s $5,000. It’s double profit. So that’s what drives me.”