Poker players from Brazil took centerstage last week. Leandro brasapoker Pimentel (pictured) was the talk of Full Tilt Poker, winning the site’s monthly $1 Million Guaranteed. He took home a colossal $184,000 for his efforts. Pimentel defeated another native of the country, PocketFiver caio_pimenta, in heads-up play. The runner up received a healthy $113,000. Pimentel is also a Triple Crown winner on PocketFives.com and is a sponsored member of Team Full Tilt. PocketFives.com caught up with the two South Americans to learn about their poker success and also get their take on how Brazilians view the game of poker.
The timing of brasapoker's win on Full Tilt Poker couldn’t have been any better. In fact, he just signed on to be a sponsored pro on the site, making this victory a particularly meaningful one. He commented, “For me, the win was great in many aspects. Of course, there is the financial part of it, but I just signed as a Full Tilt team member, so I think my bosses are happy.” He inked his agreement with Full Tilt a little over one month ago and told PocketFives.com, “I met an agent of theirs during the 2008 WSOP and he offered me a contract. They knew me from my final table appearance during WSOP 2007.” Pimentel finished fourth in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event during last year’s World Series of Poker, cashing for $189,000 in his first WSOP in the money appearance.
In Brazil, poker players cheer one another on in similar fashion to how Australian poker enthusiasts rooted on Joe Hachem during his march through the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Pimentel explains, “We have a grey zone in terms of the legislation here. The law prohibits games of chance and we try very hard to show that poker is a game of skill. Every tournament win is a victory for us here, so we cheer a lot for our own players. That’s why when a Brazilian is at a final table, many spectators yell ‘Vamoooooo.’”
Every poker player strives to get their first win in a major tournament. When that win finally comes, it’s like getting the proverbial monkey off your back. Pimentel explains what the victory and massive payday in the Full Tilt Poker $1 Million Guaranteed means to him: “Winning makes things easier, but I am a positive player, especially this year. I won a Triple Crown a couple of months ago and had some good victories before that, but nothing as big as the one this weekend. I know the importance of a Sunday Million victory, but I hope people don’t start to chase me on the tables.”
Pimentel’s poker career has obviously been successful. He won the $100 rebuy on PokerStars in July for $20,295. He also took down the $215 buy-in $50,000 Guaranteed Special that runs on Friday night on PartyPoker in August. He won a $162 cubed WCOOP Second Chance event for nearly $9,000 in September. He explains how he got started: “I have played card games since I was 11. When I went to college, we started a home game. Brazil has a Five Card Draw tradition, but after couple of years, we started playing Texas Hold’em.” He was a poker champion in Sao Paolo in 2006. He quit his job of three years as a manager of a telecom company in order to concentrate on poker, but says that his friends and family have been extremely supportive of his career decision.
Besides helping to clarify some of the legal uncertainty in Brazil, Pimentel’s victory also helped to unite members of Full Tilt who reside there. He commented, “We always cheer for other Brazilian players. There is no rivalry between us, so every Brazilian poker player who was watching the Million Tournament wanted a Brazilian to do well. By the end, two Brazilians were playing heads-up for nearly $200,000. It was huge for us. For me, it was even more special since I won it. I almost haven’t slept since. Every time my phone rings or an e-mail comes, it’s someone congratulating me and yelling ‘Go Brazil!’”
Caio caio_pimenta Pimenta finished second in the Full Tilt Poker $1 Million Guaranteed. Like Pimentel, he was elated to make the country of Brazil proud. He told PocketFives.com, “This result was the most rewarding cash of my career. The end result was further proof that Brazilian poker this increasingly strong and I feel very happy to be a part of it.”
Poker runs in Pimenta’s family. In fact, his mother finished third in the $11 rebuy on PokerStars for $7,000 last week and she also wants to become a professional poker player someday. He noted that his family was ultimately accepting of his decision to play poker as a career: “When I decided to stop studying to concentrate on poker, they were a bit shocked, but once the first results appeared they begin to give me full support, which is very important to me.” Pimenta took second in the Sunday Brawl in August for $45,000 and recorded a win in the $200 buy-in Turbo $30K Guarantee on Full Tilt Poker for an additional $14,000.
Congratulations to Brazilian poker players everywhere for a landmark night in the Full Tilt Poker $1 Million Guaranteed.
* PocketFives.com now offers rakeback on Full Tilt Poker! To sign up for a rakeback account through PocketFives, visit http://www.pocketfives.com/visit/rakeback/. We have also included a Rakeback Forum to field questions about our rakeback program.
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