On the last weekend of July, Brazil’s William hellzitoArruda (pictured, image courtesy PokerNews) took down the PokerStars Sunday 500 outright for $63,000, a cash that was worth 591 PLB Points. He is fresh off a month of June in which he final tabled the same tournament and walked off with an even $30,000 and 283 PLB Points. Nearly 1,000 PLB Points later, he has become a force to be reckoned with in the weekly Major on PokerStars. In fact, his largest tracked cash came three years ago after winning it.

We caught up with the South American to break down his recent runs and talk about representing Brazil.

PocketFives: You have been dominating the Sunday 500 on PokerStars. Tell us what you attribute your success to.

William Arruda: I definitely know my limits and since a lot of regulars are on vacation, the field is softer than a standard Sunday 500. A deep run is always tough, but it’s still different from a regular SCOOP event, WCOOP event, or Sunday 500.

PocketFives: Tell us about the structure of the tournament and the field that shows up.

William Arruda: I think the Sunday 500 is a different tournament. A lot of good regulars get in and it plays more aggressively than other tournaments. The reason is probably because it’s deeper early on and regs start to play more cash game strategy with more 3betting light and 4betting light – things that don’t happen too often in other high-stakes tournaments. In the middle and late stages, the structure is much slower. Still, since there are fewer regs in the Sunday 500 right now, it’s much softer.

PocketFives: How much did your Sunday 500 second place finish in March 2010 for $72,000 change your poker career, if at all?

William Arruda: When I hit the Sunday 500 in 2010, I was in a huge downswing (my ABI was too high) and it definitely boosted my confidence to keep playing high-stakes tournaments. I definitely changed my lifestyle a lot as a result. A lot of poker players forget the real value of money, and I did that in the past too. Now, I just want to save the money I won.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker?

William Arruda: I started playing poker in 2005 and 2006. I didn’t have money to play even low stakes. I remember reading Dan Harrington’s books a few times before putting money in play because I would just have one shot. I built up my bankroll playing low-stakes cash games and MTTs.

PocketFives: Tell us about representing the vocal and up-and-coming Brazil pokercommunity.

William Arruda: In Brazil (pictured), poker is considered a mental sport and people are working hard to have everything legalized. When I started playing, there was always a chance that the police arrived and canceled a tournament. Now, we won the battle and this stuff just doesn’t happen anymore.

PocketFives: What do your friends and family think of your poker success?

William Arruda: In the beginning, they were very scared and I had a lot of problems with it. I think things really changed when I built a sit and go stable and then moved to an MTT stable. I was much more in the business part of poker than playing. My main job right now is running a stable, which takes up a lot of my time. Outside of that, I really like to hang out with my girl, eat, and watch TV. So, I guess I’m more of a “home guy.”

Visit PokerStarsfor more information on the site’s ongoing promotions. As a reminder, if you sign up for PokerStars through PocketFives’ links and make a deposit, you’ll get one free month of PocketFives Training with the sign-up fee waived, a $65 value. You’ll also get a 100% up to $600 deposit bonus. Click here to get started.

Want the latest poker headlines and interviews? Follow PocketFives on Twitterand Like PocketFives on Facebook. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.