On the final weekend of July, Brazil’s capotinha(pictured) took down the PokerStars Sunday $100 Rebuy outright for $49,000. There were about 900 entrants in the tournament, which offered up a prize pool of $265,000. It was his largest online tournament cash by a factor of three and has helped drive his career total to just south of $1 million.

PocketFives: Tell us how you’re feeling about winning the PokerStars $100 Rebuy.

capotinha: It feels really good. This was the biggest prize I’ve ever won in my career. It’s also a very tough tournament, so I guess I feel even happier for winning it.

PocketFives: Can you walk us through how the tournament went in general?

capotinha: I’m a regular in the daily $100 Rebuy, so I already had a good idea of the structure, money bubble, and final table bubble. Just after the add-on, I was able to keep a comfortable stack, making me able to put some pressure on those who were worried about the bubble.

After the bubble, I quickly got to be chip leader and then got on the semi-final table with a very comfortable stack, looking for spots to pressure the medium stacks, which helped me get to the final table with 80+ big blinds, while six other players at the final table had fewer than 20.

The payout differences in this tournament are huge, so I was in a really good spot to put some pressure on everyone all the time. This happens a lot in this tournament and almost every reg has the skills to do the same when they are in the same spot with a big stack, so I had to do it. This is also one of the reasons this tournament is so tough.

PocketFives: You’re nearing $1 million in online scores. Talk about reaching that milestone.

capotinha: I never looked at this number as something special. I’m always looking to be the best I can on a day-by-day basis. I think this school of thought is essential to making you a solid player. The big hits will happen sooner or later, but you shouldn’t play looking for them or going after a number like $1 million in all-time cashes, else you might end up with frustration.

PocketFives: We’ve interviewed many successful poker players from Brazil. Talk about how poker is viewed there and how much the Brazil poker community has grown.

capotinha: Brazilians are getting better every day in poker and I think this is due to some inherent characteristics of Brazilians like charisma, happiness, and comfort. In the poker world, I see Brazil as united people who look for each other and cheer for fellow players from the country. You look at a WSOP final table like it’s a World Cup final; you cheer at every hand won, every bet, and every fold. Everything is a reason to be happy and show your emotions, just like in football. I really think that’s the most unique thing we have.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker?

capotinha: I started years ago during college around 2005 while I was playing something like “Age of Empires” late at night. Someone said in the chat, “I’m gonna play another game, poker.” This made me curious and fascinated. I didn’t know about poker at all and this guy sent me a link to a site where I could play sit and gos for free and still win real money. I felt at the top of the world after playing a long, late session and winning 32 cents!

I remember looking for a calculator and converting US Dollars to my local currency to see how much I had won in one night. I thought, “This is a dream. I didn’t do anything special, yet I won all this!” After some time, what was then just a game turned into a real job and I’m very proud of winning my parents’ and friends’ confidence about this fascinating world that many can’t understand because of all the myths and preconceptions that society still has about poker.

PocketFives: What do you do away from poker? What else interests you?

capotinha: I like spending time with my girlfriend and friends. At least once a week, we go out to see the sun, drink some tea, and appreciate life. I live in Caxias do Sul (pictured), a city in Southern Brazil, but I have lived in other two cities in the last six years, so I have friends there as well and, as much as I can, we meet each other for some barbecue and beer. I love music, computers, video games, and, of course, football. Even if there’s a second-division game from a distant country going on TV, I’ll probably be watching it.

PocketFives: Is there anything you’d like to add?

capotinha: Thank you, PocketFives, for the interview and thank you to all the Brazilians who know me and know how much I am dedicated to do better every day.

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