Bruno Politano was just eliminated from the 2014 Main Event. He finished in 8th place, earning $947,172.
Politano is the first Brazilian player ever to make the final table of the Main Event. He's had the strength of an entire nation behind him since he made the November Nine four months ago. Last week, he released a youtube video featuring messages of support from a variety of Brazilian celebrities, including Xuxa (Olympic swimmer), Thiago Camilo (race car driver), and soccer stars Neymar, Júlio César, and Kaká.
He had a large and vocal cheering section numbering about 150 who came all the way from South America and assembled inside the Penn and Teller Theater. Among those cheering him on iincluded professional poker player Andre Akkari, a supporter in a Scooby Doo costume, and several fans with vuvuzelas. After making the November Nine four months ago, Politano frequently talked about how important his rail was to him and his supporters didn't disappoint tonight. Since even before the first cards were dealt, the theater was filled with the sounds of his raucous cheering section.
"They mean everything to me, Politano said afterward, his post-game interview nearly drowned out by cheering fans. "It didn't matter to me if I finished fourth or fifth or whatever. All I wanted to do here was win. This was all for them."
Indeed, judging by the jubiliation, it was hard to tell that Politano had, in fact, been eliminated.
Politano entered the final table ranked last in chips, and although he won a few small pots early on, he never really gained any momentum. While William Tonking, who also started the day with a small stack, gathered chips and took over the chip lead, Politano's stack slowly withered away. On his final hand, action was folded around to Politano on the button. He pushed all in from with , and Felix Stephensen called from the big blind with . The board missed both players, and Stephensen won the pot with his pocket sevens, sending Politano to rail.
Throughout the entire night, regardless of how his chip stack matched up against his opponents, Politano genuinely seemed to enjoy the experience, and his fans were right there with him the whole time.
Bruno Politano made Brazil proud.
Here are the final table results so far:
1st - - $10,000,000
2nd - - $5,147,911
3rd - - $3,807,753
4th - - $2,849,763
5th - - $2,143,794
6th - - $1,622,471
7th - - $1,236,084
8th - Bruno Politano - $947,172
9th - Mark Newhouse - $730,725