Indeed, the crowd nearly overwhelmed the action taking place at the table. So enthusiastic was the audience of perhaps 100 South Americans that part of the stage flooring began to sag from the strain of supporting such a huge mob. All the players at the final table took the noisy merriment in stride, as everyone seemed to understand that Brazilians have a special way of supporting their athletes and stars, which arguably has no rival by any other nation in the world. Whether soccer or poker, the level of enthusiasm was the same.
With this victory, Nishijima became only the third Brazilian poker player to win a WSOP gold bracelet in history. The first was Alexandre Gomes (2008). The second was Andre Akkari (2011).
Following Nishijima’s finish in the top spot, the descending order of results was as follows:
Second Place: Sotirios Koutoupas, from Greece, finished in 2nd place. He’s a 32-year-old self-employed part-time poker player who posted his first cash ever at the WSOP. The $338,414 payout made for quite a memorable debut.
Third Place: Jesse Sylvia, from Las Vegas, NV took 3rd place. Now with close to $6 million in WSOP winnings, the bulk of which was earned as the Main Event Championship runner up three years, at 29, Sylvia seems primed, if not overdue for a win. He’s now cashed 17 times since his debut showing at the WSOP back in 2011. The prize money he collected for this finish -- $211,731 – seemed to be the last thing on Sylvia’s mind as he walked away in disappointment.
Fourth Place: Sam Razavi, a 34-year-old British poker pro now living in Cebu City, The Philippines, is one of Asia’s top tournament players. He’s won the Asian Poker Tour (APT) “Player of the Year” three times, including back to back years. However, Razavi had yet to make a WSOP final table until this occasion. He picked up $153,682 for 4th place.
Fifth Place: Yun Fan, from Taipei, Taiwan, ended up in 5th place. This marked Fan’s fifth time to cash at this year’s series, which paid $113,452.
Sixth Place: Alexander Freund, from Vienna, Austria came in 6th. He’s a 27-year-old student. Freund cashed for the second time at this year’s series, which paid $85,049.
Seventh Place: Alex Keating, a 27-year-old poker player from San Jose, CA has now cashed 8 times at the WSOP. This was his first final table appearance, which paid out $64,691 for finishing 7th.
Eighth Place: Duncan McCallum, a Boston-area poker player who runs a charitable foundation, made quite a showing in his first WSOP cash, by making the final table and going out 8th. McCallum, who previously cashed in a WSOP Circuit event at Foxwoods two years ago, picked up the highest cash prize yet of his amateur poker career, $49,868.
Ninth Place: Steve Brecher, from Reno, NV has been playing on the tournament circuit for many years. He has numerous WPT deep runs, and has enjoyed much success at the WSOP, including 17 cashes. However, he’s yet to win a gold bracelet. Brecher’s wait will be extended following his 9th-place showing in this tournament, which paid $38,960.
OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS: Some of the more notable players who cashed included former gold bracelet winners – Harry Thomas (14th), Eric Baldwin (15th), Barry Hutter (31st), Jason Lester (49th), Brian Rast (52nd), John Reading (76th), Tristan Wade (82nd), John Gale (86th), and Chris Drombrowski (92nd).