Joao Vieira wins fourth WSOP bracelet and monster score of $2.6 million

If you read our Day 2 wrap, you’ll know that the final day of the $100K NLH High Roller was shorn of star power late on when Phil Ivey dropped in ninth. He hit a cold deck that saw him shove over a raise, only to run into the A-K of Isaac Haxton in the big blind. 

It was his first cash of the series, so the Ivey machine is up and running — but his quest for a 12th bracelet remains on pause.

Aram Oganyan started as the big chip leader today, and he had last night to reflect on having 8 million more chips than Joao Vieira in second place. The rest of the stacks were bunched another 7 million back, with Haxton coming back from a 5-big blind stack to start today with 20. 

Before today, Oganyan’s biggest cash was $989,501. He needed to finish third today to beat that. He didn't have a bracelet, either, although he came close when he finished second in the $3K no-limit hold’em event in 2023.

Vinny Lingham was the wildcard. The tech investor and crypto enthusiast, who has appeared on the South African editions of Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank, has only one previous cash, when he finished 13th in the WSOP $50K High Roller last year for $107,414. The least anyone could win now was $295,883. 

The most was $2,649,158, and there were some familiar names eying that up – Vieira, Haxton, Ben Heath, and Andrew Lichtenberger, who brought in one of the shortest stacks today but also a glowing recommendation from one of the world’s best players, Scott Seiver. 

He’d need all of these qualities later on today.

Vieira takes first blood

Lingham was the first player to fall, and he was scalped by Vieira. 

Vieira raised with kings, and Lingham ripped 3 million straight in from the big blind with .

That got chip leader Oganyan's attention, and he said, "You gotta be at home watching PokerGO too much, man,” he said. "Everyone knows to go all-in with A-5. You need to watch something else at night."

There was no relief for the entrepreneur on the runout.

The rich got richer when Oganyan took out Emilien Pitavy in 7th. And Lichtenberger was the next to hit the rail, when Boivin raised in the cut-off with and Lichtenberger shoved with . 

The flop was a good one for Lichtenberger. He would need all of his inner calm to deal with the runout, though, which gave Boivin the straight. 

Talking ahead of the final table, Lichtenberger said of the game, “It’s a true joy. No-limit hold’em was what I was born to do.”

He’s also born to take the knocks with grace. He left with a smile and said, “I’m playing well, happy with my decisions, and felt good out there.”

Andrew Lichtenberger's inner Zen was tested today with a brutal runout and elimination.

Omar Sader

Oganyan steps up a gear

The next three eliminations were all Oganyan's. First he took out Heath with AK vs. A5, and he couldn’t resist the line again. “Dude, you need to stop watching PokerGO.”

Even Heath managed to crack a smile, which got a bit wider when he flopped a flush draw, but he couldn’t find the missing diamond on the turn or river. 

Haxton had been nursing his short stack most of the day and found a double up the first time he was all-in and called. That gave him a bit of breathing room with 14 big blinds, and when he found queens in the big blind, after a shove with K-2 from Oganyan, it looked like he was going to get back into it. 

“I’m pretty sad about this,” Oganyan said about the flop.

He liked the a lot more. “It’s not over,” said Oganyan. But it was on the river.

Oganyan now had 36 million chips, compared to 14.4 million for Vieira and 10.8 million for Boivin. Everything was going Oganyan’s way. 

Including Boivin’s chips. Oganyan shoved in the small blind, and Boivin made an ill-timed stand with . The pot was worth 16.1 million, and they all went the way of the chip leader. He began heads-up against Vieira with a lead of 45.2 million to 16 million. 

He seemed like one of these unstoppable forces today, but Vieira had other ideas. 

Aram Oganyan brought the energy and the jokes to today's final table.

Katerina Lukina

And the luck finally swung

From a stack of 16 million, Vieira limped with and called a huge raise to 3.5 million from Oganyan with .

The was Oganyan’s and he bet 1.875 million and got a call. He bet another 3.425 million on the turn and, with 9% equity, Vieira made the call.

The river was brutal for Oganyan, who moved all-in only to be virtually beaten into the pot by Vieira. “Nice hand,” he said in a resigned tone when he saw Vieira had rivered the straight. 

That gave Vieira the chip lead for the first time. And he threatened to stretch that until Oganyan broke. First he made a flush, and Oganyan couldn’t get away from his paired ace.

Then he played for it all with A-J against Oganyan’s sixes. Oganyan wasn’t ready for the end yet and retook the lead when he made a straight on the turn. 

Sixes were the hand of the heads-up. Vieira flipped the chip lead back when his pair held against Oganyan’s K-Q. 

And then the flip went the other way. As Oganyan said, “All we’re doing is flipping for a million bucks every five minutes.”

This time Oganyan had the pair – fours against — and even though Vieira paired his ace on the flop, an unlikely four on the river gave Oganyan the chip lead back. 

Vieira took it all in his stride and won the next five hands to retake the chip lead.

Vieira takes control

Then Vieira moved into grind mode and started to wear Oganyan down, before the sixes raised their head again. 

This time Vieira had them to Oganyan's A-6. "We're dead," Oganyan said before the dealer had a chance to fan the flop out. He wasn't. An ace on the flop saw him take the chip lead back.

It felt like this might go on all night. And then it ended, over two hands.

In the first, Vieira shoved with A-3, Oganyan called with K-J and bricked. Strike one for Vieira. Oganyan then shoved with Q-8 and Vieira had the K-J. He called, and the board ran out . The two men embraced, and Vieira had won his fourth bracelet and third monster score in six months.

Talking afterwards, he said, "I just try and keep myself in the present and treat every day as the most important."

How did Vieira maintain his composure after coming so close to winning heads-up and losing to a two-outer?

"I just kept it together because I had a job to do. My only fear was to not be able to do my job. I had to keep on fighting. There was no time to get frustrated, as that would have really hurt me.

"I didn't want to walk the hallway with regret because my head wasn't there."

And what's next? 

"My favorite event is the $50K Poker Players Championship. I want a bracelet in a mixed game event. And I've been eyeing the Player of the Year for a little bit, so maybe we're in a fight."

Joao Vieira celebrating his fourth WSOP bracelet win.

WSOP $100K No-LImit High Roller results