Daniel Barriocanal limped in from the small blind. However, Rafael Reis did not let him see three cards for free and bumped the bet up. Barriocanal called.
The flop came 4♦8♣7♥. Reis continued for 1,700,000 and Barriocanal called.
The 6♣ on the turn didn't slow down Reis as he barrelled for an additional 2,700,000. Barriocanal, again, could not continue.
Daniel Barriocanal and Rafael Reis got it all in preflop for the first time in their heads-up match.
Daniel Barriocanal: 10♣10♠
Rafael Reis: A♥9♠
The board ran out in dramatic fashion as it came 4♥3♠6♠2♥5♦. As the five landed on the river Reis thought he'd made a wheel straight for the win. Reis erupted in cheers as did his rail, both celebrating as if he'd just won the tournament and the bracelet.
"Brazil! Brazil!" Reis chanted as he grabbed a Brazilian flag from the crowd and wrapped it around himself.
It was only as the room began to silence both Reis and his rail realised the board had actually run out a six high straight and both players chopped the pot.
Retaking their seats, the players continued on with the match.
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Both Daniel Barriocanal and Rafael Reis got all their chips in the middle preflop. Reis had a commanding lead and Barriocanal was at risk.
Daniel Barriocanal: 9♣8♣
Rafael Reis: A♦10♣
The flop came 6♥9♠8♦ giving Barriocanal top two while Reis had a gutshot. The board ran out clean for Barriocanal and he received a much-needed double-up.
Though the streak did not last long, as in almost successive hands both players ended up with all the chips in the middle again. Barriocanal with the exact same holding as before.
Daniel Barriocanal: 9♣8♣
Rafael Reis: A♠Q♠
This time the runout wasn't as fortunate as it came 4♣A♣6♥10♦Q♥, eliminating Barriocanal in second place. Reis the first WSOP champion to celebrate his bracelet win twice in one tournament.
The Brazilian rail was out in force on Thursday night to witness Rafael Reis win his first gold bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em at the 2023 World Series of Poker.
Reis defeated Daniel Barriocanal in heads-up play to win $465,501. The tournament drew 2,454 players for a prize pool of $3,276,090.
Day 2 chip leader Sarah Herzali finished in third while Nikolaos Angelou and four-time bracelet winner John Monnette rounded out the top five.
Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Country
Prize
1
Rafael Reis
Brazil
$465,501
2
Daniel Barriocanal
Spain
$287,679
3
Sarah Herzali
France
$207,720
4
Nikolaos Angelou
Greece
$151,559
5
John Monnette
United States
$111,755
6
Grant Wang
United States
$83,289
Winner’s Reaction
This is the second deep run at the WSOP for Reis, but his first big chance came to an end in third place at the 2021 Monster Stack event.
“I am feeling like I had a mission, and I accomplished my mission,” Reis said in his post-win interview with PokerNews. “Last time that I was here, I was [at the final table], and I got third. This time I felt super comfortable.”
Reis leveraged his experience from his first trip to the main stage at the WSOP—a disappointing end that turned into a valuable learning experience.
“I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I have more experience now. I was feeling really confident. I texted my friends that today is a bracelet today. Come and rail me, follow me on social media. Today was a bracelet day and I was very confident. It wasn’t easy.”
The celebration was the second of the evening after Reis and the entire Brazilian rail misread a board and thought Reis had claimed victory early in heads-up play.
“I was not looking at the table. I was looking at the monitor. When the last card hit the felt, I saw a straight and everybody was cheering, so I was cheering.
Reis needed a moment to regain his focus.
“When I came back, it was hard. I had to come back again. I was in Narnia. When I was celebrating, I went from Narnia to the WSOP, and I had to go back to Narnia again. We grinded it up and I am super happy. Thank god.”
The champ received his bracelet in an impromptu ceremony with Yuri Dzivielevski. He plans on sticking around for the remainder of the WSOP.
“I will play everything. I had this plan before this tournament, and it changes nothing. I will keep playing the whole thing, and I hope I can get more bracelets. It feels really nice on me.”
Rafael Reis and the Brazilian Rail
Day 3 Action
Day 3 kicked off with 15 players and David Wells fell first in the opening level of the day. Following Wells to the payout window before the final table were Upeshka De Silva, Alexander Maas, Curt Kohlberg, Gabriel Schroeder, Yue Liu, Ian Matakis, and Kevin Choi.
The tournament reached its unofficial final table after about three hours of play and Ryan Hohner bowed out in seventh when he got it in with pocket queens and ran into the Big Slick of Barriocanal.
Barriocanal continued his run with the elimination of Grant Wang in sixth place. Wang got it in with ace-seven, but Barriocanal was waiting with ace-queen to send him to the rail.
John Monnette
Monnette was unable to add a fifth bracelet after a deep run in the no-limit hold’em event for the four-time champ. He got it in with king-nine, but Herzali put him at risk with ace-nine and picked up top pair on the flop.
Barriocanal picked up another knockout when Angelou fell in fourth place. Angelou picked his spot with ace-seven, but it was ace-queen doing the work once again to send him to the rail.
Sarah Herzali
Herzali went on a magical run and a large contingent of French supporters turned out, but it came to an end in third place when she jammed her short stack with king-nine and ran into the pocket jacks of Reis. A jack on the flop sealed the deal and sent the tournament to heads-up play.
Heads-up play lasted nearly two levels while Barriocanal battled it out, but he was unable to move the chip count in his favor. After one false start when Reis and his rail misread the board and claimed victory, the champ regained his focus. The big moment came after a small double from Barriocanal with a suited nine-eight. Barriocanal got it in again with the same hand, but Reis was there with the suited ace-queen to claim victory with two pair.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team throughout the 2023 WSOP for live updates from the floor at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
