At Triton Poker, a High Roller tournament series held in Cyprus, Ernildo Santos represented Brazil as the only Brazilian participant in the US$200K NLH Luxon Invitational. This particular event is known to be the most expensive on the schedule, requiring a buy-in of $200,000. Thus, Ernildo’s participation in this tournament cost approximately R$ 1 million.
The representative of the Brazilian national team is not a famous figure in the world of mental sports, but he is an active businessman in the sports betting sector, occupying the position of CEO of Pixbet – a renowned company in the market. The format of the competition is very similar to the “Invitational Entrepreneurs Tournament”, which took place during the recent BSOP Millions, with a buy-in of BRL 25,000. This tournament was won by the talented player Ariel Bahia, who climbed to the top of the podium and received a prize of R$ 419,300.
In this type of competition, selected businessmen have the role of inviting professionals to participate, resulting in a well-balanced field of players. According to Triton Poker’s social networks, Ernildo was responsible for bringing the renowned British player Stephen Chidwick. As reported by the “SuperPoker” portal, the Brazilian made it through the first day of the tournament, advancing along with 54 other players. He ended the day with the 23rd most chips, but unfortunately he didn’t make it into the money.
When there were only 28 players left in the tournament, Ernildo dos Santos had about 16 big blinds (bb) and opened a bet with AK. He was called by Russian player Artur Martirosian, who was in the hijack position and had nearly 100bb at the time. In the big blind, with just 8bb, was Turkish player Orpen Kisacikoglu, who decided to call the raise with his 43.
The flop revealed 238 cards and, after a check by Orpen, the Brazilian put all his chips in the center of the table. Martirosian folded the hand, and after spending a time bank, the Turkish player decided to call. The turn brought a 4 and the river an 8, leaving Ernildo with a very small stack of chips.
Soon after, Orpen Kisacikoglu opted to go all-in directly with 21 big blinds (bb) holding KQ, being in the position of the button. Ernildo dos Santos, the sports betting entrepreneur, had a chip stack of just 8bb, having already called the mandatory big blind and ante bets. Given this, he decided to join the play with J9. The flop revealed cards 22452 and the only Brazilian representative in the competition was eliminated.
