Joao Simao was red hot in 2025, particularly down the stretch. The Brazilian poker pro earned four titles across 13 final-table finishes last year, including the two largest paydays of his career. The first of those two seven-figure scores saw him take down the World Series of Poker Paradise $150,000 eight-max event for his third bracelet and nearly $3.1 million. Just ten days later, he emerged victorious in the Super High Roller Bowl X for another $1.1 million.
The 37-year-old has seemingly carried some of that momentum into the new year. He’s made three final tables so far, with his latest deep run being his best score so far in 2026. Simao overcame a field of 61 entries in event no. 8 of the U.S. Poker Open, earning $292,800 as the last player standing in the $15,000 no-limit hold’em affair.
With this win, Simao’s career earnings ticked past the $17.7 million mark. This extended his lead atop the Brazilian all-time money list, giving him more than a $4.6 million lead over the second-ranked Yuri Dzivielevski.
Simao finished 17th in the 2025 Card Player Player of the Year race after his massive year on the circuit, with more than $7.3 million in POY earnings. Now, with this triumph, he has climbed within reach of the top 250 in the 2026 POY standings presented by CoinPoker. He also secured 234 PokerGO Tour points, moving him into fifth in the USPO series-long points race.
Simao Closes Day 1 Strong, While Bruch Starts Day 2 Hot
The solid turnout to the PokerGO studio for this high-stakes event resulted in a $915,000 prize pool, with only the top nine finishers earning a share. Day 1 concluded with six players remaining and Simao in the lead. He scored three of the last four knockouts of the night on his way to bagging up the largest stack, including busting Brandon Wilson on the bubble, Matthew Wantman in eighth place ($36,600), and Paul Roy in seventh place ($36,600). Sam Soverel (9th – $27,450) was the only player eliminated inside the money on day 1 who was not sent packing by Simao.
Extreme short stack Shannon Shorr was the first to fall on day 2. The three-time bracelet winner ran J-10 suited into the A-4 of Zachary Bruch, a tech entrepreneur and investor. Bruch had just four prior tournament cashes to his name, including a runner-up finish in a $10,000 event at the Lucky Hearts Poker Open this January for $136,800.
Aram Zobian also fell at the hands of the newcomer to the PGT scene. The bracelet winner got all-in with pocket queens, leading Bruch’s pocket nines, but a A♦10♥6♦7♥8♦ runout gave Bruch a ten-high straight for the win. Zobian earned $68,625 as the fifth-place finisher. This was his second straight final-table appearance, having also placed fourth in event no. 7 for $70,000.
.@AramZobian finds QUEENS and gets his money in against @ZachBruch‘s nines.
Watch the U.S. Poker Open on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG, live and on demand. pic.twitter.com/XFxMSiCetf
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) April 20, 2026
The Simao Show Down The Stretch
Simao began to pull away as four-handed play continued. He was able to steady the ship after Bruch forced him off of pocket jacks with a double-check raise with a flopped pair of fives, and held a healthy lead ahead of the next knockout hand. He added to that advantage when his 7♣6♣ overcame Dylan Linde’s A♠10♠ thanks to a 9♥8♦3♠7♦2♠ runout. Linde, a World Poker Tour champion and three-time bracelet winner, earned $91,500 for his fourth-place showing.
Bruch and Justin Zaki fell further behind Simao as three-handed action went on. Eventually, Zaki ran J♦10♠ into Simao’s Q♥10♥ for his last five big blinds. The K♣10♣9♥5♦3♦ board sent Zaki to the rail in third place. This $128,100 score grew his lifetime haul to more than $7.3 million.
With that, Simao took a 10:1 chip lead into heads-up play with Bruch. That gap was narrowed a bit when Bruch’s pocket tens held against pocket fives, but the comeback was short-lived. On the very next hand after that double-up, Simao moved all-in from the button with K♦J♥ and Bruch called holding J♠10♣. The K♣8♣5♣ flop gave Simao top pair. The 6♣ gave Bruch outs to a flush, but the J♦ locked up the pot and the title for Simao.
Bruch earned a personal best poker tournament payday of $183,000 as the runner-up. The founder and CEO of MyPrize, who was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2021, now has over $420,000 in recorded cashes on the circuit.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Joao Simao | $292,800 | 432 | 234 |
| 2 | Zachary Bruch | $183,000 | 360 | 146 |
| 3 | Justin Zaki | $128,100 | 288 | 102 |
| 4 | Dylan Linde | $91,500 | 216 | 73 |
| 5 | Aram Zobian | $68,625 | 180 | 55 |
| 6 | Shannon Shorr | $50,325 | 144 | 40 |
| 7 | Paul Roy | $36,600 | 108 | 29 |
Photo credit: PGT.
