Brazil's Felipe "lipe piv" Boianovsky has added his name to the PokerStars record books. By winning the $10,300 WCOOP Main Event for $551,632, Boianovsky became the first player to win both a SCOOP Main Event and a WCOOP Main Event at the $10,000-plus buy-in level. The WCOOP Main Event victory came in the 25th edition of the series and capped one of the strongest runs by a Brazilian player in this year's festival.
The Numbers Behind the $10,300 WCOOP Main Event
The $10,300 World Championship attracted 289 entries and generated a prize pool of about $2.9 million. First place paid $551,632, and Boianovsky had already locked in $62,089 once the final table was set. That guaranteed floor is a reminder of how top-heavy these high-stakes events are. Ninth place pays far less than first, but even the lowest finisher at this final table made a significant profit relative to a typical online grinder's annual results.
The final table looked like this:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felipe Boianovsky | Brazil | $551,632 |
| 2 | 13santoy13 | Canada | $412,914 |
| 3 | Dan Wilson | United Kingdom | $309,079 |
| 4 | Dante Goya | Brazil | $231,355 |
| 5 | Teun Mulder | Austria | $173,177 |
Before the final day, Dante "dantegoyaF" Goya of Brazil led the nine remaining players with 12,889,640 chips, followed by Costa Rica's Thomas Boivin and Brazil's Pablo Brito Silva. Boianovsky began in fifth place with 6,821,125 chips. In other words, he was not the favorite on paper, but he won the title anyway. That is a pattern in this year's series, where chip position at the start of the final day rarely decided the winner.
Why This Record Matters
Boianovsky's earlier milestone came in June 2023, when he won a SCOOP Main Event at the $10,300 level for $1,036,200. SCOOP is PokerStars' spring series, and WCOOP is the autumn flagship. Winning a Main Event in either series is difficult. Winning both at this buy-in level, according to the PokerNews report, had never been done before.
That claim is worth putting in context. The $10,300 buy-in is the top tier of the series' Main Events. The fields are small compared with the $109 and $1,050 versions, which means the player pool is dominated by professionals, many of whom use solvers, study groups and coaching. Beating 288 such opponents in a single tournament requires skill, but it also requires a favorable run of cards at critical moments. Winning twice, in different series and years, suggests that Boianovsky's results are not a fluke.
A Brazilian Boom in Online Poker
Brazilian players have been a defining feature of the 2026 WCOOP. PokerTube reported that Brazilian players led the series with 58 titles as of September 23. Renan Bruschi became the first four-time winner of the series this year, and other Brazilians took titles across hold'em, Omaha and mixed-game formats.
Why has Brazil produced so many strong online players? There is no single reason, but several factors help. The country has a large and enthusiastic poker community, a culture of study groups, and a long tradition of online grinding. Many Brazilian players learn through training sites and communities, and the results show up in tournament leaderboards. Boianovsky and Goya, who finished fourth, are part of that wave.
For recreational players, the dominance of strong regional pools has a practical implication: the toughest fields are at the highest buy-ins, where professionals concentrate. If you want to improve, playing against better opponents can teach you more, but it also costs more. Moving up in stakes before your bankroll is ready is a common cause of ruin. Our bankroll management guide explains how many buy-ins to hold before you move up.
What a Heads-Up Win Looks Like at This Level
Boianovsky defeated Canada's "13santoy13" in the heads-up match for the title. Heads-up play at high buy-ins is a different game from the full-ring play that dominates the early days. Ranges widen dramatically, aggression increases and position becomes critical. Players who can adjust to an opponent's tendencies in real time have an edge.
Many of the top players now study heads-up charts produced by solvers. These tools suggest balanced strategies, but the best players also exploit mistakes. The tension between theory and exploitation is a recurring theme in modern poker, and it is the subject of our poker strategy section. If you want to learn how to bluff effectively at lower stakes, our how to bluff guide is a useful complement.
The Prize Structure and ICM
A prize pool near $2.9 million spread across a final table means that every elimination matters financially. Fifth place earned $173,177, while first place earned $551,632. The gap between fifth and fourth was about $58,000, and the gap between second and first was about $138,700. Those jumps explain why players often tighten up near pay jumps and why a short stack can take on risk when it has little to lose.
ICM is the mathematical framework that helps players decide when to take risks in such spots. At a final table with these payouts, a chip lead is worth less than the same chips would be in a winner-take-all game, which makes it harder for the chip leader to bully the table without paying a price. Boianovsky, starting fifth in chips, benefited from this compression. He could pick his moments, and he did.
What This Means for Players
You do not need to start the day as the chip leader. Boianovsky began fifth in chips and won. Players who are patient and selective can win from behind, especially when the payouts reward survival.
Specialize before you diversify. Boianovsky's results suggest that mastering a particular format and level can pay off. If you play tournaments, learning the format deeply before moving to higher stakes tends to produce better results than hopping between games.
Use the right tools. Study with solvers if you can, but remember that opponents at your level are not solvers. Adjust to their mistakes. Our poker odds calculator can help you review equity in specific spots.
Choose a site that fits your goals. Online tournament series are offered on multiple sites. Compare bonuses, rakeback and tournament schedules on our tournaments page and our rakeback guide to find the best value for your play style.
Looking Ahead
PokerStars has not hesitated to promote its WCOOP records, and Boianovsky's feat is a natural highlight. For the player himself, the result is a seven-figure combined haul across the two Main Events: $1,036,200 in 2023 and $551,632 in 2026, a total of $1,587,832 from the two wins alone. It is a remarkable return from two tournaments.
For the rest of us, the lesson is that record-setting results are built on years of preparation and a bit of luck. Boianovsky has both. As the WCOOP wraps up and the poker calendar moves on to live festivals and the next big online series, his name will remain in the record books as the first to complete this particular double.
Gambling involves risk. Play responsibly and make sure online poker is permitted where you live.