Neymar Comes Close in $5,200 Titans Event

Brazilian football superstar Neymar is one of the most high-profile sportsmen in the world. Known for his exceptionally silky skills on the pitch, he has scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs; one of the few players to ever achieve this feat.

But his venture into the world of poker is starting to catch the attention of many, with many decent performances over the last few years.

A week ago, Neymar decided to participate in the $5,200 PokerStars Titans Event. Despite being a relative newcomer to major tournaments, his performance was nothing short of remarkable, finishing in second place out of a field of 59 entrants for a prize of $66,056.

Neymar has been around the poker scene for a while now, most visibly working with PokerStars as a brand ambassador since 2015. He has also been heavily involved in hosting multiple charity home games.

In January 2022, Neymar came close to closing out his first tournament win in PokerStars’ Winter Series. He managed a third-place finish in a $1,050 Turbo event for $23,884, and later another third in the $10,300 High Roller earned him $125,678.

This obviously whetted his appetite for more because in the summer he made the trip to Las Vegas for his first tilt at a World Series of Poker tournament.

Starting off in the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship, Neymar didn’t run well enough to make a cash, but a few days later he broke his duck in the $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty.

This result must have been exciting for the Brazilian because he missed the announcement for players to remain in their seats while a field count was performed. Instead he was celebrating with his friends on the rail before being asked to leave by security.

Luckily, the confusion was sorted out and Neymar was allowed to return to his seat to continue the tournament.

Despite his outrageous earnings as a football player, Neymar's motivation to play poker is clearly driven by his love for the game and his desire to win, rather than anything to do with building up his bank balance even more.

As he recovers from surgery on one of his anterior cruciate ligaments, Neymar has more time than ever to work on his game and possibly play in the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Millions which runs next month in Sao Paulo.

A sixth place finish in the High Roller event at this series in 2018 is his first ever recorded live tournament cash.

$5,200 Titans Event Final Table Results