The 2026 WSOP $50,000 PLO High Roller has its champion. Brazilian poker legend Joao Simao outlasted seven world-class opponents on June 22, 2026, claiming the PLO High Roller title, a $1,368,700 first-place prize, and his fourth World Series of Poker gold bracelet. The victory pushed Simao’s lifetime tournament earnings above $20 million, making him the undisputed all-time money leader from Brazil and one of the most accomplished PLO High Roller specialists the game has ever seen.
For Simao, the number four carries enormous cultural significance. Brazilians use the word tetra to celebrate any fourth championship — born from the national soccer team’s iconic run to a fourth World Cup title. Winning this PLO High Roller for the fourth time in bracelet count triggered that same emotion. “It’s very special for Brazilian people,” Simao said after his victory. “So this means a lot for me.”
Why the 2026 WSOP $50,000 PLO High Roller Was One of the Year’s Most Compelling Events
The $50,000 PLO High Roller is among the most prestigious events on the entire WSOP schedule. Competing in a PLO High Roller at this buy-in level demands elite pot-limit Omaha technique, deep tournament experience, and the composure to navigate a field where every remaining player is a legitimate threat. The 2026 edition drew 110 total entrants across two starting flights, producing a $5,225,000 prize pool — a number that reflects just how seriously the poker world takes the PLO High Roller format.
Day 1 brought 81 players to the table, with 30 punching through to Day 2. Another 29 entered on the second flight, including Naoya Kihara and Veselin Karakitukov, both of whom reached the PLO High Roller final table. Eight survivors remained when Day 3 began, and the storylines were impossible to overstate.
Robert Cowen held the chip lead heading into the final day and had won this exact PLO High Roller back in 2022, putting him in a rare position to become a two-time champion in the same event. Naoya Kihara had already pocketed two bracelets at the 2026 WSOP and was hunting a third — a nearly unprecedented feat at a single series. Yuri Dzivielevski, already a six-time bracelet winner in 2026, was eyeing number seven. And Santhosh Suvarna, who had claimed a different $50,000 buy-in event earlier in this same series, was attempting to win multiple $50K events at one WSOP — the kind of run that rewrites PLO High Roller history.
Final Table Breakdown: How the Field Was Eliminated
Eighth and Seventh Place: Karakitukov and Kihara Exit Early
Day 3 opened with eight players still in contention. Karakitukov was the first out, losing a pot to Kihara’s turned club flush and collecting $152,020 for his eighth-place finish. Kihara’s own run ended soon after when Simao turned the screw in a critical multi-street hand. Simao connected with a set on the flop, developed a diamond flush draw on the turn, and then rivered a better full house to crush Kihara’s inferior full house. Kihara departed in seventh ($189,720), his bracelet quest for an unprecedented third title at one series falling just short.
Sixth Place: Dzivielevski Can’t Complete the Run
Dzivielevski, widely regarded as one of the most decorated tournament players alive, couldn’t convert his final table appearance into additional hardware. He committed his chips holding top pair and a flush draw against Cowen’s bare pocket aces — a dominated spot in PLO that he couldn’t escape. Blanks on both the turn and river ended his 2026 WSOP $50,000 PLO High Roller run in sixth place, earning $244,510.
Fifth Place: Van Ravenswoud Surpasses His Career Best
Carlo van Ravenswoud entered the final table with a lifetime best cash of $120,000. He surpassed that mark regardless of outcome, but ultimately fell in fifth when Simao’s river card delivered kings and tens for two pair, cracking van Ravenswoud’s overpair of jacks. The $325,080 payout was a career-defining result for the Dutch player.
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Suvarna’s Survival Story: From Short Stack to Heads-Up
Santhosh Suvarna deserves a chapter of his own in this story. He found himself with under ten big blinds and seven players remaining — a position that typically signals imminent elimination. Instead, a string of timely doubles kept him alive and gradually rebuilt his stack into a weapon.
Four-handed, Suvarna produced the signature hand of the tournament to survive. He flopped a jack-high straight and snap-called a shove from Cowen, needing to dodge four direct outs plus long-shot runner-runner draws. He faded all of them and suddenly had more chips than the player who had led for most of the day.
Suvarna then eliminated Venkat Chivukula in the final four. The hand played out on a K♥10♦4♠ board where Suvarna check-raised all in, holding K♠Q♥10♠9♥ for top two pair and a gutshot straight draw. Chivukula called off holding K♣Q♦J♣2♥ — top pair with an open-ender — but the turn produced the case king, cutting Chivukula’s outs dramatically. The 7♠ on the river resolved nothing in his favor, and Chivukula collected $445,440 for fourth place.
Three-Handed Mayhem and the Road to Heads-Up
Three-handed play between Simao, Suvarna, and Cowen produced the wildest chip swings of the entire tournament. Cowen built what looked like an insurmountable stack, at one point holding more than two-thirds of chips in play after connecting with pocket aces to double through Simao. Twice it appeared the Welsh pro was on the verge of a second $50K PLO High Roller title.
His final hand saw Suvarna pick him off with a flopped straight — 7♦5♦5♣3♣ on a 9♠8♥6♥ board. Cowen needed a heart for a flush draw or connected turn to survive. The J♣ on the turn briefly added straight outs, but the 6♣ river was a blank, and Cowen was eliminated in third place for $628,510.
Heads-Up: Suvarna Leads, Simao Rallies
Suvarna began heads-up play with the chip advantage and stretched it to a dominant 4:1 lead at the peak. Most players — even experienced ones — don’t come back from that kind of deficit against elite competition. Simao did.
The double that changed everything featured one of PLO’s rarest holdings: three aces in hand. While trip aces are generally considered a liability in Omaha due to the blocker effect, Simao’s A♠A♦A♥K♥ connected with the board to make a full house and put him back in front.
Suvarna briefly reclaimed the lead, but Simao seized the decisive momentum in a pot where he flopped a set of sevens. Suvarna’s paired kings improved to trips on the river, but it wasn’t enough — a massive bet and call on the final street put Simao more than 2.5:1 ahead going into what became the final hand.
The tournament ended pre-flop. Suvarna shoved over a Simao three-bet and got called. Simao tabled A♠A♣J♥9♣ against Suvarna’s 10♥10♣8♣6♠. The A♦8♥7♥ flop all but ended it immediately, giving Simao top set. The 5♣ turn kept some straight outs alive for Suvarna, but the K♥ river was decisive — fourth bracelet for Joao Simao.
Suvarna banked $912,420 as runner-up, pushing India’s all-time earnings leader past $23.6 million in recorded lifetime cashes.
Official Final Table Results — 2026 WSOP $50,000 PLO High Roller
| Place | Player | Country | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Joao Simao | Brazil | $1,368,700 | 1,020 | 500 |
| 2nd | Santhosh Suvarna | India | $912,420 | 850 | 365 |
| 3rd | Robert Cowen | Wales | $628,510 | 680 | 251 |
| 4th | Venkat Chivukula | USA | $445,440 | 510 | 178 |
| 5th | Carlo van Ravenswoud | Netherlands | $325,080 | 420 | 130 |
| 6th | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | $244,510 | 340 | 98 |
| 7th | Naoya Kihara | Japan | $189,720 | 255 | 76 |
| 8th | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | $152,020 | 170 | 61 |
Joao Simao: The Making of a Four-Time WSOP Champion
Simao’s rise to the top of Brazilian poker has been built on consistency at every level of the game. His first gold bracelet came in a 2021 WSOP Online charity event, a $1,111 buy-in that demonstrated his ability to convert in any format. His second followed at the 2022 WSOP in a $5,000 mixed NLH/PLO event — a title that signaled his growing dominance in Omaha-based formats. Third came at WSOP Paradise in December 2025, where he topped the $150,000 Triton Poker collaboration event for a career-best $3 million-plus payday.
Now four bracelets in hand, Simao holds a commanding lead as Brazil’s all-time money earner with $20,580,469 in documented results. The 2026 PLO High Roller victory also moved him into the top 50 of the Card Player Player of the Year standings and delivered 500 PokerGO Tour points — putting him just outside the top 10 in the PGT standings and squarely in contention for a seat in the season’s $1 Million PGT Championship.
What This Win Means for PLO High Roller Poker in 2026
Simao’s championship adds another landmark result to what has been a landmark year for pot-limit Omaha at the highest levels. The $50,000 PLO High Roller format continues to attract elite action at the WSOP, with 110 entries this year reflecting genuine demand from high-stakes players who view Omaha as the true test of technical poker ability.
For American poker fans and players tracking the 2026 WSOP High Roller results, Simao’s win is a reminder that PLO is no longer a secondary format — it’s a primary arena where the world’s best go to make their most defining statements. With the WSOP still running, more PLO and high roller results are expected in the coming weeks.
Quick Facts Box
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Event | 2026 WSOP $50,000 PLO High Roller (8-Max) |
| Winner | Joao Simao |
| Nationality | Brazil |
| First-Place Prize | $1,368,700 |
| Bracelet Number | 4th career WSOP bracelet |
| Total Entries | 110 |
| Total Prize Pool | $5,225,000 |
| Runner-Up | Santhosh Suvarna ($912,420) |
| Simao Career Earnings | $20,580,469 |
| Date | June 22, 2026 |
| Location | Horseshoe/Paris Las Vegas |
Conclusion
Joao Simao’s performance in the 2026 WSOP $50,000 PLO High Roller stands as one of the most complete displays of Omaha tournament poker this year. He navigated a murderer’s row of bracelet winners, recovered from a massive heads-up chip deficit, and closed out a champion in Suvarna who had spent much of Day 3 fighting to stay alive. Four bracelets. Twenty million in earnings. The word is tetra — and in Brazil right now, they’re screaming it loud.
