Ace-King Boosts Neymar's Stack
"How is he doing?" Gerard Piqué asked one of the PokerStars staff members about his friend and teammate Neymar Jr.
"He's fine," she responded.
"How many chips?" Piqué enquired.
The staff member walked over to Neymar's table and found out that he was sitting on 87,000.
"He was lower," Piqué said with a smile, who himself got off to a better start with 115,000.
We then found out through Dani Stern how Neymar trended back up to 87,000. According to Stern, Neymar won a hand off of Belgian poker pro and Triple Crown winner Davidi Kitai.
Neymar raised from the cutoff seat to 2,500, and Kitai called from the small blind. The flop was 
rainbow, and both players checked. The turn was the 
, and Kitai led with a bet of 1,700, Neymar called. The river was a blank, and Kitai checked to Neymar. The Brazilian opted to bet 6,600, and this sent Kitai into the tank.
Kitai tanked for a while before he made the call. Neymar tapped the table with a defeated look on his face before he showed the 
. Kitai showed an even sadder face, and mucked his cards as the table burst out in laughter.
A little bit later, we approached the table again to check in on Neymar. This time, the flop showed 
in a hand between the football star and Steve O'Dwyer. Neymar bet 3,000 on the flop, and O'Dwyer called in position, which brought out the 
on the turn. Neymar bet another 3,000, and O'Dwyer swiftly raised it up to 14,000. Neymar called quickly.
On the river, the 
hit and Neymar checked to the former European Poker Tour Grand Final winner. O'Dwyer bet 40,000, and Neymar made the call. O'Dwyer turned over the 
, which was promptly mucked when the Brazilian showed the 
for top two pair.
The same PokerStars staff member from before quickly walked over to Piqué to inform him of Neymar's winnings, and he jumped out of his seat right away. Piqué quickly walked over to Neymar and gave him a fist bump, the two exchanged some words before they continued the tournament with big smiles.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
146,000
46,000
|
46,000 |
|
||