Argentina put on a show at the KSOP Rio de Janeiro festival this week, with players from across the border claiming three of the four titles decided during the series’ second day of play at the Sheraton Grand Rio. The headline result came in the R$2,500 Freezeout, where Mateo Balmaceda outlasted the field to take the trophy and R$50,000, denying a Brazilian grinder a shot at a second series title in the same week.
Balmaceda Tops the R$2,500 Freezeout
The Freezeout carried a R$100,000 guarantee, and the field blew well past that number, with the final prize pool landing at more than double the original guarantee. That turnout is a strong showing for a mid-buy-in freezeout format, which tends to attract a mix of grinders and recreational players looking for a single-elimination structure without the rebuy periods that define most of the festival’s other events.
Balmaceda’s victory was worth R$50,000, the largest payday of the four titles decided that day. Luiz Horácio Moraes finished runner-up for R$34,500, with Pablo Rey, another Argentine, rounding out the top three for R$24,350. The remainder of the final table paid out as follows: Jean Matias in fourth for R$17,400, Ramon Pessoa in fifth for R$13,350, Saulo Sabioni in sixth for R$10,600, Hersh Mahajan of the United States in seventh for R$8,600, José Aldo in eighth for R$7,000, and Miri Balen in ninth for R$5,800.
A Final Table With a Subplot
Beyond the money, the result carried a storyline of its own. Moraes had already won the KSOP Rio de Janeiro Seniors event earlier in the series, and a win in the Freezeout would have given him two titles in the same festival stop, a feat that stands out even in a schedule as dense as this one. Balmaceda’s win in heads-up play closed that door, leaving Moraes with one title and a big runner-up score instead of a double.
For Balmaceda, the win adds a marquee live result to a schedule that has seen Argentine players travel frequently to Brazil’s growing live tournament circuit in search of denser prize pools and softer fields than many events offer at home. Freezeouts like this one, with a single bullet and no reentries, reward solid fundamentals over the course of a long day, and newer players looking to sharpen their own understanding of starting hand strength before attempting a similar freezeout can find a clear breakdown in Poker Pro Academy’s guide to poker hand rankings.
Argentina’s Big Day at Sheraton Grand Rio
The Freezeout was not the only event on the schedule to fall to a player from across the border. In the 2K Kings Turbo, Valeria Dilascio defeated a field of 48 entries to win R$23,000, with Renan Maciel taking R$15,300 as runner-up and Raphael Fernandes adding R$11,000 for third. The win gave Argentina its second title of the day and underscored how competitive the country’s traveling contingent has become on the Brazilian festival trail.
Brazil did reclaim a title in the Turbo 1000, where Roberto Borri topped a 95-entry field for R$17,500. Marco Caminha finished as runner-up, with Leonardo Bezerra rounding out the podium in third for R$8,550. Rounding out the day’s schedule, the dedicated Ladies Event drew 35 entries at a R$500 buy-in, with Marye Gobernate taking the title after she and runner-up Mayara Sauer struck a heads-up deal that paid each of them R$4,225. Cleide Sobrinho finished third for R$2,400.
Inside the KSOP Rio de Janeiro Festival
The results are part of a packed slate at the KSOP stop in Rio de Janeiro, run in partnership with GGPoker at the Sheraton Grand Rio, a venue that has become one of the more frequent hosts for major Brazilian live series in recent seasons. Beyond the four titles decided this particular day, the festival’s Super High Roller event was still working through its field, with Marco Perez among the players holding a strong stack as the tournament progressed. A separate Day 1 recap named Charles La Boissonniere of Canada as the chip leader heading into the next stage of that bracket, a reminder that KSOP Rio continues to draw an international mix of players well beyond its Brazilian base.
Multi-flight festivals like this one have become a backbone of the Brazilian live tournament calendar, offering a dense run of buy-in levels, from low-cost side events like the Ladies tournament up to high roller territory, inside a single trip to one hotel. That structure is a major part of why series such as KSOP continue to pull players in from neighboring countries like Argentina, who can build a multi-event schedule around a single flight to Rio rather than chasing isolated tournaments throughout the year.
What Comes Next
With the Freezeout and three other titles now in the record books, attention at the Sheraton Grand Rio shifts to the remaining events on the KSOP Rio de Janeiro schedule, including the ongoing Super High Roller. For Balmaceda, the win is a statement result in a market where Brazilian and visiting Argentine players increasingly share the same felt, and for the festival itself, a day that saw three of four titles leave the country is a sign of just how international Brazil’s live poker scene has become. As always, live tournament poker should be approached as entertainment rather than a path to guaranteed income, and participation is intended for players 18 and older.
