Bulgarian grinder Ognyan “cocojamb0” Dimov took down the $530 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty Builder High Roller during the 2026 PokerStars WCOOP Boot Camp, beating out a 174 entry field to win $19,314. The result is a solid score in its own right, but the tournament earned extra attention because of who busted just short of the money in 29th place, Brazilian football star Neymar.
The WCOOP Boot Camp is PokerStars’ annual warm up series ahead of the World Championship of Online Poker, pairing free coaching sessions from BBZ Poker with a full schedule of online tournaments carrying real money guarantees. Dimov’s win in the Bounty Builder High Roller was one of the series’ bigger scores so far, and Neymar’s brief appearance in the field gave it a crossover storyline that reached well beyond the usual online poker audience.
How the Bounty Builder High Roller Played Out
The $530 buy-in event drew 174 entries, building a prize pool of $87,000 split between standard payouts and the progressive bounties that define the Bounty Builder format. Dimov outlasted the field to reach heads up against a player known only by the username “Chengueee,” who settled for $9,864 as runner-up.
The final table featured a mix of well known online grinders, including Luiz “G1a1u1s1s” Arruda in eighth, Casimir “Ceis25” Seire in seventh, and Jorge “TakiToRivers” Rios in fourth, alongside other regulars such as “Sxmon,” Peter “Belabacsi” Traply, Jakob “Succeeed” Miegel, and Patrick “JaegsPL” Lauber who cashed without reaching the unofficial six handed final stretch. For a field this size, a $19,314 first prize represents a strong multiple on a $530 investment, the kind of result that keeps mid stakes specialists coming back to bounty formats.
Neymar’s Bounty Hunt Falls Just Short
Neymar, one of Brazilian football’s most recognizable names and no stranger to the poker felt, entered the Bounty Builder High Roller and battled his way to 29th place, just outside the paid positions. He did not leave completely empty handed, collecting a $125 bounty along the way for eliminating an opponent, a small consolation prize built into the Bounty Builder structure regardless of how deep a player ultimately runs.
Neymar has become a familiar face in poker circles over the past several years, having previously played live events including a run at the BSOP Winter Invitational, and his participation in online series like the WCOOP Boot Camp continues to draw attention from fans who follow him primarily for his career on the pitch rather than at the tables. His bustout in 29th, one spot from the money in a 174 entry field, is a solid showing for a recognizable amateur mixing it up against dedicated online specialists.
A Series Built Around More Than One Event
Dimov’s win was not the only notable result from the same slate of WCOOP Boot Camp tournaments. The $75 buy-in PKO Sunday Special drew a massive 4,931 entries, building a $336,195 prize pool that was ultimately claimed by a player using the username “Luis poke187” for $30,291. The size of that field, more than 28 times larger than the Bounty Builder High Roller, illustrates how the Boot Camp schedule caters to very different bankroll levels within the same promotional window.
That range, from a $75 buy-in mass field event to a $530 high roller, is central to how PokerStars structures the Boot Camp each year, giving recreational players an entry point while still offering higher stakes options for grinders looking to build a bankroll ahead of the main WCOOP schedule. Players interested in understanding how bounty formats differ from standard payout structures can review the basics in Poker Pro Academy’s poker glossary.
Why Celebrity Appearances Still Move the Needle
Neymar’s presence in a mid stakes online tournament, rather than a headline live event, says something about how thoroughly online poker has folded celebrity interest into its regular schedule. A single deep-ish run in a $530 event generated coverage that a similar result from an anonymous username would never receive, underscoring how much crossover appeal still matters to operators trying to grow their audience beyond dedicated grinders.
For PokerStars specifically, having a global sports figure regularly buy into WCOOP Boot Camp events, even without a deep run, reinforces the platform’s visibility in Brazil, one of online poker’s fastest growing markets. Whether or not Neymar builds a serious tournament resume over time, his continued presence at the tables keeps a spotlight on series that might otherwise fly under the radar outside the dedicated online grinding community.
What Recreational Players Can Take From This Result
Dimov’s title is a reminder that Bounty Builder and other progressive knockout formats can turn a modest buy-in into a meaningful score even in a moderately sized field, since bounties collected along the way add up regardless of how the run finishes. For players newer to the format, understanding basic poker odds around all-in confrontations helps make sense of why knockout formats reward aggressive, well timed shoves more than a standard freezeout would.
As with any online tournament series, results like these should be read as entertainment and skill development rather than a guaranteed path to profit. WCOOP Boot Camp events remain open only to players of legal age in eligible jurisdictions, and anyone playing regularly should track results honestly and set firm bankroll limits before buying into a series built to run for weeks at a time.
