Afrânio Machado won the BSOP Winter Start-Up Mystery Bounty in São Paulo on July 22, 2026, topping a field of 886 entries to claim a total prize of R$147,500. The victory came in the event that traditionally opens each BSOP circuit stop, and it produced an unusual payout twist along the way, since runner-up Gabriel Cabello actually left the tournament with more total money than the champion.
A Massive Field for the BSOP Winter Start-Up
The R$1,500 buy-in Start-Up event is considered a Gold tier tournament on the BSOP calendar, and it lived up to its reputation as a series opener by drawing 886 entries. That field size produced a regular prize pool of R$576,600, paid out across the top 133 finishers under standard tournament rules.
On top of that regular pool, the Start-Up ran as a mystery bounty event, meaning additional envelopes containing random cash values were awarded to players as they eliminated opponents throughout the tournament, on top of whatever they eventually earned by making the money.
How Machado Closed Out the Title
Machado’s run through 886 entries ended with a first place finish worth R$100,000 in standard payout money, plus R$47,500 collected from mystery bounty envelopes along the way, for a total prize of R$147,500. According to SuperPoker, the win adds a marquee result to Machado’s tournament resume from the opening event of BSOP Winter.
Navigating a mystery bounty format requires balancing two competing incentives, playing solid, patient poker to survive deep into a massive field, while also staying alert for spots to apply pressure and pick up bounty envelopes along the way.
A Runner-Up Who Out-Earned the Champion
The tournament’s most talked about detail may not be the win itself, but the final numbers for runner-up Gabriel Cabello. Cabello’s standard payout for second place was R$67,000, but he also collected R$100,000 in mystery bounty envelope money during his run, for a total of R$167,000, nearly R$20,000 more than Machado walked away with overall.
That outcome is a distinctive feature of mystery bounty tournaments rather than any kind of scoring error. Because envelope values are randomly assigned and can be worth far more than a typical knockout payment, a player who finishes one spot behind the champion can still end the day with the bigger overall cash total, simply by opening the right envelopes along the way.
Why Mystery Bounty Formats Keep Growing in Popularity
Mystery bounty tournaments have surged in popularity across the poker world over the past few years precisely because of moments like this one. The format adds an extra layer of unpredictability on top of standard tournament variance, giving min cashes and bubble finishes the chance to turn into life changing scores if the right envelope lands in a player’s favor.
For players new to tournament poker who want to understand how standard payouts, bounties, and bubble situations typically work before trying a mystery bounty event themselves, Poker Pro Academy’s guide to how to play poker covers the fundamentals of tournament structure.
A Strong Start to the BSOP Winter Series
An 886 entry field for a R$1,500 event is a strong signal for the health of the BSOP Winter series as a whole, suggesting healthy turnout as the schedule moves into its bigger buy-in events over the following weeks. As the series continues, more marquee results are likely to follow from the same venue in São Paulo.
As with any tournament result, Machado’s and Cabello’s paydays reflect a mix of skill and the randomness built into knockout and bounty formats. Tournament poker should be treated as entertainment rather than a reliable source of income, and events of this kind are intended for players aged 18 and over who participate responsibly and only with money they can afford to lose.
