$5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed (Event #70)

Joao Vieira has come through a record-breaking 815 entrant field in Event #70: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed at the 2019 World Series of Poker to win his first piece of WSOP jewelry and the impressive first-place prize of $758,011. Vieira beat none other than 2009 Main Event champion and four-time bracelet winner Joe Cada heads-up to claim the title and only the fourth bracelet for Portugal.

Vieira ended Day 2 with the chip lead and he was still on top of the leaderboard at the start of the final table. Mostly thanks to a hero call with pocket kings on an ace-high board against Ankush Mandavia on Day 3. Vieira commented that it felt like the turning point in his tournament. ''I have been trying to develop my live reads for such a long time. On a crucial moment, in a crucial hand of the biggest tournament, of the biggest day of my professional career. I found a call based on all the hard work I have done over the past four years.''

A friend and teammate of Vieira joined him on the final table. Pierre Calamusa, who ultimately busted in fourth place, was eliminated by Vieira himself. Vieira told PokerNews after the tournament: ''If I sit at the poker table he's just another opponent. Whether the board is favorable or unfavorable, I have to play a hand when it's over. I love the guy, he is a great guy, but when you sit down it's just business and you try to do the best you can and compete to your full abilities.''

Official Final Table Results

Final Day Action
The day started out in the highest gear possible and it only took two hands for the first elimination to take place. Barry Hutter started the day as the short stack and he was the first player eliminated only a couple of minutes into the day. He got his chips in the middle with second pair against the top pair of Jamie O'Connor. Hutter hit two pair on the turn but was counterfeit when the board paired on the river to award O'Connor with a better two pair. Hutter played two hands on day four and was eliminated in sixth place worth $110,127.

The action did not slow down right away because three hands after that it was Calamusa who was at risk of elimination and it didn't look good for the Frenchman. Calamusa had to come from behind with pocket jacks against the pocket queens of O'Connor. The flop brought a jack right away and he managed to double up.

Vieira's chip lead was in no danger for a while but Cada then doubled up through the Portuguese to take over the chip lead. Olivier Busquet then busted out after a series of unfortunate hands he ended up jamming king-four in the small blind and he was called by O'Connor in the big blind with king-queen. Busquet busted out in fifth place after he wasn't able to come back from behind and he was sent to the cashier to collect $154,112.

Eventual champion Vieira busted his teammate Calamusa in fourth place. Vieira had the better hand with ace-king against the ace-seven of Calamusa but the Frenchman managed to hit a seven on the flop. Vieira hit a king on the river to eliminate him and Calamusa collected $219,468.

The three-handed battle went on for a little while and stacks evened out a bit. Cada at one point had the shortest stack with 7,000,000 but Vieira only had a marginal chip lead with 8,300,000. Cada then took over the chip lead by winning a big pot off O'Connor and Vieira delivered the knock-out punch. O'Connor wasn't able to fade a king or queen on the board when he was at risk of elimination and he busted out of the tournament in third place, missing the heads-up match. He did cash for $317,956.

Cada started the heads-up match with the lead but it was the fourth hand of the heads-up where it all switched. Cada faced a river raise from Vieira on a board that read five-four-deuce-king-ace. Cada called after a couple of minutes but mucked when Vieira showed him four-trey for a straight. They got their chips in the middle another four hands later and Cada finished in second place when his ace-queen couldn't win against the king-queen of Vieira. Cada had to settle for $468,488 while Vieira wins his first WSOP gold bracelet and $758,011.

When asked about his victory Vieira answered the following: ''I'm very happy. I don't think it has settled in yet. I've been having a lot of patience and the road hasn't been easy. I don't believe in justice but I believe in hard work. Winning five bracelets is one of my main goals. This is the first one and it's a huge burden off my back.''

Vieira joins the club of bracelet winners while Cada has to wait a little longer for number five. Stay tuned to PokerNews for more 2019 World Series of Poker coverage.

Hand #103: Joao Vieira called for 125,000, and Joe Cada checked. The flop fell    , and Cada checked. Vieira bet 325,000 and Cada called. The   hit the turn, and Cada checked before Vieira bet 950,000 and Cada folded.

Hand #104: Vieira got a walk.

Hand #105: Vieira called for 125,000, and Cada checked. The     hit the flop, and Cada check-called a 300,000 bet. The   hit the turn, and Cada checked again. Vieira checked behind, and when the   hit the river, Cada bet 900,000, which was enough to get a fold from Vieira.

Hand #106: Cada called for 125,000 and Vieira checked to see the     flop. Vieira then check-folded to a 300,000 bet from Cada.

Joao Vieira	18,000,000	500,000
Joe Cada	6,325,000	-275,000

The final two will now take a short break before heads-up play begins.

Hand #96: Jamie O'Connor raised to 400,000 from the button, and Joe Cada called in the big blind. The flop fell    , and Cada checked. O'Connor checked behind, and the   hit the turn.

Cada bet 800,000 and O'Connor called. The   hit the river, and Cada saw his 1,900,000 bet called by O'Connor.

Cada revealed    for trips and O'Connor mucked.

Joe Cada	13,300,000	3,200,000
Jamie O'Connor	3,100,000	-3,300,000

Hand #86: Joe Cada raised to 450,000 and Jamie O'Connor three-bet all in for 3,500,000, which Cada called.

Joe Cada:   
Jamie O'Connor:   

Board:      

O'Connor was in a flip for his tournament life, and when the flop gave him top pair, his rail exploded with celebration. More cheers followed after the rest of the board in the Brit's favor, and O'Connor moved up to 8,000,000.

Hand #87: O'Connor raised and won the pot.

Hand #88: Cada called in the small blind, and O'Connor checked his option. The flop fell    , and O'Connor check-folded to a bet.

Hand #89: Cada raised from the button and won the pot.

Hand #90: The flop was down    , and both O'Connor and Cada checked. The turn fell the  , and O'Connor called a 650,000 bet. The river revealed the   and O'Connor folded after Cada bet 1,900,000.

Joao Vieira	8,300,000	-600,000
Jamie O'Connor	8,000,000	3,800,000
Joe Cada	7,000,000	-3,000,000

Hand #80: Pierre Calamusa moved all in for 2,500,000 from the small blind, and Joao Vieira called in the big blind.

Joao Vieira:   
Pierre Calamusa:   

Board:      

Calamusa had run into ace-king and needed a lot of help from the board to survive, but the Frenchman got exactly what he was looking for on the flop when the seven of diamonds fell. The turn card kept his lead, but when the king of hearts hit the river, Vieira regained his lead and Calamusa was eliminated in 4th place for $219,468.

Joao Vieira	11,500,000	2,400,000
Pierre Calamusa	0	-3,400,000

Hand #73: Pierre Calamusa pushed his last 2,900,000 to the middle from the button but he wasn't called.

Hand #74: Joao Vieira raised to 450,000 from the button and small blind Joe Cada three-bet to 1,900,000. Jamie O'Connor folded his big blind and Vieira folded when the action was back on him.

Hand #75: Vieira raised to 450,000 from the cutoff and everyone folded.

Hand #76: Calamusa pushed his last 3,000,000 to the middle and he didn't get a call.

Hand #77: O'Connor limped from the cutoff. Vieira called from the small blind and Cada checked his option in the big blind. The     flop was dealt and it checked to O'Connor who bet 200,000. Vieira and Cada folded and he picked up the pot.

Joao Vieira	9,100,000	-500,000
Joe Cada	6,300,000	400,000
Jamie O'Connor	5,300,000	100,000
Pierre Calamusa	3,400,000	0

Hand #65: Pierre Calamusa raised to 2,000,000 from the button and both blinds folded.

Hand #66: Joao Vieira raised to 360,000 from the button and both blinds folded.

Hand #67: Vieira raised from the cutoff to 350,000 and big blind Calamusa called. The flop fell     and Calamusa check-called a bet of 375,000. The turn was the   and Calamusa had about pot-sized bet behind.

Calamusa bet 600,000 on the unknown river card and Vieira tanked for multiple minutes. He asked Calamusa how much he had behind and it was about 900,000. Vieira called and won the pot with   . Calamusa had the   open and the other card was hidden.

Joao Vieira	9,400,000	1,900,000
Jamie O'Connor	7,000,000	-400,000
Joe Cada	6,600,000	-400,000
Pierre Calamusa	940,000	-1,060,000

Hand #55: Jamie O'Connor limped from the small blind and Pierre Calamusa checked in the big blind. The flop was     and both players checked. The turn was the   and O'Connor took the pot down with a bet of 300,000.

Hand #56: Joe Cada raised to 350,000 from the cutoff and the others folded.

Hand #57: Joao Vieira limped from the small blind and Cada raised to 500,000. Vieira folded and Cada picked up the pot.

Hand #58: Calamusa pushed his last 2,220,000 to the middle from the cutoff and Cada wanted a count. He folded and so did O'Connor.

Hand #59: Vieira raised to 350,000 and he was called by O'Connor in the small blind and Calamusa in the big blind. The flop fell    . O'Connor checked and so did Calamusa bit initial raiser Vieira continued with a bet of 450,000. O'Connor called but Calamusa folded.

The turn was the   and both players checked. The river was the   and Vieira checked behind. They opened up and O'Connor won the pot. No cards were revealed, but O'Connor winning that latest pot keeps him firmly at the top of the chipcounts, while Pierre Calamusa is feeling the heat of sitting in the short-stack seat.

Jamie O'Connor	8,300,000	1,100,000
Joe Cada	7,400,000	-100,000
Joao Vieira	6,200,000	-700,000
Pierre Calamusa	2,000,000	-1,000,000