Neymar Goes to Las Vegas to Play at the WSOP After Brazil World Cup Exit

Soccer superstar Neymar Jr has just played at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with his national team, Brazil. Since the Brazilians' last game against Norway — which ended in a surprisingly early exit for the Seleção after a 2-1 loss to the Norwegians led by Erling Haaland in the Round of 16 — was played in East Rutherford, New Jersey in the United States on July 5, Neymar decided to stay a little longer in the country to take part in his other passion.

He was among the 558 players who bought in for the $10,000 WSOP No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max event at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

He did not play in the WSOP Main Event as some outlets erroneously reported: the last flight for Day 1 in the Main was on July 5, the day Brazil were still playing Norway — Neymar even scored a penalty in the game. Neymar did not arrive in Las Vegas to play some cards until last Saturday, July 11.

Although not because of his poker accolades, he was the best-known person in the world among the entrants in the $10 6-max event. Thus, the WSOP media made sure to capture quite a few of the hands he played.

https://x.com/WSOP/status/2076392928029573194

Neymar Jr Scooping Pots at the WSOP

Straight from the pitch, to the felt! @neymarjr made his way from the FIFA World Cup to the World Series of Poker to play in the $10,000 six-max event. pic.twitter.com/mJFywqWc8M

— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 12, 2026

be drawn to the same table as the Brazilian soccer star. He was also kind enough to report some of the key hands Neymar played on his X page.

For instance, according to Jaka, Neymar made quad 9’s on the river with 9♣9♠ in the hole. He went all-in, but unfortunately for him, no-one called.

Alas, he also failed to make it past Day 1. Jaka shared that Neymar re-raised all-in on the turn for an unspecified amount with just a middle pair on the turn. His opponent in the small blind snap-called with a set of 7’s. Poor Neymar got it in drawing dead for his tournament life.

Neymar JR is out of the @WSOP $10k 6-max

He raised CO 9❤️6❤️, SB calls.

Flop 7♠️6♦️4♣️ sb leads, Neymar calls.

Turn 7❤️ sb leads again, Neymar jams all in, SB snap calls with A♦️7♦️

River 8♦️.

Other than that hand he didn’t get out of one much, played a solid game and ran… https://t.co/QBJE3LtgO1

— Faraz Jaka (@FarazJaka) July 12, 2026

Neymar’s Only Cash at the WSOP

While Neymar did not make it in the money in this tourney, he has a respectable poker resume for a recreational player.

He has $116,632 in live tournament cashes. One of those cashes is from a WSOP event: in 2022, he came in 49th in the $700 No Limit Hold’em Super Bounty event for $3,959. Last December, he recorded the largest payout of his poker career. He won R$350,000 ($63,000) after taking 4th place in the R$100,000 NLHE Super High Roller at the Brazilian Series Of Poker in São Paulo, Brazil. It was actually a special “Neymar Jr edition” of the BSOP.

That cash, while impressive, still pales in comparison to the performance of Neymar’s former FC Barcelona teammate Gerard Piqué. The former Spanish international center back won €352,950    for coming in second in a €25,000 NLHE High Roller at EPT Barcelona in August 2019.