Rafael Moraes
Born in Sao Paulo, Rafael Moraes dedicated time to his study group and mastering poker early in his career, and has since risen to the top of the game and to PokerStars Team Pro.
Rafael was a semi-professional chess player. He competed in regional tournaments and the Brazilian championship, but decided to try his hand at poker. It turned out to be a good choice; after turning pro, Rafael made history by becoming the first Brazilian ever player to win a US$1,000,000 prize in a single online MTT back in 2019.
He’s also won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Ring, two Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) titles, and a 3rd-place finish at the High Roller event at European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo, which was his biggest cash win at a live tournament; a massive €568,000.
He follows in the footsteps of friend and compatriot André Akkari in becoming a member of PokerStars Team Pro, a moment he described as a “crowning achievement” of his career. Rafael said about the announcement, “I always dreamed of representing PokerStars, it was the site where I started playing, where I won my first title, and where I have gained the most prizes.
Having the chance to represent a big name where I can impact the community and help the growth of poker in Brazil is a dream come true.”
Rafael loves streaming, and specifically enjoys being able to interact with players of different levels. Despite poker being an individual pursuit, he loves the togetherness and fellowship that the poker community brings, with one of his personal stream highlights coming in day three of an EPT live event where 2,000 of his viewers were cheering him on as he was playing.
Now a member of PokerStars Team Pro, and with the Brazilian public supporting him every step of the way, he’s hoping to propel his streams to an even bigger audience and enjoy even more engagement from his ever-growing audience of fans.
Rafael Moraes plays online poker exclusively at PokerStars, where he plays under the username ‘GM_VALTER’.