Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari and Friend of PokerStars Felipe Ramos have both taken a seat here in Uruguay.
Both players are also far cheerier and fresh-faced than anyone should be after being in transit for the past 30 hours.
Not many people would make a 30-hour journey to attend a tournament in time, but the Brazilian red-spade duo had a few incentives.
First, they were headed in this direction anyways. Brazil is right next door and São Paulo is just a quick two-and-a-half hour flight away.
Secondly, they had a good reason to stay where they were. The two were in a castle with supermodels and celebrities.
No, that’s not a metaphor, hyperbole, euphemism or any other literary device.
The Brazilian duo literally spent the last few days in a Spanish castle coaching a Portuguese Victoria’s Secret Model, Sara Sampaio; soon-to-be-star of Star Wars: Episode VII, John Boyega; and Brazilian soccer superstar, Neymar Jr.
They were coaching the stars for PokerStars’ “The Duel” and filming was done at the Peralada Castle in Catalan.
Warning: The following Tweets contain scenes of beautiful castles, people and poker chips that may cause envy.
Olha que incrÃvel este lugar! Set para a filmagem de hoje. #PokerStars What amazing place!… https://t.co/5FBkDk2YBx
— andre akkari (@aakkari) September 17, 2015
GAME ON!!! https://t.co/XEJcYoa5cB
— andre akkari (@aakkari) September 17, 2015
Começou a entender o poker e discuti-los como poucas vezes vi um amador fazer na minha carreira,… https://t.co/3UdHlW6mXI
— andre akkari (@aakkari) September 18, 2015
My boy @johnboyega fully motivated and ready to beat @sara_sampaio after a little poker coaching! May… https://t.co/hP4o7F1Dx8
— Felipe Mojave Ramos (@FelipeMojave) September 17, 2015
Tarde sensacional com pessoas espetaculares nos seus trabalhos e na vida. Me diverti muito! / Amazing… https://t.co/ZUFbRUsvkL
— Felipe Mojave Ramos (@FelipeMojave) September 17, 2015
And as a bonus, here’s John Boyega showing off his lightsaber skills with Sampaio:
It wasn’t the first time Mojave and Akkari have coached people in poker. Both players have helped Neymar with his game and both run poker training schools in Brazil.
Mojave’s program focuses more on teaching beginners the ropes while Akkari’s students tend to be more experienced and are looking to go pro.
While both players enjoy teaching, they prefer to lead by example.
For them, that means winning.
Both players have accumulated a number of victories and results, but one that’s eluded them both is an LAPT victory.
The two are looking to change that today, but if that doesn’t work out, they wouldn’t mind taking the next LAPT title in their hometown of São Paulo in November.
Alexander Villegas is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
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