Early Life and Background
João Filipe Martins Vieira (born July 27, 1989) is from the island of Madeira in Portugal. He excelled at basketball as a child and signed a professional contract as a teenager, playing point guard for CAB Madeira in Portugal's first division. He represented Portugal at the youth national team level. His height of 5'9" was not a disqualifier at the point guard position, and he competed in the top tier of Portuguese professional basketball before the age of 18.
He retired from professional basketball after the 2009-2010 season, at 21 years old, having experienced what he described as burnout. His teammates introduced him to poker during the basketball years. He had been playing casually, both live and online, and when he stepped away from the court he committed to the game seriously. His basketball statistics are tracked at Proballers.com.
Transition to Poker
Vieira began playing regularly on PokerStars in 2009, initially during the basketball season and then full-time after retiring. He had been studying economics at university in parallel with his basketball career. He described the moment of deciding to go all-in on poker in a 2013 interview:
"It was in December of 2011. Things had been going well for me on the tables for quite a while already. I had won lots, and travelled to play in my first live tournaments. I was heading to university to attend an economics class, which was meant to be one of my final seminars before my exams... It was at this moment that I decided to give poker a try, even if it was just for one semester."
He had no formal poker training. He described the transition as a natural follow-on from the pattern recognition and competitive mindset he had developed in sports.
His early results were modest. He played low-stakes MTTs online and at small live events in Europe. The development was gradual. He entered his first EPT events and started building a live resume alongside sustained online grinding.
Online Career: Naza114
Online, Vieira plays as Naza114 on PokerStars, MisterN411 on PartyPoker, and under his real name on GGPoker. He has accumulated more than $23.5 million in MTT earnings on PokerStars and has won multiple WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) titles on that platform. He is one of the highest-earning online tournament players in the history of the game and at one point held the top position on the PocketFives all-time MTT earnings list, overtaking Niklas "Lena900" Astedt in April 2021.
He is sponsored by Winamax, the major French and Spanish poker operator, and has been a member of Team Winamax since February 2018, the first Portuguese player to represent the team. His X account is @Naza114_oficial and Instagram is @naza114_oficial.
EPT: Building a Live Reputation
Vieira's live reputation was built on the European Poker Tour. During the 2014-2015 EPT season he finished second in the overall player rankings, recording 19 in-the-money finishes including eight final tables across the season. The sustained run across that season established him as the leading Portuguese player in European live tournament poker, a position he has held continuously since.
Four WSOP Bracelets
Vieira has four WSOP bracelets spanning six years, with the biggest paydays arriving in recent events.
Bracelet 1 (2019): $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed. $758,011. Las Vegas.
Bracelet 2 (2022): $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. $1,384,413. Las Vegas, July 14, 2022.
Bracelet 3 (2023): WSOP Online International $25,000 GGMillion$ Super High Roller Championship. Approximately $760,396. Played on GGPoker. He defeated Belgium's Pieter Aerts heads-up to claim the title.
Bracelet 4 (2025): $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. $2,649,158. Las Vegas. Event #38 of the 2025 WSOP. He defeated Vladimir Oganyan heads-up in a grueling match. The result was his second career score above $2.5 million and his first live title at the $100,000 buy-in level.
Joao Vieira Wins 4th WSOP Bracelet in $100k High Roller for $2.65 Million
Vieira defeats Oganyan heads-up in Event #38 to claim his fourth WSOP bracelet and $2,649,158, his second career score above $2.5 million.
Read full story →2025 Triton Jeju: $4.61 Million
In 2025, Vieira won the Triton Jeju $150,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for $4,610,000, the largest single live cash of his career. The result established a new career-best and pushed his total documented live earnings past $21.6 million. Earlier, at the 2024 WSOP Paradise Triton Main Event, he had finished runner-up for $2,590,000, his second-largest score at the time.
He described his long-term goal in a 2023 interview with JeffGrossPoker as winning five WSOP bracelets. He has four.
Playing Style and Approach
Vieira is described as a technically complete player with strong range construction across both online and live formats. His online background gives him an edge in volume decisions and bet-sizing precision, while his live experience, accumulated over seventeen years of EPT and WSOP play, gives him the reads and adjustments that come only from time at physical tables.
He is noted for consistency: his EPT season record, his multi-platform online results, and his WSOP bracelet timeline all reflect sustained performance rather than short-run variance. Portugal has produced no player who comes close to his record.
Tournament Results Highlights
| Year | Event | Finish | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | WSOP $5,000 NLH 6-Handed (Bracelet #1) | 1st | $758,011 |
| 2022 | WSOP $50,000 NLH High Roller (Bracelet #2) | 1st | $1,384,413 |
| 2023 | WSOP Online $25,000 GGMillion$ SHR Championship (Bracelet #3) | 1st | ~$760,396 |
| 2024 | WSOP Paradise Triton Main Event | 2nd | $2,590,000 |
| Jun 2025 | WSOP $100,000 NLH High Roller (Bracelet #4) | 1st | $2,649,158 |
| 2025 | Triton Jeju $150,000 NLH | 1st | $4,610,000 |
Career Summary
As of May 2026, Vieira holds four WSOP bracelets and ranks first on Portugal's all-time money list with live tournament earnings of $21,664,346. His career-best single live cash is $4,610,000 from the 2025 Triton Jeju $150,000 NLH. Online, he has more than $23.5 million in MTT earnings on PokerStars and multiple WCOOP titles. He has been a Winamax Team Pro since February 2018. He is 36 years old.
Earnings current as of May 2026. Sources: Hendon Mob, WSOP.com, Winamax, PGT, Triton Poker, Proballers.
