João Siqueira WSOP Controversy Leads to Tournament Disqualification

This João Siqueira WSOP drama proves that while the series always gives us some crazy hands, the Brazilian grinder just delivered the most chaotic floor call of the entire summer.

During Day 1 of the $3,000 6-Handed event , the guy managed to turn a standard afternoon poker session into a full-blown circus.

While everyone on Twitter thought it was just a funny argument about a cigarette, it actually turned him into the most viral WSOP player disqualified this week.

Player REMOVED From $3,000 Tournament

The use of smoking devices in the poker room is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification from the tournament.
Here’s what happens when that line gets crossed. pic.twitter.com/Ha7CfOpuWi

- WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 20, 2026

Lighting Up at the Felt (The Trigger)

It all started when Siqueira decided the Paris ballroom was his own personal back porch and tried to light up a real cigarette right at the table.

Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock, smoking inside a Vegas poker room hasn’t been legal since 2003. When the floor staff told him to put it out, the Brazilian flat-out refused and started arguing.

Of course, the whole room stopped, the cameras rolled over, and the footage instantly went viral across the poker community.

João Siqueira WSOP Player Was Disqualified

At first, we all laughed it off as a classic South American tilt moment. But the tournament directors definitely weren’t laughing.

It turns out the cigarette was just the tip of the iceberg. According to inside sources, Siqueira was actually booted for being way too drunk and – get this – shoving live tournament chips into his own pockets!

You don’t need to be a veteran dealer to know that is a massive WSOP rules violation. Tournament stacks have to stay on the felt 100% of the time so nobody is sneaking them off to another table or hiding their real stack size from the table.

Because of that absolute brain-fade, he officially became a WSOP player disqualified before the Day 1 dinner break even finished.

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The Poker Tournament Rules You Can’t Break

We all like to have a few beers and get loud during a deep run, but there is a hard line you just cannot cross when you’re playing for real gold bracelets.

These the most important basic poker tournament rules:

• Keep your stack visible: Never put live tournament chips in your pockets, cup holders, or lap.
• Don’t ignore the floor: When a tournament director tells you to do something, you do it.
• Pace your drinks: Getting loose is great for the table vibe; getting blindingly intoxicated gets you the rail.
• Protect the game: Doing anything that messes with the integrity of the chip count is an instant death sentence.

The Table’s Reaction Was Pure Comedy

While Siqueira was holding up the tournament puffing on his smoke, the rest of Table 56 was losing their minds. One grinder sitting next to him got so fed up with the stalling that he openly called for the hammer to drop:

“Give him a one-round penalty, at least!”

Even high-stakes legend Nick Schulman chimed in on the broadcast for trying to pull off a 1980s Atlantic City move in the year 2026.

The Final Damage Report

They didn’t ban him from the casino or the WSOP forever – just kicked him out of this one event.

Yeah, you read that right. They kept his $3,000 buy-in, blinded his chips off into the ether, but let him walk right back into the Paris casino two days later to fire another event.

What do we learn from all this? Have your fun, order your drinks, but keep the smokes outside and leave the chips on the poker table!