8 Minute Read
Rui Ferreira, known on PokerStars as “RuiNF”, has worked his way up from humble results at small stakes to become one of the most successful and prolific online poker players in the world.
He’s also one of the most successful SCOOP players of all time, with five titles to his name and a number of six figure results. Here we take a detailed look at Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira; the person, the player, and the achievements.
Name: Rui Ferreira
D.O.B: March 2. 1992
Birthplace: Porto, Portugal
Playing online since: February 2010
Number of tournament cashes: 9,076 (Mar. 2024)
Online poker tournament earnings:R$13,761,450 (Mar. 2024)
Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira has made an astoundingR$13.7 million in online poker winnings. He is currently ranked the number one player in Portugal, and number two in the world (Mar. 2024).
Ferreira’s career has gone from strength to strength. He’s something of a people’s champion, a player who has climbed his way up through the stakes over the course of a decade.
Ferreira started playing poker in 2010, grinding micro and low stakes tourneys and occasionally catching a break with four-figure wins. By 2011, he was regularly taking down MTTs for big scores, and since then his career has reached dizzying heights.
Ferreira has made the majority of his earnings on PokerStars, but also plays on several other popular online poker sites. Here are his known usernames:
Rui Ferreira usernames:
RuinF (PokerStars)
SirRuinF (PokerStars.fr)
SirRuinF.pt (PokerStars.pt)
Rui Ferreira (GG)
CrushTheBeasT (America’s Cardroom)
Plarize (Party Poker)
Pass123 (Winamax)
In February 2024, Ferreira claimed his spot in the PocketFives worldwide rankings as a top five player for the first time. By March 2024, he had reached second in the world rankings. WithR$13.7 million in online cashes, he is also 15th on the all-time money list.
Ferreira won his first SCOOP title in 2014, which was his first title in any PokerStars series. Since then, he has since claimed titles in the WCOOP, Turbo Series, Blowout Series, and Bounty Builder Series.
Rui Ferreira has always shown particular excellence in SCOOP, winning five titles in his career. Here’s a list of Ferreira’s accolades:
SCOOP titles: 5
WCOOP titles: 2
Bounty Builder Series: 2
Turbo Series: 1
Blowout Series: 1
One of greatest SCOOP players of all time
Ferreira’s achievements in SCOOP really stand out on his record. He’s had a total of five titles, with four of those coming in the last few years. His is one of the greatest SCOOP players of all time.
Ferreira won his first SCOOP event in 2014 in the 08-H:R$700 Heads-Up event, earningR$92,242, which back then provided a substantial boost to his career earnings.
It wasn’t until 2024 that Ferreira picked up another SCOOP title. This time he bagged two in one year, first taking down the 17-H:R$2,100 FLHE event forR$48,271, and then following up with a huge win in the 30-H:R$2,100 6-max forR$201,642.
Rui Ferreira has excelled in SCOOP, winning a total of five titles, and earning player of the year in 2024. Will he be a name to watch in 2024? We think so…
By this time, Ferreira had already proven beyond doubt that he was one of online poker’s top players. In 2024, he earned another double, winning theR$2,100 FLHE forR$49,458, and then locking up one of his biggest scores of all time –R$235,552 in the 45-H:R$5,200 High Roller.
Although titles are the easiest measure of a player’s success in a series, some of Ferreira’s biggest scores in SCOOP come from final table finishes that weren’t first place including; a second place finish in the special edition Super Tuesday forR$192,516; a fourth place finish in theR$25k High Roller forR$260,719; and a second place finish in the special edition Sunday HR forR$201,642.
In 2024, Ferreira was crowned SCOOP player of the year without even winning a title. He did this by cashing more than 100 times and making nine final tables, and his top three cashes alone totaled nearlyR$300k.
If Ferreira plays in SCOOP 2024, he’ll be well in the mix for another title or two.
WCOOP
Rui Ferreira is a two-time WCOOP champion. In 2024, he won theR$215 Big Ante event forR$59,904. In 2024, he got his second title with a win in theR$1,050 FLHE 6-max forR$23,897.
Both of these are relatively small wins for Rui Ferreira, and the results understate his presence in WCOOP events. In recent years, Ferreira has thrived on the WCOOP circuit, earningR$127k for second place in a PKO event in 2024, andR$146k in the 8-Game High Roller in 2024, along with a string of five figure results.
Other series
Ferreira has said himself that he usually targets bigger series like WCOOP and SCOOP. He does, however, have several titles to his name from other series, such as a 2024 Turbo Series win worthR$81,474.
In 2024, Rui Ferreira earned a big double in the Bounty Builder Series, coming first in Event 078 forR$20k, and winning Event 161 forR$23k. True to his style of picking up accolades, Ferreira was also the player with the most KOs in the series. He cashed 34 times, knocked out 253 hopefuls, and madeR$130k in bounties.
2024 started with a bang for Ferreira. He won the Blowout Series 18-H:R$2,100 PKO on New Year’s Day forR$67k and, less than two weeks later, followed up with a second place finish in theR$10,300 High Roller forR$202k.
Outside of the major poker series, Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira is also a regular winner in the High Roller Club and major weekend tournaments.
Rui Ferreira is a true high roller. His top online poker results come from events with buy-ins fromR$5k toR$25k. All five are worth more thanR$200k each. Ferreira’s top scores are all quite recent, showing his rise to the top over the last few years. 2024 has already been a fantastic year for the Portuguese pro.
Rui Ferreira’s top five results across all sites (screenshot from PocketFives Mar. 2024)
When we look at Ferreira’s top scores on PokerStars, four of five come from SCOOP. Ferreira has won most of his major titles in SCOOP, as well as picking up some of his biggest wins from lucrative final table finishes. All five of Ferreira’s top scores on PS come from High Roller tourneys.
Ferreira’s top five wins on PokerStars (screenshot from PocketFives, Mar. 2024)
Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira has had success at the EPT Barcelona, but is better known for his accomplishments online
According to Hendon Mob, Rui Ferreira has made overR$1.2 million in live poker winnings. Upon closer examination, a large chunk of this amount comes from the 2024 live events which were held online, such as EPT Online and WPT World Online Championships.
When it comes to true live events, Ferreira had a particularly decent run at the EPT Barcelona in 2024, where he came eighth in theR$100k event forR$261k, and ninth in theR$50k event forR$116k.
Although Rui Ferreira has a decent live record, he is very much an online poker specialist.
Here we take you through highlights of Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira’s recent success. His online poker career has been gaining momentum for over a decade, but in the last few years he’s gained enough steam to challenge the true elite.
Ferreira’s second SCOOP title of 2024 series: Rui Ferreira wins the SCOOP High Roller forR$224k, his second title of the series and fifth SCOOP title of all time.
Bounty Builder Series title and HRC scores – Another heater of a weekend for Rui Ferreira, who took down his second Bounty Builder and followed up with several scores in the High Roller Club. Ferreira is showing himself as a regular winner and major competitor to the throne of online poker’s top player.
Huge double score for Ferreira – Two wins in one weekend for Portugal’s number one player. Ferreira wins the Bounty Builder 161, then follows it up with a second place finish in the Sunday HR. The total for both final table results is overR$85k.
Ferreira claims most KOs in BBS – Ferreira picked up two Bounty Builder Series titles in the 2024 series. He also managed to knock out the most opponents, earning himself huge bounty totals.
2024 SCOOP player of the year – He’s won five SCOOP titles over the years. In 2024, despite not managing to lock up a first place finish, Ferreira won player of the year with nine final tables and over 100 cashes. Find out more in this interview.
First Blowout Series title – Ferreira started off the year in style with a New Year’s Day victory in the Blowout Series, picking up loads of bounties along the way in the PKO event. It was a fitting start to what has been a very lucrative 2024 for the Portuguese pro.
