It’s been a breakthrough year for canny British operator James Akenhead. The November Nine finalist battled past a string of stellar names to be crowned Full Tilt Poker Million VIII champion, and received $500k for his efforts.
Akenhead became the first player to final table both the WSOP and WSOPE Main Events in the same year. Approaching the Vegas rendition as the desperate short stack, Akenhead finished in 9th for $1,263,602, and repeated the feat in London for £66k.
His ability to glide through large fields, displaying a fine balance of patience and aggression, earned him a Full Tilt red pro contract. Akenhead joined fellow Brit Richard ‘Chufty’ Ashby at the $200/$400 PLO tables, mixing it up with the likes of Tom Dwan and David Benyamine to good effect.
Akenhead continues to show his mettle against the best, winning the 72 player invitational event, which included two preliminary phases. The controversial Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz (who is practically barred from every casino in Britain following the infamous ‘Sandwich-gate’ incident) held the chip lead going into the final table, which included shrewd Finn Juha Helppi and Cardrunners instructor Taylor Caby. Akenhead enjoyed a slice of luck against Schwartz – turning a flush with his A
7 against the chip leader’s pocket eights. A distraught Schwartz periodically left the table, and returned only to be eliminated when his A-5 succumbed to Dag Mikkelsen’s K-Q. Heads up play ensued between Helppi and Akenhead, but the Finn came unstuck when his pocket sixes failed to improve against the latter’s pocket tens.
Poker fans look set for a mouth-watering spectacle, as Patrick Antonius, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Gus Hansen, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu square off in Poker After Dark the Cash Game’s ‘Railbird Heaven’. Monster pots, wild prop bets and downright degeneracy will all be at large, as six of poker’s biggest names lock horns. In terms of structure and production quality, PAD may lag behind TV rival High Stakes Poker, but the latter has been criticised for lacklustre line-ups over the past few seasons. You can check out the teaser over at Pokertube here.