James Akenhead Wins Full Tilt Poker Million VIII

Hats off to Full Tilt Poker pro James Akenhead who took first place in the Poker Million VIII event in London on December 4th! With his impressive first place finish, Akenhead walked away from the final table with the top prize of a massive $500K.

A total of 72 skillful players from around the world participated in the Full Tilt Poker Million, an invitational event featuring intense tournament action that has lasted over five months. Making it to the final table was no easy feat, and once there, Akenhead had to keep his focus on the desire to win as he competed against a tough field including; Full Tilt Poker pro Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Team Full Tilt pro and Cardrunners’ co-founder Taylor Caby, Full Tilt player Peter Vasiliou and Poker Million Last Chance promotion champ Craig Wakeham.

During the final hand, Akenhead called his opponent’s re-raise of all-in before ever seeing the flop. Holding pocket tens, he watched the flop come as 3-4-5 that unknown to him, further supported his opponent’s pocket sixes, providing an open-ended straight draw, although Akenhead was still the 2-1 favorite. But, the blanks provided by both the turn and river allowed Akenhead’s pair of tens to take the pot and for him to reign victorious in the tournament.

Hailing from London, Akenhead began playing poker several years ago while playing on the professional pool circuit. He set out to learn by playing the game often and devoured every poker book that he could find. As a part of a group of poker-playing friends known as the “Hit Squad,” Akenhead soon began posting solid tournament results, regularly landing at final tables.

His accomplishment continued to steadily grow and in 2008, he made his first command performance as a pro when he made it to a most impressive 2nd place finish in his first World Series of Poker, where he outlasted a field of 4,000 to walk away with more than $520,000 in the $1.5K No-Limit Hold ‘em event. Then Akenhead joined the most elite World Series of Poker players when he advanced into the November Nine at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event final table. He arrived as the short stack and finished in 9th place, but pocketed $1.2 million for his efforts. Then with his 1st place victory in Poker Million VIII in London, his career tournament winnings soared to more than $2.7 million.

When asked to define his poker play, Akenhead described himself as being obsessive when it comes to winning and strives to become the best poker player possible.

Do you see yourself as the the next poker pro in the making? If so, why not ramp up your game and be the best possible player you can be? Start playing today at Full Tilt Poker, and look for James Akenhead at the Full Tilt Poker tables to see him in action. Then check out all the invaluable free Pro advice and you too can be the best poker player you can be – thanks to Full Tilt Poker