Full Tilt Poker Pro Akenhead Wins First Major Tournament

Saturday December 19, 2009

Full Tilt Poker pro James Akenhead won his first major tournament, taking down the Poker Million VIII event. Rounding off an impressive year that included final table finishes in the WSOP and WSOPE Main Events, Akenhead scooped 1st place and the $500K top prize at the event in London on December 4th.

The Full Tilt Poker Million is an invitational event featuring 72 players from around the globe, battling it out over five months of tournament action. Akenhead capitalized on his recent run of good form on his way to the final table, eliminating some high-profile competition along the way, including Team Full Tilt's.

On his way to claiming the top prize, Akenhead faced down a stacked final table that included Full Tilt Poker pro and Cardrunners' co-founder, Full Tilt Poker pro and Peter Vasiliou, who qualified online at Full Tilt Poker. Craig Wakeham, winner of Full Tilt Poker's Poker Million - Last Chance promotion, entered the final table as the short stack and managed to secure a 5th place finish.

In a tense final hand, Akenhead put his tournament on the line by going all in with pocket tens. His opponent flipped over pocket sixes, giving Akenhead a huge pre-flop lead. A 3-4-5 flop gave his opponent an open-ended straight draw and a glimmer of hope. However, the turn and river were both blanks and Akenhead's tens were enough to secure the tournament win.

One of the UK's leading poker players, Akenhead was a member of the WSOP Main Event 'November Nine'. Starting as the short stack at the final table, Akenhead finished 9th overall and took home over $1.2 million.

Prior to Akenhead's victory, the story of Poker Million VIII was Peter Vasiliou, a London-based estate agent who qualified online at Full Tilt Poker. He finished 6th overall when Dag Mikkelsen's pocket Jacks beat Vasiliou's A-9, sending the internet qualifier home with $75K in prize money.