James Akenhead

For the first time since Jon Kalmar’s superb 5th place finish in 2007, Great Britain will have a representative at the WSOP Main Event final table. Rising star James Akenhead managed to dodge his way into the November Nine as the table short stack, holding 6.8m chips. In the days leading up to the final table he had been in or around the chip leaders before a stressful final day saw his stack take some substantial hits. Though he appears short Akenhead will still have a very workable 23 big blinds so there is definite hope that he could yet go far.

Amongst the UK poker community Akenhead has long been known as a special talent to watch out for. A member of the Hit Squad clique, Akenhead had to live in the shadow of his more celebrated teammates Praz Bansi and Karl Mahrenholz for a long period before the WSOP last year.

It was there in the first $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event that the Londoner outlasted a record-breaking field of 3,929 to get heads up against American Grant Hinkle for a WSOP bracelet. With the two tied in chips, Akenhead’s constant aggression forced Hinkle into a rash four-bet all-in with 10-4 suited. Akenhead’s trap had worked perfectly as he snap-called with A-K only to see a heartbreaking 10-10-4 flop see him finish second for a still substantial $520,219.

This year’s Main Event run should certainly have erased those demons from Akenhead’s mind though as he has already won a minimum $1.2m just for reaching the November Nine. Add that to a lucrative deal signed with Full Tilt Poker just before the WSOP began and it’s clear to see that James Akenhead is the hottest player in the UK at the moment. Let’s hope that he can keep his run of excellent form going when the final table resumes in four month’s time.