Championship final days at the 2024 World Series of Poker have been dominated by the game's biggest stars, but in a seldom-seen twist this summer, the five players who returned for today's $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship finale had never tasted success on poker's grandest stage.
Giants like Stephen Chidwick, John Hennigan, and Michael Mizrachi were just some of the huge names who made way for a new crop of talent to take centre stage under the bright lights of the Horseshoe Events Centre, all vying for their own crowning moment.
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After the final hand was dealt, it was Elie Nakache who seized the opportunity and etched their name in poker's history books. Nakache defeated Joshua Adkins in heads-up to stand tall over the record-setting field of 881 entries. His prize was his maiden WSOP bracelet, along with the $1,320,945 set aside for the winner. Adkins, who had never cashed in a WSOP event before, banked $880,621 for his runner-up performance.
Jonathan Bowers rounded out the podium finishes, while Manh Nguyen and Oshri Lahmani bowed out in fourth and fifth, laying the path for Nakache's victory.
Nakache's poker story began with grinding Spin-and-Go's before Pot-Limit Omaha became his favorite game to play.
"I’m a spin player, but during the last two years, I fell in love with PLO." gushed Nakache. "I like to play a lot of hands, and tournaments are perfect for that. I had the feeling that I could do something in this tournament. And it was amazing. I’m very lucky, and I won a bracelet."
"The path was more exciting than the result, but a few minutes after I won, it was a very good feeling."
The switcheroo has now proved to be the correct decision as it resulted in a seven-figure windfall, taking his previous $281,249 in live tournament earnings to new lofty heights.
Elie Nakache
Nakache produced a stunning heads-up display, railroading Adkins as the duo fought in a one-sided battle.
"The key is just a lot of aggression, and that’s how I play heads up." said Nakache. "You can’t just wait for a hand. I had good hands as well. And in the last hand, he had enough of it, he called…and that’s it.
"I think he had the image of me that I wasn’t an aggressive player. I think that was useful. But in heads-up, it’s not the same. We have to play. So I played, and it worked.
"The path was more exciting than the result, but a few minutes after I won, it was a very good feeling."
Nakache's Route to PLO Supremacy
The quintet of four-card aficionados had each secured $315,098 from the $7,542,300 prize pool before a single chip was exchanged, marking their biggest cash to date—except for Atkins, who previously notched a $331,480 payout on the World Poker Tour in 2019.
The stakes had never been higher for the final five, and it was Bowers who thrived under the pressure when the cards went in the air. The Brit doubled through Atkins before collecting Lahmani's short stack, reducing the field to four. Atkins' once insurmountable lead was now in Bowers' sights, but Atkins regained momentum, widening the gap after eliminating Nguyen in fourth place. While Nguyen missed out on the winner's spoils, his $436,751 payday saw him cross the $1 million mark in live earnings, a milestone achievement for any poker player.
Joshua Adkins
Nakache bided his time in the early stages, choosing his spots wisely as he climbed the counts, while Bowers tumbled down to become the short stack. "Johnny English" — as his supporters fondly called him, was worn down by Atkins — who then delivered the final blow to Bowers, setting up a heads-up showdown with Nakache.
Atkins held a 3:1 advantage over his opponent, but the script flipped dramatically as Nakache came alive. The Frenchman wasted no time in seizing control, steadily pulling away from Atkins, whose chip lead at the start of Day 4 now seemed a distant memory.
Nakache withstood Adkins' aggression in key three-bet pots during heads-up that turned the tides in his favor, and then sealed the triumph. Nakache flopped a six-high straight and was paid off by Adkins' double-suited aces to become France's 36th bracelet winner.
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.
Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
