Heads-Up Masterclass Propels Elie Nakache to $10K PLO Championship Title
Table Of Contents
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.
Bookmark this page! All you need to know about the 2024 WSOP is here.
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.
$10K PLO Championship Final Table Results
Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Elie Nakache | France | $1,320,945 |
2 | Joshua Adkins | United States | $880,621 |
3 | Jonathan Bowers | United Kingdom | $615,251 |
4 | Manh Nguyen | United States | $436,751 |
5 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | $315,098 |
6 | Krzysztof Magott | Poland | $231,101 |
7 | Eelis P?rssinen | Finland | $172,355 |
8 | David Benyamine | France | $130,748 |
Click here to see a full list of payouts.
Nakache's Love Affair with PLO
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.
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.
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.
In this Series
- 1 Dong Meng Wins Second Bracelet & $200,000 in WSOP Tournament of Champions
- 2 Jose Garcia Wins Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em for $79,134
- 3 Asher Conniff Wins First Bracelet in Event 1: $5,000 Champions Reunion for $408,468
- 4 Daniel Willis Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #3: $500 Kickoff NLHE
- 5 James Chen Wins WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo ($209,350)
- 6 Darius Samual's 50% Bankroll Risk Pays Off in WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 7 Mixed Game Legend John Hennigan Wins Seventh Bracelet at 2024 WSOP
- 8 Bryce Yockey BLASTS 25K Fantasy Draft Price After $5K PLO Bracelet Win
- 9 "I'm Only Here to Win Bracelets," says Nick Guagenti as He Captures His Second
- 10 Malcolm Trayner Made a Millionaire in WSOP Mystery Millions
- 11 Great Scott! Seiver Adds to Legacy with Fifth WSOP Bracelet
- 12 David Prociak Conquers The $1,500 Badugi for His Second Bracelet and $129,676
- 13 Simeon Spasov Wins $1,500 6-Max to Claim Second Bracelet for $439,815!
- 14 Robert Mizrachi Joins Brother on Five WSOP Bracelets After $10,000 Dealer's Choice Victory
- 15 20 Years in the Making: TJ Murphy Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 16 Caleb Furth Captures Maiden Bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better for $265,361
- 17 Dylan Weisman Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 18 Brent Hart Rises From Pack to Win Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold��em
- 19 John Racener Spins Shortest Stack Up to WSOP Gold in LHE Championship
- 20 Aaron Cummings Wins His First Bracelet In Lowball Triple Draw Event
- 21 "Feeling Vindicated": Brek Schutten Wins WSOP $25,000 High Roller for $1,405,641
- 22 Sean Troha Completes Hat Trick in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
- 23 Huge Comeback Inspires Daniel Sepiol to First Bracelet in $1,500 Shootout
- 24 Daniel Vampan Claims First Bracelet and $148,635 in $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Max
- 25 Stephen Winters Defeats 20,647 Players to Win $300 Gladiators of Poker ($401,210)
- 26 Nick Schulman Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $25K High Roller ($1,667,842)
- 27 Gruneberg & Bonnacci Capture First WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets of the Summer
- 28 Evan Benton Goes From Poker Beginner to WSOP Bracelet Winner
- 29 Michael Christ "Gets Lucky" On His Way to Winning Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 Alen Bakovic Laughs His Way to the WSOP Event #30 $600 PLO/NLH Mix Title
- 31 Nicholas Seward Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in $3,000 6-Handed for $516,135
- 32 Phil Ivey Wins His 11th WSOP Bracelet in $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 33 Richard Ashby Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Same Stud Event
- 34 Alex Manzano Ascends to Win Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha DeepStack
- 35 Antonio Galiana��s Big Bluff Propels Him To First Bracelet in Event #34
- 36 Another Comeback, Another Bracelet For Phillip Hui In $1.5k H.O.R.S.E.
- 37 Timur Margolin Wins Third Bracelet in Event #36: $800 NLHE Deepstack for $342,551
- 38 John Fauver Wins The First Ever $10k Big O Championship For $681,998
- 39 Sergio Aido Wins 2024 WSOP $50,000 NLHE High Roller ($2,026,506)
- 40 Two Bracelets in Two Weeks: Scott Seiver Wins Sixth WSOP Gold in $1,500 Razz
- 41 James Obst Captures Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Stud
- 42 Xixiang Luo Wins First-Ever WSOP NLHE/PLO Bomb Pot Mix Event
- 43 Magnus Edengren Gets His Crowning Moment in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 44 Kingery's Ransom: Longshoreman Ships $2K No-Limit Hold��em for $410,359
- 45 "It Was My Time": Chris Hunichen Captures First Bracelet & $2.8M in $100K High Roller
- 46 Peter Park Wins First Bracelet and $240,724 in Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty!
- 47 Dominant Performance: Pedro Neves Crushes On Way to WSOP Monster Stack Bracelet
- 48 Extra Special Day for Christopher Vitch As He Wins Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 49 Mostafa Haidary Tears Through the Final Four to Win Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
- 50 Third Time's the Charm: Patrick Moulder Captures First Bracelet and $177,045 in $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw
- 51 Frank Funaro Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10k Super Turbo Bounty
- 52 Dario Sammartino Wins First Bracelet in Event #61: $2,500 Stud 8/Omaha 8 for $222,703
- 53 Sean Jazayeri Claims First Bracelet in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em
- 54 We Want the Funk! David Funkhouser Wins First Bracelet in $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball
- 55 Paolo Boi Stages Impressive Comeback to Win Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($676,900)
- 56 Daniel Negreanu Wins 7th WSOP Bracelet in $50,000 Poker Players Championship
- 57 Ben Collins' All Ins Were Unbeatable in Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors
- 58 Heads-Up Masterclass Propels Elie Nakache to $10K PLO Championship Title
- 59 Determined Scott Seiver Captures 3rd 2024 Bracelet by Winning $10k No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 60 Runner-Up No More: Shiina Okamoto Wins Ladies' Event With Fierce Determination and Confidence
- 61 WPT Announcer Tony Dunst Wins Third World Series of Poker Bracelet
- 62 David Eldridge Overcomes the Odds to Claim Second Bracelet in $25k PLO High Roller ($2,246,728)
- 63 VAMOS! Martin Alcaide Claims First Bracelet and $501,250 in Event #70: $400 Colossus
- 64 Matthew Lambrecht Wins $10,000 Mystery Bounty for First WSOP Bracelet
- 65 Team Setna is "On Cloud 9" as the Duo Take Down Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No Limit Hold��em
- 66 Wing Po Liu Flies High To Win Second Bracelet for $209,942
- 67 Nine Years After Near Tragedy, Arash Ghaneian Wins Second Bracelet in $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship
- 68 First Cash, First Bracelet as Daniel Perkusic Dominates $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
- 69 Georgios Skarparis Wins Mini Main Event After a Promise to His Student ($554,925)
- 70 Francis Anderson Wins 2024 WSOP $800 Independence Day Celebration ($501,040)
- 71 Dominating Final Table Performance Sees Aditya Agarwal Take Down Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($189,661)
- 72 Chance Kornuth Flips His Way to Fourth Bracelet in Event #85: $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold'em
- 73 Matthew Alsante Triumphs Over the Pros in $5K 8-Handed No Limit Hold'em ($785,486)
- 74 It��s a Poker Fairytale For Carsten Heidemann, Winner of Event #84: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold��em
- 75 2024 WSOP Online: Watson Becomes Poker's 10th Triple Crown Winner; Prociak Claims Third Bracelet
- 76 Sascha Wilhelm Scores Biggest Career Win in $1k Mystery Bounty PLO
- 77 ��This Bracelet is Worth Three��: Calvin Anderson Joins Five-Timer Club
- 78 Joseph Sanders Claims First Bracelet and $269,530 in $1.5k 6-Max PLO
- 79 Jared Bleznick Captures First Bracelet in $50k No-Limit Hold'em High Roller
- 80 Career-Best Score and First WSOP Bracelet for $3K HORSE Winner Gary Bolden
- 81 Inaugural $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship A Huge Success as Clement Richez Wins $1,041,989
- 82 Michael Rocco Caps Off Career Summer by Capturing First Bracelet
- 83 Xixiang Luo Doubles Up with Second Bracelet of the Summer in Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E.
- 84 Michael Liang Turns the Tables in Heads-Up to Win $777 Lucky 7's for $777,777
- 85 Summer Saved! Alex Livingston Claims Second Bracelet and $390,621 in Event #97: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed!
- 86 Jonathan Tamayo Wins Record-Breaking 2024 WSOP Main Event ($10,000,000)
- 87 Aneris Adomkevicius Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #99: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em
- 88 Ching Da Wu Conquers The $1,500 Closer at the 2024 WSOP
- 89 Kyle ��BluffNTuff�� Lorenz & William ��mortyc137�� Nunley Win Final WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets