James Akenhead Bio

By the time he was 26, James Akenhead had already been to two WSOP televised final tables—the main event final table in 2009 and a $1,500 no-limit hold’em event in 2008, where he fell just short of his first bracelet as he finished runner-up to Grant Hinkle.

Akenhead became pro in a spur-of-the-moment decision, after he made more money playing online poker in a single night than he did in an entire year’s salary as his job as a train driver in England. He discovered poker a few years in the pool halls, another hobby he is particularly adept at. At one point, Akenhead was ranked 15th in the UK in nine-ball.