$10k Bracelet events at the World Series of Poker are typically dominated by name-brand players. Billed as the “Championship” events, the $10k games attract the top talent in the game, and more often than not, one of those familiar crushers is holding their Nth bracelet at the end of it all.
But it’s important to remember that poker is a game for the masses and, on any given day, anyone can win to sit atop poker’s highest pedestal. On Saturday, it was Frenchman Elie Nakache who was the final one standing, showing off his very first bracelet over a stellar field of recognizable poker greats in the $10k PLO Championship game.
When the final five players returned for the final day of play, the big names had all fallen to the wayside. Among the crushers who couldn’t make the final day were David Benyamine, ($130,748 for 8th), Stephen Chidwick and Noah Boeken ($51,641 each), as well as Eric Wasserson and Felipe Ramos with $42,851.
But when the final five convened, there was not a bracelet among them, paving the way for Nakache to secure the $1.3 million payday and his first Gold Bracelet from the WSOP.
Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Home | Prize ($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 Pärssinen | Finland | $172,355 |
| 8 | David Benyamine | France | $130,748 |
New Winner for $10k PLO
Past winners of this event include multiple bracelet winners Eli Elezra, Loren Klein, and Brandon Shack-Harris, among others, and all the $10k Championship events tend to be dominated by the big names. But in the case of 2024, the endgame of the Championship was decided among five players who were all looking for their very first taste of the WSOP limelight.
When the extra Day 5 convened to finish this one out, it was American Joshua Adkins who had the biggest stack, and he was ahead by a mile. He brought more than 27 million into Day 5, nearly three times as much as 2nd stack and eventual winner Nakache. No other returning player had more than 6 million to start the day, so it looked good for Adkins to earn his first bracelet.
Oshri Lahmani was the first to fall from the final five, by which time Adkins lead had shrunk as he’d passed some chips over to Jonathan Bowers. Nakache was going the other direction at this point, watching his stack slowly shrink to 7 million when Lahmani hit the rail and was down as low as 3.9 million before things turned around for him.
Nakache first found a huge double against Adkins for a 10 million stack and when play got three ways after Adkins sent Manh Nguyen out in 4th, Nakache was up to more than 11 million. It was still Adkins in control when they got heads up with Adkins sitting on more than 37 million after sending Bowers to the rail while Nakache was playing just 11.6 million.
After that, Nakache went on a heater, chipping up right from the start of heads-up play. Within about 15 minutes of the final phase, Nakache had the chip lead with 28 million to 20 million after he boated up to crack Adkins aces. Nakache didn’t look back after that, never again surrendering the chip lead.
Adkins did manage to claw some back before the final confrontation, but Nakache was just too stong in the endgame. In the final hand, Nakache again cracked the aces of Adkins, this time flopping the nut straight.
This Nakache’s first-ever bracelet, and the runner-up finish for Adkins marks his first WSOP cash.
