Brazil's Andre Akkari Wins WSOP $1.5k NLHE As Country Celebrates

Brazilian pro Andre Akkari has won WSOP Event 43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em, after overcoming a field of 2,857 players over four days to capture his first winners bracelet, plus the $675,117 first place prize.
Andre Akkari’s victory represents only the second WSOP bracelet ever won by a Brazilian player, with the first coming in 2008 after Alexandre Gomes triumphed at the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em championship.
Incredibly, Alexandre Gomes was part of the lively Brazilian crowd who witnessed Akkari’s remarkable win, and during his final table battle Akkari remarked:
“After [Gomes] won the bracelet, it changed everything about poker in Brazil. Poker was growing before he won the bracelet, but after that, it was unbelievable. Three million people play poker online and play poker live, it changed everything about poker in Brazil. I was so happy. I was here, rooting for him, and now he is here rooting for me.”
The 36 year old Akkari got off to the best possible start at the final table after scoring a double elimination of the two short-stacks. The big three-way pot saw Akkari (A-K) make two pair on the A-Q-7-Q-6 board to send Foley (J-J) and Meulyzer (10-10) out of the competition.
Akkari then went on to eliminate Jacob Naquin in 4th, before eventually going heads-up against Nachman Berlin.
Despite nursing a 2 to 1 chip disadvantage, Akkari soon doubled up after being dealt pocket kings to his opponent’s A-10. Nachman Berlin then opened shoved pre-flop with Ad-8d against Akkari’s Kd-Jh and with the board falling K-Q-3-K-5, Berlin was relegated to the runner-up position ($419,173).
Meanwhile, the Sao Paulo resident collected the WSOP bracelet and struck another major coup for Brazilian poker. Commenting on the reaction to his victory within the country, Akkari said:
“Oh, it’s going to be amazing. You have no idea what is happening in Brazil,right now. Poker is an American sport. It’s an American game and maybe the Americans don’t know what happens outside the country. But in Brazil, just to give you one idea. I received 1,500 messages a minute on Twitter, it’s unbelievable.”
Akkari is married with two children and is one of Brazil’s most famous poker players. Akkari has now earned $938,766 from live tournaments, as well as a further $2.2 million playing online.