Andre Akkari has helped to establish Brazil as a hotbed of poker talent thanks to his exceptional success in the game. Formerly a Flash animation designer, Akkari was tasked with preparing an e-commerce offering for a potential client in the poker industry. Intrigued by the concept, he downloaded the prospect’s online poker client – purely for research purposes, of course – and the rest is history!
Akkari started out honing his craft at the play money tables online. After reading several books, he eventually turned his hand to real-money games at PokerStars before entering some of Latin America’s biggest live poker events.
Impressive tournament victories within the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) and the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) well and truly announced Akkari onto the professional poker scene. Akkari then had a true breakthrough moment in 2011 when he secured his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, becoming only the second Brazilian poker player to bag a coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Akkari is well established on the Brazilian all-time poker money list, among the likes of Yuri Martins Dzivielevski, Bruno Volkmann, Alexandre Gomes and Felipe Tavares Ramos.
He enjoyed another stellar year on 2023’s live poker circuit, finishing fifth in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event and taking home $424,611. He also cashed three times in the 2023 World Series Of Poker, including narrowly missing out on a final table in the $7,000-entry Secret Bounty event.
Akkari’s strategic acumen and passion for the game have cemented his status as a prominent figure in the global poker community.