2024 WSOP Paradise: Jeffrey Hakim Earns His First WSOP Bracelet in the $2,500 Mini Main Event ($575,050)

The very first event of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise—Event #1: $2,500 Mini Main Event—has come to a close after six days of grueling play in a way few could have predicted. What began with a series of gripping Day 1 flights drew an impressive field of 2,031 entries, pushing well past the already ambitious $5 Million guarantee and creating a total prize pool of $5.077 Million. By the time the opening rounds were done, 306 players found themselves returning for Day 2, each locked in for at least $5,360. But as the clock ticked down and the field thinned, only 17 would survive into Day 3.

That final day—packed with tension—was all about who would walk away holding not just a massive payout, but something poker players spend a lifetime chasing: a WSOP bracelet. Ultimately, it was Lebanon’s Jeffrey Hakim (cover image) who captured the title and the $575,050 prize.

Breaking💥

Congratulations to 🇺🇸 Jeffrey Hakim!
Your WSOP #MiniMainEvent Champion!
Jeffrey earns himself his first WSOP Bracelet and a cool $575,050
🏖️ #wsopPARADISE pic.twitter.com/Nz2fJwLuK6

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 11, 2024

For Hakim, who had fought through countless trials in his poker career, this win was more than just numbers on a screen. Moments after the tournament ended, he stood there still trying to make sense of it all.

We have an interview with the Winner of the Mini Main Event Jeffrey Hakim ! Let’s hear what he had to say! @JeffPlatt #MiniMainEvent #wsopPARADISE https://t.co/EhM63jpytk pic.twitter.com/KMoo4jjnXx

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 12, 2024

Hakim’s journey to the top wasn’t without a few heart-stopping moments. He started Day 3 in the lead but seemed to fall quiet for a while, finding himself no longer at the very front of the pack. The real turning point came in a massive hand against Dong Chen. Hakim’s pocket queens needed to outlast Chen’s ace-king suited—one of those tense coin flips that often decide a player’s fate. When the board ran clean for Hakim, his chips piled high once more. “It’s crazy,” he said afterward.

Hakim’s track record already included over $2 Million in live tournament winnings, but he made it clear that this time, the money wasn’t the true prize he’d been chasing.

While Hakim’s victory took center stage, another storyline refused to fade into the background—the one involving the Belarusian couple, Alina Paliahoshka and Andrei Piatrushchanka, who both made the final three. They weren’t just two players from the same country; as it turned out, they were actually dating, each one chasing a piece of poker glory most people only imagine.

It looked as though this duo might rewrite the script entirely. Piatrushchanka arrived at the final table with a commanding lead and maintained that momentum down to the last three players. But poker has a way of turning fortunes, and he soon found himself heading to the payout desk in third place for $344,000.

With that, the pressure shifted to Paliahoshka. She was now the one poised to try and secure that coveted bracelet for the couple. She battled hard heads-up against Hakim, never truly backing down. Yet no matter how fiercely she fought, overcoming Hakim’s enormous stack proved too big a hurdle. She settled for second, taking home $445,400. Together, the couple earned a combined $789,400—an extraordinary run that added a unique and personal chapter to this tournament’s story.

Santhosh Suvarna’s Late-Year Struggle at WSOP Paradise

Anyone who’s followed India’s Santhosh Suvarna this year knows he’s been on a tear—from his breakout win at EPT Paris to capturing a second WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas and stacking up more cashes than most players see in a lifetime. But as the last big poker stop of 2024 unfolds at WSOP Paradise, his luck has taken a sudden downturn.

Things started to slip at the Triton Million Invitational, where he just couldn’t gain traction. The disappointment continued at Event #3: $100K PLO Super High Roller, where he went out in 15th place, missing the money entirely. Determined to turn it around, he entered Event #7: $100,000 Triton Main Event with 211,000 chips after Day 1. Yet, the cards wouldn’t cooperate, and he found himself out in 73rd place, again far from a payout.

Event #1: $2,500 Mini Main Event Highlights

As the $2,500 Mini Main Event wrapped up its five starting flights, nobody could have guessed quite how huge it would get. More than two thousand entries—2,031 to be exact—lined up for a shot at fame and fortune, comfortably soaring past the already generous $5 Million guarantee. By the time the dust settled, 306 players returned for Day 2, each already locked in for at least $5,630.

Among them stood Sriharsha Doddapaneni, a name that carries weight in the domestic circuit. This is the same player who managed a 12th-place finish in the EPT Barcelona Main Event not too long ago. He arrived on Day 2 with a decent stack of 479,000 and the kind of calm confidence that comes from years of grinding out tough fields. Unfortunately, even a seasoned pro can’t always force a fairytale run, and Doddapaneni bowed out in 203rd place, taking $5,630 (~₹4.78 Lakhs) for his efforts.

Unwilling to let one setback define his trip, Doddapaneni hopped into Event #6: $5,000 Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em. This time, the money line was set at 51 players, but he left just a bit too soon—58th place—falling short of another payday.

Plenty of other stars had their moments in the Mini Main Event. Big names like Fedor Holz (28th for $18,390), Joey Weissman (30th for $18,390), Stoyan Madanzhiev (48th for $14,520), Jesse Lonis (87th for $9,040), and Alex Livingston (98th for $9,040) all found their way to the payout cage.

When it came down to the final day, 17 players fought on. The action wasted no time picking up speed. David Miscikowski became the first to fall, his pocket nines running into Paliahoshka’s ace-king that turned into a flush and ended Miscikowski’s run in 17th place for $23,300.

Then came a moment that still has people talking. With two players all-in against him, Andrei Piatrushchanka peeled back pocket aces and held steady, sending both Joshua Zucchet () and Diogo Coelho () packing in 16th and 15th place, each earning $29,320. It’s rare to see a single hand make such a profound impact so deep in a tournament, and this one rattled the field.

Finally, the battle for a spot at the final table came to a head when Jerry Wong put his last 3.875 Million chips on the line from the big blind with after Piatrushchanka moved all-in on the button with . It looked like Wong might survive as the community cards fell safely at first, but one final jack on the river destroyed that hope. Wong, who had already claimed a WSOP bracelet last year and led the field after Day 1B, found himself just one spot shy of the final table lineup.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Andrei Piatrushchanka – 20,825,000
2. Alina Paliahoshka – 19,075,000
3. Jeffrey Hakim – 16,725,000
4. Mathew Frankland – 7,750,000
5. Matas Cimbolas – 7,250,000
6. Dong Chen – 7,200,000
7. Ryan Gebow – 6,800,000
8. Viktor Ustimov – 5,525,000
9. Paul Newey – 5,250,000
10. Aram Oganyan – 3,500,000

Final Table Recap

It’s one thing to watch big names fall early, but the tension only ramps up when those who’ve tasted WSOP glory before fight for their survival. Dong Chen, who claimed his first WSOP bracelet at the WSOP Paradise last year, found himself in a spot no one wants to be in—at risk, holding . On the other side stood Ryan Gebow, turning over pocket jacks. The flop brought a full house for Gebow, leaving Chen drawing dead as soon as the turn hit, and sending him out in tenth place.

After that, bracelet winner Aram Oganyan joined the casualty list in ninth, and soon Matas Cimbolas followed, hitting the rail in eighth place.

Paul Newey, who started the day desperately short on chips, somehow managed to catch a few breaks and climb the payout ladder. Yet, even his ability to dodge elimination ended abruptly when Paliahoshka found a queen on the river to bust him in seventh.

As the field narrowed, Mathew Frankland tried to hang on but found himself staring at Viktor Ustimov’s pocket aces. The cards didn’t spare Frankland, and he bowed out in sixth. Ryan Gebow, who had ended Chen’s hopes earlier, now faced an all-in bet from Piatrushchanka. Gebow had made a straight on the river and likely felt sure he was good—until Piatrushchanka turned over a flush, ending Gebow’s run in fifth. That pot gave Piatrushchanka a towering stack, nearly 60 Million of the 101.50 Million chips in play. The remaining four players knew they were now staring up at a wall of chips in front of Piatrushchanka.

At this stage, anyone reading the chip counts might have bet their last dollar that Piatrushchanka would run away with it. But poker has a way of flipping stories upside down. Jeffrey Hakim, who had been clinging to life as the shortest stack, suddenly caught a break. He got all-in against Viktor Ustimov’s weaker ace and doubled up. Moments later, they clashed again. This time Ustimov held pocket sevens, and Hakim had . The flop gave Ustimov a set, but it also brought Hakim a flush draw. The turn added even more potential, and the river delivered one of Hakim’s outs, completing his flush and sending Ustimov out in fourth.

With three players left, Hakim learned something that added a new layer to the table’s dynamic—his opponents, Andrei Piatrushchanka and Alina Paliahoshka, were not just countrymates from Belarus. They were actually dating. “It’s crazy,” Hakim said later, acknowledging the unusual situation. He’d played against Piatrushchanka before, but this was his first time facing Paliahoshka, and now he understood why these two seemed to have a natural rapport.

The three went on a short break, and when they returned, Piatrushchanka still had a massive chip lead. But in the span of two hands, it all slipped through his fingers. First, Piatrushchanka got into a huge pot against Hakim. The board rolled out ace high at first, and Hakim check-called the flop, then check-raised after a six appeared on the turn. The river brought a four, and Piatrushchanka snapped off Hakim’s shove with two pair, aces and fours. Hakim had turned a set of sixes, though, and that pot turned the momentum upside down.

Almost immediately after, Piatrushchanka found another monster spot, calling a four-bet shove with pocket tens against Hakim’s . Things looked safe on the flop, but when the turn brought an ace and the river delivered a queen, Piatrushchanka’s once-commanding chip lead vanished along with his tournament life. He had gone from the top of the mountain to out in third place in mere minutes.

Now, with her boyfriend on the rail, it fell to Alina Paliahoshka to try and claim poker’s ultimate prize for the couple. But Hakim’s chip advantage was enormous—87.90 million to 13.60 million—and that gap proved impossible to overcome.

Within a few hands, Hakim shoved all-in, and Paliahoshka didn’t hesitate to call. After the board ran out, Hakim’s pocket treys held firm against Paliahoshka’s . Just like that, the bracelet was his.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Jeffrey Hakim – $575,050
2. Alina Paliahoshka – $445,400
3. Andrei Piatrushchanka – $344,000
4. Viktor Ustimov – $261,500
5. Ryan Gebow – $202,100
6. Mathew Frankland – $152,300
7. Paul Newey – $120,600
8. Matas Cimbolas – $91,020
9. Aram Oganyan – $70,135
10. Dong Chen – $51,080

Content & Images Courtesy: WSOP & PokerNews

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