Akshay Nasa - SOMUCHPOKER

Akshay Nasa is a Delhi-based poker pro veteran who grinds online and live. On the virtual felt, Nasa goes by the nicknames “sherlock52” or “Vibaks” but the last two years has seen consistent play in live tournament for him to break the 500K Milestone in career earnings and climb to 20th in the India All Time Money List with a National ranking of 32. Akshay Nasa has played over 40 live tournament events since his first recorded appearance in 2017.

Akshay Nasa dipped his fingers in live tournament play at the Mecca of poker, joining the 48th World Series of Poker 2017, Las Vegas. He played the No Limit Hold ’em (NLH) event and recorded his first ever cash of just over $2,000. It was in 2018 though, when he got attention from the poker world when he recorded a runner-up finish at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) NLH event in Manila to win over $53,000. This was a warm-up to shipping his first ever title at the World Poker Tour Vietnam, clinching the Deepstack Turbo Event for over $6,000. He would continue his early success with a table finish at Main Event of the WPTDeepStacks India to bank $ 18,728. The year would provide the spark for a productive 2019, his most successful in his then young career.

Akshay Nasa returned to the WSOP in 2019, participating in 4 events at the 50th World Series of Poker 2019, Las Vegas. Nasa’s best showing was at the Main Event, though placing low but still earning $ 38,240 with 3 other cashes. In September, the Indian player captured a second WPT Title, taking the Superstack Turbo Event of the World Poker Tour Vietnam. He then almost made it two in a row when he finished second to Japan’s Masato Yokosawa at the NLH High Rollers Single Day Event of the Asian Poker Tour Manila to pocket $ 15,150. More than a month later though, he made up for the near win by taking the Main Event of the Asian Poker Tour Ho Chi Minh for a maiden APT title and $ 64,334 payoff. Nasa followed the footsteps of his compatriot and poker champion Abhinav Iyer when he won the same event in January, making Nasa the second Indian to capture an APT Main Event title. He bested a 436-strong entry field and a star-studded final table, winning in heads-up play against France’s Vincent Chauve. This was also Nasa’s third live title in Vietnam. He nearly claimed a fourth, finishing second at the NLH High Rollers Event of the Asian Poker Tour Ho Chi Minh to bag $ 15,065. For the year, Akshay Nasa produced a career best year bounty to date of $ 174,272.

From his debut year in 2017 up to 2019, Akshay Nasa’s live poker career was on an upward trend until the global pandemic happened. Nasa did not compete for the years 2020 and 2021. His return was a slow one in 2022. He returned in July at the Asian Poker Festival Summer Festival Hanoi – VSOP 2022, making a final table finish at the Super High Rollers Event for $ 13,373. The following month, Nasa was back in winning form taking home a maiden PokerStars LIVE title at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Manila to bank $ 12,870. However, the Indian ace did not compete for the rest of the year. He played one tournament in January before returning from a 2-month break to win a first ever European title at the 888poker LIVE – London, snaring the Mini 888 Event. Nasa cleaned out a 416-player field and scooped $ 49,926. In an interview, Nasa shared that he was just on vacation in the UK since March and decided to participate on a whim. It was a lean season for the Indian ace but he still closed out 2023 with a highlight featuring a second-place finish at the Main Event of the Asian Poker Tour Summer Series Hanoi to bag a career best cash to date of $ 90,133.

2024 started slow for Akshay Nasa with no significant tournament runs until August at the Poker Dream 11 Malaysia. Nasa clinched his first ever Poker Dream win with a victory at the Mini High Roller event for $23,600. More importantly, the win broke more than a year-long title drought since his the 888poker LIVE tournament.

Profile by Mike Alcazaren