The youngest South African gold bracelet winner wins the APC Main Event.

In the inaugural African Poker Championship Tanzania $1,000 Main Event, 21-year-old South African player Aidan Jacobs defeated Anuj Sareen heads-up to win $48,000. The event attracted 256 entries, creating a total prize pool of $215,040.

The inaugural African Poker Championship (APC) concluded at the Le Grande Casino in Port Sanran, Tanzania, with the final day proving to be an endurance test, lasting over 17 hours before a champion was crowned from 256 entries. The inaugural APC Tanzania $1,000 Main Event boasted a total prize pool of $215,040, with only the top 32 finishers earning prizes. All prizes will be contested on Sunday, October 4, 2026.

Early Monday morning, South Africa's rising star Adriaan Jacobs jumped up from his chair and shouted "It's in!" after defeating Britain's Anuj Sareen heads-up to win the $48,000 jackpot. Known more as Aidan in the close-knit South African poker community, he became the country's youngest WSOP bracelet winner just weeks after turning 21 this summer by winning the $600 Deepstack No-Limit Hold'em event.

Sareen showcased his poker talent upon arriving in Tanzania, showing Dan "Jungleman" Cates around before finishing as runner-up and winning $32,000. Meanwhile, Jacobs secured his second major victory of the year in this new African live poker tournament founded by Marc Joseph, the founder of the Monster Jam Poker Tour (MJPT).

The finalists also included Cliton Taliwanth, Steven Radloff, and Le Grande casino owner Costa Giannakopoulos and his son Panayiotis Giannakopoulos, the latter becoming the first two eliminated from the final table.

APC Tanzania Main Event Final Table Results

Given the extremely high average stack size, the speed of elimination was somewhat surprising. Within the first two levels, the prize bubble burst, and long-term chip leader Banks Solomons was one of the players who went home empty-handed, losing two large pots to Benjamin "Guppie" Lingenfelder Jr.

Steven Radloff then eliminated Shazin Rehmtullah and Mr. King, both holding flushes, delivering the final blow. What should have been a synchronized deal in the chilling prize bubble never materialized, as Franco Da Matta's Ace-high flush on a paired board was brutally crushed by Dimitri Hadjipaschali's four-of-a-kind flop. Thus, everyone was locked into the minimum prize of $2,000, after which a wave of eliminations ensued.

Manuel Cardoso was the first player to exit after entering the money box, losing to Panayiotis Giannakopoulos in a race, but his wife Maria Cardoso remains in contention. Marko Nortje's tournament ended after a straight and flush draw failed to beat Alfred Magani's pocket pairs. His fellow South African, Jaryd Jardien, also headed for the prize pool shortly after, suffering three setbacks within minutes.

Just over six levels in, the nine-player final table was set, thanks to Cliton Taliwanth's rush hour, where he eliminated several opponents and secured a double kill with 11 players remaining, jumping from mid-table to chip lead. The speed of events was astonishing, as the average chip stack remained between 60 and 70 big blinds throughout that period, yet this didn't prevent the number of players from rapidly decreasing. What many didn't know was that the final table itself lasted almost twice as long as the initial 39 hopefuls had fought to reach the final nine.

The Giannakopoulos father-son duo made it to the final table, but unfortunately, they were also the first two eliminated. Aidan Jacobs made a full house with Aces against his son's trip of Kings, completing a full double, and soon finished his task. His ninth-place finish was quite disappointing, given his aggressive, wrecking ball-like play throughout the Main Event. His father, the Le Grande casino owner, then ran out of chips in a few hands, missed a two-ended straight draw, and lost to Dinh's Kings with an overpair.

The bubble terminator Hadjipaschali became the next victim, having gone all-in with A-5 with a short stack. Taliwanth folded with pocket tens, while Jacobs won with pocket kings.

However, from that point on, recreational player Tome Dinh from Vietnam slowly but steadily climbed to the top of the leaderboard and continued to widen the gap. Reagan Naidoo lost to Jacobs with pocket fours and AK because an Ace appeared on the river. The lead soon changed hands, with Jacobs taking control, followed closely by Dinh.

Taliwanth's rollercoaster ride to the final table of this Tanzanian tournament ended in fifth place, close to midnight local time. He went all-in with A-9 suited and a shorter stack, only to be woken up behind him with pocket jacks, flopping four of a kind and instantly eliminated.

A very talkative and slightly tipsy Radloff was eliminated in fourth place, his J-4 suited flop hitting two pair, but Dinh hit trips of fours. During the three-way battle, Sareen suddenly became the chip leader, while Jacobs was the shortest stack. He doubled up twice from Dinh, the second round leaving the Vietnamese player with only a few chips. Jacobs then soon eliminated Dinh, entering heads-up play with a slight lead.

The back-and-forth battle culminated in a pre-flop all-in, with Jacobs hitting a better two pair and Sareen down to just a few big blinds. However, after three doubles, heads-up seemed completely open again. But this time, there was no comeback. The Englishman's A-2 hit triplets on the river, but his all-in ran into Jacobs' flush on the turn, ending the match at 3:15 AM local time.

Want to change Texas Holdem from "can understand" to "can win"?

If you want to learn more about Texas Hold'em, you can continue reading：

The Origins of Texas Hold'em: Why is it the World's Most Popular Poker Variant?
Texas Hold'em Hand Rankings and Showdown Rules (Beginner’s Essentials)
Texas Hold'em Betting teaching: Check / Bet / Call /Raise and Betting Strategy Analysis
The importance of Texas Hold'em position? Why is the back position more advantageous?
How to play Texas Hold'em? Novices learn Texas Hold'em rules, processes and betting teaching in 10 minutes
Texas Hold'em Starting Hands Strategy Guide: Which Hands to Play?
Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart Tutorial: Complete Starting Hand Chart and Position Strategy
How to play Texas Hold'em? Complete rules and a hand's flow (Preflop / Flop / Turn / River)

Hunter Poker offers comprehensive tutorials, hand analysis, and strategy sharing to help players upgrade from simply "reading the cards" to understanding the range . This allows you to make better decisions in every hand.

▶️ In Facebook Follow Hunter Poker.
📘 In Youtube Follow Hunter Poker.

Want to learn more about Texas Hold'em gameplay and strategies?

Online Texas Hold'em free tournaments typically have no entry fee, making them ideal for beginners to familiarize themselves with the rules and for advanced players to test strategies and gain experience. View full brand profiles to learn about each platform's free tournament schedule, features, and target audience.

Go to learn more