WSOP 2018: Aditya Agarwal & Paawan Bansal Lead a Contingent of 20 Indians Into Day 2 of the Main Event

WSOP 2018: Aditya Agarwal & Paawan Bansal Lead a Contingent of 20 Indians Into Day 2 of the Main Event
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  • PG News July 5, 2018
  • 8 mins Read

The most prestigious poker tournament in the world, one that will award the most coveted bracelet at the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is presently underway. With the conclusion of Day 1C, all the starting flights of Event #65: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em MAIN EVENT – World Championship are in the books now. Having attracted a massive field of 7,874 participants, this is the second-biggest Main Event ever, right behind the Main Event of 2006 that saw 8,773 runners.

On the heels of a bracelet win by Nikita Luther and final table scores by Aditya Sushant and Srinivas Balasubramanian, Team India is charged and raring to make a serious bid for the Main Event title. 16 Indians were seen in contention for the top honours in the final starting flight. Paawan Bansal (145,500), Vivek Rughani (111,800), Yudhishter Jaswal (76,300), Nikita Luther (71,000), Shashank Jain (70,000), Aproova Goel (69,400), Kartik Ved (66,500), Nishant Sharma (63,200), Aditya ‘Intervention’ Agarwal (60,300), Nipun Java (57,500), Akash Malik (54,000), Sriharsha Doddapaneni (46,200), Muskan Sethi (34,700), Vikram ‘Lungi’ Kumar (28,700) and Jasven Saigal (13,000), Abhinav Iyer (8,600) all made it through to Day 2 today.

Team India had several members feature in the two preceding flights with Aditya Sushant (139,600) and Rohan Dhawan (112,900) entering through Day 1A. From the second starting flight i.e. Day 1 B, Kavin Shah (104,400), Dharmesh Patel (128,500), Rishab Jain (97,600) and Jaswinder ‘Bobbe’ Suri (12,400) qualified for Day 2.

Creating a prize pool of $74,015,600, the eventual champion of this grand event will take home a massive $8,800,000 (~₹60.58 Crores) along with the title of World Champion!

With Day 2 yet to start, the WSOP Main Event is shaping up for an explosive climax!

WSOP 2018 Coverage
WSOP 2018 Coverage

Event #65: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em MAIN EVENT – World Championship

The last of three starting flights of Event #65: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em MAIN EVENT – World Championship has concluded with record number of entrants who turned up for a shot at the title. The 4,571 runners who came out for Day 1C boosted the total number of participants to 7,874. Day 1C also made the record for the biggest single flight in the history of the WSOP!

Out of the approximately 3,500 players who made it to Day 2 were 20 Indian challengers who fought valiantly to survive till the end of play on Day 1C. Leading the way for Team India was Paawan Bansal with a healthy stack of 145,500. Ranked 13th on the India All Time Money List, Bansal’s performance has been unparalleled throughout the tournament series. He has already accumulated $61,616 (₹42.47 Lakhs) in the series this year and is looking in good shape to add more to his tally.

Paawan Bansal
Paawan Bansal

One of the most seasoned pros of the Indian poker fraternity, Agarwal is the only Indian to have placed in the top 100 in the Main Event not once but twice and has cashed the Main Event three times in the last five years. His best score in the event came in 2015 when he placed 71st for $96,445 (~₹66.09 Lakhs).

Aditya Agarwal
Aditya Agarwal

Agarwal had announced his participation in the Main Event on Twitter.

Thereafter, he diligently kept his fans and followers updated about his status throughout the day’s play through the social media platform.

He ended the day with a commendable stack of 60,300.

Bracelet winner Luther has persisted on with her winning form. After her 511th place finish in Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed – $888,888 Guaranteed 1st for $2,106 (~₹1.44 Lakhs), Luther jumped into the Main Event and bagged 71,000 in chips for Day 2.

9stacks qualifiers Vivek Rughani and Nishant Sharma accrued stacks of 111,800 and 63,200 respectively. Sharma was the first of the 9stacks qualifiers to register a score at the WSOP when he placed 365th in Event #34: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No-Limit Hold’em for $2,508 (~₹1.72 Lakhs). Rughani opened his WSOP scorecard in Event #48: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MONSTER STACK where he finished 436th for $3,605 (~₹2.48 Lakhs). He was then seen in Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed – $888,888 Guaranteed 1st Place where he won $5,203 (~₹3.58 Lakhs) for his 171st place finish.

Recipient of the ‘First Ladies’ award Team PokerStars pro Muskan Sethi also reached Day 2 with 34,700 chips in her bag.

Shashank Jain (70,000), Aproova Goel (69,400), Kartik Ved (66,500), Akash Malik (54,000), Nipun Java (57,500), Sriharsha Doddapaneni (46,200), Vikram Kumar (28,700) and Jasven Saigal (13,000), Abhinav Iyer (8,600) have all made it past the opening hurdle.

Dominating the assorted leaderboard at the end of Day 1C was Samuel Touil with 352,800, with Pete Forsstrom (283,200) and Robert Covert (240,300) in close pursuit. The race is still wide open with Phil Ivey (92,300) and Phil Hellmuth (63,700), as well as former Main Event champions Martin Jacobson (38,400), Jonathan Duhamel (17,500) and Joe Cada (16,500) are still in the hunt.

But there were also several notables who perished along the way including Andrew Moreno, Marcel Luske, Chris Vitch, Jonas Mackoff, John Racener, Vanessa Selbst and Daniel Negreanu.

Samuel Touil
Samuel Touil

Top 10 Chip Counts At The End of Day 1C

1. Samuel Touil – 352,800

2. Pete Forsstrom – 283,200

3. Robert Covert – 240,300

4. Anthony Reategui – 232,000

5. Jarod Ludemann – 230,100

6. Corey Kempson – 210,000

7. Patrik Antonius – 208,700

8. Joseph Umdenstock – 208,600

9. Loni Harwood – 194,200

10. Nicholas Augustino – 193,000

9Stacks Qualifiers Storm the WSOP

The virtual skill-based gaming site 9stacks in an unprecedented move has sent the largest contingent of Indian poker players to Las Vegas to participate in the ongoing WSOP. Through the #LFGVegas contest, 9Stacks sent 25 poker enthusiasts who punched their flight tickets to Vegas along with 11 nights stay at Hotel Rio in Las Vegas and a bankroll worth $999.

Several of these pros have already cashed in some events including Nishant Sharma, Vivek Rughani, Mayank Jaggi, Pranay Kapoor and Sanjay Taneja. Among these, Rishab Jain, Rughani and Sharma have all made it to Day 2 of the WSOP Main Event.

Vivek Rughani
Vivek Rughani

Chip Counts of Indian Players At The End of Day 1

Chip Counts of Indian Players At The End of Day 1
Chip Counts of Indian Players At The End of Day 1
WSOP 2018 Coverage
WSOP 2018 Coverage

Content and image courtesy: WSOP.com.

Keep following the latest updates from WSOP 2018 right here on PokerGuru!

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1. WSOP 2018: Kavin Shah, Dharmesh Patel, Amit Jain, Rishab Jain & Bobbe Suri Make The Cut on Day 1B of Main Event

2. WSOP 2018: Dan Matsuzuki Wins Event #64 – $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship For $364,387

3. WSOP 2018: Tim Andrew Wins Event #11 – $365 PLO Giant, India’s Srinivas B Finishes 9th & Indian-Origin Sandeep Pulusani Takes 5th Place

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