A software engineer by profession, 32-year-old Karunanithi S from Chennai will remember Tuesday morning as one of the most career-defining days of his poker career. One of the 175 entrants that registered for the last event of the 2022 Baazi Poker Tour, ₹15K PLO Turbo, Karunanithi, cut his way past the competition to the shiny BPT trophy and ₹4.30 Lakhs.
The last three players cut a deal, keeping only the trophy in play. Vikaash Shah pocketed a better ₹4.75 Lakhs in second place, while Nikhil Arora collected ₹4.10 Lakhs in third place, courtesy of the deal.
After winning the event, Karunanithi said, “I started the game with a different mindset. I had lost a big chunk of my bankroll. So I told myself that I have to prove something here to boost my confidence. While the payouts of the 15K PLO Turbo weren’t so great, I thought I would give it a shot…I just stuck to my basics, and things worked my way.”
Karunanithi first discovered poker after watching a documentary on the game on YouTube featuring top pros like Daniel Negreanu. He was impressed to see how professional players followed the game with commitment and focus while enjoying a healthy lifestyle. He soon studied more about the game and started playing online on PokerBaazi. By chance, he learned about the PokerBaazi LIVE-hosted BPT and decided to attend the series.
The event had a delayed start. It was scheduled for 5 PM on Sunday but started at 5.45 PM and ran alongside Day 2 of the Main Event. The entry field generated a ₹24.53 Lakhs prize pool, and 23 places got paid with a min-cash worth ₹23,100.
The banker turned poker pro Kunal Patni money bubbled the event in 24th place, leaving the remaining 23 players in the money.
Deepak Agarwal`s ninth-place elimination set up the eight-handed final table.
One of the finalists was the NPS #83 – Main Event champion Chirag Sodha. He bubbled the ₹35K Main Event and jumped straight into the ₹15K PLO Turbo. And he did well to finish fifth for ₹1.18 Lakhs.
Final Table Results (INR)
- Karunanithi S – ₹4,29,500*
- Vikaash Shah – ₹4,75,000*
- Nikhil Arora – ₹4,09,500*
- Akash Panka – ₹1,53,000
- Chirag Sodha – ₹1,18,000
- Prateek Sharma – ₹97,939
- Bishan Gurung – ₹83,400
- Deepak Singh – ₹73,661
*denotes a three-way deal
