And that’s a wrap for Match 1! Kerala’s Sreekanth Narayan has officially claimed victory in the opening clash of the National Poker Champion showdown. He put on a measured and skilful display, sealing the deal heads-up against Chandigarh’s Ankit Wadhawan. For his win, Narayan collected a crucial 110 leaderboard points, while Wadhawan put a strong 80 points on the board for his runner-up finish.
The heads-up battle began with Narayan holding a commanding chip advantage, roughly 3.8-to-1 (238,000 chips to Wadhawan’s 62,000). Perhaps respecting the situation, both players started cautiously, feeling each other out and exchanging small pots without any major fireworks. But that careful dance ended abruptly with the very first all-in confrontation of their duel – which turned out to be the last hand of the match.
Here’s how the final hand went down. Sreekanth Narayan made an aggressive shove from the button holding . Ankit Wadhawan, looking down at in the big blind, decided this was his spot and made the call, putting his tournament hopes on the line.
Narayan was ahead with Ace-high. The dealer spread the flop: . Narayan spiked his ace immediately, taking a commanding lead and leaving Wadhawan needing running cards or a King or Nine.
Fourth street was the , a complete blank that didn’t help Wadhawan at all.
The final card off the deck was the . Another brick on the river, and it was all over!
Sreekanth Narayan’s pair of aces held up, eliminating Ankit Wadhawan and locking up the victory in Match 1! A fantastic start for the Kerala champion, banking those vital 110 points. Wadhawan earns a well-deserved 80 points for his strong second-place showing.
Here are the final standings and points awarded for Match 1:
Final Standings – Match 1
1. Sreekanth Narayan (Kerala) – 110 points
2. Ankit Wadhawan (Chandigarh) – 80 points
3. Vikhyat Ahlawat (Uttar Pradesh) – 50 points
4. Aditya Sushant (Tamil Nadu) – 30 points
5. Goonjan Mall (West Bengal) – 10 points
6. Wilson Yomso (Arunachal Pradesh) – -10 points
With the first match officially concluding, the excitement doesn’t stop here in Goa. Match 2 is already underway, featuring the next six state champions eager to take early leaderboard control in this historic National Poker Champion showdown!
