And just like that, the first break of Match 5 is upon us! The action is paused here at the National Poker Champion showdown in Goa after the first few levels of Day 3 play. It’s been an eventful start, with two players already hitting the rail – West Bengal’s Goonjan Mall (6th place, -10 points) and, surprisingly, the overall points leader Sreekanth Narayan from Kerala (5th place, +10 points).

That leaves four state champions returning to the felt shortly: Saahib Bawa, Ankit Wadhawan, Anish Vijayvergiya, and Bhanuprakash KC. With stacks still reasonably deep but two spots already paid out (in terms of points), the next session becomes incredibly important.

For Bawa, Vijayvergiya, and Bhanuprakash KC, in particular, every jump up the payout ladder means more precious points as they push hard for a spot among the final six competitors who will play for the NPC title on April 17. Ankit Wadhawan is sitting pretty on the overall leaderboard, but points are points!

We’ll be right back with more updates from Goa after the players return from their break!