After nearly six hours of intense play on Day 2, the 2020 DPT Xpress February Edition ₹15K Main Event has crowned a champion in Deepak Raina! The 39-year-old from Delhi is a seasoned hand and primarily identifies as a cash game player. He triumphed over a 192-strong entry field to claim his third live title and, in fact, his second DPTXpress title for a colossal ₹7 Lakhs payday!

He had entered the final table with the third largest stack and eliminated the likes of Chirag Sodha and Clinton Fernandes, before facing Anuj Laddhad in the heads-up encounter. Down to a 6:1 chip deficit at one point, Raina made an incredible comeback to ultimately clinch the title!

A complete recap of the tournament will be posted on PokerGuru shortly.

And its finally over! The DPT Xpress 2020 February Edition has named a champion in Deepak Raina.

The one-hour-long heads-up play was swingy, to say the least. The chip lead exchanged hands a few times and at one point Anuj Laddhad had pulled ahead to take over a commanding 6:1 chip lead. But two quick double-ups got Deepak Raina back in the race and he did not let up after that.

On the final hand of the Main Event, Raina open-shoved with and Anuj Laddhad called with . The board ran and with that Raina won the Main Event trophy and ₹7 Lakhs in prize money!

As for Laddhad, who is a doctor and is currently pursuing his post-grad in general surgery in Ajmer, a runner-up finish fetched him a career-best ₹4.73 Lakhs!

That last beat had all but derailed Raina`s title hopes. But this long-time tournament reg has managed to double up twice in quick succession to get back in the game.

On the first hand, it was his pitted against Laddhad`s . The all clubs board saw Raina completing the better flush!

Almost immediately after that, Raina was all-in with pocket eights and Laddhad called off with pocket treys. The runout got Raina his second consecutive runner-up, getting him back in contention!

Chip Counts

Anuj Laddhad – 2M

Deepak Raina – 1.8M

What started out as an almost evenly matched contest has suddenly become a one-sided affair after Deepak Raina dropped a massive pot to Laddhad on a bad beat.

Anuj Laddhad opened the action with a bet of 120K. Deepak Raina moved all-in with . Laddhad called with . Raina was a strong favorite to take down the pot and win the trophy but the poker gods had other plans as the runout saw Laddhad spiking a seven on the river for a double up!

Chip Counts

Anuj Laddhad – 3.3M

Deepak Raina – 530K

It`s down to the heads-up play in the DPT Xpress 2020 February Edition and the contest for the title is between Anuj Laddhad and Deepak Raina.

Laddhad holds the chip advantage at the moment with a stack of 2.23M against Raina`s 1.59M. The two briefly discussed the possibility of a deal but were unable to reach an agreement. The duo has taken a 15 min break before the heads-up clash begins.

Radhika Shankar had a fun time at the final table and it was evident from the get-go. Even with a sizeable rail rooting for her, unfortunately, her deep run has ended in 3rd place. The action saw Anuj Laddhad opening for 100K. Deepak Raina in the small blind called before Radhika Shankar in the big blind shoved for 590K. Laddhad called while Raina folded.

Anuj Laddhad

Radhika Shankar

A queen on the window on the flop got Shankar a headstart and she was looking in good shape on the turn as well. All of that changed on the river as Laddhad hit a set to take down the pot.

Shankar collected ₹2.8 Lakhs for her deep run.

Anuj Laddhad completed from the small blind before Deepak Raina raised it to 120K in the big blind. Laddhad moved all-in with king-jack and Raina called with .

The community cards opened , getting Laddhad the double up!

Chip Counts

Anuj Laddhad – 1.4 Million

Deepak Raina – 1.7 Million

What is a final table without a little bit of drama?! And this one has plenty.

The latest hand saw the lone lady player on the table, Radhika Shankar, scoring a neat double up! The action had Anuj Laddhad opening on the button for 80K. Shankar shoved all-in for 375K with pocket tens, Laddhad called and tabled .

Board

Laddhad had hit three-of-a-kind sevens on the turn before Shankar started shouting for a ten on the river. And what do you know, the ten of clubs appeared getting her a double up!

And then there were three! The Mumbai-based Daipayan Banerjee`s dream run in the DPT Xpress Main Event has come to an end in 4th place. The elimination hand saw Anuj Laddhad jamming with pocket tens. Banerjee picked up and made the call. The board ran , eliminating Banerjee in fourth place.

With the top three places getting DPT X trophies, Banerjee missed out by one place but still takes home ₹1.7 Lakhs for his work these last two days.

The four remaining players have been sent on a 15 mins break and its Deepak Raina who is commanding a massive chip lead at the moment with Daipayan Banerjee a very distant second.

Chip Counts

Deepak Raina – 2,020,000

Daipayan Banerjee – 770,000

Radhika Shankar – 605,000

Anuj Laddhad – 415,000

Making his second final table appearance at the series, Clinton Fernandes`s Main Event run has come to an end in 5th place. After losing that massive three-way pot, Fernandes put it in with pocket deuces. Deepak Raina came along with a call with . Two aces on the flop and a jack on the river sent Fernandes packing in fifth place. He collected ₹1.31 Lakhs for his efforts.

We have just seen a massive three-way pot play out on the final table. It was Clinton Fernandes who opened the action with a bet of 70K. Daipayan Banerjee shoved for 220K. Anuj Laddhad went all-in over the top. Fernandes called.

Clinton Fernandes

Daipayan Banerjee

Anuj Laddhad

The board ran getting Banerjee the main pot. Laddhad took down the side pot with his flopped pair of kings.

Chip Counts

Anuj Laddhad – 600,000

Daipayan Banerjee – 530,000

Clinton Fernandes – 270,000

Clinton Fernandes has just doubled up through Deepak Raina. The action saw Fernandes opening for 80K, and Raina in the big blind called.

Flop

Fernandes shoved and Raina called.

Clinton Fernandes

Deepak Raina

Fernandes was comfortably ahead with his flopped set and he kept the lead on the turn and river to double up!

Radhika Shankar shoved all-in from UTG with . Niyut Shah isolated by moving all-in over the top with . The rest of the table folded.

Board

Shankar took down the pot eliminating Shah in 6th place. The latter walked away with ₹1.1 Lakhs in prize money, not bad for someone who has started playing the game only four months ago!

It has been a tumultuous last two hours for Chirag Sodha who has seen his stack swinging wildly all through! He got off the wrong foot on the final table and his deep run in the Main Event has come to an end in 7th place. His last hand saw him committing the last of his 320K chips in with , only to run into Deepak Raina`s . The board ran getting Raina the pot.

Sodha collected ₹93,000 for his efforts.

Clinton Fernandes & Daipayan Banerjee have both been issued a four-hand penalty by the tournament director for acting out of turn. Fernandes left his seat before his turn and Banerjee too left his seat, resulting in the penalty.

One of the biggest revelations at this series has been Dhaval Doshi. With final table finishes in three events, his deep run in the Main fetched him ₹80,000 in prize money.

The hand in question saw Clinton Fernandes moving all-in with and Doshi made the call at the risk of elimination with . The community cards opened , spelling the end of Doshi`s blistering run in 8th place.

The final table has witnessed its first elimination in Vikaash Shah. The action saw Shah moving all-in for 260K with and Anuj Laddhad made the call with . It was off to the races and with the board opening Laddhad took down the pot with his flopped set.

Shah collected ₹70,000 for his ninth-place finish.

Chirag Sodha moved all-in from the small blind with pocket deuces and Dhaval Doshi made an almost immediate call from the big blind with . Doshi turned a one-card hearts flush on the rundown for a double up!

Chip Counts

Dhaval Doshi – 300K

Chirag Sodha – 330K

Deepak Raina has slipped down somewhat after doubling up Daipayan Banerjee twice in a matter of minutes.

On the first hand, Banerjee moved all-in for 77K with and Raina called off from the cutoff with . An ace on the flop got Banerjee a double up!

Within minutes the two were at it again. This time Raina opened for 40K before Banerjee shoved for 164K. Raina called.

Deepak Raina

Daipayan Banerjee

The board blanked out and Banerjee took another dig at Raina`s stack.

The fates are swinging wildly and while Anuj Laddhad had the lead in his grasp, the same has now been taken over by the experienced Deepak Raina!

The hand in question played out very similar to the last hand that saw Sodha trying to steal. It was a battle between the blinds with Anuj Laddhad moving all-in from the small blind with the ace-nine of clubs. Raina woke up with pocket aces and snapped him. The rundown blanked getting Raina a double-up – he now has over a million in chips.

It took close to an hour to get this final table started. But the nine finalists are now nicely settled in and the play down to the trophy is underway!

There were fireworks from the get-go with Chirag Sodha moving all-in on the small blind with . Unfortunately for him, Dhaval Doshi in the big blind woke up pocket nines and made the call. With no help on the board, Doshi doubled up!

The final table chip counts are in, and as expected, the Nagpur-based player Anuj Laddhad is the chip leader with a massive stack of 969,000. Chirag Sodha is a distant second with 697,000 chips, while Deepak Raina (452,000) holds the third largest stack.

The lone female player on the final table is Radhika Shankar. The poker mom had final tabled the ₹15K Main Event in the March 2019 edition, finishing seventh for ₹41,000. She has carried a commendable stack of 341,000 to the final table and will be looking to go all the way!

Daipayan Banerjee starts off with the shortest stack of 77,000 among the final nine.

Final Table Chip Counts

Rahul Melwani open-jammed from the button. The action folded to Radhika Shankar in the big blind who went deep into the tank before eventually deciding to call.

Radhika Shankar
Rahul Melwani

The runout offered no help to Melwani, who bowed out in 10th place for ₹60,000.

The final table is set, and the clock has been paused as the finalists are moving to the featured table set up on the different side of the poker room. We will be posting the final table chip counts shortly.

Niyut Shah limped from UTG and start-of-day chip leader Anuj Laddhad 3-bet to 68,000. Sunil Kumar PJ shoved for 12,600. Shah got out of the way, and Laddhad snap-called.

Anuj Laddhad
Sunil Kumar PJ

Board

The community cards missed both players, and Laddhad’s cowboys beat out Kumar’s jacks, dismissing the latter in 11th place, worth ₹60,000 in prize money.

Myron Pereira shoved for 136,000 from the button and Clinton Fernandes reshoved with and the rest of the table folded. Pereira showed .

Board

Fernandes rivered a flush, busting Pereira in 12th place for ₹60,000.

The Senior Manager of Brand and Offline Marketing at 9stacks, Karan Sawhney saw his lock horns with Niyut Shah’s . The board came . While Sawhney flopped a set of aces to take the lead, the four on the turn gave Shah a full house, eliminating the former in 13th place for ₹50,800.

Chip Counts

Niyut Shah – 470,000

Karan Sawhney – Busted

Varun Singh open-jammed UTG for 93,000, and Sunil Kumar PJ shoved over the top from the small blind for 103,000. The big blind folded.

Varun Singh
Sunil Kumar PJ

The board bricked for Singh, ending his run in 14th place, worth ₹50,800 in prize money.

Chip Counts

Sunil Kumar PJ – 221,000
Varun Singh – Busted

Persisting with his stellar form, Dhaval Doshi pitted his against Sam Reddy’s . The board missed both players. Doshi’s ace-queen high won him the pot, crippling Reddy in the process.

Left with just 8,000 chips, which was less than 1 BB, Reddy unsurprisingly was eliminated in the very next hand. He collected ₹50,800 for his 15th place finish.

Amit Patel shoved 80,000 from cutoff holding and Niyut Shah called with . The board gave Shah a flopped pair of queens, sending Patel to the rail in 16th place for ₹42,000.

The start of the day chip leader Anuj Laddhad has further pulled ahead in the first 45 mins of play. The last hand saw him winning a large pot from Niyut Shah.

The action saw Laddhad open for 25K on the button. Niyut Shah defended his big blind.

Flop

Shah check-called Laddhad`s bet of 18K.

Turn

Shah once again check-called Laddhad`s bet of 75K.

River

Shah bet 110K and Laddhad called.

Niyut Shah tabled for a turned full house of sevens full. Laddhad flashed a king indicating he had kings full to take down the pot.

Chip Counts

Anuj Laddhad – 920K

Niyut Shah – 410K

Myron Pereira open-jammed for 24,000, and Rahul Melwani called.

Myron Pereira
Rahul Melwani

Melwani rivered a set of nines on the board , but Pereira hit an even stronger king-high straight, securing the double up.

Chip Counts

Rahul Melwani – 158,000
Myron Pereira – 54,000

Clinton Fernandes, who had finished fifth in the ₹5K Burn N Turn Event just two days back, is in phenomenal form today after scoring another double knockout.

The hand in question saw Prashant Jain Bhutoria moving all-in with . Fernandes called and Harshad Barve re-popped for 54,000 with . Fernandes called with .

Board

Both Barve and Fernandes flopped aces, however, the latter’s queen kicker won him the pot, eliminating Barve in 17th place and Bhutoria in 18th place. Both players collected a ₹42,000 payday.

Chip Counts

Clinton Fernandes – 320,000

Harshad Barve – Busted

Prashant Jain Bhutoria – Busted

Ganesh Kumar open-shoved with . The action folded to Sam Reddy who called with . The board missed both players and Reddy’s pocket sixes knocked Kumar out in 19th place for ₹33,600.

The eliminations are pouring in at the moment and the latest one to fall out in this downpour was Rajesh Goyal. On his final hand of the Main Event. Goyal opened for 38K from the cutoff and the start of day chip leader Anuj Laddhad shoved. Goyal called, putting in 73K in the pot and was the player at risk.

Rajesh Goyal

Anuj Laddhad

The board ran and Laddhad took down the pot.

The latest BPT ₹15K Big Bounty champion Kshitij Kucheria shoved from the cutoff, and Deepak Raina called from the button.

Kshitij Kucheria
Deepak Raina

Board

Kucheria turned pair of treys wasn’t enough to overcome Raina’s flopped pair of eights, resulting in the former`s dismissal in 21st place for ₹33,600.

Radhika Shankar open-jammed UTG for 127,000. Himanshu Sachdeva called for 35,000 from the big blind.

Radhika Shankar
Himanshu Sachdeva

Board

The runout bricked for Sachdeva, eliminating him in 22nd place for ₹25,300.

Dhaval Doshi is off to an excellent start on Day 2 of the Main Event after doubling up in under ten minutes of play. The hand in question saw Himanshu Sachdeva moving all-in from UTG and Doshi who was the shorter of the two called off for his last 56K.

Himanshu Sachdeva

Dhaval Doshi

Doshi kept ahead on the rundown to double up!

Chip Counts

Dhaval Doshi – 132,000

Himanshu Sachdeva – 38,000

The first eliminations are in! In one of the earliest hands of the day, the short-stacked Daniel Kazi shoved, and Clinton Fernandes aka Escobar, who was next to act, called. The action folded to Nitin Moghey moved all-in over the top, and Fernandes called.

Daniel Kazi
Clinton Fernandes
Nitin Moghey

Board

Fernandes’ aces scored him the double knockout, eliminating Moghey in 23rd place and Kazi in 24th place. Both players collected ₹25,300 each.

Day 2 of the ₹15K Main Event had a slightly delayed start due to feeder-related issue. However, play is now underway.

Day 2 has resumed with 17 minutes left in Level 17 with blinds at 4,000/8,000, and a big blind ante of 8,000.

It’s the last day of the four-day-long 2020 DPT Xpress February Edition, and all eyes are on the ₹15K Main Event that starts Day 2 play at 3 PM today.

Day 1 had commenced on February 29, following a 10-minute delay and concluded in the wee hours of Sunday morning. A total field of 192 entries (125 unique and 67 re-entries) were registered after the late registration period had closed at the start of Level 9.

24-year-old Anuj Laddhad bagged the biggest stack of 579,000 among the 24 survivors once Mihir Thakkar fell out on the money bubble. However, the title won’t come easy as there is still a lot of talent in the running.

All the remaining players are assured a min-cash of ₹25,300, but all eyes will be on the ₹7 Lakhs reserved for the champion!

Day 2 Seat Draw

Day 2 will be commencing at 3 PM at the Casino Deltin Royale poker room. Later today, the final event of the series, the ₹10K DeepStack Turbo (FO), will begin at 5 PM.

As always, for all the live updates keep following PokerGuru!