Daily Majors: Aayush Arya, Tarush Gupta, Vaibhav Sharma & Chirag Sodha Make the Friday Headlines

Heading into the weekend, PokerBaazi’s first-ever PLO Championship Series kept the tournament action busy for the regs and recreationals alike, alongside the other regular Friday tournaments running across all the top poker platforms.

Young Gun Aayush Arya grabbed the Friday headlines after winning Spartan Poker’s The Elite for the third time for ₹6.54 Lakhs (the day`s single-largest score). Siddharth Gangwar fired four bullets in the Friday flagship and collected ₹4.40 Lakhs as the runner-up (won ₹4.44 Lakhs overall).

The PLO Championship crowned four winners on Friday, and topping the list was mystery player ‘Ayurveda’ who took down the PC#33 (PLO-4) Highroller for a site-best ₹6.23 Lakhs, following a heads-up deal with ‘Acegikmoqsu’ (2nd for ₹5.92 Lakhs).

Raghav Siddalinga (Won PC#32 (PLO-5) for ₹1.38 Lakhs), Rahul Kaushik (Won PC#31 (PLO-6) for ₹65,375), and ‘Jaigautam’ (Won PC#35 (PLO-4) for ₹65,170), won the other PLO Championship titles on PokerBaazi.

The #1 ranked player of January, Tarush Gupta, kept his heater going by taking down Adda52’s The Ballers for ₹5.12 Lakhs, defeating ‘IMUNAGI’ (2nd for ₹3.05 Lakhs) heads-up.

MTT phenom Vaibhav Sharma won PokerBaazi’s The Weekly HighRoller for an impressive fourth time, collecting the top prize of ₹3.69 Lakhs. Ankit Agarwal, another former The Weekly HighRoller champion, secured a runner-up payday of ₹2.83 Lakhs.

The winningest player on our tracked database – the two-time POY – Young Gun Gaurav Sood fired up five ITM finishes (including two podium finishes), making away with a Friday haul worth ₹4.61 Lakhs.

Chirag Sodha was another standout winner with ₹3.18 Lakhs in Friday earnings across three deep finishes. He prominently won PokerStars India’s The Big Bash for ₹1.93 Lakhs, busting an almost three-month-long title slump. PSPC Platinum Pass winner Rajat Sharma scored a runner-up payday of ₹1.41 Lakhs (won ₹1.70 Lakhs overall).

Spartan Poker’s Triple Chance went down the wire following a three-way deal that declared the #2 ranked player of 2022, Ashish Ahuja, the champion. Ahuja pocketed ₹1.54 Lakhs (won at least ₹2.50 Lakhs overall), with Mohit Mehta (2nd for ₹1.52 Lakhs) and ‘nehalsharma’ (3rd for ₹1.38 Lakhs) digging into the top-heavy payouts.

Mohit Mehta accumulated ₹3.39 Lakhs from an impressive six ITM finishes yesterday!

The inaugural BTS Main Event runner-up finisher, Neelakantan Murali, shipped PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) SPRINT for ₹1.77 Lakhs, following a three-way deal with Adwait Pol (2nd for ₹1.48 Lakhs) and Sumanth Kumar (3rd for ₹1.48 Lakhs).

Sanjay Khanna went on a tear last night, winning two tournaments back-to-back. His best finish was in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost, and he took down the 7:30 PM tournament for ₹1.28 Lakhs* (3-way deal). Khanna went on to champion PokerStars India’s Uppercut for ₹54,142 later in his Friday session, raking in at least ₹1.82 Lakhs overall.

Bibhu Agarwal, Anurag Rawat, Sreeharsha Boneni, Sanjay Khanna, Bharath Kumar, Prince Kumar, Dinesh Kukreja, and Abhinav Menon won the other Friday marquees.

Here are the Friday highlights!

Spartan Poker

The Elite (6-Max) – ₹30 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹11,000

Entries – 140

Re-entries – 70

Rebuys – 99

Prize Pool – ₹30,90,000

Places Paid – 31

Returning to the grind after a good five-day break, Young Gun Aayush ‘Eureka226’ Arya hit the Friday jackpot, racing to the top of a reg-laden 309-player field (140 unique) in Spartan Poker’s ₹30 Lakhs GTD The Elite to win ₹6.54 Lakhs – his third time winning the Friday flagship.

Siddharth ‘cooking_nuts’ Gangwar fired four bullets in The Elite and booked an over 10X profit on the investment by picking up a runner-up payday of ₹4.40 Lakhs.

Aayush Arya’s online stats (excluding PokerStars India): Lifetime Winnings: ₹4.57 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.87 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #3 | Finished #9 in the 2022 Leaderboard Standings (Total Cashes)

The winningest player on our tracked database, Young Gun Gaurav ‘mozzie17’ Sood, clocked in ₹4.61 Lakhs in Friday winnings through four deep runs (and one bounty), which include:

> 3rd in Spartan Poker’s The Elite for ₹3,10,236

> 4th for The Weekly HighRoller for ₹1,33,450

> 31st in PokerBaazi’s (7-MAX) SPRINT for ₹9,000

> 45th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for ₹4,400

Gaurav Sood’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹15.56 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹7.84 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #6 | Ranked #3 in the 2023 Leaderboard Standings (Total Cashes) | Won POY Titles in 2020 and 2021

Vikranth ‘borntrouble’ Varma (4th for ₹2.52 Lakhs), LPS Main Event champion Dhinesh ‘kendralust’ Kumar (5th for ₹1.99 Lakhs), and Ashutosh ‘stupefy’ Balodhi (6th for ₹1.51 Lakhs) round out the stacked 6-max FT in the ₹30 Lakhs GTD The Elite.

The ₹11,000 entry buy-in The Elite dished out ₹30.90 Lakhs in prize money to the top 31 finishers.

Final Table Results

1. Aayush ‘Eureka226’ Arya – ₹6,53,535
2. Siddharth ‘cooking_nuts’ Gangwar – ₹4,40,016
3. Gaurav ‘mozzie17’ Sood – ₹3,10,236
4. Vikranth ‘borntrouble’ Varma – ₹2,51,526
5. Dhinesh ‘kendralust’ Kumar – ₹1,98,996
6. Ashutosh ‘stupefy’ Balodhi – ₹1,51,101

Futuristic – Triple Chance – ₹10 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,200

Entries – 349 (229)

Rebuys – 191

Prize Pool – ₹10,80,000

Places Paid – 47

The #2 ranked player of 2022, Ashish ‘Spewushhhiiiii’ Ahuja (opted out of tracking), fired up a stellar Friday run, locking in a title victory and a runner-up finish, adding at least ₹2.50 Lakhs to his burgeoning poker bankroll.

Ahuja came close to taking down PokerBaazi’s PC#32 (PLO-5) but had to make do with a runner-up finish worth ₹95,920. He more than made up for it by conquering a guarantee-crushing field in Spartan Poker’s Friday 8 PM offering, ₹10 Lakhs GTD Futuristic – Triple Chance, a few hours later. The lawyer-turned-poker pro ransacked a 540-entry field (229 unique) in the multi-entry tournament to win the ₹1.54 Lakhs top prize, following a three-way deal with Mohit ‘thejoker’ Mehta (2nd for ₹1.52 Lakhs) and ‘Nehalsharma’ (3rd for ₹1.38 Lakhs).

Kaling ‘Renupadung’ Padung (4th for ₹81,108), Faiz ‘FoldTo1BB’ Alam (5th for ₹63,936), Mayank ‘barrelbrat’ Maruka (6th for ₹48,816), and Pranav ‘R_U_SUAR’ Khandalkar (8th for ₹26,352) were other known players who FT-ed the ₹10 Lakhs GTD Futuristic – Triple Chance.

The ₹2,200 entry buy-in tournament generated a healthy ₹10.80 Lakhs prize pool, and 47 players made the money line.

Final Table Results

1. Ashish ‘Spewushhhiiiii’ Ahuja – ₹1,53,757*
2. Mohit ‘thejoker’ Mehta – ₹1,52,285*
3. Nehalsharma – ₹1,38,378*
4. Kaling ‘Renupadung’ Padung – ₹81,108
5. Faiz ‘FoldTo1BB’ Alam – ₹63,936
6. Mayank ‘barrelbrat’ Maruka – ₹48,816
7. Loosecannon7 – ₹35,856
8. Pranav ‘R_U_SUAR’ Khandalkar – ₹26,352

*denotes a three-way deal

Bharath ‘sanapalbhar’ Kumar (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD Monster Stack for ₹48,021), ‘platinumm’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Hold’em PKO for ₹24,917), ‘dreamer.’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Sundowner – Triple Chance for ₹22,004), ‘PKJB007’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Chip Up – Triple Chance for ₹14,707), and ‘Hubriz’ (Won ₹50K GTD Centurion for ₹10,105) shipped the other Friday marquees on Spartan Poker.

PokerBaazi

PC#33 (PLO-4) Highroller – ₹30 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹16,500

Entries – 109

Re-entries – 83

Prize Pool – ₹30,00,000

Places Paid – 20

PokerBaazi user ‘Ayurveda’ fired three bullets in the PLO Championship showstopper last night, ₹30 Lakhs GTD PC#33 (PLO-4) Highroller, besting a reg-field 192-player field (109 unique) to collect an online best ₹6.23 Lakhs. The player struck a heads-up deal with ‘Acegikmoqsu,’ the latter scoring a runner-up payday of ₹5.92 Lakhs.

Ayurveda’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: 6.62 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹3.62 Lakhs | Titles Won: #2

Ramu ‘Ramu0550’ Kushwaha (4th for ₹2.66 Lakhs) was the only other known player on the 6-max PC#33 (PLO-4) Highroller FT.

Mohit ‘thejoker’ Mehta (7th for ₹1.11 Lakhs), PC#3 (PLO-6) HighRoller champion Deepak ‘kakoji’ Bothra (9th for ₹60,000), and Arvind ‘BigRedShove’ Halaharvi (10th for ₹60,000) posted top-10 finishes in PC#33 (PLO-4) Highroller.

The ₹16,500 entry buy-in tournament fell ₹1.20 Lakhs short of hitting its tall ₹30 Lakhs advertised guarantee, and the top 20 finishers earned a share of the spoils.

Final Table Results

1. Ayurveda – ₹6,22,548*
2. Acegikmoqsu – ₹5,91,552*
3. Bluewhale – ₹3,84,900
4. Ramu ‘Ramu0550’ Kushwaha – ₹2,65,500
5. truecaller10 – ₹1,99,500
6. Kingerb – ₹1,41,000

*denotes a heads-up deal

The Weekly HighRoller – ₹12 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹11,000

Entries – 89

Re-entries – 68

Prize Pool – ₹15,70,000

Places Paid – 17

Top MTT pro Vaibhav ‘WakhraSwagNi’ Sharma reeled in his second title in February last night in PokerBaazi’s ₹12 Lakhs GTD The Weekly HighRoller. Sharma toppled the 157-player field in the 8 PM Friday headliner to win the lion`s share of the ₹15.70 Lakhs prize pool worth ₹3.69 Lakhs (his fourth time winning the event).

Ankit ‘gabru1410’ Agarwal, a former The Weekly HighRoller champion who won two flagship tournaments on PokerBaazi last month, had to settle for a runner-up cash prize of ₹2.83 Lakhs.

Sharma also bagged a bounty worth ₹1,250 in PokerStars India’s The Big Bash, rounding up ₹3.70 Lakhs in Friday earnings. His online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹10.07 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹3.90 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #4

The #3 ranked player of 2022, Arjanveer Singh ‘holdbaby’ Chadha (7th for ₹62,800), Thursday`s The Summit champion Avish ‘thehorse7’ Sharma (8th for ₹54,950), and Sashank ‘TheTamizhDurrr’ Chakravarthy (9th for ₹47,100) also ran deep in the 8 PM The Weekly HighRoller.

The ₹11,000 entry buy-in High Roller paid 17 players a share of the ₹15.70 Lakhs prize pool.

Final Table Results

1. Vaibhav ‘WakhraSwagNi’ Sharma – ₹3,68,950
2. Ankit ‘gabru1410’ Agarwal – ₹2,82,600
3. ace.high – ₹2,19,800
4. Gaurav ‘gaug17’ Sood – ₹1,33,450
5. easyboy009 – ₹94,200
6. Durr102 – ₹78,500

(7-Max) SPRINT – ₹12 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹3,850

Entries – 201

Re-entries – 128

Prize Pool – ₹12,00,000

Places Paid – 35

The BTS#45 Main Event runner-up finisher from August last year, Neelakantan ‘difsripp007’ Murali, scored his first victory in three weeks yesterday. The PokerBaazi reg overcame a 329-player field (201 unique) in the site`s 9 PM mainstay, ₹12 Lakhs GTD (7-Max) SPRINT, to win ₹1.77 Lakhs.

Adwait ‘adwaitpol’ Pol (2nd for ₹1.48 Lakhs) and Sumanth ‘sp175’ Kumar (3rd for ₹1.48 Lakhs) banked near-equivalent payouts, courtesy of a three-way deal.

Neelakantan Murali’s online stats (PokerBaazi and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹76.16 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹12.62 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #2

Adwait Pol’s online stats (excluding Adda52): Lifetime Winnings: ₹57.54 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹11.16 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #2

The in-form Aditya ‘konstantin’ Singh (4th for ₹1.03 Lakhs), Abhishek ‘78suited’ Mishra (5th for ₹85,200), Parag ‘vix786’ Shah (6th for ₹67,800), and The Elite sixth-place finisher Ashutosh ‘senojwod’ Balodhi (7th for ₹51,000) were others on the (7-Max) SPRINT FT.

The ₹3,850 entry buy-in tournament registered an overlay shortfall of ₹48,500, and 35 players scored a payday.

Final Table Results

1. Neelakantan ‘difsripp007’ Murali – ₹177,262
2. Adwait ‘adwaitpol’ Pol – ₹1,47,900*
3. Sumanth ‘sp175’ Kumar – ₹147,638*
4. Aditya ‘konstantin’ Singh – ₹1,03,200
5. Abhishek ‘78suited’ Mishra – ₹85,200
6. Parag ‘vix786’ Shah – ₹67,800
7. Ashutosh ‘senojwod’ Balodhi – ₹51,000

*denotes a three-way deal

Daily Value Boost – ₹10 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹1,650

Entries – 335

Re-entries – 293

Prize Pool – ₹10,00,000

Places Paid – 113

The 1000X#17 PKO champion Sanjay ‘sanjaykotak’ Khanna went on a tear last night, winning two tournaments in quick succession. Khanna most notably outplayed a 628-entry field (335 unique) in PokerBaazi’s ₹10 Lakhs GTD Daily Value Boost, winning the 7:30 PM tournament for ₹1.28 Lakhs. He struck a three-way deal with Sumeet ‘sumeet1256’ Modi (2nd for ₹1.05 Lakhs) and ‘Satya222’ (3rd for ₹1.02 Lakhs).

Not done yet, Khanna went on to champion PokerStars India’s ₹2 Lakhs GTD Uppercut for ₹54,142 later in his Friday session, raking in at least ₹1.82 Lakhs overall.

With 13 FT scores (including two wins) in February, Hardik ‘HARDIKHARDIK’ Nair is officially on a heater. He collected a Friday paycheque worth ₹85,220 from five deep runs (including three FT finishes).

His top Friday finishes include:

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s Daily Boost for ₹42,204* (heads-up deal)

> 6th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for ₹28,400

> 6th in Adda52’s Nano DST for ₹9,180

Hardik Nair’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹39.69 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹16.89 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #3

The ₹1,650 entry buy-in Daily Value Boost suffered an overlay shortfall of ₹58,000, and 113 players got a piece of the ₹10 Lakhs prize pool.

Final Table Results

1. Sanjay ‘sanjaykotak’ Khanna – ₹1,27,695*
2. Sumeet ‘sumeet1256’ Modi – ₹1,05,236*
3. Satya222 – ₹1,02,769*
4. Sankesh ‘Sanky92’ Jain – ₹55,000
5. li7ardking – ₹41,000
6. Hardik ‘HARDIKHARDIK’ Nair – ₹28,400
7. Muthukumar ‘hero1965’ Rajagopalan – ₹20,600
8. vihansingh – ₹16,900

*denotes a three-way deal

PC#32 (PLO-5) – ₹8 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,200

Entries – 138

Re-entries – 169

Prize Pool – ₹8,00,000

Places Paid – 35

Raghav ‘pokerwolf’ Siddalinga, who won Spartan Poker`s Ultra PLO6 twice in December, entered the winner’s circle on Friday after a seven-week gap. He dominated a 307-strong field (138 unique) in PokerBaazi’s ₹8 Lakhs GTD PC#32 (PLO-5), taking down the 6:30 PM PLO Championship marquee for ₹1.38 Lakhs.

Raghav Siddalinga’s online stats (excluding PokerStars India): Lifetime Winnings: ₹1.23 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹27.04 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #1

The #2 ranked player of 2022, Ashish Ahuja (opted out of tracking) pulled out a blinder of a run last night. He shipped Spartan Poker’s Futuristic – Triple Chance (1st for ₹1.54 Lakhs) and almost went the distance in PC#32 (PLO-5), banking ₹95,920 in second place. From the two finishes alone, Ahuja lapped up ₹2.50 Lakhs.

The ₹2,200 entry buy-in tournament experienced an overlay shortfall of ₹1.86 Lakhs, and 35 players made the money line.

Final Table Results

1. Raghav ‘pokerwolf’ Siddalinga – ₹1,37,680
2. Ashish ‘rocky3705’ Ahuja – ₹95,920
3. thankgod – ₹81,600
4. Jaigautam – ₹68,800
5. Anilkumar ‘jat777’ Singh – ₹56,800
6. Brahmachari ‘NiceTryJack’ Sharma – ₹45,200

PC#35 (PLO-4) – ₹7 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹1,380

Entries – 232

Re-entries – 250

Prize Pool – ₹7,00,000

Places Paid – 49

PokerBaazi reg ‘Jaigautam’ has cranked up the heat in the ongoing PLO Championship. After registering three FT finishes in the series this past week, the mystery user finally bagged their first PC title in PokerBaazi’s 9:30 PM marquee, ₹7 Lakhs GTD PC#35 (PLO-4), scoring ₹65,166* (their third-best score on the site).

‘Jaigautam’ made another FT finish in PC#32 (PLO-5) (4th for 68,800), adding ₹1.34 Lakhs overall. Their PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹7.62 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹3.72 Lakhs | Titles Won: #11

All six finalists on the final table agreed to a deal, with last night’s The Big Bash eighth-place finisher Karan ‘Apocalypto’ Radia (2nd for ₹72,695), ‘Bhaisaab234’ (3rd for ₹61,148), ‘Jameso’ (4th for ₹66,438), ‘Scorpio003’ (5th for ₹63,044) and Tanmaya ‘RTD27’ Gupta (6th for ₹53,429) benefitting from the chop.

The ₹1,380 entry buy-in tournament brought in 482 entrants (232 unique), overlaying ₹97,500. The top 49 places got paid.

Final Table Results

1. Jaigautam – ₹65,166*
2. Karan ‘Apocalypto’ Radia – ₹72,695*
3. Bhaisaab234 – ₹61,148*
4. Jameso – ₹66,438*
5. Scorpio003 – ₹63,044*
6. Tanmaya ‘RTD27’ Gupta – ₹53,429*

*denotes a six-way deal

(7-Max) Afternoon Boost – ₹5 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,200

Entries – 133

Re-entries – 118

Prize Pool – ₹5,02,000

Places Paid – 47

Anurag ‘Krifard’ Rawat soared past the 251-entry field (133 unique) in PokerBaazi’s ₹5 Lakhs GTD (7-Max) Afternoon Boost to win ₹69,695, posting his first title victory in over ten weeks. He chopped the daytime marquee heads-up with ‘suyogbillu’ (2nd for ₹61,578).

Anurag Rawat’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹86.72 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹27,157 | Titles Won in 2023: #1

Prem ‘lastbluff’ Chand Gope (4th for ₹33,433), Thursday`s Ultron champion Neeraj ‘SelfClaimedPro’ Kumar (6th for ₹17,721), and Varunn ‘Varunn’ Gaala (7th for ₹14,608) were other site regs on the (7-Max) Afternoon Boost FT.

The 2 PM marquee saw the guaranteed ₹5 Lakhs prize pool being crossed with the help of one extra runner, and the top 47 finishers crossed the money line.

Final Table Results

1. Anurag ‘Krifard’ Rawat – ₹69,695*
2. suyogbillu – ₹61,578*
3. Spades9 – ₹44,025
4. Prem ‘lastbluff’ Chand Gope – ₹33,433
5. rampal2000 – ₹24,849
6. Neeraj ‘SelfClaimedPro’ Kumar – ₹17,721
7. Varunn ‘Varunn’ Gaala – ₹14,608

*denotes a heads-up deal

PC#31 (PLO-6) – ₹5 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹990

Entries – 181

Re-entries – 323

Prize Pool – ₹5,00,000

Places Paid – 70

Rahul ‘rahulx’ Kaushik, a former IMPS Main Event runner-up finisher, ended an extended six-month title slump yesterday by coming out on top in PokerBaazi’s 4 PM PLO Championship marquee, ₹5 Lakhs GTD PC#31 (PLO-6), to collect ₹65,375. He struck a heads-up deal with ‘maxchess’ (2nd for ₹61,175).

In addition to the win, Rahul Kaushik also made Day 2 in the ₹1 Crore GTD Value Blast (through Qualifier 12). His online stats (PokerBaazi and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹18.17 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹3.70 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #1

Sawan ‘Jaishiv’ Kumar (3rd for ₹37,300) and the #2 ranked player on the PLO Championship leaderboard Vikhyat ‘supersaiyan57’ Ahlawat (5th for ₹22,950) were other known players on the PC#31 (PLO-6) final table.

The ₹990 entry buy-in tournament registered a 504-player field (181 unique), falling ₹46,400 short of its advertised guarantee. The top 70 finishers benefitted from the added value.

Final Table Results

1. Rahul ‘rahulx’ Kaushik – ₹65,375*
2. maxchess – ₹61,175*
3. Sawan ‘Jaishiv’ Kumar – ₹37,300
4. rishstar – ₹28,450
5. Vikhyat ‘supersaiyan57’ Ahlawat – ₹22,950
6. tiltsingh – ₹17,500

*denotes a heads-up deal

PLO Championship Leaderboard Standings After Day 8

The mystery user ‘hik18’ (6,537 points) is still the player to catch on the ₹10 Lakhs GTD PLO Championship leaderboard. Eight days into the PLO festival, the player has rallied up 16 scores, including two titles – PC#15 (PLO-5) and PC#4 (PLO-6) – and another five FT finishes.

Wednesday’s PC#23 (PLO-5) HighRoller finalist, Vikhyat ‘supersaiyan57’ Ahlawat (6,445 points), has covered a lot of distance and is fast closing in on ‘hik18,’ courtesy of his FT finish in PC#31 (PLO-6) last night. Thursday`s PC#27 (PLO-6) champion, Aditya ‘jesus’ Pratap Singh (4,223 points), continues to track them as a distant #3 in the leaderboard standings.

Dinesh ‘htc170209’ Kukreja (Won ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Boost for ₹45,160), ‘vedprakash923’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD SPRINT for ₹38,400), ‘Ddeepak004’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Night SPRINT for ₹35,990), ‘madRide’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Afternoon SPRINT for ₹31,730), ‘Poker4everz’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD SPRINT for ₹23,200), and ‘Bignuts’ (Won ₹50K GTD (5-Max) Daily for ₹5,830) won the other PokerBaazi marquees.

PokerStars India

The Big Bash [8-Max, PKO] – ₹10 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹5,500

Entries – 100

Re-entries – 77

Regular Prize Pool – ₹5,57,500

Bounty Prize Pool – ₹4,42,500

Total Prize Pool – ₹10,00,000

Places Paid – 20

Ironically, hours after the details of the third edition of the National Poker Series were announced, the NPS 2.0 Main Event champion Chirag ‘WhyworrY_56’ Sodha scored his big break. The MTT pro tamed a 177-player field (100 unique) in PokerStars India’s Friday headliner, ₹10 Lakhs GTD The Big Bash [8-Max, PKO], to collect ₹1.93 Lakhs – busting an almost three-month-long title slump.

Sodha filled in ₹3.18 Lakhs to his Friday tally from three ITM finishes and made Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s PC#34 (PLO-4) Main Event and Value Blast!

His Friday finishes include:

> 1st in PokerStars India’s The Big Bash [8-Max, PKO] for ₹1,92,532

> 8th in Spartan Poker’s The Elite for ₹80,649

> 20th in PokerBaazi’s PC#33 (PLO-4) HighRoller for ₹45,000

> Made Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s PC#34 (PLO-4) Main Event

> Made Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s Value Blast

Chirag Sodha’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹8.53 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹2.46 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #1

PSPC Platinum Pass winner Rajat ‘sharabikebabi’ Sharma collected ₹1.41 Lakhs for his runner-up finish in The Big Bash and reeled in ₹1.70 Lakhs from three deep runs, inching closer towards the ‘₹12 Crore Club.‘

His Friday finishes include:

> 2nd in PokerStars India’s The Big Bash [8-Max, PKO] for ₹1,41,359

> 21st in Adda52’s The Ballers for ₹18,000

> 16th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for ₹10,300

Rajat Sharma’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹11.87 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹4.63 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #2

The #1 ranked player of the year and the IOPC 14.0 The Crown runner-up finisher, Young Gun Arsh ‘BiggggTymeR’ Grover, accumulated ₹1.17 Lakhs from four ITM finishes, which include:

> 3rd in PokerStars India’s The Big Bash [8-Max, PKO] for ₹90,569

> 42nd in Spartan Poker’s Futuristic – Triple Chance for ₹4,488

> 44th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for ₹4,400

> 24th in #Adda52’s The Ballers for ₹18,000

Arsh Grover’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹13.83 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹6.55 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #3 | Ranked #1 in 2023 Leaderboard Standings (Total Cashes) | Finished #4 in the 2022 Leaderboard Standings (Total Cashes)

Sreekanth ‘LaganaHiToHai’ Narayan (4th for ₹67,844), last night`s PC#35 (PLO-4) runner-up finisher Karan ‘The Annihilator’ Radia (8th for ₹25,534), and Mandar ‘MAMA4000’ Madaye (9th for ₹18,169) also FT-ed the ₹10 Lakhs GTD The Big Bash.

The ₹5,500 entry buy-in tournament experienced an overlay shortfall of ₹1.15 Lakhs, and 20 players got a share of the ₹10 Lakhs guaranteed in the prize pool.

Final Table Results (Including Bounties)

1. Chirag ‘WhyworrY_56’ Sodha – ₹1,92,532
2. Rajat ‘sharabikebabi’ Sharma – ₹1,41,359
3. Arsh ‘BiggggTymeR’ Grover – ₹90,569
4. Sreekanth ‘LaganaHiToHai’ Narayan – ₹67,844
5. s291405 – ₹48,173
6. Wolfy ‘Monkey D. Wolfy’ Sage – ₹40,231
7. ASG 961 – ₹30,991
8. Karan ‘The Annihilator’ Radia – ₹25,534
9. Mandar ‘MAMA4000’ Madaye – ₹18,169

Sanjay ‘raghav1990’ Khanna (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD Uppercut for ₹54,142), ‘wildshark100’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Ultrasonic for ₹30,132), ‘RAV1619’ (Won ₹50K GTD Bounty Adrenaline [6-Max] for ₹10,186), and ‘kunalduggal13’ (Won ₹50K GTD Super Stack PKO 8-Max for ₹10,628) won the other PokerStars India marquees.

Adda52

The Ballers – ₹20 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹7,500

Entries – 162

Re-entries – 130

Prize Pool – ₹20,00,000

Places Paid – 30

Tarush ‘tarush123’ Gupta has been in breakout form since the New Year started, and the January leaderboard topper proved his poker prowess yet again by claiming victory in Adda52’s Friday headliner.

Gupta, who has opted out of tracking, outplayed a formidable 292-player competition in the ₹20 Lakhs GTD The Ballers to win an impressive ₹5.12 Lakhs – his fourth title of the year. The runner-up, ‘IMUNAGI,’ was awarded a generous ₹3.05 Lakhs.

Despite being opted out, Tarush Gupta’s remarkable Friday run has cemented his name among the top ten scorers of 2023.

Sameer ‘samrkhurana’ Khurana (5th for ₹1,15,000) and Monday’s Iron Man runner-up finisher Dhiraj ‘supernuts’ Lakhotia (6th for ₹80,000) were other site regs on the 6-max The Ballers final table.

The ₹7,500 entry buy-in The Ballers registered a negligible ₹8,560 shortfall, and 30 players crossed the money line.

Final Table Results

1. Tarush ‘tarush123’ Gupta – ₹5,12,000
2. IMUNAGI – ₹3,05,000
3. peaceyo – ₹2,30,000
4. Comedypoker – ₹1,70,000
5. Sameer ‘samrkhurana’ Khurana – ₹1,15,000
6. Dhiraj ‘supernuts’ Lakhotia – ₹80,000

Bibhu ‘vibhuiit17’ Agarwal won the ₹4 Lakhs GTD Friday Bounty ₹79,156.

Nano Main Event 1C – ₹25 Lakhs GTD

Day 1B: Entries: 141 | Re-entries: 49 | Survivors: 25 | Chip Leader: Ravindra ‘wormhole’ Arikeri (220,330)

Combined: Entries: 372 | Re-entries: 143| Survivors: 69 (unique) | Overall Chip Leader: Ravindra ‘wormhole’ Arikeri (220,330)

Sreeharsha ‘yuddam547’ Boneni (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD Nano DST for ₹61,200), Prince ‘prince7664’ Kumar (Won ₹2.75 Lakhs GTD Nano Ballers for ₹46,527), Abhinav ‘Borntogamble’ Menon (Won ₹90K GTD Nano Siesta for ₹26,640), ‘anujrajani28’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Nano Daily Adda for ₹26,500), ‘Maelwyn’ (Won ₹70K GTD Nano Crack Jack for ₹14,649), and ‘Unmesh100’ (Won ₹30K GTD Nano Battleship for ₹9,226) won Nano Poker Series marquees on Friday.

Khelo365

The Friday attraction on Khelo365, the ₹30K GTD Prime Time PLO event was championed by site regular ‘nishant24k’, bagging ₹10,500. ‘Loveyoudeler’ finished runner-up for ₹6,600.

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