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Despite a quiet Monday on the digital felts and a noticeable lack of crowd presence leading to significant overlay shortfalls, the online poker scene looks to be heading for a significant upswing in June.
The upcoming week promises to be a poker bonanza with India`s biggest online poker festival, Spartan Poker`s ₹47-plus Crores GTD IOPC 15.0, set to commence on Thursday, June 1. Simultaneously, PokerStars India is gearing up to launch its ₹3.60-plus Crores GTD Summer Series on the same day. Furthermore, the micro and small-stakes players have the ongoing IndiaPlays Depositor’s Flight (IDF) tournaments to boost their bankroll.
Leading the way on the Monday scorecard was Vijay Maithani, who made waves with his triumph in Spartan Poker’s The CashMaker – Triple Chance. Maithani’s impressive victory earned him a hefty payday of ₹1.99 Lakhs, his second-best online score to date.
Returning to the spotlight was Aditya Kesharwani, last Tuesday’s Mega Stack (IOPC Bubble) winner, who scored a notable win in PokerBaazi’s The Big Show, pocketing ₹1.51 Lakhs. This triumph followed a heads-up deal with Akhilesh Chauhan, who claimed the runner-up spot for an equally impressive ₹1.50 Lakhs. Additionally, Kesharwani notched a commendable third-place finish in the Daily Value Boost, boosting his total winnings to ₹1.94 Lakhs.
Shailesh Patel, the inaugural PokerGuru Challenge winner, registered his second-largest winnings on Adda52, conquering the Iron Man title for a cool ₹1.64 Lakhs. This followed a three-way deal with ‘prakash4433′ and G Mohan, who finished second and third, respectively. Patel’s Monday tally reached an impressive ₹1.80 Lakhs.
PokerBaazi user ‘Chat.081′ seized the Daily Value Boost title for the second time and a tidy sum of ₹1.28 Lakhs following a heads-up deal with ‘negotiator666,‘ who pocketed ₹1.26 Lakhs as the runner-up.
Aditya Singh, last Friday’s The Elite (6-Max) (IOPC Bubble) champion, continued his winning streak by posting his maiden title victory on PokerStars India this year. He nailed the Eliminator [8-Max], marking his ninth title of the year and a payout of ₹93,626.
Neelakantan Murali, last week’s (7-Max) SPRINT champion, added another feather to his cap by winning PokerBaazi`s (7-Max) Daily SPRINT for ₹82,000. Bharath Kumar took second place, bagging ₹62,950.
Madhab Pal dominated the competition in PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) SPRINT, busting an over seven-month-long title drought and walking away with the grand prize of ₹79,886.
Niteen Raj emerged victorious in Pocket52’s Pocket Jack, posting his fourth title victory in the tournament for a winner’s payday worth ₹95,000.
Rounding off the day’s other noteworthy winners were Raghuvinder Singh, Archit Agrawal, Shivam Kumar Dubey, Pranay Thawait, Kishor Bhanushali, Vatsal Gupta, Sanil Raghavan, and Partha Datta.
Here are the Monday highlights!
PokerBaazi
The Big Show – ₹10 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹3,300
Entries – 184
Re-entries – 170
Prize Pool – ₹10,62,000
Places Paid – 49
Aditya ‘KesarDa’ Kesharwani, last Tuesday`s Mega Stack (IOPC Bubble) winner, took home the grand prize in PokerBaazi’s 8 PM headliner, the ₹10 Lakhs GTD The Big Show. Outshining a field of 354 contenders (184 unique players), Kesharwani accomplished this feat in under seven hours, walking away with an impressive ₹1.51 Lakhs. Notably, Akhilesh ‘Ikka5’ Chauhan also fought fiercely, almost ending his three-month-long title drought by securing an equally handsome runner-up payday of ₹1.50 Lakhs through a heads-up deal.
Adding to the win, Kesharwani pulled out another podium finish in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost, emerging as one of Monday`s top scorers with ₹1.94 Lakhs in total earnings!
Kesharwani`s Monday finishes include:
> 1st in PokerBaazi’s The Big Show for ₹1,50,644* (heads-up deal)
> 3rd in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for ₹43,451
Aditya Kesharwani’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹2.14 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹81.35 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #6
Not far behind, Akhilesh Chauhan added ₹1.61 Lakhs to his online bankroll from three cash finishes, including:
> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s The Big Show for ₹1,50,221* (heads-up deal)
> 25th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for ₹5,700
> 22nd in PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) SPRINT for ₹5,235
Akhilesh Chauhan’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹1.67 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #4
Yash ‘YashPokerGG’ Goel made away with ₹1 Lakhs across two Monday scores, including:
> 3rd in PokerBaazi’s The Big Show for ₹93,244
> 19th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for ₹7,200
Yash Goel’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹19.46 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹12.50 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #4
The ₹3,300 entry buy-in tournament exceeded its advertised guarantee, generating a ₹10.62 Lakhs prize pool, with 49 players earning payouts.
Final Table Results
*denotes a heads-up deal
Daily Value Boost – ₹10 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹1,650
Entries – 357
Re-entries – 257
Prize Pool – ₹10,00,000
Places Paid – 107
PokerBaazi user ‘Chat.081,’ the Daily Value Boost winner from February 13, shipped the ₹10 Lakhs GTD Daily Value Boost for the second time last night, outlasting a stacked 614-player field (357 unique) to collect ₹1.28 Lakhs, their fourth-highest payout on the platform this year.
Before claiming the title, ‘Chat.081’ struck a heads-up deal with ‘negotiator666,’ who walked away as the runner-up with a commendable sum of ₹1.26 Lakhs.
‘Chat.081’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹22.90 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹6.53 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #2
The Daily Value Boost final table also featured regs like Archit ‘RareAbility’ Saraogi (5th for ₹42,600), Nikhil ‘Nikhilaneja’ Aneja (6th for ₹28,800), and Mukesh ‘Guruuu’ Surana (7th for ₹20,100).
The ₹1,650 entry buy-in tournament fell ₹79,000 short of its advertised guarantee, and 107 players scored a payday.
Final Table Results
*denotes a heads-up deal
(7-Max) Daily SPRINT – ₹5 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹2,200
Entries – 126
Re-entries – 94
Prize Pool – ₹5,00,000
Places Paid – 41
Like in The Big Show, PokerBaazi`s ₹5 Lakhs GTD (7-Max) Daily SPRINT also saw a Tuesday champion, last week`s (7-Max) SPRINT winner Neelakantan ‘difsripp007’ Murali stealing the spotlight. The site reg triumphed over a starting field of 220 participants (126 unique) in the 7:15 PM marquee. Murali’s victory earned him a handsome top prize of ₹82,000, denying Bharath ‘hzgod’ Kumar a second win in the tournament. Kumar secured the runner-up position and a respectable payday of ₹62,950.
Neelakantan Murali’s online stats (PokerBaazi and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹90.84 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹15.27 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #5
Kumar added ₹73,750 from two cash finishes, which include:
> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) Daily SPRINT for ₹62,950
> 21st in PokerBaazi’s The Big Show for ₹10,620
Other notables on the (7-max) Daily SPRINT final table included Sunday’s The MoneyMaker 36.0 runner-up Ramu ‘Ramu0550’ Kushwaha (3rd for ₹48,800), Anmolraj Singh ‘PINCIOTTI’ Chawla (4th for ₹37,350), Ravinder ‘Ravikirti’ Singh (5th for ₹27,100), Amit ‘Aryan15’ Malhotra (6th for ₹19,650), and Sumit ‘runrabbitrun’ Advani (7th for ₹15,900).
The ₹2,200 entry buy-in tournament experienced an overlay shortfall of ₹60,000. The top 41 finishers capitalized on the value offered by walking away with their share of the prize pool.
Final Table Results
(7-Max) SPRINT – ₹5 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹1,650
Entries – 195
Re-entries – 154
Prize Pool – ₹5,24,000
Places Paid – 65
Madhab ‘madhabpal2017’ Pal took just six hours to come out on top of the guarantee-crushing 349-strong field (195 unique) in PokerBaazi’s ₹5 Lakhs GTD (7-Max) SPRINT. The victory earned Pal his first title in over seven months and a winner’s payday worth ₹79,886. The user ‘bigusdikus’ finished runner-up for ₹60,045.
Madhab Pal’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹95.81 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹23.28 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #1
The final table of the (7-Max) SPRINT comprised notable regs, including last night’s The Big Show champion Aditya ‘KesarDa’ Kesharwani (3rd for ₹43,451), Sunday’s BSS runner-up Arjun ‘TheMathematician’ Singh Bhadauriya (4th for ₹33,033), Akshit ‘siddleriddle’ Madan (6th for ₹17,276) and last night’s The CashMaker – Triple Chance finalist Pranav ‘MeenakshiSundareshwar’ Khandalkar (7th for ₹13,663).
The 9 PM marquee event awarded a total prize pool of ₹5.24 Lakhs, which was distributed among the top 65 finishers.
Final Table Results
‘madhavsingh31’ (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD PLO-5 Boost for ₹47,000), Archit ‘storm_77’ Agrawal (Won ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD 7-Max Midnight SPRINT for ₹45,200), Shivam ‘daddyaddy’ Kumar Dubey (Won ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Boost for ₹37,870), Kishor ‘greapter’ Bhanushali (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD PLO-6 Boost PKO for ₹30,000), ‘Skywalker0987’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Night SPRINT for ₹24,110), ‘akhiluck’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD 7-Max SPRINT for ₹26,470), ‘momina6’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD PKO for ₹24,730) and ‘98xxxxxx21’ (Won ₹50K 5-Max Daily Turbo for ₹6,330) won the other PokerBaazi marquees.
Spartan Poker
The CashMaker – Triple Chance – ₹9 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹3,300
Entries – 136
Re-entries – 59
Re-buys – 83
Prize Pool – ₹9,00,000
Places Paid – 27
Vijay ‘Abhimanisha’ Maithani, the Monster Stack winner from May 18, secured his second online title of the month last night. He made the victory march in Spartan Poker’s 8 PM Monday headliner, the ₹9 Lakhs GTD The CashMaker – Triple Chance, storming past a 278-strong starting field (136 unique) to seize the title for the day’s single-largest payout worth ₹1.99 Lakhs. This victory is his second-biggest score and marks his fifth title victory of the year. Site reg ‘mansoon’ secured the runner-up score worth ₹1.35 Lakhs.
Vijay Maithani’s Spartan Poker stats: Site Winnings: ₹18.97 Lakhs |Titles Won in 2023: #5
The head-up SnG phenom Pranav ‘R_U_SUAR’ Khandalkar accumulated ₹70,917 from four deep runs, including two FT scores:
> 7th in Spartan Poker’s The CashMaker – Triple Chance (IOPC Bubble) for ₹40,829 (from three scores)
> 7th in PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) SPRINT for ₹13,663
> 17th in PokerBaazi’s The Big Show for ₹13,275
> 19th in Spartan Poker’s Daily Turbo (6 Max) (IOPC Bubble) for ₹3,150
Pranav Khandalkar’s online stats (including HU SnGs): Lifetime Winnings: ₹6.25 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹87.07 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #2
Joining the ranks of notables on The CashMaker – Triple Chance final table were Utkarsh ‘kidpokerNJ’ Vaish (4th for ₹75,510), Faiz ‘Foldto1BB’ Alam (5th for ₹60,210), Manish ‘khatidragon’ Jangid (6th for ₹46,260), and Vishal ‘sarryu’ Singh (8th for ₹24,390).
The ₹3,300 entry buy-in multi-entry tournament fell ₹66,000 short of its listed guarantee and paid out 27 places.
Final Table Results
‘Mohdasim0007’ (Won ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Turbo 6-Max IOPC Bubble for ₹58,125), ‘Dontmuck’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Night Rider for ₹27,500), Vatsal ‘Valor’ Gupta (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Chip Up – Triple Chance for ₹23,916), ‘AWMSHOT’ (Won ₹75K GTD Sundowner – Triple Chance for ₹18,658), ‘srianudeep’ (Won ₹50K GTD Turbo – Triple Chance for ₹11,625) and ‘Picetag’ (Won ₹50K GTD Centurion for ₹11,075) won the other Spartan Poker marquees.
First Games Poker
Mega Freeroll – ₹2 Lakhs GTD
Total Entries – 1,641
Prize Pool – ₹2,00,000
Places Paid – 1,641
On Monday, the spotlight was on First Games Poker user ‘Azra Begum’ who seized a glorious victory in the site’s ₹2 Lakhs GTD Mega Freeroll, securing a poker ticket valued at ₹800. Not to be outdone, ‘qcjjg19251,’ achieved an impressive second-place finish and earned a poker ticket worth ₹600.
Final Table Results
Pocket52
Pocket Jacks – ₹5 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹1,650
Entries – 128
Re-entries – 91
Prize Pool – ₹5,00,000
Places Paid – 34
Niteen ‘niteenplus’ Raj stole the thunder on Pocket52 last night, outplaying a starting field of 219 competitors (128 unique) in the poker network’s ₹5 Lakhs GTD Pocket Jacks. This marked his fourth victory in the 8 PM Monday headliner, garnering him an impressive ₹95,500 in prize money.
The mystery user ‘surprising_len153_25227372’ delivered a stellar performance to secure the runner-up position, earning a notable ₹70,000.
Niteen Raj’s winning streak in Pocket52`s Pocket Jacks includes:
> 1st in the ₹5 Lakhs GTD Pocket Jacks for ₹95,500 on May 29, 2023
> 1st in the ₹7 Lakhs GTD PPC#33 Pocket Jacks for ₹1,29,500 on December 19, 2022
> 1st in the ₹7 Lakhs GTD PFS#4 Pocket Jacks for ₹63,000 on December 1, 2022
> 1st in the ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD Pocket Jacks for ₹95,500 on October 11, 2022
Niteen Raj’s online stats (excluding Pocket52 and PokerStars India): Lifetime Winnings: ₹38.31 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹6.07 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #2
The ₹1,650 entry buy-in tournament recorded a landslide ₹1.71 Lakhs in overlays, with the top 34 finishers cashing in on the extra value.
Final Table Results
PokerSaint
Amethyst – ₹4 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹1,500
Entries – 147
Prize Pool – ₹4,00,000
Places Paid – 24
PokerSaint player ‘maneatspants’ impressively sailed past the 147-player starting field in the ₹4 Lakhs GTD Amethyst last night, nailing the Monday primetime tournament for a hefty ₹79,165 payday. In the runner-up spot, ‘BharDunga’ secured a sizeable ₹53,463.
Offering insane value, the ₹1,500 entry buy-in Amethyst filled in a staggering ₹2.01 Lakhs in overlays and compensated the top 24 finishers.
Final Table Results
PokerStars India
Eliminator [8-Max] – ₹3.50 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹2,500
Entries – 74
Re-entries – 50
Regular Prize Pool – ₹2,08,888
Bounty Prize Pool – ₹1,41,112
Total Prize Pool – ₹3,50,000
Places Paid – 13
Aditya ‘ukid767’ Singh (opted out of our tracking), who last won Spartan Poker’s The Elite (6-Max) (IOPC Bubble) on Friday, picked up his maiden title on PokerStars India this year last night! The online MTT beast deftly navigated a field of 124 participants (74 unique) in PokerStars India’s ₹3.50 Lakhs GTD Eliminator [8-Max], nailing the 8 PM flagship for ₹93,626 (₹52,455 in bounties). This remarkable triumph marks his ninth title victory of the year, solidifying his position as an online MTT powerhouse.
Site reg ‘GodPGuru’ scored ₹45,723 (₹4,552 in bounties) for his second-place finish.
The Eliminator [8-Max] final table also had Yash ‘hasyY@$#116’ Shrivastava (4th for ₹25,533) and Manish ‘manish jangid’ Jangid (7th for ₹11,085) in contention!
The ₹2,500 entry buy-in tournament experienced a glaring ₹71,000 overlay shortfall, highlighting the immense value on offer. The top 13 finishers shared the spoils.
Final Table Results (Including Bounties)
Pranay ‘Pranay1245’ Thawait (Won ₹1.25 Lakhs GTD Super Stack PKO 8-Max for ₹33,785), ‘pokerface0455’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Ultrasonic for ₹24,752), ‘smjthane’ (Won ₹50K GTD Super Stack PKO 8-Max for ₹15,345), ‘abhikhan89’ (Won ₹50K GTD Bounty Adrenaline 6-Max for ₹9,418) and Partha ‘Spidermanindia’ Datta (Won ₹40K GTD Afternoon on Stars PKO for ₹8,656) won the other PokerStars India marquees.
Adda52
Iron Man – ₹8 Lakhs GTD
Buy-in – ₹2,400
Entries – 173
Re-entries – 126
Prize Pool – ₹8,00,000
Places Paid – 30
The first-ever PokerGuru Challenge winner, Shailesh ‘MrShailesh’ Patel, hit it big last night by blasting through the 299-player starting field (173 unique) in Adda52’s ₹8 Lakhs GTD Iron Man, shipping the Monday flagship for ₹1.64 Lakhs – his second-best score on the site. A three-way deal saw ‘prakash4433’ (2nd for ₹1.32 Lakhs) and G ‘mohan1969’ Mohan (3rd for ₹1.22 Lakhs) collecting the other top payouts.
Shailesh Patel’s memorable Monday session resulted in total earnings of ₹1.80 Lakhs from two cash finishes, which included:
> 1st in Adda52’s Iron Man for ₹1,64,274* (three-way deal)
> 14th in PokerBaazi’s The Big Show for ₹15,930
Shailesh Patel’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹46.86 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹12.24 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #4
Pratik ‘manjer24’ Manjrekar made away with ₹73,235 across two deep runs, which include:
> 4th in Adda52’s Iron Man for ₹68,000
> 18th in PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) SPRINT for ₹5,235
Pratik Manjrekar’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹1.39 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹26.51 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #1
The ₹2,400 entry buy-in Iron Man registered a significant ₹1.42 Lakhs in overlays, and the top 30 finishers landed in the money zone.
Final Table Results
*denotes a three-way deal
Raghuvinder ‘Murti8’ Singh (Won ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD Voyager for ₹69,500), ‘kumarsawan2010’ (Won ₹1.20 Lakhs GTD Afternoon Adda for ₹33,360), ‘Viper17 (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Nighttide DST Adda for ₹32,772), ‘sonofmars1’ (Won ₹70K GTD Iron Man Lite for ₹13,505), ‘Ronaldoking’ (Won ₹60K GTD Bounty Adda for ₹11,862), Sanil ‘sid1290’ Raghavan (Won ₹50K GTD Sundown Adda for ₹11,800) and ‘sonofmars1’ (Won ₹30K GTD Freeze Out Adda for ₹10,241) won the other Adda52 marquees.
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