Daily Majors: Anuj Yadav, Gaurav Sood, Pradip Ghosh & Vishal Bajaj Fly Through the Friday Flagships

It was a fluctuating Friday on the virtual felts. While many marquee tournaments crushed their advertised guarantees, others missed the mark. Nevertheless, with PokerBaazi’s 1000X Series 2.0 heading towards its Sunday finale and PokerStars India’s Winter Series 5.0 hitting its first weekend, there will be no dearth of action for players in the coming days.

Returning to the Friday majors, Young Gun Anuj Yadav continues his dominance in online MTTs. The 2022 POY leaderboard topper championed Spartan Poker’s The Elite for the third time taking home the day’s single biggest payout worth ₹6.71 Lakhs. Young Gun Siddhanth Kripalani finished runner-up for ₹4.53 Lakhs.

It was a night for PokerGuru’s Young Guns to shine as Gaurav Sood entered the winner’s circle for the first time in 2023. The two-time POY leaderboard topper took down Adda52’s The Ballers for ₹5.76 Lakhs, lapping ₹6.08 Lakhs in total winnings. Ayush Garg came second for ₹3.49 Lakhs.

One of the most consistent winners of 2022, Pradip Ghosh, continued his winning form into 2023 by taking down PokerBaazi’s 1000X#24 Friday Prime, clinching his maiden 1000X Series title for ₹4.89 Lakhs (won ₹6.08 Lakhs overall).

Vishal Bajaj opened his title tally for the year with a dominating run in PokerBaazi’s The Weekly High Roller for ₹4.01 Lakhs (won ₹4.45 Lakhs overall), following a heads-up deal with Dhiraj Lakhotia (2nd for ₹3.85 Lakhs).

‘VikramJaiswal7’ (Won 1000X#25 for ₹99,068), Kamal Joshi (Won 1000X#23 for ₹89,780), and Shivam Shukla (Won 1000X#22 (PLO-6) for ₹71,250) shipped the other 1000X Series titles of Friday.

Gokul Raj was another breakout winner, for he shipped PokerStars India’s Winter Series-08 [Uppercut], banking ₹2.91 Lakhs (won ₹4.88 Lakhs overall).

Rohit Agarwal, Akhand Shukla, Mukesh Ahuja, Ankit Jajodia, Abhishek Chowrasia, Yash Jaiswal, Jimmy Arora, Nikhel Anand, Abhishek Mishra, Janani Ghosh, Muthukumar Rajagopalan, Kishan Kashyap, Gaurang Bhatti, Laldingliana Tlau Vantawl, and Shailendra Pradhan won the other Friday marquees!

Here are the Friday highlights!

PokerBaazi

1000X#24 Friday Prime – ₹35 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹3,850

Entries – 479

Re-entries – 518

Prize Pool – ₹35,00,000

Places Paid – 100

Just a week into the New Year, Pradip ‘Nit2Donk’ Ghosh has already bagged two flagship titles, the latest coming last night. The MTT fiend trumped a formidable 997-player field in PokerBaazi’s ₹35 Lakhs GTD 1000X#24 Friday Prime, shipping Friday’s biggest guaranteed tournament for ₹4.89 Lakhs (his maiden 1000X title). ‘severeStraddL84’ finished runner-up for ₹3.03 Lakhs.

The Legend Poker Series Main Event runner-up, Ghosh, reeled in almost ₹6.08 Lakhs from five deep runs yesterday, including a fourth-place finish in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-08 [Uppercut] for ₹1.02 Lakhs, making him one of the Friday chartbusters.

Pradip Ghosh’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹3.62 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.65 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #2 | Finished #10 on the 2022 TLB Leaderboard

The ₹3,850 buy-in flagship fell ₹10,500 short of its advertised guarantee, with the top 100 runners crossing the money line.

Final Table Results

1. Pradip ‘Nit2Donk’ Ghosh – ₹4,89,300
2. severeStraddL84 – ₹3,02,750
3. rexxarf – ₹2,43,600
4. Gokul ‘Nygma’ Raj – ₹1,97,050
5. Chiraag ‘Versutus’ Patel – ₹1,58,900
6. Avijit ‘SwangoRay’ Jaiswal – ₹1,21,800
7. Aishwary ‘czarash’ Sharma – ₹85,750
8. 1299sanj – ₹70,000

The Weekly HighRoller – ₹12 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹11,000

Entries – 101

Re-entries – 93

Prize Pool – ₹19,40,000

Places Paid – 20

Vishal ‘Vishzz’ Bajaj was another top pro making the Friday headlines! Just as his mentor Aditya Agarwal was making an FT run in the World Poker Championship Hanoi Kickoff event, the 25-year-old engineer turned poker pro took down the 194-player field in PokerBaazi’s ₹12 Lakhs GTD The Weekly HighRoller for ₹4.01 Lakhs (his maiden title of 2023), striking a heads-up deal with last week’s The Summit champion Dhiraj ‘supernuts’ Lakhotia (2nd for ₹3.85 Lakhs).

Bajaj pulled out a class act last night, netting almost ₹4.45 Lakhs from three ITM finishes, which include:

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s The Weekly HighRoller for ₹4,00,619

> 10th in Adda52’s The Ballers for ₹34,577

> 33rd in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-08 [Uppercut] for ₹9,790

Vishal Bajaj’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹8.39 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹3.36 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #1 | Finished #12 in the 2022 POY Race

Dhiraj Lakhotia also cashed the 1000X#24 Friday Prime (45th for ₹17,500), pocketing ₹4.02 Lakhs overall. His online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹2.74 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹75.93 Lakhs

The banker-turned-poker-pro Kunal ‘VasooliChacha’ Patni collected ₹3.12 Lakhs in Friday winnings on the back of six deep runs, with his biggest score coming in The Weekly HighRoller (3rd for ₹2.49 Lakhs), pushing him across the ₹9 Crores mark in tracked online winnings.

Kunal Patni`s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹9.01 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹2.97 Crores

Final Table Results

1. Vishal ‘Vishzz’ Bajaj – ₹4,00,619*
2. Dhiraj ‘supernuts’ Lakhotia – ₹3,84,499*
3. Kunal ‘VasooliChacha’ Patni – ₹2,48,902
4. Ninad ‘DarAdal’ Naik – ₹1,71,690
5. AK10JQ – ₹1,29,010
6. Ram ‘mowgumotu’ Kakkar – ₹91,180

*denotes a heads-up deal

1000X#25 – ₹8 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹880

Entries – 598

Re-entries – 621

Prize Pool – ₹9,75,000

Places Paid – 209

PokerBaazi user ‘VikramJaiswal7’ clinched their eighth title on the site, championing the ₹8 Lakhs GTD 1000X#25 for ₹99,068 (their second-best score on the site), following a four-way deal with Parteek ‘ptk007’ Maheshwari (2nd for ₹96,284), Satyam ‘bolu123’ Shukla (3rd for ₹97,747) and Deepak ‘sabJuwaaHai’ Choudhary (4th for ₹65,482).

VikramJaiswal7’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹19.23 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹4.20 Lakhs | Titles Won: #8

Parteek Maheshwari FT-ed two 1000X Series events, locking in ₹1.54 Lakhs. His FT finishes include:

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#25 for ₹96,284

> 3rd in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#23 for ₹57,330

Parteek Maheshwari’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹36.76 Lakhs

The ₹880 entry buy-in tourney logged 1,219 entries, posting a guarantee-crushing ₹9.75 Lakhs prize pool, distributed among the top 209 finishers.

Final Table Results

1. VikramJaiswal7 – ₹99,068*
2. Parteek ‘ptk007’ Maheshwari – ₹96,284*
3. Satyam ‘bolu123’ Shukla – ₹97,747*
4. Deepak ‘sabJuwaaHai’ Choudhary – ₹65,482*
5. Vignesh ‘Rajjni007’ Kumar – ₹36,082
6. Vardatic – ₹25,160
7. Vikram ‘Poker_lover’ Mishra – ₹17,456
8. Fang987 – ₹12,190

*denotes a four-way deal

1000X#23 – ₹7 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹770

Entries – 505

Re-entries – 477

Prize Pool – ₹7,00,000

Places Paid – 167

Kamal ‘bagdadi345’ Joshi picked up his first title after nearly 11 weeks with a victory march in PokerBaazi’s ₹7 Lakhs GTD 1000X#23 for ₹89,780, following a heads-up deal with Ajay ‘Rakaa1’ Agrawal (2nd for ₹83,120).

Joshi made another deep run in the Daily Boost (23rd for ₹3,075), netting ₹92,855 overall. His online stats (excluding PokerStars India): Lifetime Winnings: ₹43.45 Lakhs

The ₹770 entry buy-in marquee attracted 982 entries, overlaying ₹62,600. The top 167 places were paid.

Final Table Results

1. Kamal ‘bagdadi345’ Joshi – ₹89,780*
2. Ajay ‘Raakaa1’ Agrawal – ₹83,120*
3. Parteek ‘ptk007’ Maheshwari – ₹57,330
4. Sandeep ‘pizzakhanahai’ Chhabra – ₹38,710
5. Rehmat ‘seinfeld’ Singh Walia – ₹26,950
6. P0ker23 – ₹19,600
7. adirajnara – ₹13,090
8. Kunal1717 – ₹9,100

*denotes a heads-up deal

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

Buy-in – ₹2,200

Entries – 134

Re-entries – 118

Prize Pool – ₹5,04,000

Places Paid – 41

The low-to-mid stakes grinder Mukesh ‘Mukeshahuja’ Ahuja traversed the 252-entry field in PokerBaazi’s ₹5 Lakhs GTD (7-Max) Afternoon Boost, winning the 2 PM marquee for the first time for ₹88,517. Site user ‘masterbet’ banked a profitable ₹81,498 in second place, courtesy of a heads-up deal.

Ahuja min-cashed four other events yesterday, adding ₹96,271 overall. His online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹1.19 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #1

Last month’s (7-MAX) BSS Championship finalist Akshay ‘fsociety’ Dhingra rounded out the podium in the Afternoon Boost (3rd for ₹50,321). He cumulatively grossed ₹65,539 from three deep runs, which include:

> 3rd in PokerBaazi`s (7-Max) Afternoon Boost for ₹50,321

> 4th in PokerBaazi`s Daily Morning SPRINT for ₹13,685

> 22nd in PokerBaazi`s SPRINT for ₹1,533

Akshay Dhingra`s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹1.77 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹42.25 Lakhs

The ₹2,200 entry buy-in tourney dished out ₹5.04 Lakhs in prize money to the top 41 finishers.

Final Table Results

1. Mukesh ‘Mukeshahuja’ Ahuja – ₹88,517*
2. masterbet – ₹81,498*
3. Akshay ‘fsociety’ Dhingra – ₹50,321
4. Mahendar0999 – ₹35,235
5. adirajnara – ₹24,899
6. Sawan ‘Jaishiv’ Kumar – ₹17,644
7. Ronywalker – ₹14,407

* denotes a heads-up deal

(7-Max) Daily SPRINT – ₹5 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,200

Entries – 141

Re-entries – 122

Prize Pool – ₹5,26,000

Places Paid – 53

September’s MS #17 Sunday Millionaire finalist Ankit ‘akj290’ Jajodia fired twice before outclassing a 263-strong field in PokerBaazi’s 7:15 PM offering, ₹5 Lakhs GTD (7-Max) Daily SPRINT, collecting the winner’s due worth ₹81,320 after a five-and-a-half-hour-long action-packed grind. The first-ever APT Online India Main Event champion Rajat ‘happyfish’ Mahajan, finished runner-up for ₹61,595.

Jajodia ITM-ed four events, raking ₹1.21 Lakhs in Friday’s winnings. His ITM finishes include:

> 1st in PokerBaazi`s (7-Max) Daily SPRINT for ₹81,320

> 14th in PokerBaazi`s The Weekly HighRoller for ₹29,100

> 17th in PokerBaazi`s 1000X#23 for ₹5,250

> 14th in PokerBaazi`s 1000X#22 (PLO-6) for ₹5,150

Ankit Jajodia`s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹1.59 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹37.83 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #1

The #3 finisher on the 2022 TLB leaderboard, Neeraj ‘SelfClaimedPro’ Kumar, will be a formidable challenger for the 2023 TLB leaderboard title for the mid-stakes grinder made deep runs in many as 14 events, bagging out a Friday take-home worth ₹1.08 Lakhs. His top Friday finishes include:

> 5th in PokerBaazi`s (7-Max) Daily SPRINT for ₹25,090

> 5th in PokerStars India`s Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale] for ₹18,077

> 59th in PokerBaazi`s 1000X#24 Friday Prime for ₹15,750

> 13th in PokerStars India`s Winter Series-08 [Uppercut] for ₹13,474

> 7th in PokerBaazi`s (7-Max) Midnight SPRINT for ₹10,017

Neeraj Kumar`s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹8.16 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.58 Crores

The ₹2,200 entry buy-in (7-Max) Daily SPRINT registered 263 runners, crossing its listed guarantee by ₹26,000, and the top 53 finishers got paid.

Final Table Results

1. Ankit ‘akj290’ Jajodia – ₹81,320
2. Rajat ‘happyfish’ Mahajan – ₹61,595
3. Vinay ‘keechad’ Verma – ₹47,813
4. Anand ‘aanandd’ Kumar – ₹35,505
5. Neeraj ‘SelfClaimedPro’ Kumar – ₹25,090
6. Sksushil – ₹17,779
7. Neelakantan ‘difsripp007’ Murali – ₹14,518

1000X#22 (PLO-6) – ₹5 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹550

Entries – 251

Re-entries – 365

Prize Pool – ₹5,00,000

Places Paid – 112

Perseverance pays off, and Shivam ‘broosky’ Shukla proved it by firing as many as eight bullets in PokerBaazi’s ₹5 Lakhs GTD 1000X#22 (PLO-6) before taking down the 3 PM tourney, bagging his first 1000X Series title and ₹71,250 in first-place prize money – ending a six-week-long dry spell.

The Winter Series-01 [LittleSnowball, 8-Max] champion, Vikram ‘Poker_lover’ Mishra, fell one place short of clinching his second title of the year, netting ₹54,100 as the second-place finisher.

Shukla posted up ₹94,741 in total earnings across four deep runs, including another final table finish! His Friday finishes include:

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#22 (PLO-6) for ₹71,250

> 3rd in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-12 [Polar Express] for ₹13,705

> 8th in PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) Midnight SPRINT for ₹8,096

> 30th in PokerBaazi’s (7-Max) SPRINT for ₹1,690

Shivam Shukla’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹1.20 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹15.89 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #1

The runner-up finisher, Vikram Mishra, locked in ₹1.36 Lakhs last night from six deep runs, as follows:

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#22 (PLO-6) for ₹54,100

> 9th in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-08 [Uppercut] for ₹51,337

> 7th in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#25 for ₹17,456

> 17th in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale] for ₹9,193

> 64th in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#23 for ₹2,240

> 7th in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-09 [Snowflake Omaha Hi-Lo] for ₹1,792

Vikram Mishra’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹2.82 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹76.69 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #1

The ₹550 entry buy-in tourney filled in a glaring ₹1.92 Lakhs overlay shortfall, with the top 112 finishers from the 616-player starting field getting paid.

Final Table Results

1. Shivam ‘broosky’ Shukla – ₹71,250
2. Vikram ‘Poker_lover’ Mishra – ₹54,100
3. ashokmanjhi – ₹42,500
4. madrasmannan – ₹27,500
5. Akshay ‘akshay9144’ Singh – ₹20,500
6. Clinton ‘clintontavares’ Tavares – ₹14,200
7. Akhils20 – ₹10,300
8. RakeKid – ₹8,450

‘Reuben123’ (Won ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD 7-Max Midnight SPRINT for ₹51,560), ‘Ppatil25x’ (Won ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Boost for ₹37,270), Yash ‘ShakeyAnimal’ Jaiswal (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD 7-Max SPRINT for ₹37,310), ‘Spades9’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Daily Night SPRINT for ₹36,160), ‘Sushilprem’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Daily Morning SPRINT for ₹36,000), Jimmy ‘Jeeven’ Arora (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD PLO-5 BOOST for ₹35,210), Abhishek ‘Abhims05’ Mishra (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Daily Afternoon SPRINT for ₹25,620), Muthukumar ‘hero1965’ Rajagopalan (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD PLO-6 BOOST PKO for ₹23,340), ‘Odinson’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD SPRINT for ₹23,220) won the other PokerBaazi marquees.

Spartan Poker

The Elite (6-Max) – ₹30 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹11,000

Entries – 146

Re-entries – 58

Rebuys – 99

Prize Pool – ₹30,30,000

Places Paid – 27

Young Gun Anuj ‘br0ckLesnar95’ Yadav (opted out of tracking) is coming off a trailblazing 2022, where he dominated the POY rankings for a record 45 weeks straight, and he looks dead-set on keeping the momentum going. Last night, the 26-year-old MTT phenom conquered a 303-player strong field in Spartan Poker`s ₹30 Lakhs GTD The Elite, winning the Friday headliner for the 3rd time for ₹6.71 Lakhs. Young Gun Siddhanth ‘PluRibu$’ Kripalani collected ₹4.53 Lakhs in second place.

Goonjan ‘gmtesting’ Mall rounded out a hefty ₹3.98 Lakhs across two FT finishes yesterday, coming strikingly close to touching ₹10 Crores in tracked online winnings.

His Friday finishes include:

> 3rd in Spartan Poker’s The Elite for ₹3,11,787

> 6th in Adda52’s The Ballers for ₹86,444

Goonjan Mall’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹9.9 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹3.97 Crores

The #3 ranked player of 2022, Arjanveer ‘bazzingaa’ Singh Chadha, added ₹2.79 Lakhs from three ITM finishes, which include:

> 4th in Spartan Poker’s The Elite for ₹2,54,217

> 66th in PokerBaazi’s 1000X24 Friday Prime for ₹14,000

> 27th in PokerStars India’s Winter Series – 8 [Uppercut] for ₹10,651

Arjanveer Singh Chadha’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹12.97 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹4.57 Crores

Final Table Results

1. Anuj ‘br0ckLesnar95’ Yadav – ₹6,71,145
2. Siddhanth ‘PluRibu$’ Kripalani – ₹4,52,985
3. Goonjan ‘gmtesting’ Mall – ₹3,11,787
4. Arjanveer ‘bazzingaa’ Singh Chadha – ₹2,54,217
5. Ujjwal ‘$hitreg’ Narwal – ₹2,02,707
6. Aditya ‘Ben K Rolle’ Singh – ₹1,55,742

Futuristic (Multi Entry) – ₹8 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹880

Entries – 626 (377)

Rebuys – 393

Prize Pool – ₹8,15,200

Places Paid – 87

The IOPC July 2021 Saturday Prime winner ‘Giraldik’ nailed Spartan Poker`s Friday value offering, ₹8 Lakhs GTD Futuristic, racing past a guarantee-crushing 1,019-entry field to collect his maiden title of 2023 for ₹1.56 Lakhs.

Chasing his first title in seven weeks, Abhimanyu ‘foul child’ Mittal fell one place short of the finish line, netting the runner-up payday of ₹97,172 – his fourth FT finish of 2023. He posted a six-figure payday of ₹1.01 Lakhs yesterday, counting a few smaller cashes and bounties.

Abhimanyu Mittal`s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹3.68 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.48 Crores

Parminder ‘Bounceez’ Randhava made away with ₹79,887 across two deep finishes, which include:

> 3rd in Spartan Poker’s Futuristic for ₹69,537

> 5th in Spartan Poker’s Sundowner for ₹10,350

Parminder Randhava’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹92.29 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹9.25 Lakhs

The newly hitched Romit ’tilt_83′ Advani lapped up ₹1.05 Lakhs on the back of two deep finishes on Friday, which include:

> 4th in Spartan Poker’s Futuristic for ₹53,803

> 11th in Spartan Poker’s The Elite for ₹50,789

Romit Advani’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹3.13 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹99 Lakhs

Final Table Results

1. Giraldik – ₹1,56,111
2. Abhimanyu ‘foul child’ Mittal – ₹97,172
3. Parminder ‘Bounceez’ Randhava – ₹69,537
4. Romit ’tilt_83′ Advani – ₹53,803
5. WorstFish – ₹42,390
6. Herro Prease – ₹33,179
7. M ‘LACHANCE’ Balakrishnan – ₹24,538
8. rujula16 – ₹16,875

‘Haliax0805’ (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD Monster Stack for ₹51,522), Abhishek ‘Bittur’ Chowrasia (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Night Rider for ₹38,325), ‘pokerpineapple1’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Dark Knight for ₹32,295), Nikhel ‘Orion24’ Anand (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Sundowner Multi-Entry for ₹27,308), ‘Lolsfrag2’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Chip Up for ₹17,158), and Laldingliana ‘patea1971’ Tlau Vantawl (Won ₹50K GTD The Centurion for ₹10,025) won the other Spartan Poker marquees.

MPL Poker

Full Stack Friday – ₹1 Lakh GTD

Buy-in – ₹275

Entries – 422

Prize Pool – ₹1,00,000

Places Paid – 100

MPL Poker user ‘paytmpsm’ claimed the top spot in the site’s ₹1 Lakh GTD Full Stack Friday, taking home ₹21,100, just as Sachin ‘gunnpalji’ Kumar finished runner-up for ₹12,132.

Final Table Results

1. paytmpsm – ₹21,100
2. Sachin ‘gunnpalji’ Kumar – ₹12,132
3. Mohd. ‘tausifbhai7’ Reyaz Shaikh – ₹6,541
4. Abhishek ‘royalflush7’ Kumar – ₹5,275
5. Namvir ‘badalsansi’ Singh – ₹4,220
6. Mana ‘easyweapon21965’ Sardar – ₹3,165
7. Gourav ‘idol2580819’ Das – ₹2,637
8. Nitasa ’hoopsguy953848’ Devi Shaw – ₹2,215

Pocket52

Pocket Queens – ₹7.50 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,000

Entries – 152

Re-entries – 132

Prize Pool – ₹4,00,000

Places Paid – 43

The Pocket52-hosted Friday showstopper, ₹7.50 Lakhs GTD Pocket Queens brought in 284 runners, and the user ‘BrownMunde’ outlasted them all to grab the lion’s share of ₹1.35 Lakhs. ‘indian_0jz7n45IPy’ finished runner-up for ₹97,500.

The final table comprised the likes of online regulars Pratik ’GorillaGlue’ Manjrekar (3rd for ₹67,500) and Arpan ‘Novus’ Majhi (5th for ₹35,250).

Final Table Results

1. BrownMunde – ₹1,35,000
2. indian_0jz7n45IPy – ₹97,500
3. Pratik ’GorillaGlue’ Manjrekar – ₹67,500
4. Alak20 – ₹48,750
5. Arpan ‘Novus’ Majhi – ₹35,250
6. SSAHisoka – ₹30,000

Janani ‘Khapa’ Ghosh (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Pocket Lunch for ₹25,000), ‘shershaah’ (Won ₹75K GTD Pocket Snacks for ₹16,500), ‘99##.006##143_1902583’ (Won ₹75K GTD Pocket Soda for ₹16,500), ‘spotless_henderson19_20629989’ (Won ₹75K GTD Pocket Soda for ₹15,750) and ‘Subhajit11’ (Won ₹60K GTD Pocket Squares for ₹13,800) won the other Pocket52 marquees on Friday.

PokerStars India

Winter Series-08 [Uppercut], 6-Max – ₹15 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹4,400

Entries – 179

Re-entries – 162

Regular Prize Pool – ₹8,18,000

Bounty Prize Pool – ₹6,82,000

Total Prize Pool – ₹15,00,000

Places Paid – 41

It`s been a great start to 2023 for Gokul ‘Haxton Jr’ Raj, who scored his second title victory of the year last night. The seasoned pro booked a profitable Friday session, picking up FT scores in two flagship tournaments for a total take-home worth ₹4.88 Lakhs.

Raj scored a thumping victory in PokerStars India’s ₹15 Lakhs GTD Winter Series-08 [Uppercut], for ₹2.91 Lakhs with Varun ‘wardev’ Devayya (opted out of our tracking) netting ₹1.54 Lakhs as the runner-up.

Raj’s Friday finishes include:

> 1st in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-08 [Uppercut] for ₹2,91,037

> 4th in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#24 FRIDAY PRIME for ₹1,97,050

Gokul Raj’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹7.90 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹3.29 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #2

Another top reg Saransh ‘iammrmeeseeks’ Garg collected ₹1.20 Lakhs across two deep runs, which include:

> 3rd in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-08 [Uppercut] for ₹94,122

> 24th in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#24 FRIDAY PRIME for ₹26,250

Saransh Garg`s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹2.67 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.12 Crores

The ₹4,400 entry buy-in Friday headliner registered a 341-player starting field, falling ₹1.36 Lakhs short of breaking even, and the top 41 places got paid.

Final Table Results (Including Bounties)

1. Gokul ‘Haxton Jr’ Raj – ₹2,91,037
2. Varun ‘wardev’ Devayya – ₹1,53,552
3. Saransh ‘iammrmeeseeks’ Garg – ₹94,122
4. Pradip ‘Nit2Donk’ Ghosh – ₹1,02,389
5. Abhijeet ‘sexylady7766’ Kumar – ₹47,570
6. Myron ‘khAAbib’ Pereira – ₹41,484
7. Mithun ‘ThePokeRajaIN’ Mahesh – ₹40,389

Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale], 7-Max – ₹5 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,750

Entries – 116

Re-entries – 92

Regular Prize Pool – ₹2,60,000

Bounty Prize Pool – ₹2,60,000

Total Prize Pool – ₹5,20,000

Places Paid – 27

Akhand ‘akhand188’ Shukla is off to an explosive start in 2023 as he shipped two Winter Series tournaments yesterday to become the first player on our tracked database to win three titles this year. His breakthrough run saw him taking down PokerStars India’s ₹5 Lakhs GTD Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale] for ₹1.04 Lakhs a few hours after winning Winter Series-11 [Frostbite, 6-Max] (₹20,225).

In all, Wednesday’s (7-Max) SPRINT champion, Shukla, took home ₹1.25 Lakhs in Friday winnings across three deep runs on PokerStars India, which include:

> 1st in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale] for ₹1,03,684

> 1st in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-11 [Frostbite] for ₹20,225

> 29th in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-07 [Bubble Rush] for ₹1,410

Akhand Shukla’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹38.74 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹4.90 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2023: #3

The Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale] runner-up finisher, Hardik ‘hardiknair’ Nair, reeled in ₹1.18 Lakhs across seven deep runs, which include:

> 2nd in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale] for ₹70,871

> 2nd in Adda52’s Nighttide DST Adda for ₹23,890

> 5th in Spartan Poker’s Dark Knight for ₹9,543

> 19th in Spartan Poker’s Futuristic for ₹6,359

> 15th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Boost for ₹4,000

> 68th in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#25 for ₹2,828

> 11th in Adda52’s Power Up for ₹250

Hardik Nair’s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹30.19 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹11.61 Lakhs

The ₹2,750 entry buy-in tourney brought in a guarantee-crushing 208-entry field, and the top 27 places took a bite out of the ₹5.20 Lakhs prize pool.

Final Table Results (Including Bounties)

1. Akhand ‘akhand188’ Shukla – ₹1,03,684
2. Hardik ‘hardiknair’ Nair – ₹70,871
3. Manish ‘manish jangid’ Jangid – ₹44,644
4. Ankit ‘I am VR4Poker’ Nahar – ₹28,585
5. Neeraj ‘SelfClaimedPro’ Kumar – ₹18,077
6. J500PC – ₹11,887
7. theghoti – ₹13,892

‘$00th$ayer’ (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD Winter Series-12 [Polar Express] for ₹60,108), ‘gblaze8611’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Winter Series-07 [Bubble Rush] for ₹25,705), and Akhand ‘akhand188’ Shukla (Won ₹50K GTD Winter Series-11 [Frost Bite, 6-Max] for ₹20,225), and (Won ₹50K GTD Winter Series-09 [snowflake Omaha Hi-Lo] for ₹14771) won the other Winter Series titles on PokerStars India.

Adda52

The Ballers – ₹20 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹7,500

Entries – 173

Re-entries – 165

Prize Pool – ₹23,05,160

Places Paid – 34

The poster boy for online MTT players in the country and, hands down, the winningest player on our tracked database, Young Gun Gaurav ‘BuildPuntOK’ Sood announced his candidature for the 2023 POY title by firing up a smashing Friday session!

The MTT crusher featured among Friday`s top scorers with ₹6.08 Lakhs in total winnings and clinched Adda52’s Friday headliner, ₹20 Lakhs GTD The Ballers title, after making two runner-up finishes in the event in the last two years. He banked ₹5.76 Lakhs in the first-place prize money as he trounced a field of 338 entrants, while his heads-up opponent, October’s FTS #8 Friday Special champion Ayush ‘lazyman’ Garg, pocketed ₹3.49 Lakhs as the runner-up.

Gaurav Sood`s Friday finishes include:

> 1st in Adda52`s The Ballers for ₹5,76,290 (his first time winning the event)

> 27th in Spartan Poker`s The Elite for ₹30,300

> 208th in PokerBaazi`s 1000X#25 for ₹1,463

Gaurav Sood`s online stats: Lifetime Winnings: ₹14.72 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹7.47 Crores | Titles Won in 2023: #1 | 2020 and 2021 POY | Finished #6 in the 2022 Leaderboard Standings (Total Cashes)

The ₹7,500 entry buy-in event surpassed its posted guarantee to collect a ₹23.05 Lakhs prize pool, and the top 34 finishers got paid.

Final Table Results

1. Gaurav ‘BuildPuntOK’ Sood – ₹5,76,290
2. Ayush ‘lazyman’ Garg – ₹3,49,232
3. Sujith ‘sujith97’ Kumar – ₹2,53,568
4. Somesh ‘JackNotMa’ Patel – ₹1,92,481
5. Nitin ‘JeeneNhiDunga’ Rawat – ₹1,32,547
6. Goonjan ‘gmtesting’ Mall – ₹86,444

Rohit ‘Ddarsh’ Agarwal (Won ₹4 Lakhs GTD Friday Bounty for ₹1.09 Lakhs), ‘Valle’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Nighttide DST Adda for ₹31,582), Kishan ‘Baxtere’ Kashyap (Won ₹30K GTD Freeze Out Adda for ₹13,041), Gaurang ‘Bhattigaurang77’ Bhatti (Won ₹40K GTD Sundown Adda for ₹10,740), ‘prakhargupta0808’ (Won ₹60K GTD Bounty Adda for ₹10,555), and Shailendra ‘pshailen29’ Pradhan (Won ₹50K GTD Evening Adda for ₹9,939) won the other Adda52 marquees.

Khelo365

Friday’s ₹10K GTD Sun Downer title went to Khelo365 user ‘SammyFarha,’ who added ₹3,000 to their poker bankroll. ‘Matkhel963’ came second for ₹2,000.

Keep following PokerGuru for daily updates on the biggest winners across the major domestic networks!