Daily Majors: Anurag Srivastava, Harsh Bubna & Aahil Malik Batala Dominate the Thursday Grind With Power-Packed Finishes!

There’s a distinct wave of uncertainty sweeping across the country as the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict unfortunately deepens. What began with a terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, targeting non-Islamic tourists, has rapidly escalated into a full-blown national concern. This follows swift action from the Indian government, which targeted terrorist outfits in parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. With Pakistan forces reportedly retaliating with missiles and drones, the concerns of a larger-scale conflict with the neighbouring country are, understandably, growing louder.

One of the most immediate and perhaps most disruptive measures has been the suspension of airport operations in several major cities. Commercial flights are grounded, travel plans are in disarray, and the general atmosphere is heavy with unease. Even the world of sports hasn’t been immune; the Indian Premier League 2025 has been suspended until further notice, a development that highlights the gravity of the situation. But while stadiums have fallen silent and airport runways have emptied, one corner of the competitive world remains brightly lit: online poker.

PokerBaazi continues to lead the charge with their legendary ₹1 Crore GTD The MoneyMaker. This pioneering and longest-running single-flight tournament in India, boasting an eight-figure guarantee, is powering through its 31-day, non-stop daily grind. With The MoneyMaker series charging ahead in full swing, and Thursday witnessing many of the cancelled flagships from the previous night (like the Daily Last Chance and Big PLO-5) making a roaring return with guarantee-crushing turnouts, the pre-weekend hype was definitely real. Add to that Junglee Poker’s ₹7.50 Crores GTD Poker Premier League (PPL) keeping the action at a fever pitch, Adda52’s regular big-money events, and Natural8 India’s World Festival 2025 (billed as India’s biggest series ever) all continuing to pull in serious poker talent – it all made for one buzzing day for online poker!

And once again, the biggest storyline of the day came from PokerBaazi’s #8 The MoneyMaker, which crowned a champion no one saw coming. ‘flip352’ stormed through the 1,000+ strong battlefield and delivered the kind of finish that turns heads right across the circuit. With apparent ice in their veins and seemingly flawless timing, this underdog closed out the tournament, their account suddenly richer by a jaw-dropping ₹15 Lakhs — nearly 18 times their previous best score. Tack on a minor cash on the side, and their Thursday haul soared to an incredible ₹15.21 Lakhs. Not only was it their biggest single-session collection by a country mile, but it also rocketed them back into profit on PokerBaazi in a huge way, making them the day`s biggest winner, no contest!

Anurag Srivastava, one of India’s most consistent crushers and a four-time medallist at NPS India 2025, came into the day locked and loaded. After recent wins in The Quest Lite and the Supreme, he was fiercely gunning for that elusive The MoneyMaker championship bracelet — the one major title missing from his glittering resume. Srivastava gave it his absolute all but ended up as the runner-up, a performance that still added a massive ₹9.78 Lakhs to his winnings. A few more side cashes saw his total earnings for the night cruise past the ₹10.47 Lakhs mark. Kolkata’s Harsh Bubna, the DPT May 2024 Mini Main Event champion and a former The MoneyMaker 54.0 winner, almost pulled off a spectacular repeat win in the #8 The MoneyMaker. He expertly sliced through the field to claim a strong third-place finish, which translated to a ₹7 Lakhs prize — his biggest score of 2025 and the sixth-largest of his career. Bubna wrapped up his night with just under ₹7.70 Lakhs in total collections.

Aahil Batala penned another fantastic underdog story of the night! The Maharashtra-based grinder announced himself in PokerBaazi’s The Summit, delivering a breakout performance to clinch his first-ever title. That victory came with a career-best payout of ₹7.50 Lakhs — a staggering 16-fold jump from his previous top score. This incredible run placed him as Thursday’s fourth biggest earner, just behind the #8 The MoneyMaker’s top trio. Chasing him right down to the end was ‘smr1g10’ (anonymity requested), a player with serious credentials — a former The MoneyMaker 30.0 champion and a two-time NPS Gold Medallist. Riding high from a Wednesday night win in Adda52’s Bounty Madness, they were aggressively pursuing their seventh title of the year. The finish line was incredibly close, but the title just slipped away at that final hurdle. Still, they walked away with a handsome ₹5.23 Lakhs — their biggest score of 2025 and their second-highest career payout — which pushed their total Thursday haul past ₹5.32 Lakhs.

Over at Adda52, Raghav Ananth made a thunderous return to the top of the podium, capturing the Godfather title and ending a six-week title-less streak. Improving on his runner-up finish in last week’s MMA Takedown, Ananth doubled down on his momentum with a commanding performance in this Thursday headliner. He walked away with ₹3.37 Lakhs after a heads-up deal, his second-biggest score on Adda52, which nudged his Thursday total just shy of ₹3.54 Lakhs. Breathing down his neck was Sahil Mahboobani, who was hunting for a fifth Godfather title. He came incredibly close once again, landing a powerful runner-up finish worth ₹3.14 Lakhs—his second-best score on the site this year and, remarkably, his fourth near-miss in this very event. He also racked up four more cashes, including a final table finish in the Monster Turbo PKO, pushing his Thursday winnings to a healthy ₹3.60 Lakhs.

PokerBaazi’s Summit Lite saw Aniruddha Joshi rise to the occasion, his efforts rewarded with a commanding ₹2.19 Lakhs. The Pune-based poker streamer and content creator, who recently made a podium finish in #2 The MoneyMaker, shipped this primetime flagship for the first time. This also registered as his fifth-biggest score of the year, pushing his Thursday total to just over ₹2.38 Lakhs and helping him make further strides in his ongoing ₹1 Crore profit challenge for this year. Vaibhav Arora, coming off a couple of recent strong finishes of his own, held strong throughout the tough field and closed out his night with a runner-up finish that added ₹1.43 Lakhs to his name.

Rishab Malik, the iconic three-time The Millionaire champ, served up a potent reminder of the kind of poker force he used to be — and, clearly, still very much is. Just two weeks removed from his explosive win in PokerBaazi`s The Summit, Malik returned to the spotlight with another top-tier performance, tearing through Junglee Poker’s PPL Thursday Mini Highroller to snag the title and a tidy ₹1.80 Lakhs. Malik also stormed his way to an eighth-place finish in PokerBaazi’s #8 The MoneyMaker, adding another ₹2.60 Lakhs to his name. That flurry of deep runs brought his Thursday tally to a fiery ₹4.77 Lakhs across three deep runs. Also making waves in that PPL event was ‘vb018,’ who stepped up in the PPL Thursday Mini Highroller to score a brilliant runner-up finish, pocketing ₹1.35 Lakhs.

In the other PokerBaazi flagships, Puneeth B N snapped a three-month cold streak with flair, taking down Daily Last Chance. That victory added a solid ₹1.88 Lakhs to his bankroll – his biggest score of 2025 so far and the fourth-best of his career. Meanwhile, veteran grinder Jasven Saigal made his presence felt in the Big PLO-5. Navigating the five-card chaos with typical precision, he clinched this PLO flagship title for the second time this year and walked away with ₹2.10 Lakhs — his second-best score of the year.

Over on Natural8 India, newcomer ‘CalypsoK’ made a very sharp first impression in the high-paced Mini LUCKY SEVENS Superstack Turbo 17.77, clinching a strong fourth-place finish worth ₹1.30 Lakhs.

The day had even more winners writing their own headlines, with Sanjay Kumar and Prashanth Sekar also adding marquee titles to their growing poker résumés!

Here are the Thursday highlights!

PokerBaazi

#8 The MoneyMaker – ₹1 Crore GTD

Buy-in – ₹10,000

Entries – 660

Re-entries – 390

Prize Pool – ₹1,00,00,000

Places Paid – 161

There’s simply no slowing down the firestorm that is PokerBaazi’s The MoneyMaker frenzy, currently tearing its way through May. This iconic ₹1 Crore GTD beast has well and truly taken over the platform’s prime 7:30 PM slot for the entire month. With eight editions now officially wrapped up, the sheer scale of the action is becoming impossible to ignore. Thursday night’s #8 The MoneyMaker served up another epic marathon of deep-run poker, packed with wild swings, some truly eye-opening breakout scores, and a lineup of familiar poker sharps all taking a very serious crack at that championship bracelet.

While Wednesday’s schedule threw a few curveballs with some cancellations, Thursday saw PokerBaazi’s roster come roaring back to pretty much full strength (though the WTF again took a day off). The Big PLO-5 and Daily Last Chance didn’t just return to the fold; they blew past their respective guarantees, and the Summit Lite also turned in numbers that left its guarantee in the dust. That said, even with more players in the mix, both of the day’s biggest attractions, The Summit and The MoneyMaker, ended up with overlays—clear proof that PokerBaazi is still dishing out extra value on the regular.

The 98th edition of The MoneyMaker pulled in 1,050 entries (from 660 players), just pipping the previous night’s edition by a single entry. This jump in numbers was, once again, largely thanks to a noticeable increase in satellite qualifiers. These satellites are swinging the doors open for many micro and low-stakes grinders, giving them a real shot at chasing those life-changing, big-league paydays.

And one of these very players—‘flip352’ (anonymity requested)—grabbed their chance with both hands and made the absolute most of it. Until Thursday, the biggest score on their poker CV was a 174th-place finish in the historic NPS India 2025 Main Event, which netted them ₹84,000. Fast forward to Thursday night, and this same player expertly navigated that 1,000+ entry field to lock down their first-ever flagship title – in The MoneyMaker, no less. Along with the breakout win came the coveted championship bracelet and a jaw-dropping ₹15 Lakhs payday—nearly 18 times bigger than that previous best score!

Hailing from Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, ‘flip352’ started their PokerBaazi journey in January 2019, initially only playing freerolls. They then went missing from the active grind for over five long years. However, their return to the platform in March 2024 signalled a more disciplined approach—grinding micro-stakes, playing a ton of satellites, and gradually getting comfortable again on the site. And the results slowly started to show.

Although they didn’t play anywhere near the full NPS India 2025 schedule, ‘flip352’ managed to cash in nine out of the 25 events they did enter, with some fairly deep runs among them, though none quite reached a final table. February brought a PLO-5 PKO title, which undoubtedly gave their confidence a welcome boost. A final table finish just last week in the (7-Max) SPRINT was a strong hint that ‘flip352’ had the game to go deep, suggesting that this massive breakthrough wasn’t entirely out of left field—and Thursday certainly delivered that moment most spectacularly.

Their victory came after an intense 10-hour and 9-minute grind, and they weren’t quite finished for the night. ‘flip352’ also managed a 62nd-place finish in The Summit, adding another ₹21,000 to their already explosive Thursday winnings, pushing their day’s total to an incredible ₹15.21 Lakhs. Not only was it their biggest single-session haul by a country mile, but it also rocketed them back into profit on PokerBaazi in a huge way, making them the day’s biggest winner by a considerable distance.

flip352’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹21.24 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹13.15 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #2

And this win was anything but a stroll. The final table was stacked with some of the most formidable names in Indian poker. The player who chased ‘flip352’ all the way to the final hand was none other than Anurag ‘Rebuy2survive’ Srivastava. Srivastava is on an absolute tear in 2025 and was making a very credible bid to add the one missing The MoneyMaker title to his glittering poker resume. It just wasn’t to be this time around for the Delhi-based online shark, who had to settle for the runner-up spot, though that came with a massive ₹9.78 Lakhs payout.

A four-time NPS India 2025 Medallist (2 Golds, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze), Srivastava is practically poker royalty. His decorated resume includes game-changing wins in Spartan Poker’s IOPC Millionaire Main Event and Destiny (2020), and IOPC#65 Friday Spotlight (2023). He has been nothing short of a phenom this year, already claiming 15 titles – most of them in big-ticket flagship events! April saw him hit a scorching streak with five final tables and five title wins, and he hasn’t eased off the gas in May either. In fact, May kicked off with a bang for Srivastava—he picked up a win in Adda52’s MMA Thunder PKO on May 1, followed it with a title run in The Quest Lite on PokerBaazi, and added a Supreme title from Spartan Poker on Monday.

Thursday saw this versatile campaigner go deep in four other events across various platforms, bringing his total loot to over ₹10.47 Lakhs. This placed him second among the day’s top earners, only behind The MoneyMaker champion!

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s #8 The MoneyMaker for ₹9,78,000

> 6th in Spartan Poker’s Supreme for ₹27,200

> 63rd in PokerBaazi’s The Summit for ₹21,000

> 17th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Last Chance for ₹11,648

> 23rd in Adda52’s Thursday Thunder for ₹9,253

Anurag Srivastava’s online stats (excluding Natural8 India, Junglee Poker and Pocket52): Lifetime Winnings: ₹12.40 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹4.19 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #15 | Annual Winnings: ₹1.14 Crores | Annual Profits: ₹56.85 Lakhs | Moves to #22 on PokerBaazi’s 2025 POY Leaderboard

The final battle also featured another poker heavyweight chasing a repeat win: Kolkata’s Harsh ‘harsh1327’ Bubna, who previously won The MoneyMaker 54.0. He was clearly eyeing a second The MoneyMaker bracelet. Bubna fired two bullets and played them brilliantly to power his way to a third-place finish, good for ₹7 Lakhs – his largest score of 2025 and his sixth-largest career payout. The DPT May 2024 Mini Main Event champion added to his Thursday success with a sixth-place finish in Adda52’s Thursday Thunder for ₹33,235. This pushed his total for the day to just under ₹7.70 Lakhs from the same five deep runs as Srivastava.

> 3rd in PokerBaazi’s #8 The MoneyMaker for ₹7,00,000

> 6th in Adda52’s Thursday Thunder for ₹33,235

> 82nd in PokerBaazi’s The Summit for ₹21,000

> 32nd in PokerBaazi’s Big PLO-5 for ₹9,470

> 77th in PokerBaazi’s Summit Lite for ₹6,291

No surprises here, the final table of The MoneyMaker 98.0 was absolutely loaded with talent. The lineup included the NPS#19 Micro HighRoller Gold Medallist and OG ‘High-Stakes Crusher’ Ashish ‘OMG_spew’ Munot (4th for ₹5.61 Lakhs), Gaurav ‘gauravgoru’ Bhutra (5th for ₹4.44 Lakhs), last night’s PPL Thursday Mini Highroller champion Rishab ‘ryuk’ Malik (7th for ₹2.60 Lakhs) and WSOP bracelet winner Young Gun Abhinav ‘griezmann’ Iyer (8th for ₹1.87 Lakhs).

Even beyond the final table, the top 20 featured a host of known crushers. Among them were last week’s Inception and MMA Takedown winner Arjanveer ‘holdbaby’ Singh Chadha (9th for ₹1.32 Lakhs), Zeshan ‘Deez49’ Hamza (10th for ₹1.32 Lakhs), NPC Gujarat State Freeroll winner Dhawal ‘Stick3rz’ Lachwani (11th for ₹1.32 Lakhs), Tuesday’s The Mint champion Aditya ‘KesarDa’’ Kesharwani (12th for ₹1.32 Lakhs), last month’s BSS Super Value champ Bhuvan ‘Ustaad75’ Bansal (13th for ₹83,000), last week’s MMA Friday Mystery Bounty winner and 2024 POY #6 Shreyansh ‘halifax7701’ Sharma (14th for ₹83,000), Indrajeet ‘iwilltakeall’ Sarangi (16th for ₹83,000), February’s BSS SuperStack victor Thepfulhoutuo ‘AvizoKeditsu’ Keditsu (19th for ₹83,000), and NPS India 2025 Main Event finalist Ashish ’Imgabru’ Kumar(20th for ₹60,000).

And, as we’ve seen all month, The MoneyMaker 98.0 failed to hit its guarantee, falling short by ₹8.69 Lakhs (not counting rake). This made it the second edition in a row to break what had been a streak of seven-figure overlays. Still, with 161 players finishing in the money, each pocketing at least ₹17,000, it offered another night of sweet returns for those who went deep. With eight bracelets already claimed, 23 more The MoneyMakers are yet to come this month. As this daily grind continues, so do the opportunities for more breakout stories, upcoming stars to make their name, and seasoned grinders to add to their already impressive legacies. This May, the poker felt isn’t just hot—it’s electric, and you can bet there is much more to come.

Final Table Results

1. flip352 – ₹15,00,000
2. Anurag ‘Rebuy2survive’ Srivastava – ₹9,78,000
3. Harsh ‘harsh1327’ Bubna – ₹7,00,000
4. Ashish ‘OMG_spew’ Munot – ₹5,61,000
5. Gaurav ‘gauravgoru’ Bhutra – ₹4,44,000
6. Poruss – ₹3,48,000
7. Rishab ‘ryuk’ Malik – ₹2,60,000
8. Abhinav ‘griezmann’ Iyer – ₹1,87,000

The Summit – ₹50 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹10,000

Entries – 315

Re-entries – 165

Prize Pool – ₹50,00,000

Places Paid – 82

You can feel it in the air– a real electric charge zipping through the online poker scene this month, and it seems like PokerBaazi is the one holding the live wire! It’s not just about The Money Maker mania, though that iconic ₹1 Crore GTD nightly beast is certainly serving up a daily poker feast (and those overlays are adding some serious value). The usual big-hitting flagships have only amped up the excitement, and Thursday’s lineup brought forward one of the week’s grandest high-stakes affairs — the ₹50 Lakhs GTD The Summit.

Interestingly, both of the day’s giants — #8 The MoneyMaker and The Summit — kept the May overlay streak alive. This happened even as popular mainstays like WTF took a breather for the day. But there was plenty of action to go around, as the other popular attractions like the Big PLO-5 and the Daily Last Chance were back with a vengeance after their Wednesday siesta, and both these crowd-pleasers (plus Summit Lite) didn’t just meet their guarantees; they comfortably smashed them.

Right in the middle of this high-octane grind, Aahil ‘danielantonio’ Batala didn’t just make an appearance; he made an entrance. This poker regular from Maharashtra, who’s been on the PokerBaazi scene since July 2022 and jumped into the MTT fray from September that year, grabbed his big breakthrough spectacularly. And honestly, that’s becoming a bit of a welcome habit on PokerBaazi, with their stacked schedule giving more players a real shot at snagging career-defining prize money!

In what’s easily one of PokerBaazi’s most prestigious weekly battles, Batala expertly sliced his way through a 480-entry field (packed with 315 players) in the 8 PM The Summit. After a nearly nine-hour marathon, he was the last one standing, his account suddenly richer by a career-best ₹7.50 Lakhs. This win wasn’t just his first-ever title on PokerBaazi; it utterly demolished his previous top score (₹45,000 in the (7-Max) Afternoon Boost last July) by more than 16 times over! This incredible run placed him as Thursday’s fourth biggest earner, just behind the #8 The MoneyMaker’s top trio: Varun Agrawal, Anurag Srivastava, and Harsh Bubna, and you better believe it gave his platform profits a massive jolt!

Aahil Batala’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹8.91 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹7.59 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #1

Trying to stop Batala’s charge was a seriously tough customer — ‘smr1g10’ (anonymity requested), the former The MoneyMaker 30.0 champion and a two-time NPS Gold Medallist (including the NPS#103 (7-Max) SPRINT Gold they won this year). Riding high from a Wednesday night victory in Adda52’s Bounty Madness, ‘smr1g10’ was aggressively hunting down their seventh title of 2025.

For a long stretch, it looked like they might pull off back-to-back wins. But The Summit crown just slipped through their fingers at the final hurdle. They finished as the runner-up, a performance that still funnelled a striking ₹5.23 Lakhs into their winnings — their best score this year and their second-biggest ever. A little extra from Adda52’s Thursday Thunder (22nd for ₹9,253) nudged their total Thursday earnings over the ₹5.32 Lakhs line.

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s The Summit for ₹5,23,000

> 22nd in Adda52’s Thursday Thunder for ₹9,253

And, no surprise here, The Summit final table was jam-packed with poker A-listers. We saw Sunday’s BSS SuperStack finalist Young Gun Anmol ‘anzzzzz’ Mehta (3rd for ₹3.95 Lakhs), poker veteran and recent Natural8 India APT Taipei – India Exclusive Tournament runner-up Shravan ‘FishStars’ Chhabria (4th for ₹2.98 Lakhs), the player who snagged the #3 spot on April’s leaderboard and last week’s Blockbuster champ Young Gun Ashwin ‘Ashwinvijay99’ Vijayvergiya (5th for ₹2.44 Lakhs), and WSOP bracelet winner Kartik ‘TheInternetKid’ Ved (7th for ₹1.59 Lakhs) adding serious firepower to the business end of this Thursday staple.

Despite all that star power, The Summit was one of the best value events of the night for players. It came up a whopping ₹8.26 Lakhs short of its ₹50 Lakhs guarantee — an overlay of over 16%. Nevertheless, it ensured the top 82 finishers all walked away with at least ₹21,000, more than double the ₹10,000 buy-in. With The MoneyMaker continuing its month-long poker party and Thursday’s results being a fantastic reminder that a big win can come from anywhere, May is quickly turning into one of the most explosive months for poker we’ve seen this year. And the exciting part is that we aren’t even halfway through the month yet.

Final Table Results

1. Aahil ‘danielantonio’ Batala – ₹7,50,000
2. smr1g10 – ₹5,23,000
3. Anmol ‘anzzzzz’ Mehta – ₹3,95,000
4. Shravan ‘FishStars’ Chhabria – ₹2,97,500
5. Ashwin ‘Ashwinvijay99’ Vijayvergiya – ₹2,44,000
6. deep1221 – ₹2,01,000
7. Kartik ‘TheInternetKid’ Ved – ₹1,58,500

Summit Lite – ₹12 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹3,000

Entries – 327

Re-entries – 221

Prize Pool – ₹14,29,732

Places Paid – 87

Just as the temperatures outside are cranking up, so is the poker heat on PokerBaazi, with that iconic ₹1 Crore GTD The MoneyMaker leading the charge in May with its daily run. But here’s the interesting bit from Thursday: while some of the platform’s biggest attractions, including The Summit and the #8 The MoneyMaker, found themselves with a bit of an overlay, other events stepped up to the plate and delivered a night packed full of value for the players.

Standing tall among them was the ₹12 Lakhs GTD Summit Lite. This primetime tournament dodged the overlay trend that hit some others, becoming one of the most profitable spots for anyone grinding Thursday’s packed schedule. Also pulling in guarantee-busting crowds were the Daily Last Chance and the Big PLO-5—both hugely popular MTTs that had been unexpectedly cancelled the night before but came roaring back with strong turnouts.

And rising to the top of that bustling Summit Lite field was Aniruddha ‘PocketacesAJ’ Joshi, a name many will recognise from the streaming circuit and a relentless grinder known for his string of consistent deep runs. The Pune-based player, who had already made serious waves earlier in the week with a podium finish in the #2 The MoneyMaker, fired two entries before carving his way through the stacked 548-entry field (221 unique) in this 7:30 PM flagship event. After a solid six-plus hours at the tables, Joshi walked away with his first Summit Lite title, his account boosted by a handsome ₹2.19 Lakhs—a prize that also happens to be the fifth-largest on his 2025 scorecard.

Joshi has been in a fantastic rhythm in recent weeks. Following his March victory in Adda52’s MMA Main Event, he’s consistently strung together deep runs, including podium finishes in the Head Hunter and a near-title bid in the MMA Voyager PKO last month. Thursday night only added to that impressive momentum.

Joshi’s efforts across two events saw his Thursday winnings clock in at just over ₹2.38 Lakhs, helping him take further strides in the ambitious ₹1 Crore profit challenge he has set for himself this year!

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s Summit Lite for ₹2,19,035

> 17th in Adda52’s Godfather for ₹19,183

Aniruddha Joshi’s online stats (excluding Natural8 India and Junglee Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹2.89 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹65.98 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #5 | Annual Winnings: ₹56.43 Lakhs | Annual Profits: ₹19.41 Lakhs

Facing Joshi in the heads-up battle was Delhi’s Vaibhav ‘vaibhi18’ Arora, who put up a truly spirited challenge. A consistent finisher in daily major tournaments, Arora, who previously won the Daily Last Chance in April and landed on The Quest Lite final table just last week, made it to second place this time after re-entering once, a performance that added ₹1.43 Lakhs to his bankroll.

Vaibhav Arora’s online stats (excluding Natural8 India and Junglee Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹2.53 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹55.70 Lakhs | Annual Winnings: ₹10.15 Lakhs | Annual Profits: ₹2.55 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #5

The final table of the Summit Lite was a shark tank. ‘Frankie08’, a dual NPS India 2025 Gold Medallist (NPS#130 Deepdive & NPS#25 PLO-4), claimed a third-place finish for ₹1.07 Lakhs – this came just a day after he made the podium in Adda52’s Godfather.

The former IPM#123 Main Event champion Sreekanth ‘n0thing’ Narayan was also in the mix. Also a double Gold Medalist from NPS India 2025 (who incredibly finished as the runner-up in the historic NPC finale in Goa), he ended his run in fifth place, earning ₹69,056. Meanwhile, one of India`s most accomplished players of all time, Young Gun Gaurav ‘gaug17’ Sood, added another deep run to his extensive record. The three-time POY finished eighth for ₹33,313, maintaining his characteristic consistency on the virtual felts.

With a ₹3,000 buy-in, the Summit Lite drew a very healthy turnout, generating a prize pool of ₹14.29 Lakhs, comfortably sailing past its advertised guarantee. That extra boost in the prize pool translated into real value for the 87 players who made it into the money, each of whom walked away with at least ₹6,291 – more than doubling their initial investment. All told, it was one high-octane Thursday on India`s leading online poker platform!

Final Table Results

1. Aniruddha ‘PocketacesAJ’ Joshi – ₹2,19,035
2. Vaibhav ‘vaibhi18’ Arora – ₹1,42,973
3. Arunav ‘Frankie08’ Mittal – ₹1,07,373
4. dakudaddy2022 – ₹81,495
5. Sreekanth ‘n0thing’ Narayan – ₹69,056
6. Poker4everz – ₹56,903
7. Kash9988 – ₹45,037
8. Gaurav ‘gaug17’ Sood – ₹33,313

Big PLO-5 – ₹10 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹5,000

Entries – 125

Re-entries – 117

Prize Pool – ₹10,52,216

Places Paid – 33

Thursday night on PokerBaazi was a straight-up storm of chip-slinging action. When the dust began to settle, the ever-dangerous veteran, Jasven ‘JasvenSaigal’ Saigal, cut through the noise, delivering another masterclass in the wild art of five-card mayhem.

After about a month of relative quiet, Saigal, who’s all geared up for his return in PokerBaazi’s ‘The Circuit’ Season 3 (which should be hitting screens tomorrow!), definitely dialled up the hype for the popular show. He went ahead and took down the ₹10 Lakhs GTD Big PLO-5 title, and he did it with a flair for the dramatic – it was the same tournament he’d last conquered in April. That’s his second Big PLO-5 trophy this year, his fourth title overall in 2025, and it serves as another clear signal: when the PLO streets get rough, Saigal is always more than ready for a fight.

While Saigal’s live poker exploits are legendary, even with his more selective online play, he’s managed to snag some iconic titles, including The MoneyMaker 67.0. He’s also been a permanent fixture in PokerBaazi’s “The Circuit” across all three seasons filmed in Hanoi, even finishing as the runner-up in the debut season. Saigal keeps proving he’s every bit as lethal in the online arena, even if he doesn’t put in the sheer volume of some of today’s relentless online grinders.

2025 certainly started with a bang for the Mumbai-based pro, with small early victories in the (7-Max) SPRINT and the (PLO-5) Afternoon Boost. But it’s in the Big PLO-5 that Saigal is truly stamping his authority this year. On Thursday night, he expertly navigated his way through a volatile 242-entry field (125 unique) over six hours and 18 minutes of intense swings and pot-sized bedlam. His reward for this display of five-card wizardry was a cool ₹2.10 Lakhs – his second-best score of the year.

Jasven Saigal’s online stats (excluding Natural8 India, Junglee Poker and Pocket52): Lifetime Winnings: ₹4.94 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹92.95 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #4 | Annual Winnings: ₹19.52 Lakhs

Giving Saigal a serious chase for those chips, right down to the very last hand, was Rajneesh ‘msdhoni’ Thakur, Delhi’s undisputed volume king. Known for grinding with the intensity of a finely tuned machine, Thakur came into this fresh from an almost unbelievable NPS India 2025 campaign, where he played all 191 events, cashed in an incredible 129 of them, reached six final tables, and proudly took home two medals (a Gold in NPS#13 Deepdive and a Silver in NPS#166 Slamdunk). This Herculean effort saw him finish #20 on the Series Leaderboard, netting him an additional ₹1.50 Lakhs in leaderboard prizes.

And he genuinely hasn’t eased up since. March saw him capture the Maverick title, finish second in the Sunday Big Slick, and place third in the (PLO-6) BSS. In April, he bagged three titles across different platforms (The Big Show Lite, Bounty Madness, and The Starlight), and just last week, he kicked off May by winning the Godfather title.

Last night, he added two more deep runs to his ledger— a runner-up finish in the Big PLO-5 for a handsome ₹1.74 Lakhs, and a seventh place in Adda52’s Nighttide DST Adda which added another ₹5,451 to his night’s work — pushing his total for the day just past the ₹1.79 Lakhs mark. That performance also gave him a very useful boost in his tight race with Advait Rajguru for the #4 spot in the 2025 Player of the Year standings, pipping the PokerGuru Staking coach and claiming that coveted #4 position, at least for now.

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s Big PLO-5 for ₹1,73,616

> 7th in Adda52’s Nighttide DST Adda for ₹5,451

The Big PLO-5 final table wasn’t just a two-horse race; it also featured several other tough competitors who are more than comfortable with the wild swings of five-card Omaha. This included the former Game Changer champion and the 2024 POY #13, JaiKiran ‘testify’ Kumar (3rd for ₹1.32 Lakhs), and PokerBaazi Team Pro (and another familiar face from ‘The Circuit‘) Laksh ‘boomtlt23’ Pal Singh (4th for ₹87,334).

Making a strong comeback after a surprising cancellation the night before, the widespread ₹5,000 buy-in Big PLO-5 once again comfortably crushed its guarantee, generating a prize pool of ₹10.52 Lakhs. The top 33 finishers all walked away with at least ₹9,470 – nearly doubling their initial entry fee. From legends like Saigal proving they’ve still very much got the goods, to dedicated grinders like Thakur redefining what online volume truly means, nights like these are a fantastic reminder of why PokerBaazi’s tables remain some of the fiercest, most exciting, and rewarding battlegrounds in the game.

Final Table Results

1. Jasven ‘JasvenSaigal’ Saigal – ₹2,10,443
2. Rajneesh ‘msdhoni’ Thakur – ₹1,73,616
3. JaiKiran ‘testify’ Kumar – ₹1,31,527
4. Laksh ‘boomtlt23’ Pal Singh – ₹87,334
5. noobynuggets – ₹52,611
6. SelfishGambler – ₹42,089

Daily Last Chance – ₹10 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,500

Entries – 331

Re-entries – 233

Prize Pool – ₹12,26,136

Places Paid – 87

May has kicked off with some serious energetic vibes on PokerBaazi. The famed ₹1 Crore GTD The MoneyMaker has set up shop permanently, running every night at 7:30 PM. Last night, it celebrated its eighth champion of the month, sporadic platform user Varun Agrawal, who impressively broke an extended dry spell, clinching his first-ever online win spectacularly!

Now, while some of the other big-name tournaments (including The MoneyMaker itself) ended up in overlays territory, the late-night crowd favourite, the ₹10 Lakhs GTD Daily Last Chance, had a different tale to tell. Surprisingly, it was off the schedule the night before. Still, it roared back as one of only three major flagships on PokerBaazi (the others being Summit Lite & Big PLO-5) to beat its guarantee. Weaving through a packed field in this popular after-hours contest was Puneeth ‘Ruzzanaire’ B N, who put on quite the performance to reach the top!

Puneeth, based out of Bengaluru, is known for these periodic, powerful showings. He’d been flying a bit under the radar for a while—right until last night, that is. By taking down the Daily Last Chance, he notched his first win in over three long months, and with undeniable precision (his last victory, fittingly, came in this very same tournament towards the end of January).

The field for this late-night dance, as always, was tough. A guarantee-busting 331 players, which ballooned to 564 total entries, jumped into the 10:30 PM flagship. But Puneeth seemed to have a point to prove, a return to form in mind, and nothing short of the top spot would cut it. After a relatively quick but demanding six hours and 23 minutes of play, he stood above everyone else in the night’s closing act. It took four entries to get there, but with a history of winning this and a close second-place finish in late March, this victory felt like a skilled operator deciding to retake control of the late shift. He captured his second title of the year, and a very nice ₹1.88 Lakhs went into his account – his best score of 2025 so far, and his fourth-best ever, giving him a much-needed nudge from a daunting seven-figure downswing!

Puneeth B N’s online stats (PokerBaazi and Spartan Poker): Site Winnings ₹1.10 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #2

Chasing Puneeth hard was ‘Bluff900.’ This player is a relatively new face on the site, having been active since January 2023 and with only 56 events played. Aiming for a first online title, they certainly brought a lot of grit and spirit to that final table. The heads-up match against Puneeth saw ‘Bluff900’ fighting hard before eventually finishing as the runner-up. That second place came with a very welcome ₹1.23 Lakhs— a personal best online score by almost six times over, and a crucial result that helped ‘Bluff900’ get back into profitable territory on the site for the first time in two and a half years.

Bluff900’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹1.76 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹74,753

The Daily Last Chance final table featured several other familiar regulars, including Monday`s Adda52 Inception finalist Dhaval ‘Faizal1506’ Doshi (4th for ₹69,890), last month`s Daily Last Chance podium finisher and recent NPS#151 Deepdive Bronze Medallist Saiganesh ‘Arwen’ Reddy Kalakoti (5th for ₹59,222) and January`s Junglee Poker Thursday Thunder runner-up Manu ‘ChipsGenerator’ Kallayyathu (8th for ₹28,569).

The ₹2,500 buy-in Daily Last Chance continues to prove itself an undeniable favourite on PokerBaazi. Last night, it once again comfortably sailed past its guarantee by a healthy ₹2.26 Lakhs—a really solid showing after being cancelled the previous night. The electric late-night grind saw 87 players finish in the money, with even those just min-cashing walking away with ₹5,395. It all made for another rewarding and exciting night for the late-shift grinders who have turned this tournament into one of the most endearing and popular fixtures on India`s leading online poker platform.

Final Table Results

1. Puneeth ‘Ruzzanaire’ B N – ₹1,87,844
2. Bluff900 – ₹1,22,614
3. Sirccharaja – ₹92,083
4. Dhaval ‘Faizal1506’ Doshi – ₹69,890
5. Saiganesh ‘Arwen’ Reddy Kalakoti – ₹59,222
6. Tezi13 – ₹48,800
7. RampageR1 – ₹38,623
8. Manu ‘ChipsGenerator’ Kallayyathu – ₹28,569

Junglee Poker

PPL Thursday Mini Highroller – ₹10 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹6,900

Entries – 127

Prize Pool – ₹10,00,000

Places Paid – 17

The summer poker scene is brimming with a jolt of energy, and anyone following the action knows Junglee Poker’s ₹7.50 Crores GTD Poker Premier League (PPL) is where the big stories are unfolding. This month-long festival, cleverly blending the high-energy excitement of the Indian T20 cricket league with the deep strategy of poker, is the grand finale of the platform’s stunning ₹50 Crores GTD festival. With an action-packed schedule boasting three daily guaranteed tournaments, Junglee Poker is undeniably cranking up the temperature (and the player value) this May.

And who better to grab the Thursday headlines than one of the most scorching names on the Indian poker circuit right now — Rishab ‘NoChan(3’ Malik, a player who needs no introduction.

Hailing from New Delhi, the legendary three-time The Millionaire champion looks every bit like he’s back in his prime and firmly planted in the winner’s spotlight. He kicked off the year with a bang, taking down Adda52’s The Ballers (an event he`s already won twice this year). Since then, Malik has been methodically building an enviable track record of going deep in some of the biggest tournaments out there. His final table skirmishes in January’s Godfather and WTF were early warnings of his form, quickly followed by a podium finish in the Adda52 Millions in February. That hot streak only intensified in March, where he bagged himself a Bronze Medal in NPS#102 Big Knockout (KO) and immediately followed it up with a Silver in NPS#172 Slamdunk.

But the real thunderclap, the moment that announced his current dominance, came on April 24, when Malik powered his way to victory in PokerBaazi’s The Summit. This statement win signalled his readiness to take down any virtual tournament he sets his sights on.

Last night, just two short weeks after that memorable The Summit victory, Malik once again proved his red-hot form with another blitzkrieg, pulling off a resounding win in Junglee Poker’s ₹10 Lakhs GTD PPL Thursday Mini Highroller. This wasn’t just another trophy for the cabinet; it was his second time winning this Thursday flagship. Expertly gliding through a tricky field of 127 entries in this Thursday mainstay (now proudly flying the PPL banner) over a solid 7.5 hours of intense play, Malik was the last man standing, his efforts rewarded with a top prize that swelled his bankroll by ₹1.80 Lakhs.

And as if one major win wasn’t enough action for a Thursday night, Malik was also busy making his mark in the biggest online showdown of the evening, PokerBaazi’s #8 The MoneyMaker. He put on a highly commendable show there too, finishing in seventh place and adding ₹2.60 Lakhs to his nightly haul. Factor in another strong showing in The Summit, and his Thursday poker exploits added well over ₹4.77 Lakhs to his account, neatly wrapping up another profitable session for the pro!

> 7th in PokerBaazi’s #8 The MoneyMaker for ₹2,60,000

> 1st in Junglee Poker’s PPL Thursday Mini Highroller for ₹1,79,990

> 19th in PokerBaazi’s The Summit for ₹37,500

Rishab Malik’s online stats (excluding Junglee Poker, Natural8 India and Pocket52): Lifetime Winnings: ₹10.79 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹3.32 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #5 (across all platforms)

While Malik was busy putting on a clinic, ‘vb018’ quietly put together an impressive run of their own. This relatively lesser-known player seemingly stepped out of the shadows to clinch a remarkable runner-up finish in the PPL Thursday Mini Highroller, walking away with a well-earned ₹1.35 Lakhs—a standout performance that’s going to get them noticed.

The Thursday Mini HighRoller final table wasn’t exactly lacking in star power. Among the notable names was online beast Lavesh ‘magicodds98’ Meena, who has impressively championed this event four times. Although he didn’t quite snag a fifth title, Meena still delivered a strong performance, finishing in fifth place for ₹76,998.

Despite being a clear magnet for MTT regulars, the ₹6,900 buy-in PPL Thursday Mini HighRoller fell ₹2.38 Lakhs short of meeting its advertised ₹10 Lakhs guarantee, a significantly larger overlay than seen recently. Nonetheless, the top 17 finishers each pocketed at least ₹13,448, making this a very rewarding showdown from start to finish for those who went deep. And even though the IPL 2025 has unfortunately been suspended, given the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, the PPL poker frenzy is just beginning to catch fire!

Final Table Results

1. Rishab ‘NoChan(3’ Malik – ₹1,79,990
2. vb018 – ₹1,35,464
3. guru9999 – ₹1,02,090
4. Lavesh ‘magicodds98’ Meena – ₹76,998
5. puls07 – ₹57,974
6. godfather – ₹43,706

The other PPL title winners of the day included Sanjay ‘floppednuts’ Kumar (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD PPL Thursday Thunder for ₹97,600) and ‘slimshady911’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD PPL Thursday Sunsetter for ₹31,080).

Adda52

Godfather – ₹20 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹5,750

Entries – 141

Re-entries – 192

Rebuys – 7

Prize Pool – ₹20,00,000

Places Paid – 53

It looks like Adda52 has definitely found its groove again, and with overlays popping up like unexpected treats, there’s been no shortage of sweet value for anyone putting in the hours at the tables. As India’s longest-running poker platform—and now sitting as the second-biggest in daily tournament offerings, only behind PokerBaazi—Adda52 is making a strong push to reclaim its territory.

Thursday night was another big one, and all eyes were on a perennial crowd-pleaser: the ₹20 Lakhs GTD Godfather. A fired-up field of 340 entries (141 unique) locked horns for hours in what turned out to be one of the most intense midweek clashes seen in a while. When the virtual chips finally settled in this signature 8 PM headliner, Raghav ‘mrbean98’ Ananth was left standing tall amidst the carnage.

Still feeling good from a runner-up finish in Adda52’s MMA Takedown last Tuesday, Ananth had been waiting for another major win. It had been six weeks since his precious victory in Junglee Poker’s JK#5. Well, he broke that quiet spell with some real flair, taking down his second title of 2025 and collecting a handsome ₹3.37 Lakhs after a heads-up deal. This win represented his second-biggest score on Adda52, the 11th-highest cash of his career, and, notably, his very first win in this particular Adda52 headliner.

But his night wasn’t over. Another cash in PokerBaazi`s #8 The MoneyMaker (105th for ₹17,000) gave his night an extra sparkle, pushing his total Thursday collections to just a shade under ₹3.54 Lakhs.

Not too far behind was the ever-present Sahil ‘imhighishove’ Mahboobani, a seasoned poker veteran and a volume beast who, frankly, is never really out of form. Coming off winning Junglee Poker’s PPL Thursday Mini Highroller last week and a fourth-place finish in Adda52’s Stack Attack on Saturday, Mahboobani rolled into Thursday looking to make another statement—and he certainly did. Actively gunning for what would have been his fifth Godfather title, he gave the mid-week headliner a serious run for its money, only just falling short at the final hurdle. He ended up as the runner-up for the fourth time in this tournament, yet still pocketed an almost comparable ₹3.14 Lakhs thanks to that deal—his second-best score on Adda52 this year.

And, in his typical high-volume fashion, Mahboobani had a busy session, landing in the money in four other events, including another final table appearance in the Monster Turbo PKO. He wrapped up Thursday night with his accounts looking rather healthy, having stacked up just over ₹3.60 Lakhs in total earnings.

> 2nd in Adda52’s Godfather for ₹3,14,268* (heads-up deal)

> 5th in Adda52’s Monster Turbo PKO for ₹15,165

> 15th in PokerBaazi’s Daily Last Chance for ₹11,648

> 22nd in PokerBaazi’s Summit Lite for ₹10,008

> 20th in Adda52’s Thursday Thunder for ₹9,253

Sahil Mahboobani’s online stats (excluding Natural8 India, Junglee Poker and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹16.74 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹5.71 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #2 | Annual Winnings: ₹83.35 Lakhs

The Godfather final table was loaded with high-calibre players right down the line. The long-time regular ‘goajaanahai’ finished third, adding ₹2.02 Lakhs to their earnings. The 2024 POY #4, Nishaanth ‘superdeluxe’ S, placed fourth, banking ₹1.48 Lakhs. Last month’s PokerBaazi The Quest runner-up and 2024 POY #11, Neeraj ‘NeeruNJ’ Sattawat, finished fifth, which was good for ₹1.08 Lakhs. Saturday’s Stack Attack runner-up, Siddharth ‘gabandheer’ Pandey, finished sixth, padding his roll with ₹79,493. ‘theinternetkid‘ (who requested anonymity) came in seventh for ₹58,268, while ‘Akashpaswan12‘ rounded out the final table lineup in eighth place for ₹42,711.

Echoing a broader trend seen recently, the ₹5,750 buy-in Godfather fell notably short of its guarantee, leaving a significant ₹3 Lakhs in overlays for the players to enjoy – a massive increase in added value compared to what has been seen in recent editions of this event. For the players who cashed, this meant some truly insane value. The top 53 finishers got paid, with min-cashes starting at ₹12,706 – more than double the buy-in.

With incredible value like this regularly on offer and Adda52 not pulling any punches with its beefed-up schedule, India`s longest-serving online poker platform’s summer grind is hitting a very exciting stride.

Final Table Results

1. Raghav ‘mrbean98’ Ananth – ₹3,36,787*
2. Sahil ‘imhighishove’ Mahboobani – ₹3,14,268*
3. goajaanahai- ₹2,01,848
4. Nishaanth ‘superdeluxe’ S – ₹1,47,954
5. Neeraj ‘NeeruNJ’ Sattawat – ₹1,08,450
6. Siddharth ‘gabandheer’ Pandey – ₹79,493
7. theinternetkid – ₹58,268
8. Akashpaswan12 – ₹42,711

*denotes a heads-up deal

‘noobies’ won the ₹7.50 Lakhs GTD Thursday Thunder for ₹1.49 Lakhs.

Prashanth ‘ekthatalli’ Sekar (Won ₹4.50 Lakhs GTD Monster Turbo PKO for ₹1.06 Lakhs), (Won ₹50K GTD Sundown Adda for ₹11,500), and ‘tusharkewl11’ (Won ₹50K GTD Morning Adda for ₹10,923) won the other Thursday marquees on Adda52.

₹50 Lakhs GTD Big Whale – Day 1A

Day 1A > Entries – 111| Re-entries – 53 | Rebuys – 5 | Survivors – 21 | Chip Leader – Young Gun Aditya ‘A_Sushant’ Sushant (252,307)

Spartan Poker

‘mkrao’ (Won ₹4 Lakhs GTD Supreme for ₹71,762), ‘NutyNuts’ (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD Spotlight for ₹31,312), ‘9X2X5X1X5X’ (Won ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD Monster Stack for ₹26,076), ‘Nonu06’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Daily Kickoff for ₹22,200), and ‘saini271’ (Won ₹50K GTD Centurian for ₹9,400) won the Thursday marquees on Spartan Poker.

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