DPT Xpress: Deepak Raina is the Latest ₹15K Main Event Champion, Wins ₹7 Lakhs

Deepak Raina
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis March 2, 2020
  • 4 Minutes Read

The last day at the 2020 DPT Xpress February Edition kicked off in grand style on-board the Casino Deltin Royale. Day 2 of the ₹15K Main Event saw the 24 survivors from the previous day return to contend for the top honors. After almost six hours of rigorous play, 39-year-old Deepak Raina (cover image) emerged as the latest DPT XPress Main Event champion!

It was a hard-fought final table that saw the likes of star performer Dhaval Doshi, veteran pro Chirag Sodha, Clinton Fernandes, and Radhika Shankar perish before reaching the heads-up. Raina squared off against the 24-year-old Anuj Laddhad in the finale.

Things did not start off well for the Delhi-based player, who started the heads-up trailing Laddhad. Things got worse when Raina suffered a brutal bad beat that resulted in Raina facing a 6:1 chip deficit. Refusing to give up the fight, Raina persisted and eventually made an epic comeback with two doubles up in subsequent hands. From there on, it was a cakewalk for the more experienced player, who claimed his third live title and second DPT Xpress title, along with an impressive ₹7 Lakhs in prize money!

Talking about his heads-up journey in the post-event interview, Raina said, “It was quite tilting actually to see that seven because I had that spot perfectly covered and I knew that I have him crushed, I made him call off a worse hand, I expected to win the title right there, but ya that was quite a tilting seven at the river.”

Day 1 had ended with Mihir Thakkar becoming the tournament bubble, and all the 24 runners who returned for Day 2 were assured a min-cash of ₹25,300. The first player to finish in the money was Daniel Kazi (24th for ₹25,300).

After that, 15 more eliminations took place before the nine-handed final table was formed. The known names who cashed the event included Myron Pereira (12th for ₹60,000), Karan Sawhney (13th for ₹50,800), Sam Reddy (15th for ₹50,800), Harshad Barve (17th for ₹42,000), Prashant Jain Bhutoria (18th for ₹42,000) and Kshitij Kucheria (21st for ₹33,600).

Rahul Melwani bubbled the final table, finishing 10th for ₹60,000.

15K ME Final Table
15K ME Final Table

 

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Anuj Laddhad – 969,000
2. Chirag Sodha – 697,000
3. Deepak Raina – 452,000
4. Clinton Fernandes – 440,000
5. Niyut Shah – 420,000
6. Radhika Shankar – 341,000
7. Vikaash Shah – 302,000
8. Dhaval Doshi – 128,000
9. Daipayan Banerjee – 77,000

 

Final Table Recap

Vikaash Shah became the first player to be eliminated on the final table. Shah shoved for 260,000, holding and Anuj Laddhad called with . The board revealed , and Laddhad clipped a set on the flop, eliminating Shah in ninth place.

Star performer of the series, Dhaval Doshi, picked up his third final table finish at the stop. He started strong on the final table and doubled up through Chirag Sodha twice. But in the end, it wasn’t enough to win him the title.

His elimination hand saw Clinton Fernandes move all-in with and Doshi called with , risking his tournament life. The runout gave Fernandes a rivered pair of aces, ending Doshi’s run in eighth place.

About ten minutes later, Fernandes and Daipayan Banerjee were both issued a four-hand penalty by the tournament director for acting out of turn. Fernandes and Banerjee had left their seats before their turns, resulting in the penalty.

Despite starting out with the second largest stack at the final table, Chirag Sodha lost most of it to Doshi, who doubled up through him twice. He was eliminated in seventh place when his were bested by Deepak Raina’s .

Finishing in sixth place was Niyut Shah. Radhika Shankar jammed from UTG with , and Shah shoved over the top, holding pocket queens. The community cards gave Shankar a flopped pair of kings, sending Shah to the rail.

Clinton Fernandes, who had finished fifth in the ₹5K Burn N Turn, picked up another final table score in the Main Event. His run came to an end when his pocket deuces were outlasted by Raina’s that bettered to a pair of jacks on the flop. Fernandes finished fifth yet again.

Daipayan Banerjee had started the final table with the shortest stack and navigated the field exceptionally well to eventually finish in fourth place. On his elimination hand, Banerjee’s were no match for Laddhad’s pocket tens, with the runout offering no help to the former.

The lone female warrior on the final table, Radhika Shankar, had fought hard to stay alive in the competition. She even won a very dramatic double up against Laddhad during Level 24, but sadly could not continue the momentum.

Her final hand in the event took place when Laddhad opened for 100,000, and Raina called from the small blind. Shankar, who was in the big blind, shoved for 590,000. Laddhad called, and Raina folded.

Anuj Laddhad

Radhika Shankar

On the flop , Shankar was an 87% favorite to take down the pot. The turn kept her ahead, but the river gave Laddhad a set of fours, eliminating Shankar in third place.

Shankar’s exit signaled the start of the heads-up between Anuj Laddhad (2.23 Million) and Deepak Raina (1.59 Million). Raina was on the back-foot at the beginning after he suffered a brutal bad beat. Nevertheless, he persevered and eventually made an epic comeback with two double-ups. In the end, the more experienced Raina claimed the title.

On the final hand, Raina open-jammed with and Laddhad called with . The community cards read , and Raina turned a pair of eights, relegating Laddhad to a runner-up finish. Raina banked an impressive ₹7 Lakhs in top prize!

Deepak Raina
Deepak Raina

 

Final Table Results (INR)

1. Deepak Raina – ₹7,00,000

2. Anuj Laddhad – ₹4,73,000

3. Radhika Shankar – ₹2,80,000

4. Daipayan Banerjee – ₹1,70,000

5. Clinton Fernandes – ₹1,31,000

6. Niyut Shah – ₹1,10,000

7. Chirag Sodha – ₹93,000

8. Dhaval Doshi – ₹80,000

9. Vikaash Shah – ₹70,000

 

For a complete list of payouts, click here.

Read our complete coverage of the event here.

Keep following PokerGuru for more updates from the 2020 DPT Xpress February Edition!

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