National Poker Series is Making a Comeback From March 6-20, ₹18.50 Crores GTD & 252 Medals Across 84 MTTs

With a few days left for 2021 to wrap up, 2022 is already looking to be a good year! If you are wondering what has got us so hyped up, well, the National Poker Series (NPS) is making a comeback! The mega series that had dazzled India’s diaspora in June will be back with bigger and better offerings from March 6 to 20.

The second edition of this glorious series will feature ₹18.50 Crores in prize pool guarantees spread across 84 tournaments, offering 252 medals!

A gold medal is the biggest laurel in any sport and the poker community in India finally found an equivalent to the Olympics since PokerBaazi is awarding Gold medals to all the deserving players.

Wait! That’s not all! The final tables of the series’ showstoppers – NPS Main Event, NPS Golden Rush, and NPS Super Highroller – will have their final tables live in Goa!

Announcing the series, the founder & CEO of Baazi Games, Navkiran Singh said, “It’s going to inspire the budding/aspirational players. NPS allows the players to engrave their names in the pages of the Golden Book of Indian Poker history. This series is all about the glory, respect, and fame that the sport has to offer. The concept has been introduced to make the game accessible to millions of poker enthusiasts across the country. With the deep-rooted internet penetration in India, our indigenous app PokerBaazi has been designed to meet the international poker app standards that can eventually be the vehicle through which Poker talents will be discovered and recognized.” Singh added that events like NPS India will help spread the awareness of the game to the masses.

National Poker Series 2022 Schedule

There is a lot to unpack here, so let’s get to it right away!

National Poker Series: 2nd Edition

The 2022 edition of the much-beloved series boasts 20 more high-value tournaments than its predecessor. Over 15 days, the series will offer ₹18.50 Crores in guaranteed prizes, with buy-ins ranging from ₹440 to ₹33,000.

While there are several mouth-watering events to watch out for, the ₹3 Crores GTD NPS Main Event will be the star attraction. The multi-flight tourney features a ₹5,500 buy-in and will run from March 14 to 20.

> Qualifier 1: March 14 at 7:30 PM

> Qualifier 2: March 15 at 7:30 PM

> Qualifier 3: March 16 at 7:30 PM

> Qualifier 4: March 17 at 7:30 PM

> Qualifier 5: March 18 at 7:30 PM

> Qualifier 6: March 19 at 7:30 PM

> Qualifier 7: March 20 at 2 PM

> Qualifier 8 (Turbo): March 20 at 5 PM

> NPS Main Event Final (Live): March 20 at 9 PM

Mohammad Azhar etched his name in the annals of poker history by becoming the first-ever NPS Main Event champion on June 27. He triumphed over 5,947 entries to claim a mind-boggling ₹50.13 Lakhs paycheque!

While the NPS Main Event is the magnum opus of the series, the ₹1 Crore GTD Golden Rush is indubitably the crowd favorite! Sporting a ₹550 buy-in, the NPS Golden Rush will run from March 14 to 20.

> Qualifier 1: March 14 at 5 PM

> Qualifier 2 (Turbo): March 14 at 9 PM

> Qualifier 3: March 15 at 5 PM

> Qualifier 4 (Turbo): March 15 at 9 PM

> Qualifier 5: March 16 at 5 PM

> Qualifier 6 (Turbo): March 16 at 9 PM

> Qualifier 7: March 17 at 5 PM

> Qualifier 8 (Turbo): March 17 at 9 PM

> Qualifier 9: March 18 at 5 PM

> Qualifier 10 (Turbo): March 18 at 9 PM

> Qualifier 11: March 19 at 5 PM

> Qualifier 12 (Turbo): March 19 at 9 PM

> Qualifier 13: March 20 at 2 PM

> Qualifier 14 (Turbo): March 20 at 5 PM

> NPS#82 Golden Rush Final (Live): March 20 at 9 PM

The inaugural NPS Golden Rush had registered a record-smashing 18,849 entries and crowned a champion in Vivek Bajaj, who walked away with a ₹9.15 Lakhs payday.

Besides the NPS Main Event and the NPS Golden Rush, the other marquees to keep an eye out for include:

> ₹1 Crore GTD NPS Highroller

> ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#69 (6-Max) Super Highroller

> ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS Value Mine

> ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS#25 (7-Max) Deepstack Championship

> ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS#43 Mini Main Event (Warm-Up)

NPS Podium

Like last time, the NPS Podium will also be making a comeback, sporting ₹20 Lakhs in leaderboard prizes. Being the only online poker series in India that awards Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals to the podium finishers of every NPS tournament, the series also offers points to players based on the category and number of medals they win. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals will be worth 10, 5, and 2 points, respectively.

At the end of the series, the top three players on the NPS Podium Leaderboard (clinching the most Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals) get a chance to represent India on the world stage by winning Las Vegas packages.

Series Leaderboard

In addition to the NPS Podium and the Daily Leaderboards, the Series Leaderboard promises ₹50 Lakhs in cash prizes.

NPS Freerolls

If you want to participate in the NPS and feel that the buy-ins are out of your range, worry not! PokerBaazi will be hosting three freerolls starting from March 3 (11 AM) to March 5 (9:30 PM).

A total of five NPS Freeroll Qualifiers will be held every day (from 11 AM to 7 PM), with the Final taking place at 9:30 PM. A total of 15 deserving winners will win tickets worth ₹1 Lakh each.

NPS Satellites & Exclusive Contests

Adding another touch of inclusivity to the series, PokerBaazi will also be hosting satellites starting at just ₹1 from January 15!

Players can also win tickets worth ₹15 Lakhs by participating in the social media contests hosted on the NPS Instagram page.

National Poker Series: A Lookback

The NPS was first announced on January 26, 2020, by Navkiran Singh. At first, the series was conceptualized as a live series for the masses that aims to nourish the next poker superstars of the country with affordable buy-ins and two all-expenses-paid packages to Las Vegas on offer. Come March, the global pandemic hit, and casinos all across the world shut down. Unsurprisingly, the NPS was postponed indefinitely.

Over a year later, the NPS finally took place in June 2021, and the series was a phenomenal success. The series recorded 83,793 entries across 64 tournaments and a total prize pool of ₹19 Crores. Not only that, the ‘Pre-Flop Show’ hosted by sports anchor Ridhima Pathak, poker coach Abhishek Goindi and poker commentator Sriram Chakravarthy were as fun and entertaining as it was informative.

The tournament’s popularity was spread across regions, gathering participants from 20 states.

The top 5 states to have scored the highest number of medals were:

Maharashtra (44)

New Delhi (37)

Haryana (18)

Karnataka (12)

Uttar Pradesh (12)

Keep following PokerGuru for all the latest updates from the National Poker Series!