Online Rankings: Ankit Bajaj`s ₹1 Crore Mystery Bounty Windfall Rockets Him to #1 This Week; Tarun Goyal Powers Further Ahead in the POY Race!

In this feature, we bring you the top three weekly, monthly, and yearly performers every Sunday. These rankings are based on cumulative winnings (cashes). However, the rankings only include players registered to our online ranking system, so hurry up and register if you haven’t signed up on PokerGuru yet!

The online poker scene isn’t just warm – it’s a raging firestorm! PokerBaazi’s ₹100 Crores GTD National Poker Series India 2025 is going full throttle, and after only two weeks, it’s already obliterating records.

It’s a modern-day gold rush out there. We’re talking 96 Gold medals already awarded and a grand total of 288 medals already claimed. Bankrolls are exploding, with both newcomers and established champions making their way into the NPS history books. Get this: 131,557 total entries have seen a mind-boggling ₹46.26 Crores paid out to players – over 11% more than the ₹41.60 Crores promised. And there’s still half the series remaining!

The drive for NPS medals and leaderboard glory has turned the Indian poker scene into a war zone. Everyone’s fighting for an advantage, and with Natural8 India’s massive guaranteed tournament also happening, the leaderboard is pure mayhem.

In the middle of all this NPS India 2025 madness and high-stakes online action, Tarun Goyal is still king of the hill. Last year’s Player of the Year isn’t just playing defence – he’s building a fortress around his title with results that look straight-up legendary. After dominating February and widening his enormous lead in the yearly standings, Goyal kept the pressure on, grabbing a monstrous ₹50.04 Lakhs in the first week of March – making him the week’s second-biggest winner. This pushed his total earnings for 2025 beyond the ₹4 Crores milestone; they now rest at a mind-boggling ₹4.01 Crores. Ten weeks into the year, and his lead is looking pretty darn unassailable, with epic deep runs on Natural8 India. The chatter of a repeat POY title is growing – it seems a daunting task for anyone to close that gap.

It’s looking like last year’s top dogs are set to rule again. Anant Purohit, who crushed it in 2024 with a second-place POY finish, had another standout week after a standout February run. Now at #2 on the yearly leaderboard, the poker veteran also sits on a staggering ₹1.07 Crores in annual winnings, cementing the fact that last year’s top two are still very much in command.

After taking a 2.5-month break from Natural8 India, Ankit Bajaj came back with a bang – producing a stunning performance. He entered the gigantic Mystery Bounty Kick-Off 108. Bajaj made his way through a gigantic field of 18,066 entries, landing in 461st place… but the real fireworks were still to erupt. Bajaj hit the insane ₹1 Crore mystery bounty. The total payout ballooned to an eye-watering ₹1.02 Crores. It was his first-ever eight-figure score and only the second time that’s happened on Natural8 India this year. This places Bajaj among the elite – among five Indian players to ever score eight figures, making him the week’s biggest winner and sending him soaring to #3 on the annual leaderboard, his yearly earnings now mirroring that epic win.

Anish Vijayvergia, who’s won The MoneyMaker twice, also made some serious waves, posting ₹31.84 Lakhs in winnings for the week, all thanks to a string of deep runs at the NPS. His single-day heater on Thursday saw him bag the Gold in NPS#80 Slamdunk for ₹5.75 Lakhs, and he followed that up with a bronze in NPS#82 Mega Rush, where a three-way deal gave him a massive ₹18.92 Lakhs. With such incredible achievements, Anish’s total take-home edged close to 32 Lakhs. This stellar run established him as the week’s third-biggest winner!

Tarun Goyal: The Untouchable King

When it comes to online poker, Tarun Goyal exists on another plane. The 2024 POY champion and WSOP bracelet holder has started 2025 like a man possessed, making it crystal clear that he’s still the one to beat. After a February of pure domination, Goyal continued his rampage into March, scooping up ₹50.04 Lakhs in the first week (weekly profits – ₹42.53 Lakhs) – enough to make him the week’s second-biggest winner.

Last month, Goyal made headlines by running deep in Natural8 India’s GGMillion$ Main Event, a weekly high-roller with a ₹10.30 Lakhs buy-in that attracted 1,226 entries. He finished eighth, collecting a mind-blowing ₹2.74 Crores, his second-largest career score. And, as if that weren’t enough, he flopped a royal flush at a $100/$200 All-in or Fold PLO cash table, adding another ₹79.83 Lakhs to his overflowing coffers.

This week, Goyal added another stunning result, finishing third in Natural8 India’s Mystery Bounty Gigante 525 on Saturday for ₹40.71 Lakhs, consolidating his position at the summit. This latest achievement has seen Goyal’s 2025 earnings blast past the ₹4 Crores, currently sitting at a staggering ₹4.01 Crores, with ₹2.80 Crores in annual profits.

Already sitting at nearly 4X the earnings of his closest competitor, Goyal’s numbers paint a picture of complete and utter control of the online MTT scene. Only ten weeks into the year, his lead seems almost uncatchable, with deep runs on Natural8 India that are becoming the stuff of poker lore.

The talk of a back-to-back POY title is getting louder and louder – something only achieved before by the poker great, Young Gun Gaurav Sood. At this pace, Goyal isn’t just chasing history—he’s rewriting it.

Anant Purohit: Refusing to Yield

The 2024 POY runner-up, Anant Purohit, is another man on a mission. After a stellar February, he’s maintained that momentum into March, establishing himself as Tarun Goyal’s closest rival. Purohit accumulated ₹19.72 Lakhs this week (weekly profits – ₹14.79 Lakhs), earning him a spot in the weekly top six. With ₹1.07 Crores in annual winnings and ₹51.66 Lakhs in profits, Purohit holds firm the #2 spot in the annual standings, making sure that last year’s top two are still in the driver’s seat.

Purohit’s consistent performance throughout January earned him #3 in the monthly rankings, but February was his breakout month. His deep runs included a sixth-place finish in Natural8 India’s Bounty Hunters HR 525 for ₹9.48 Lakhs, followed by a blazing final week, where he collected ₹28.65 Lakhs overall (weekly profits – ₹23.54 Lakhs), and grabbed the #1 spot on the weekly leaderboard.

His February total reached ₹41.51 Lakhs in winnings (₹27.30 Lakhs in profits), giving him the #3 spot in the monthly rankings. Purohit maintained that high level in March’s opening week, posting consistent results that keep him at #2 in the yearly standings.

While Goyal continues to pull away, Purohit remains the only player even remotely in a position to challenge his reign, but that could change with some colossal NPS India 2025 headliners coming up in the next two weeks.

Ankit Bajaj: A Comeback For the Ages

After a 2.5-month absence from Natural8 India, Ankit Bajaj returned in breathtaking style, delivering one of the most unforgettable moments of the year. Entering the Mystery Bounty Kick-Off 108, he navigated a colossal 18,066-entry field, finishing 461st… but the real drama was yet to unfold.

In an unbelievable twist, Bajaj landed the ₹1 Crore mystery bounty, resulting in his total payday exploding to ₹1.02 Crores—his first-ever eight-figure score and only the second time that’s been achieved on Natural8 India this year (after Tarun Goyal`s epic GGMillion$ Main Event coup).

This makes Bajaj only the sixth Indian player to ever clinch an eight-figure score, making him the week’s biggest winner. This enormous win has also launched him to #3 on the annual leaderboard, with ₹1.02 Crores in total winnings and ₹86.24 Lakhs in both annual and weekly profits. Bajaj’s return has sent a powerful message – he’s back, and he’s ready to disrupt the leaderboard.

The 2025 POY Race: The Battle Heats Up

The POY leaderboard is a dangerous place, and the fight at the top is getting fiercer. Tushar Bhartia slips from #2 to #4, but he’s still very much a contender with ₹97.14 Lakhs in yearly winnings (annual profits – ₹79.85 Lakhs).

Rajat Sharma drops to #5, but his consistent play keeps him in the running with ₹76.84 Lakhs in earnings (annual profits – ₹49.02 Lakhs). The 2024 POY#5 Advait Rajguru also moves down a spot to #6 yet remains a significant threat with ₹76.69 Lakhs in winnings (annual profits – ₹51.26 Lakhs).

Anish Vijayvergia: Power-Packed Performance

Two-time The MoneyMaker champion Anish Vijayvergia had a week to remember, stacking up ₹31.84 Lakhs in weekly winnings and ₹25.21 Lakhs in profits.

His Thursday run on PokerBaazi was truly impressive. He claimed the gold in NPS#80 Slamdunk, banking ₹5.75 Lakhs, and then followed it up with a Nronze in NPS#82 Mega Rush, where a three-way deal saw him take home ₹18.92 Lakhs. This exceptional performance made Vijayvergia the third-biggest winner of the week, signalling a strong resurgence by a player who can be very dangerous once he gets in his groove!

More Weekly Highlights

This week was full of huge scores, and these players made their presence felt.

Ha Rinu grabbed the spotlight, jumping to #4 with ₹27.18 Lakhs in weekly winnings (weekly profits – ₹26.87 Lakhs). Her runner-up finish in the NPS#82 Mega Rush not only earned her a Silver Medal but also made her the only female player at NPS India 2025 to win a medal and also the single-biggest scorer so far in the series—a distinction that sets her apart in this intensely competitive arena.

Kritagya Sharma wasn’t far behind, settling at #5 with ₹20.14 Lakhs in winnings (weekly profits – ₹16.59 Lakhs), as he continues his climb up the rankings.

With NPS India 2025 still going strong, expect even more action and leaderboard shuffles in the coming weeks!

Weekly Online Rankings (March 2 – 8)

Yearly Online Rankings (January 1 – March 8)

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