PokerBaazi’s National Poker Series India 2023 Breaks All Records

PokerBaazi, India’s leading online poker brand, wrapped up its prestigious National Poker Series India 2023 with a bang, on Sunday. The third edition of the series hosted 107 tournaments, awarding 324 NPS medals and over ₹25 Crores in guaranteed cash prizes.

The mega-series did not just live up to its reputation but exceeded it as the “Olympics of Indian Poker,” with poker players from around the country showing up in droves to participate. A staggering 1,25,195 entries were recorded across the series, making it the biggest in NPS history. The prize pool exceeded all expectations, with a massive ₹32+ Crores in prize money awarded – a hefty ₹7 Crores over the advertised guarantee. The turnouts exceeded 1 Lakh for the first time, a significant jump from the last two NPS editions, making NPS India 2023 a spectacular success.

PokerBaazi even tweeted about the series’ grand success.

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The biggest attraction of the series, the ₹3 Crores GTD NPS#106 Main Event, saw Prateek Bhartia taking down a field of 5,849 players to become the biggest-ever NPS Main Event champion. Bhartia collected a career-best ₹30.92 Lakhs and his maiden NPS gold medal following a heads-up deal with ‘back2basics’ (2nd for ₹29.08 Lakhs). Sparsh Gupta (3rd for ₹15.15 Lakhs) collected the bronze medal.

Kabir Tandon won the ₹1 Crores GTD NPS#104 Golden Rush for a career-best ₹10.65 Lakhs, while the 2022 POY, Young Gun Anuj Yadav, clinched his first NPS gold medal of the series (his second overall) and ₹17.96 Lakhs in the ₹1.25 Crores GTD NPS#92 Super HighRoller.

Puneet Dua, the BalleBaazi CIO, also won an NPS gold medal, taking home ₹12.70 Lakhs in the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#56 HighRoller.

The NPS Series and Podium leaderboards were hotly contested races. After 18 days of intense action, Avneesh Munjal topped the NPS Series leaderboard, posting 88 scores (including a gold and a silver medal) to claim ₹10 Lakhs in Real Cash Bonus. Chirag Sodha cashed in 85 events, ranking second, while Anirban D Das won three gold medals and a silver medal (69 in the money scores) to rank #3 on the NPS Series and #2 on the NPS Podium leaderboard.

Four players, Vikram Mishra, Abdul Aziz, Anirban D Das, and Areyann Gurbaxani, won three NPS gold medals in the series. Mishra made a late surge to top the NPS Podium, winning three gold and two silver medals for a Las Vegas package worth ₹10 Lakhs.

Abdul Aziz ranked #3 on the Podium leaderboard and won a Las Vegas package worth ₹2.50 Lakhs. Areyann Gurbaxani missed the Las Vegas package by a hair’s breadth, ranking #4.

NPS India – Record-Breaking Turnouts Year-on-Year!

National Poker Series is one of the most eagerly awaited events on India’s poker calendar, attracting larger crowds each year and exceeding past prize pool guarantees.

The 2021 edition boasted an impressive ₹15 Crores guarantee, but it surpassed all expectations by collecting an astounding ₹19.41 Crores from 83,793 entries. The 2022 edition was even more successful, surpassing the advertised guarantee of ₹18.50 Crores and accumulating over ₹22 Crores from 96,360 entries. NPS India 2023 again raised the bar, with an unprecedented ₹32+ Crores in prize money awarded.

For the first time ever, the series clocked a six-figure turnout, recording a staggering 1,25,195 entries and generating a massive ₹32+ Crores prize pool – nearly ₹7 Crores more than the advertised guarantee.

With each edition, the NPS continues to elevate the standard and solidify its position as India’s premier poker tournament series.

Prateek Bhartia Champions NPS#106 Main Event

No other tournament garnered as much attention at the just-concluded NPS India 2023 as the ₹3 Crores GTD NPS#106 Main Event. The ₹5,500 buy-in tournament ran eight qualifiers from April 10 to 16 and registered a whopping 5,849 entries – the largest ever in an NPS Main Event.

The old-time reg Prateek Bhartiya made a glorious comeback to the spotlight by dominating the stiff competition to win the most prestigious gold medal of the series and a personal-best ₹30.93 Lakhs. He struck a heads-up deal with the user ‘back2basics’ (2nd for ₹29.08 Lakhs). Sparsh Gupta won the bronze medal and a career-best ₹15.15 Lakhs in third place.

Kabir Tandon Ships NPS#104 Golden Rush

As expected, the ₹1 Crores GTD NPS#104 Golden Rush was the biggest crowd-puller in the series. The affordable ₹550 buy-in and the enticing eight-figure guaranteed prize pool brought in an enormous field of 13,133 entrants across 14 qualifiers running from April 9 to April 16.

The finals began at 8 PM on Sunday, April 16, an hour before the NPS Main Event. Kabir Tandon was the last player standing among the 1,544 starters and hit a new career high, winning the NPS gold medal and the top prize of ₹10.65 Lakhs. ‘TatMaG’ finished runner-up for ₹7.50 Lakhs, and ‘chiranjit1007‘ bagged away ₹4.98 Lakhs in third place.

Anuj Yadav Wins NPS#92 Super Highroller

The 2022 POY, Young Gun Anuj Yadav, clinched an impressive victory in one of the biggest events of the series, the ₹1.25 Crores GTD NPS#92 Super HighRoller. The online sensation conquered the 271-player field in the ₹44K buy-in tournament, 181 of whom were unique players, in a grueling 10-hour battle, ultimately striking a heads-up deal to capture his second NPS gold medal and ₹17.96 Lakhs for the win.

Kunal Bhatia finished second after a stunning comeback, earning a better ₹18.54 Lakhs and the silver medal. The NPS 2.0 Super HighRoller champion, Kartik Ved, fell two places short of defending his title, winning the bronze medal and ₹12.75 Lakhs.

Puneet Dua Wins NPS#56 HighRoller

On Friday, April 8, Puneet Dua added his name to the list of NPS gold medalists. The Chief Innovation Officer of BalleBaazi staked his claim on the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#56 HighRoller title, winning the gold medal and ₹12.70 Lakhs. The ₹16,500 buy-in event featured two starting flights and attracted 645 entries. Dua advanced to the finale with 88 other qualifiers and defeated Sahil Nair heads-up to claim his first NPS gold medal.

The #BB2 MoneyMaker champion Sahil Nair secured the second spot and his first NPS silver medal, earning ₹8.08 Lakhs. The user ‘FireonNuts’ rounded the podium, bagging the bronze medal and ₹6.52 Lakhs.

NPS India 2023 Leaderboards

The fight for glory and NPS medals extended beyond just prize money. All players cashing any NPS tournament collected points on the NPS Series leaderboard, with all podium finishers climbing up the NPS Podium standings.

Avneesh Munjal topped the NPS Series leaderboard with 18,516 points on the back of an outstanding 88 scores in the series. The well-known reg was aptly rewarded for the hard work and received ₹10 Lakhs in Real Cash Bonus.

Chirag Sodha also performed remarkably, earning 18,187 points from 85 in-the-money finishes, including a silver and a bronze medal. Although he couldn’t win a gold medal, the NPS 2.0 Main Event champion collected₹ 7.50 Lakhs in Real Cash Bonus for finishing #2 on the NPS Series leaderboard.

Anirban D Das secured the #3 position on the NPS Series leaderboard with 16,896 points. Das’s impressive run included three gold medals, a silver medal, and 69 scores. His podium-finishing spree landed him the #2 position on the NPS Podium leaderboard, and he received a Real Cash Bonus of ₹5.25 Lakhs and a Las Vegas package worth ₹7.50 Lakhs for his impressive run.

NPS Series Leaderboard Standings

Vikram Mishra stood tall on the NPS Podium leaderboard, cementing his position by winning a third gold medal on the last day of the series. He walked away with three gold and two silver medals, bagging a Las Vegas package worth ₹10 Lakhs. Throughout the NPS tournament, Mishra played 54 events and earned an additional ₹1.10 Lakhs in Real Cash Bonus from finishing #12 on the NPS Series leaderboard.

Abdul Aziz finished #3 behind Anirban D Das on the NPS Podium leaderboard with three gold and a silver medal, landing a Las Vegas package worth ₹2.50 Lakhs.

In addition, Aziz ranked #16 on the NPS Series leaderboard for ₹90,000 in Real Cash Bonus.

Overall, the NPS India 2023 was a massive success, showcasing the growing interest in poker in the country. Kudos to the PokerBaazi team for organizing such a grand event, where players played for glory and earned rewards, bringing the slogan “India ne Khela Glory ke liye!” to life.

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