This past week might have been dull for MTT players, but September has all the bearings of being an extremely busy (and eventful) month for the domestic community. Why, you ask? Well, PokerStars India, the India-facing arm of global online poker giant, PokerStars, is bringing back one of its most popular tournament franchises, the India Championship of Online Poker (INCOOP)!

After a year, INCOOP will be making its second run with loads of tournaments and hefty guarantees adding to the value quotient MTT players desperately seek in a flagship series. The 15-day INCOOP runs from September 14 to 28, promising ₹5.70 Crores in guaranteed prizes across 142 tournaments.

With the entry buy-ins ranging from ₹175 to ₹22,000, there is essentially something for everyone on offer. And even though the biggest draw at the series will be the ₹1 Crore GTD Main Event, which is the biggest Progressive Knockout event, there are many more exciting events to look forward to!

And wait! Besides the tournament series, an additional ₹7.50 Lakhs will be up for grabs through the Series Leaderboard. The top 50 finishers will be paid, with the eventual leaderboard topper receiving ₹2 Lakhs.

Delivering upon its start-of-the-year commitment of hosting five MTT stops in 2021, PokerStars India has been consistently doling out one value-laden MTT series after another. Kicking off the year with the Winter Series (January 17-24), it went on to host the MicroMillions (March 7-14) and the Summer Series (June 1–15). The INCOOP will be the fourth flagship series to hit the PokerStars India client in 2021.

PokerStars India has also organized a host of other giveaways through the Ticket Machine and INCOOP Challenges. Read on to find out all that the INCOOP has to offer!

INCOOP Schedule

INCOOP Main Event ₹1 Crore GTD

The two-day-long ₹1 Crore GTD INCOOP Main Event will run from September 26 to 27, sporting a ₹11,000 entry buy-in. Sanish Chabbra had won the first INCOOP Main Event on September 22, 2020. He traversed an 884-entry field to win ₹14.52 Lakhs, following a three-way deal.

Speaking to PokerGuru, Chabbra was unsurprisingly excited about the upcoming series. “I will be all-in this time too and will try to give my best defending the Main Event title. I want to grab as many titles as possible and become a second-time INCOOP Main Event champion,” said the defending champion.

On the significance of winning the first INCOOP Main Event title, Chabbra added, “It felt like 3-4 years of hard work and dedication towards poker finally paid off. It gave me a sense of accomplishment, especially when you’re following your dreams against all odds.”

We asked him about his preparations for the upcoming series, to which Chabbra replied, “My strategy is having fun while playing. Meditation and staying focused while playing are also crucial.”

Headline Events

Apart from the Main Event, the second edition of the INCOOP boasts of several other flagships tournaments, such as:

> INCOOP-08 Bounty Builder HR ₹15 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-29 Highroller ₹25 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-40 Uppercut ₹12 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-59 Sunday Special ₹20 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-62 Sunday Highroller ₹25 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-74 Bounty Builder Deepstack HR ₹15 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-95 Highroller KO Championship ₹40 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-106 Uppercut ₹12 Lakhs GTD

> INCOOP-137 Deepstack Championship ₹35 Lakhs GTD

Series Leaderboard

PokerStars India will also be rewarding players for their consistency. The top 50 finishers of the Series Leaderboard are guaranteed to receive a minimum payout of ₹2,000, while the leaderboard topper will collect ₹2 Lakhs in leaderboard prizes!

Ticket Machine

Players will get several opportunities to claim extra prizes throughout the series. Thanks to the Ticket Machine promotion, players can win over ₹24 Lakhs in INCOOP Event tickets! So, what do you need to do? Well, not much, actually.

All you need to do is play INCOOP tournaments. No matter where you finish, you’ll receive an entry to a daily draw. If your name is pulled, you’ll get tickets to INCOOP events.

The number of entries you receive and the tier of the draw is based on the buy-in of the events you play in.

Low draw: One entry for buy-ins between ₹110 and ₹770, or two entries for buy-ins between ₹990 and ₹1,649. You can win tickets to INCOOP satellite events.

High draw: One entry for ₹1,650 buy-ins and above. You can win tickets to the INCOOP Main Event.

All players can win up to five entries daily to both the Low and High draw.

Note: There will be no draw happening on September 21.

To participate, follow these steps:

• Opt-in to the Low and High draws via your Challenges Window
• Play INCOOP tournaments between 00:00 AM and 11:59 PM (IST)
• Earn entries to Ticket Machine draws. The number of entries you receive is based on the number of tournaments you play in and their buy-in
• See if you’ve won INCOOP tickets. Ticket Machine draws take place daily at 9:35 AM

INCOOP Challenges

PokerStars India wants to make sure everyone gets a chance to play the Main Event, and in that lieu, players can earn their entry into the Main Event by completing both INCOOP Challenges!

Deposit Challenge: Deposit a minimum of ₹20,000 to complete.

Redemption Points Challenge: Earn 33,000 redemption points to complete.

All players have to do is play any cash games or MTTS to start earning redemption points. You will earn 1 redemption point for every ₹1 you pay in rake or tournament fees.

Enough said, it’s time to get your grind station ready for one of the most happening MTT stops of the year.

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