NPS India 2025 Day 28 Recap: Sagar Raj, Sahil Mahboobani, Abhishek Parikh & Himalaya Tarani Strike it Rich on Sunday – the Penultimate Day of the Record-Smashing Series!

We’re in the endgame now! After four weeks of shattered records, exploded guarantees, and poker action that’s redefined the Indian scene, the National Poker Series India 2025 is down to its final, heart-stopping act – the grand finale of the colossal ₹10 Crores GTD NPS#191 Main Event and the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#190 Golden Rush!

Day 28, the last Sunday of this 29-day poker odyssey, proved yet again why this series is a game-changer. Even with two IPL 2025 clashes screaming for attention, poker die-hards across India logged in, and the virtual felt practically hummed with energy. Players were starving for one of those last few precious medals from the five events on offer, those make-or-break leaderboard points – all chasing the dream of those 12 golden tickets to the National Poker Showdown in Goa!

The turnout was bonkers. A mind-blowing 7,922 entries flooded the PokerBaazi tables, sending the day’s prize pool soaring to a staggering ₹2.82 Crores—demolishing the ₹2.65 Crores guarantee by a sweet 6%!

With just one day to go, NPS India 2025 has already carved its name into poker history. The numbers are simply mind-boggling: 253,938 total entries and an earth-shattering 93.41 Crores in total prize money already paid—pulverising the ₹83.25 Crores in cumulative guarantees so far. And tonight, the grand finale erupts, with the Main Event and Golden Rush ready to anoint their champions! While both these giants have overlays (a whopping ₹2.41 Crores in the Main Event and ₹13.65 Lakhs in the Golden Rush), the final tally has reached an unbelievable ₹104.41 Crores across the festival – a paradigm-shifting moment for Indian poker.

In a climax befitting the sheer spectacle of the NPS India 2025, Hrishikesh Kulkarni from Maharashtra seized the spotlight on this penultimate day. After eight long years of relentless grinding, Kulkarni captured his first-ever NPS medal (and it was Gold!) in the NPS#188 Sunday Marathon, notching his second career flagship title. His victory, which included a career-defining ₹11.47 Lakhs payday (after a three-way deal), wasn`t just a personal triumph; it’s a beacon of hope for all those long-time grinders chasing that elusive breakthrough. Adding even more shine to his legendary Sunday, he snagged another small score, with his total Sunday haul reaching nearly ₹11.53 Lakhs—making him the day’s undisputed cash king!

Adding serious heat to the leaderboard drama, Sagar Raj, a familiar name who finished #18 in the 2024 POY race, came agonizingly close to clinching his third NPS Gold. Instead, he grabbed a Silver Medal and a massive ₹8.62 Lakhs in the NPS#188 Sunday Marathon, his second-biggest score to date on PokerBaazi. This performance made him one of only 37 players to win three or more medals in the series. This victory catapulted Raj to the top of the Madhya Pradesh leaderboard, tied in points with Saransh Garg but ahead due to his insane volume of 119 cashes. With the series nearing its end and Raj sitting at #13 on the NPC Leaderboard, he faces a crucial test. Having booked a seat for both the NPS Main Event and the Golden Rush, he needs a medal (preferably Gold!) in one of these events to have a shot at making that NPC showdown in Goa.

Sahil Mahboobani, an accomplished poker veteran with previous NPS glory, finally snagged a medal this series, taking third in the NPS#188 Sunday Marathon for the Bronze and a cool ₹8.29 Lakhs!

Abhishek Parikh was another Sunday hero who had a major breakthrough, shaking off a year-long dry spell by clinching his first-ever victory on PokerBaazi in the NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff. Parikh’s stellar play not only earned him a coveted NPS Gold Medal but also a handsome ₹7.89 Lakhs—quadrupling his previous highest score and significantly reducing his cumulative losses. This win launched him to #10 on the Tamil Nadu State Leaderboard, making him the state’s tenth Gold Medalist.

Lalit Gulvani delivered a breakthrough performance of his own, finishing second in the Sunday Kickoff for his first-ever NPS medal—a gleaming Silver—and a personal-best ₹5.43 Lakhs. This impressive feat nearly wiped out all his past losses on PokerBaazi, sending him soaring to #9 on the Gujarat State Leaderboard. And not to be overlooked, Chethan C K fought like a warrior to finish third, capturing his first NPS medal (Bronze) along with ₹4.03 Lakhs, his third-largest payout on the platform. Remarkably, everyone on the podium was celebrating their first-ever NPS medal!

Himalaya Tarani also joined the first-medal club, winning Gold in the NPS#186 Marathon and a career-high ₹4.77 Lakhs. His Sunday win not only earned him a spot at #16 on the Delhi State Leaderboard but also a significant comeback, erasing nearly a fifth of his previous losses. Tarani’s total Sunday earnings climbed to almost ₹4.94 Lakhs across three deep runs.

Vikhyat Ahlawat, a true powerhouse in the online poker scene, has been on a breakout tear at this year’s NPS India. And he gave his chance at making the NPC showdown a major boost with a runner-up finish in the NPS#186 Marathon for ₹3.29 Lakhs and the Silver Medal – his fourth medal of the series, making him one of only 22 players to earn four or more medals this year. This remarkable achievement rocketed Ahlawat to the top of the Uttar Pradesh State Leaderboard with 30 points, breaking a four-way tie and positioning him as a frontrunner for the coveted National Poker Champion showdown, currently sitting #6 on the NPC Leaderboard. Throughout NPS India 2025, Ahlawat has displayed exceptional dedication and skill, playing in all scheduled events, and he raked in over ₹3.40 Lakhs from three deep runs just yesterday. His consistent performance has earned him a well-deserved #10 spot on the NPS Series Leaderboard, and he now also ranks #25 on PokerBaazi’s 2025 Player of the Year Leaderboard.

Ankush Narang grabbed the Bronze in the NPS#186 Marathon, notching his second medal of the series and boosting his bankroll with ₹2.50 Lakhs. This put him at #2 on the Punjab State Leaderboard, trailing leader Sumit Sapra.

Other players seizing NPS Gold Medals on Sunday included Maharashtra’s Karan Sitlani (Won NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹3.23 Lakhs) and Tamil Nadu’s Aditya Sushant (Won NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹3.21 Lakhs).

The National Poker Champion (India) Leaderboard is burning up as top players battle to lead their states into the prestigious NPC showdown. Seven states and their top dogs are near-locks for the top 12 spots: Karnataka’s Bhanu ‘Chennaino1’ Prakash KC, Gujarat’s Mohit ‘bullets777’ Bohra, Delhi’s Saahib ‘Junta’ Bawa, Kerela’s Sreekanth ‘n0thing’ Narayan, Haryana’s Snehil ‘GTORanges’ Aggarwal, Uttar Pradesh’s Vikhyat ‘supersaiyan57’ Ahlawat, Maharashtra’s Gopal ‘AiDarwin’ Bajaj, and Rajasthan’s Anish ‘Fishlover001’ Vijayvergiya.

The remaining five finalists will be decided after tonight’s Main Event and Golden Rush. Top contenders include Tamil Nadu’s Aditya ‘gangajal’ Sushant, Chandigarh’s Ankit ‘d00mtr00p3r’ Wadhawan, West Bengal’s Goonjan ‘gmtesting’ Mall, Arunachal Pradesh’s Wilson ‘kalingkaling’ Yomso, Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar ‘BustedAA’ Raj, Goa’s Mohsin ‘gongo’ Shaikh, Punjab’s Sumit ‘boronyx’ Sapra, and Bihar’s Abhijeet ‘ERROR404’ Kumar.

On the NPS Series Leaderboard, Bhanu Prakash KC has all but guaranteed himself the top spot and the grand ₹30 Lakhs top prize, with a colossal 38,074 points from 156 cashes. Vinay Rajpal is second with 36,070 points from a staggering 164 cashes and will be taking home ₹20 Lakhs. Rising Star Aman Parakh holds onto third place with 34,213 points from 146 cashes, which will land him ₹15 Lakhs. These top three (and several others in the top 20) showed incredible endurance and consistency, having played nearly every single event in this month-long poker extravaganza!

As NPS India 2025 races to a close, the poker community remains riveted by the unfolding drama, with players across other top platforms like Natural8 India and Adda52 also making significant strides.

First impressions matter—and ‘Tegridy’ made a monster one on Natural8 India last night! Diving straight into the action in the high-octane Sunday Bounty Warm-Up 88, the newcomer outlasted a jaw-dropping 2,644-entry field to finish fourth, banking a massive ₹8.92 Lakhs. After a nine-month break from Natural8 India, Saurabh Rohila announced his return with fireworks! Entering the Zodiac Main Event, he shook off the rust in style, clinching a runner-up finish for a site-best ₹7.75 Lakhs.

Natural8 India’s Executive Director and Brand Ambassador, Kunal Patni, stormed into Adda52’s Sunday Head Hunter with determination, claiming his first victory in this event and pocketing ₹4.58 Lakhs. This win is his second-largest score of 2025, breaking a three-month title drought. Patni also cashed in three NPS events, boosting his total earnings for the day to ₹5.24 Lakhs.

Aniruddha Joshi, Anmol Narang, Gunisha Sinha, and Janish Jain also scored big wins in the other Sunday flagships across major platforms.

Here are the Sunday highlights!

PokerBaazi

NPS#188 Sunday Marathon – ₹1 Crore GTD

Buy-in – ₹10,350

Entries – 627

Re- entries – 590

Prize Pool – ₹1,09,53,000

Places Paid – 201

As they say, it ain’t over ’til it’s over! The past four weeks have been a history-making, earth-shaking ride for Indian online poker, with the National Poker Series India 2025 lighting up the scene like nothing before! And this final Sunday of the 29-day poker marathon, the penultimate day of India’s biggest-ever tournament series, delivered a serious wallop – even with two electrifying IPL 2025 matches vying for attention! While cricket fans were glued to their screens, the poker action hit a fever pitch, with players refusing to miss out on grabbing one of those last few precious medals and those all-important leaderboard points, all in pursuit of those 12 golden tickets to the National Poker Showdown in Goa next month!

Day 28 was another full-throttle, no-holds-barred spectacle, with five tournaments running concurrently with the final two flights of the gargantuan ₹10 Crores GTD NPS#191 Main Event and the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#190 Golden Rush! It was non-stop, heart-pounding action from the first deal to the last river!

The turnout was, once again, off the charts. A mind-blowing 7,922 entries flooded PokerBaazi, sending the day’s prize pool skyrocketing to a staggering ₹2.82 Crores—smashing the ₹2.65 Crores guarantee by a cool 6%!

With just one day left, NPS India 2025 has already etched its name in the record books. The numbers are insane: 253,938 total entries and an earth-shattering ₹93.41 Crores in total prize money—crushing the ₹83.25 Crores in cumulative guarantees. And tonight, the grand finale explodes, with the Main Event and Golden Rush set to crown their champions! While both these monsters have overlays (₹2.41 Crores in the Main Event and ₹13.65 Lakhs in the Golden Rush), the final numbers will undoubtedly reach a colossal ₹104.41 Crores across the festival – a watershed moment for Indian poker!

Sunday nights are reserved for thrillers—and this one was a classic! With the NPS India 2025 hurtling towards its climax, the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#188 Sunday Marathon took centre stage. As the series’s 20th eight-figure guaranteed prize pool event, it became the crown jewel of an already action-packed evening, drawing poker gladiators from all corners of the country.

At the heart of this high-stakes drama was Maharashtra’s Hrishikesh ‘Balanar’ Kulkarni, a long-time grinder who spent eight years in the trenches and finally had his moment of glory.

Firing two bullets in the 7 PM Sunday Marathon, Kulkarni stared down a monstrous 1,217-entry field (627 unique) in a brutal, 10-hour, 17-minute war of attrition. And at the first light of dawn on Monday morning – 5:17 AM, to be precise – the relentless grind paid off in the most spectacular way imaginable. Kulkarni captured his second career flagship title, his first of the year, and, most importantly, that gleaming, coveted, dream-come-true Gold Medal (his first-ever NPS medal!) – and he did it on the second-to-last day of the grandest poker tournament series India has ever seen!

The win came with a career-redefining ₹11.47 Lakhs payday (after a three-way deal)—1.34X larger than his previous best, last year’s BSS SuperStack win, worth ₹8.58 Lakhs. The timing was impeccable – ending a six-month title drought with a resounding bang! With this monumental win, Kulkarni became the 35th player from Maharashtra to strike Gold this year and shot up to #25 on the Maharashtra State Leaderboard.

Adding even more fire to his incredible Sunday, Kulkarni also cashed in the NPS#187 Sunday Smash (135th for ₹5,866) and punched his ticket to Day 2 of the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#190 Golden Rush, boosting his overall Sunday winnings to a scorching almost ₹11.53 Lakhs and making him the day’s undisputed cash king!

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s NPS#188 Sunday Marathon for ₹11,46,884* (three-way deal)

> 135th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹5,866

> Made Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s NPS#190 Golden Rush (Qualifier 9 – Turbo)

Hrishikesh Kulkarni’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹55.94 Lakhs | Site Profits: ₹15.89 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #1 | Moves to #25 on the Maharashtra State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Gold| Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹15.45 Lakhs

Adding to the late-game leaderboard drama was the ever-dangerous Sagar ‘BustedAA’ Raj, who finished #18 in the 2024 Player of the Year race. Raj has been on fire, riding a wave of momentum after clinching Gold in the NPS#135 (7-Max) SPRINT and Silver in the NPS#144 (7-Max) Hyper. His latest attempt to grab his third Gold (second of this series) almost materialised in the NPS#188 Sunday Marathon. After firing three bullets, he narrowly missed the top spot but still walked away with a well-deserved Silver—his second silver of the series and fourth NPS medal overall—along with a handsome ₹8.62 Lakhs runner-up payout, part of a three-way deal. This also represents his second-largest score on PokerBaazi.

This phenomenal run made Raj one of only 37 players to win three or more medals in this series, but, in a game-changing twist, it catapulted him to the top of the Madhya Pradesh leaderboard. Though tied at 15 points with Saransh Garg, Raj’s super volume of 119 cashes (compared to Garg’s 94) gives him the edge. He still has a fighting chance at making that National Poker Champion showdown, rocketing to #13 on the NPC Leaderboard. With two grand events remaining—and having already made Day 2 in both—Raj has a make-or-break opportunity today to punch his ticket to that NPC showdown in Goa, where the top 12 players will fight for the first-ever National Poker Champion title. He needs a medal tonight to make the cut – a monumental task considering the depth of talent and the inherent variance, but Raj will have to summon all his skill, experience, and maybe even a little luck to get there.

But Raj’s Sunday was more than just that Silver Medal. He scored in two more NPS events and also cashed in two more on Adda52, raking in a massive over ₹8.94 Lakhs for the night. To keep those NPC dreams alive, he also punched his ticket to the Day 2 finale of the NPS#191 Main Event via Qualifier 9 – Turbo. This Sunday rampage also pushed Raj past the magical ₹6 Crores in tracked online winnings!

Raj’s consistency has him sitting pretty at #27 on the NPS Series Leaderboard, with 27,046 points from 119 cashes (out of a remarkable 186 events played – missing just three). He’s also climbed to #16 on PokerBaazi’s 2025 POY Leaderboard, making it clear—Raj isn’t just playing for titles; he’s playing for poker immortality.

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#188 Sunday Marathon for ₹8,61,708* (three-way deal)

> 22nd in Adda52’s MMA Main Event for ₹11,528

> 17th in Adda52’s MMA Highroller for ₹9,591

> 104th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹7,936

> 215th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹3,736

> Made Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s NPS#191 Main Event (Qualifier 9 – Turbo)

Sagar Raj’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52 and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹6.08 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.80 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #4 | Moves to #1 on the Madhya Pradesh State Leaderboard | Moves to #13 on the NPC Leaderboard | Moves to #27 on the NPS Series Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 2 Gold & 2 Silver | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹51.86 Lakhs | Moves to #16 on PokerBaazi’s 2025 POY Leaderboard

Right there in the thick of it all was Sahil ‘ImHighIshove’ Mahboobani, a battle-tested poker vet who entered NPS India 2025 with two previous NPS medals (one Silver and one Bronze)! He’s been grinding hard, playing in most of the NPS events (168, counting last night’s tournaments), and even had two near-podium finishes – fifth place in both the NPS#25 (PLO-4) and NPS#57 (PLO-4)! And last night, he finally got the medal he’d been craving, taking third place in the NPS#188 Sunday Marathon, snagging the Bronze and a hefty ₹8.29 Lakhs as part of that three-way deal. In addition to his podium finish, he also made Day 2 of the NPS#191 Main Event through Qualifier 9 – Turbo!

Sahil Mahboobani’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52 and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹16.41 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹5.52 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #1 | Moves to #27 on the Haryana State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Silver & 2 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹42.91 Lakhs | Moves to #99 on PokerBaazi’s POY Race

The NPS#188 Sunday Marathon final table was further lit by ‘TheExplorer’ (4th for ₹5.07 Lakhs), the current March Leaderboard topper and 2025 POY #3 Ankit ‘Psycorp’ Bajaj (5th for ₹3.63 Lakhs), ‘Shravsmanth’ (6th for ₹2.66 Lakhs), the four-time medallist at NPS India 2025, PokerBaazi Team Pro Laksh ‘boomtlt23’ Pal Singh (7th for ₹2.07 Lakhs), and NPS#72 Knockout (KO) Silver Medallist Kritarth ‘AgentJack’ Pant (8th for ₹1.57 Lakhs).

Other poker luminaries with deep runs included NPS#148 Megadive Gold Medallist Sashi ‘Suterisateri’ Datta (9th for ₹1.28 Lakhs), Maharashtra State Leaderboard #4 Vishal ‘Vishzz’ Bajaj (10th for ₹1.28 Lakhs), Young Gun Aayush ‘Learnnwin’ Arya (11th for ₹1.28 Lakhs), Onas ‘papatumhare’ Malhotra (12th for ₹1.28 Lakhs), Satyam ‘AnakinSkywa1keR’ Verma (14h for ₹1.01 Lakhs), Jyotindra ‘JacksPaaro’ Dubey (15th for ₹1.01 Lakhs), Raghav ‘maddytilt’ Madan (17th for ₹1.01 Lakhs), NPS#170 (7-Max) SPRINT Silver Medallist Suraj ‘MR8BEAST’ N Yadav (18th for ₹1.01 Lakhs), NPS India 2025 double Gold Medallist and Arunachal Pradesh State Leaderboard topper Wilson ‘kalingkaling’ Yomso (19th for ₹74,480), and NPS#98 Megadive Silver Medallist Avish ‘thehorse7’ Sharma (20th for ₹74,480).

The last Sunday of NPS India 2025 was another scorcher, with guarantees crushed again across the board (except for one tiny hiccup)! The day`s featured attraction, the ₹10,350 buy-in NPS#188 Sunday Marathon, was a huge part of that success, smashing its ambitious ₹1 Crore guarantee and generating a prize pool of nearly ₹1.10 Crores. The top 201 finishers got paid with even a min-cash worth ₹17,525, proving that the action and the rewards keep flowing in this groundbreaking series, with the biggest explosion to come tonight!

Final Table Results

1. Hrishikesh ‘Balanar’ Kulkarni – ₹11,46,884*
2. Sagar ‘BustedAA’ Raj – ₹8,61,708*
3. Sahil ‘ImHighIshove’ Mahboobani – ₹8,29,331*
4. TheExplorer – ₹5,07,124
5. Ankit ‘Psycorp’ Bajaj – ₹3,62,544
6. Shravsmanth – ₹2,66,158
7. Laksh ‘boomtlt23’ Pal Singh – ₹2,07,012
8. Kritarth ‘AgentJack’ Pant – ₹1,56,628

*denotes a three-way deal

NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff – ₹70 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹4,600

Entries – 901

Re-entries – 852

Prize Pool – ₹70,12,000

Places Paid – 270

The NPS India 2025 – the series that’s been tearing up the rulebook, making wallets weep with joy, and turning both seasoned pros and wide-eyed newcomers into poker legends this past month – is finally down to its LAST DAY! The final Sunday of this 29-day poker marathon delivered a shot of pure, unbridled adrenaline, all focused on that one burning desire: to grab a seat at the National Poker Champion showdown in sun-soaked Goa.

Five flagship events exploded across the PokerBaazi tables, alongside the last, frantic dashes for those precious spots in the gargantuan ₹10 Crores GTD NPS#191 Main Event and the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#190 Golden Rush finale. This whole series has been an untamed, glorious monster—and Sunday kept that ferocious energy rampaging with another round of guarantees getting totally obliterated!

While Aditya Sushant‘s repeat Gold Medal performance was certainly a headline grabber, four other players snagged their first-ever NPS Gold Medals on the series’ penultimate day – three of them striking Gold for the very first time ever!

One of these breakout stars was Abhishek ‘Soap9’ Parikh, a sporadic PokerBaazi player who’d been riding a brutal downswing since March 2023, grinding through over 100 tournaments this series without even sniffing a final table. But last night, everything aligned.

The NPS action kicked off 30 minutes earlier than usual, at 2 PM, with the gigantic ₹70 Lakhs GTD NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff, and played down to a dramatic two-man battle between determined players. This included Parikh, who pulled off the run of his life! Fighting tooth and nail through a monstrous field of 1,753 entries (901 unique) in a gruelling, 10-hour-49-minute brawl that stretched long past midnight, Parikh seized his first-ever PokerBaazi victory and a coveted NPS Gold Medal. The prize was a breathtaking ₹7.89 Lakhs – over four times his previous biggest score – and over a quarter of his losses were reversed with this single captivating win. This epic win also boosted Parik to #10 on the Tamil Nadu State Leaderboard, making him the state’s 10th Gold Medallist.

Abhishek Parikh’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹39.50 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #1 | Moves to #10 on the Tamil Nadu State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Gold | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹9.43 Lakhs

Right behind Parikh was Lalit ‘lalit00761’ Gulvani, who made a powerful statement of their own in the NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff, delivering a stunning runner-up performance. After a rocky start requiring four buy-ins, Gulvani charged through the ranks, collecting a site-best ₹5.43 Lakhs – a payday six times greater than their prior best. This unbelievable run also earned Gulvani his first-ever NPS medal (a shiny Silver). It practically wiped out his past PokerBaazi losses, sending Gulvani rocketing to #9 on the Gujarat State Leaderboard.

Lalit Gulvani’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹8.88 Lakhs | Moves to #9 on the Gujarat State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Silver | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹5.72 Lakhs

Then there’s Chethan ‘FoldMasterCK’ C K, who finally broke through to a final table after 66 tournaments in this year’s NPS. That elusive NPS medal had been a tantalizing dream – until last night. Chethan fought hard for a third-place finish in the NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff, capturing his first-ever NPS medal (Bronze) and a sweet ₹4.03 Lakhs after entering twice. That’s his third-biggest payday ever on the platform!

Chethan C K’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52 and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹78.64 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹17.16 Lakhs | Moves to #31 on the Karnataka State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹9.54 Lakhs

The NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff final table also saw other accomplished Bazigaars finding the spotlight, including NPS#17 Deepdive Bronze Medallist ‘AilaGaya’ (4th for ₹3.02 Lakhs), Narendra ‘khudde’ Singh (5th for ₹2.11 Lakhs) and NPS#162 (PLO-4) HighRoller Bronze Medallist Sreeprakaash ‘fitzmagic’ Seetharaman (6th for ₹1.52 Lakhs).

With Sunday being the second-to-last day of the series, the tension was electric, the excitement through the roof, and the clock was ticking down to zero – making these last few opportunities to climb those state leaderboards for a shot at the NPC showdown absolutely crucial. Players went for broke! Even the NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff was a monster success, squeaking past its advertised guarantee and creating a stunning ₹70.12 Lakhs prize pool. A whopping 270 players cashed, each grabbing at least ₹7,012, adding even more intensity as this epic series reaches its grand finale.

Final Table Results

1. Abhishek ‘Soap9’ Parikh – ₹7,88,850
2. Lalit ‘lalit00761’ Gulvani – ₹5,42,729
3. Chethan ‘FoldMasterCK’ C K – ₹4,03,190
4. ‘AilaGaya’ – ₹3,01,516
5. Narendra ‘khudde’ Singh – ₹2,11,061
6. Sreeprakaash ‘fitzmagic’ Seetharaman – ₹1,52,160
7. ashwathamautg – ₹1,20,606
8. anandita1691 – ₹98,168

NPS#186 Marathon – ₹40 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹3,450

Entries – 536

Re-entries – 583

Prize Pool – ₹40,00,000

Places Paid – 194

It was a Sunday charged with anticipation! Cricket fanatics were glued to the IPL 2025 double-header, while poker zealots dove headfirst into the penultimate day of the NPS India 2025. Everyone was chasing those last few coveted medals and the massive paydays from the ₹2.65 Crores in guarantees spread across the day’s five tournaments. And did they ever deliver – with a whopping ₹2.82 Crores dished out to players before the grand finale of the NPS#190 Golden Rush and the NPS#191 Main Event tonight! This was the final push for many poker warriors, the last chance to snag one of those coveted 12 seats to the National Poker Champion showdown in Goa next month!

While the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#188 Sunday Marathon and the ₹70 Lakhs GTD NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff were the main attractions, the ₹40 Lakhs GTD NPS#186 Marathon became the perfect afternoon battleground. Running alongside qualifiers for the gigantic Main Event and Golden Rush, it drew quite a crowd. But when the dust settled, Himalaya ‘pahaadisheep’ Tarani stood tall, pulling off a stunning victory to grab his first NPS medal (a glorious Gold!) and a career-best ₹4.77 Lakhs. He fired three bullets in the 3:30 PM flagship, his first entry won through a ₹345 satellite, and outlasted a field of 1,119 entries (536 unique) in a nine-hour poker war.

Tarani has been a consistent presence this series, grinding through 141 events and cashing in 43. He tasted the final table in the NPS#159 Slamdunk last week, but a podium finish eluded him. This time, he made it count. His Sunday triumph earned him a direct entry to the #16 spot on the Delhi State Leaderboard. Saahib Bawa, with his phenomenal double Gold run recently, still holds the top spot with 35 points, seemingly a lock for the NPC showdown – unless one of the other top contenders pulls off a major upset in tonight’s two NPS showstoppers.

Even with a stack locked up for the NPS#191 Main Event finale, Tarani is not even close to being a contender to make the NPC finale in Goa. But Sunday’s performance was a monumental breakthrough, erasing almost a fifth of his previous losses, as he walked away with nearly ₹4.94 Lakhs across three deep runs.

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 Marathon for ₹4,76,800

> 111th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff for ₹13,323

> 243rd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹3,451

Himalaya Tarani’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52, PokerStars India and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹40.19 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #2 | Moves to #16 on the Delhi State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Gold | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹11.41 Lakhs

The late state leaderboard shakeups we’d been expecting arrived courtesy of Vikhyat ‘supersaiyan57’ Ahlawat, an online powerhouse who’s been absolutely crushing it all series. Sunday just added more fuel to his fire. Already flaunting Gold Medals from the NPS#12 Monday Marathon and NPS#29 (7-Max) SPRINT, plus a Silver from the NPS#123 (PLO-6) Deepdive, Ahlawat snagged another Silver (his fourth medal of the series and an incredible eighth overall), finishing runner-up in the NPS#186 Marathon for ₹3.29 Lakhs after firing two bullets. This makes him among 22 players with four or more medals in this year’s NPS.

This latest run has made Ahlawat the undisputed king of the Uttar Pradesh State Leaderboard with 30 points, breaking the four-way tie with Bharat Vasan, Arush Pratap, and Nitesh Katiyar, all at 25 points. This final surge has landed him squarely at #6 on the NPC Leaderboard, making him a very strong contender for the NPC showdown. And, with qualifying stacks already locked in for both the Main Event and the Golden Rush, Ahlawat has an outside chance to add another medal (or two, if he pulls off something insane tonight!) to his already impressive collection. But Bharat Vasan, also armed with fighting stacks for both NPS showstoppers tonight, is lurking in the shadows, meaning the Uttar Pradesh Leaderboard could still deliver a shocking twist on the final day!

Like he’s done all series, Ahlawat played the entire NPS schedule, raking in over ₹3.40 Lakhs across three deep runs! And with only the final two NPS behemoths left to conquer tonight, Ahlawat’s ranked a commendable #10 on the NPS Series Leaderboard (with 30,720 points from 146 cashes across 187 tournaments played) and now sits at #25 on PokerBaazi’s 2025 POY Leaderboard.

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 Marathon for ₹3,28,800

> 78th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹7,936

> 201st in PokerBaazi’s NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹3,736

Vikhyat Ahlawat’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52, PokerStars India and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹6.49 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.69 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #3 | Moves to #1 on the Uttar Pradesh State Leaderboard | Moves to #10 on the NPS Series Leaderboard | Moves to #6 on NPC Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 2 Gold, 3 Silver & 3 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹70.93 Lakhs | Moves to #25 on PokerBaazi’s 2025 POY Leaderboard

Ankush ‘ank4u’ Narang rounded out the podium, capturing his first Bronze Medal in the NPS#186 Marathon, his two-entry investment netting him ₹2.50 Lakhs. Having previously claimed the Silver Medal in the NPS#55 (7-Max) SPRINT, this was his second-biggest score of 2025 and the fourth-largest of his career!

This second medal now places Narang at #2 on the Punjab State Leaderboard with seven points, trailing Sumit Sapra (1 Gold & 1 Silver), who leads with 15 points. But Punjab’s unlikely to be represented in the NPC showdown in Goa next month, as the current frontrunner, Sapra, sits well outside the 12-player cutoff at #15 on the NPC Leaderboard.

Narang also picked up a small score in NPS#189 Afterparty (65th for ₹8,334), bringing his Sunday earnings to just under ₹2.59 Lakhs.

Ankush Narang’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52, PokerStars India and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹48.15 Lakhs | Lifetime Profits: ₹16.38 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #1 | Moves to #2 on the Punjab State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Silver & 1 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹13.93 Lakhs

The final table of the NPS#186 Marathon also featured strong performances by Akshay ‘powershell’ Asawa, who finished fifth for ₹1.34 Lakhs, and the 2024 POY #6 Shreyansh ‘halifax7701’ Sharma, already holding a Silver and a Bronze Medal this series, who placed sixth for ₹99,200.

While the penultimate day of the NPS India 2025 was an all-out war, the ₹3,450 buy-in NPS#186 Marathon was a rare exception, falling a tiny ₹6.43 Lakhs short of its guarantee. Nevertheless, the ₹40 Lakhs prize pool showered payouts on the top 194 finishers, each receiving at least ₹6,800 – almost double the buy-in! As the National Poker Series races towards its grand finale, the competition is reaching a fever pitch on all fronts – leaderboard standings, career-defining scores, and the race to the Main Event crown. And it all gets decided tonight.

Final Table Results

1. Himalaya ‘pahaadisheep’ Tarani – ₹4,76,800
2. Vikhyat ‘supersaiyan57’ Ahlawat – ₹3,28,800
3. Ankush ‘ank4u’ Narang – ₹2,50,400
4. kissmyaxe – ₹1,87,200
5. Akshay ‘powershell’ Asawa – ₹1,34,400
6. Shreyansh ‘halifax7701’ Sharma – ₹99,200
7. deep1221 – ₹77,600

NPS#187 Sunday Smash – ₹30 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,070

Entries – 882

Re-entries – 1035

Prize Pool – ₹34,50,600

Places Paid – 295

It’s showtime! The final curtain call for NPS India 2025, with just two colossal events left to determine their champions tonight before this history-making series wraps up! This past Sunday, the final Sunday of this epic 29-day poker marathon, delivered another adrenaline-fueled thrill ride that had the virtual felt sizzling. Five flagship events blazed across the PokerBaazi tables, alongside the nail-biting qualifiers for the monstrous ₹10 Crores GTD NPS#191 Main Event and the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#190 Golden Rush. This series has been a non-stop, high-stakes, white-knuckle ride, and Sunday kept that insane momentum going—pedal to the metal, full speed ahead, no looking back!

Standing tall amidst a storm of incredible performances was a familiar face: Karan ‘Collingwood’ Sitlani. A true “High Roller Specialist,” Sitlani has been one of the most explosive names in the game, racking up at least 17 title wins in 2024 alone, including an insane nine high-roller victories – hence the well-earned nickname. He came into 2025 with sky-high expectations, kicking things off by winning The Quest Lite. But since then, he had endured a frustrating string of near-misses – ten final table appearances without a title, including agonizingly close calls just last week in the NPS#184 (7-Max) SPRINT and the NPS#167 Marathon, plus that Silver Medal in the NPS#87 (7-Max) Friday Freestyle in early March. But after all that heartbreak, that agonizing title drought finally came to a crashing end last night – and on the biggest stage imaginable!

Sitlani’s moment of glory arrived in PokerBaazi’s ₹30 Lakhs GTD NPS#187 Sunday Smash, where he pocketed a handsome ₹3.26 Lakhs after a heads-up deal! Fighting through a guarantee-crushing 1,917-entry field (882 unique) in the 6:30 PM flagship, he put on a poker masterclass across the 9.5-hour showdown, collecting his second medal of the series (a gleaming Gold Medal – his second NPS Gold, having previously won the 2023 NPS#17 Deepdive, and his fifth NPS medal overall!).

With two additional scores in the NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff (106th for ₹16,828) and the NPS#189 Afterparty (287th for ₹2,874), Sitlani’s Sunday earnings added up to a sweet sum of just over ₹3.42 Lakhs in his PokerBaazi account.

Karan Sitlani’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52 and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹4.61 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹84.45 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #2 | Moves to #8 on the Maharashtra State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 2 Gold, 2 Silver & 1 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹46.36 Lakhs

Last night’s heads-up battles were the stuff of legends, and the Sunday Smash delivered another classic, with Mohsin ‘gongo’ Shaikh coming this close to his second NPS Gold Medal. After his headline-grabbing NPS#168 Super HighRoller victory last week, Shaikh brought that same fire to the NPS#187 Sunday Smash, leaving it all on the virtual felt.

A respected name on the circuit, known for his The MoneyMaker 85.0 championship bracelet and for playing a key role in Deccan Aces‘ recor-extending victory in the Pocket52 PSL Season 6 last year, Shaikh has really turned up the heat in the late stages of this year’s NPS. While he just missed the top spot in the Sunday Smash, his efforts were richly rewarded with the lion`s share of the prize pool, a hefty ₹3.26 Lakhs from a heads-up deal with Sitlani— his third-largest score ever on the platform — and his first NPS Silver Medal (his second medal overall). But Shaikh’s hot streak didn’t end there.

Demonstrating that same indomitable spirit and carrying his incredible form over to Adda52, he almost conquered Adda52’s MMA Main Event! Again, he missed the title by a hair’s breadth, finishing runner-up for ₹3.01 Lakhs. It was a bittersweet day of near-victories for Shaikh but undeniably a very profitable one, with his total Sunday plunder reaching just under ₹6.45 Lakhs — another monster night for one of the most consistent crushers in the game.

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹3,26,321* (heads-up deal)

> 2nd in Adda52’s MMA Main Event for ₹3,00,611

> 127th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 Marathon for ₹6,800

> 50th in Adda52’s MMA HighRoller for ₹6,353

> 171st in PokerBaazi’s NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹4,886

Mohsin Shaikh’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52 and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹4.05 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.46 Crores | Titles Won in 2025:#3 | Moves to #1 on the Goa State Leaderboard | Moves to #14 on the NPC Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Gold & 1 Silver | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹47.46 Lakhs

Mayank ‘starbhai’ Taluja, the NPS#82 Mega Rush finalist, also made some serious noise in the NPS#187 Sunday Smash, clinching his first-ever NPS medal with a stellar third-place finish. Taluja walked away with the Bronze Medal and a cool ₹1.95 Lakhs — a fantastic return on his three bullets fired, giving him his third-largest score on the platform to date.

Mayank Taluja’s PokerBaazi stats: Site Winnings: ₹1.17 Crores | Site Profits: ₹94.16 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #3 | Ranked #28 on the Haryana State Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹18.61 Lakhs

The NPS#187 Sunday Smash final table featured several other accomplished players, such as the five-time medallist at the NPS India 2025 and the Gujarat State Leaderboard topper (who’s guaranteed a seat in the NPC showdown) Mohit ‘Bullets777’ Bohra (5th for ₹1 Lakh), Niket ‘Danivey04’ Shah (6th for ₹69,357), NPS#101 Marathon finalist Kunal ‘symbolic champ’ Agrawal (7th for ₹56,935), and Philip ‘Philister’ Jude (8th for ₹45,893).

It was another wild, record-breaking Sunday at the NPS India 2025, with all but one event obliterating its guarantee. With a modest ₹2,070 buy-in, the NPS#187 Sunday Smash was one of the day’s bigger success stories, racking up a massive ₹34.51 Lakhs prize pool — blowing past its advertised promise. A whopping 295 players made it into the money, each taking home at least ₹3,451, adding to this groundbreaking series’s legend.

Final Table Results

1. Karan ‘collingwood’ Sitlani – ₹3,22,737*
2. Mohsin ‘gongo’ Shaikh – ₹3,26,321*
3. Mayank ‘starbhai’ Taluja – ₹1,94,959
4. 666GOAT666 – ₹1,43,890
5. Mohit ‘Bullets777’ Bohra – ₹1,00,067
6. Niket ‘Danivey04’ Shah – ₹69,357
7. Kunal ‘symbolicchamp’ Agrawal – ₹56,935
8. Philip ‘Philister’ Jude – ₹45,893

*denotes a heads-up deal

NPS#189 Afterparty – ₹25 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹1,725

Entries – 917

Re-entries – 999

Prize Pool – ₹28,74,000

Places Paid – 295

It’s almost unbelievable, but after four weeks of poker pandemonium, record-smashing action, and enough headlines to fill a library, the NPS India 2025 is nearly in the rearview mirror! Sunday, Day 28, saw the last of the scheduled events play out – a loaded, five-tournament lineup and those final, precious qualifiers for the NPS#190 Golden Rush and the NPS#191 Main Event for those still dreaming of poker immortality. Only those two behemoths remain, waiting to crown their champions before the whole circus packs up and heads to the sun-drenched beaches of Goa for the National Poker Champion showdown in mid-April!

As always, PokerBaazi rolled out the ₹25 Lakhs GTD NPS#189 Afterparty as the final scheduled event of the day (and technically, the series, not counting the two remaining giants). But in a twist, the event kicked off way ahead of the usual 9:30 PM slot, starting at 8 PM.

But even with that early start, this one was a slog. A nine-hour-and-19-minute marathon that finally wrapped up after 5 AM this morning! And who was the last one standing, soaking up the glory (and the Gold Medal) was Aditya ‘gangajal’ Sushant, one of our original Young Guns, India’s first-ever WSOP bracelet winner, and a two-time The MoneyMaker champion! This was his second Gold of the series!

Sushant is a straight-up poker beast – one of those naturally gifted players who took to online poker like a fish to water, so effortlessly that he even inspired the whole Young Gun concept! And while his track record is littered with epic scores on PokerStars from way back (before PokerStars India even existed), his resume speaks for itself. But this Chennai-based crusher hadn’t been the most active on the virtual felt lately. It’s like he had been hibernating, and the NPS India 2025 was his wake-up call. He’s played most of the tournaments, landed on five final tables, and even snapped a six-month title drought on Friday, grabbing his first Gold Medal of the series (and his first medal of the year, adding to two previous Silver Medals) in the NPS#171 (PLO-5) Knockout (KO). He even came dangerously close to another medal, finishing sixth in Saturday’s NPS#184 (7-Max) SPRINT.

And, last night, he struck Gold again. Entering the NPS#189 Afterparty with a single bullet, he outlasted a gigantic field of 1,916 entries (917 unique), doubling his Gold Medal count for the series (his fourth medal overall) and pocketing a juicy ₹3.21 Lakhs!

This win was a game-changer for Sushant, catapulting him into the exclusive club of just 19 players with two or more Gold Medals this series! He’s also leapfrogged the formidable Ashish Munot (17 points) to seize the top spot on the Tamil Nadu State Leaderboard (now boasting 20 points), and just in the nick of time – on the penultimate day, in the very last scheduled event. This repeat victory has launched Sushant to #9 on the NPC Leaderboard, all but guaranteeing him a seat at that National Poker Champion faceoff in Goa next month unless one of the other top contenders pulls off a miracle by winning one of the two remaining NPS giants tonight!

Sushant’s Sunday was a poker clinic. His total haul for the day flirted around the ₹4.07 Lakhs mark, powered by deep runs in three NPS events! This surge has also propelled him to #20 on the NPS Series leaderboard, with a staggering 28,532 points from an unbelievable 120 cash finishes (out of 186 events played – that’s a solid 65% cash rate!).

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹3,21,026

> 9th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff for ₹77,130

> 106th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 Marathon for ₹9,200

Aditya Sushant’s NPS stats: Moves to #1 on the Tamil Nadu State Leaderboard | Moves to #20 on the NPS Series Leaderboard | Moves to #9 on the NPC Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 2 Gold & 2 Silver | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹40.31 Lakhs

But Sushant had to overcome a fierce final foe to reach the state leaderboard summit. Standing in his way was Sriharsha ‘Ivey2’ Doddapaneni, one of the most respected players in the country and the NPS India 2024 Sunday Kickoff Gold Medallist, who was hunting for his first medal of this series. He came agonizingly close to the Gold, too. He’s another one of those relentless grinders, and he’d already notched a near-podium finish earlier in the series, taking fifth in NPS#114 Mini HighRoller.

Doddapaneni came locked and loaded in the NPS#189 Afterparty, and he gave it everything he had. While he couldn’t quite close out the heads-up match, he finally snagged that NPS medal he’d been craving – a Silver (his first medal of the series and third overall) – and a sweet ₹2.20 Lakhs.

Sriharsha Doddapaneni’s NPS stats: Moves to #45 on the NPS Series Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Gold, 1 Silver & 1 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹43.56 Lakhs

The NPS#189 AfterParty podium was a who’s-who of regulars. Pranav ‘MeenakshiSundareshwar’ Khandalkar, a banker and poker regular with a previous Bronze, had been medal-less in this series until last night. He snatched the Bronze (his second medal overall) and ₹1.62 Lakhs.

Khandalkar also went deep in Adda52’s MMA Main Event (87th for ₹7,321), taking his total Sunday winnings close to ₹1.70 Lakhs.

Pranav Khandalkar’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52, PokerStars India and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹9.53 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.40 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #4 | NPS Medals Won: 1 Silver & 1 Bronze | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹25.75 Lakhs

With most of the sharks circling the NPS waters hard on the second-to-last day, the NPS#189 Afterparty final table was overflowing with familiar faces, including the NPS#25 (PLO-4) Gold Medallist Arunav ‘Frankie08’ Mittal (4th for ₹1.20 Lakhs), Kashish ‘realkdpoker’ Durgiya (5th for ₹83,346), NPS#62 Slamdunk Gold Medallist Navin ‘4headpoker’ (6th for ₹57,767), NPS#56 Deepdive Silver Medallist Dhrooval ‘Senseikid’ Verma (7th for ₹47,421), and Sandeep ‘Effuno’ Varma RS (8th for ₹38,224).

And just like the other NPS events of the day, the ₹1,725 buy-in NPS#189 Afterparty didn’t just hit its ₹25 Lakhs guarantee; it obliterated it by ₹3.74 Lakhs (that’s almost 15% over!). It was a payday bonanza for the 295 players who cashed, with everyone walking away with at least ₹2,874 – nearly 1.7 times the buy-in. The NPS India 2025 is clearly going out with a deafening BANG!

Final Table Results

1. Aditya ‘gangajal’ Sushant – ₹3,21,026
2. Sriharsha ‘Ivey2’ Doddapaneni – ₹2,19,574
3. Pranav ‘MeenakshiSundareshwar’ Khandalkar – ₹1,62,381
4. Arunav ‘Frankie08’ Mittal – ₹1,19,846
5. Kashish ‘realkdpoker’ Durgiya – ₹83,346
6. Navin ‘4headpoker’ – ₹57,767
7. Dhrooval ‘Senseikid’ Verma – ₹47,421
8. Sandeep ‘Effuno’ Varma RS – ₹38,224

₹10 Crores GTD NPS Main Event – Qualifier 9 (Turbo)

Q9 > Entries – 1,192 | Re-entries – 439 | Survivors – 265 | Chip Leader – ‘amitrai112000’ (876,000)

Final > Entries – 5,247 | Re-entries – 2,347 | Survivors – 702 (unique) | Overall Chip Leader – ‘Pocket_aces’ (1,533,000)

₹1 Crore GTD NPS Golden Rush – Qualifier 9 (Turbo)

Q9 > Entries – 862 | Re-entries – 495 | Survivors – 258 | Chip Leader – Sachin ‘browguy26’ Raj (372,000)

Final > Entries – 5,248 | Re-entries – 3,387 | Survivors – 996 (unique) | Overall Chip Leader – ‘Joeadam’ (788,000)

Junglee Poker

JK#8 – ₹15 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹5,750

Entries – 268

Total Prize Pool – ₹15,00,000

Regular Prize Pool – ₹8,30,000

Bounty Prize Pool – ₹6,70,000

Places Paid – 29

The IPL 2025 frenzy is in full swing, and the cricket fever is contagious! But the heat isn’t just on the cricket pitch. PokerBaazi’s gigantic ₹100 Crores GTD NPS India 2025 is in its final throes, barreling towards a dramatic conclusion tonight, with the last two NPS showstoppers set to crown their champions!

But, if you’re not in the thick of the NPS final battles, fear not; there are still plenty of opportunities. Junglee Poker has cranked up the volume with the return of its Junglee Knockout Series. This third edition is throwing down the gauntlet with over ₹1.50 Crores in guaranteed prizes. The ten-day poker extravaganza, running March 21-30, already delivered a weekend of fireworks; one player, in particular, absolutely crushed it.

We’re talking about Anmol ‘presidentkanye’ Narang, a player in a serious role. After ending 2024 strong with victories in Summit Lite, Maverick, and Sunday Big Slick, this former The Millionaire champion has clearly hit the ground running in 2025 and is not stepping on the break. He came this close to taking down The Summit in January, finishing a heartbreaking second, and scooped up a win in the Sunday Special Knockout just a month ago. His NPS campaign, while medal-free so far, has been loaded with near misses – a sixth place in the NPS#164 (PLO-6) Knockout (PKO) last Thursday and a fourth-place finish in the NPS#57 (PLO-4) three weeks back show he’s right there in the mix. But last night, he scored his second title of the year on Junglee Poker, proving that he’s a true bounty-hunting specialist.

Firing two bullets in the ₹15 Lakhs GTD JK#8, Narang faced a field of 267 other hopefuls in the 7:30 PM knockout battle. It was a marathon eight-and-a-half-hour grind, but Narang’s aggressive style paid off in spades! He seized his second victory of the year, stuffing his pockets with ₹3.02 Lakhs – and a mind-blowing ₹1.86 Lakhs of that came purely from bounties!

And the man wasn’t finished. Narang backed up the win with scores in three more events, including two NPS cashes. All told it was a pretty epic Sunday, resulting in almost ₹3.32 Lakhs added to his account. That performance puts him tantalizingly close to joining the elite ‘₹5 Crores Club’ in tracked online winnings. And get this – he’s also sitting on a nice stack for the gigantic NPS#191 Main Event finale tonight.

> 1st in Junglee Poker’s JK#8 for ₹3,02,494* (₹1,85,878 in bounties)

> 50th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 Marathon for ₹17,200

> 44th in Adda52’s MMA Highroller for ₹6,353

> 142nd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹5,866

> Made Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s NPS#191 Main Event (Qualifier 8)

Anmol Narang’s online stats (excluding Natural8 India, Junglee Poker and Pocket52): Lifetime Winnings: ₹4.89 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹67.04 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #2 (across all platforms)

While Narang was busy writing his winner’s tale, the mysterious ‘the_kid90‘ was making some serious moves. The two went head-to-head for the JK#8 title, with ‘the_kid90’ eventually taking the runner-up spot, good for a very impressive ₹1.29 Lakhs – their personal best on the site (₹13,047 in bounties).

Meanwhile, mid-stakes expert Manish ‘manish jangid’ Jangid, riding high from a Saturday Head Shot Bounty win on Adda52, kept the good times rolling. He snagged a fourth-place finish in the JK#8, raking in ₹77,269 (₹9,375 in bounties).

The ₹5,750 buy-in JK#8 delivered some serious bang for the buck with a juicy ₹1.60 Lakhs overlay. The top 29 players got a slice of the ₹8.30 Lakhs prize pool, and the KOs collected from a tempting ₹6.70 Lakhs bounty pool. It all added to another Sunday of pure poker adrenaline on Junglee Poker, and – brace yourselves – there’s an entire week of non-stop bounty-hunting action still to unfold!

Final Table Results (Including Bounties)

1. Anmol ‘presidentkanye’ Narang – ₹3,02,494
2. the_kid90 – ₹1,29,496
3. serbronn – ₹1,21,892
4. Manish ‘manish jangid’ Jangid – ₹77,269
5. vabss – ₹76,528
6. harsh566-1 – ₹55,353
7. roronoa – ₹55,925
8. mangat765 – ₹29,573

The other Knockout Series title winners of the day included ‘dracogossa33’ (Won ₹4 Lakhs GTD JK#9 for ₹1 Lakh), ‘silly guy’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD JK#7 for ₹42,084).

‘sdnmv7’ won the ₹60K GTD Hangover for ₹11,712.

Adda52

MMA Main Event – ₹25 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹2,200

Entries –659

Re-entries – 351

Rebuy – 31

Survivors – 133

Prize Pool – ₹25,00,000

Places Paid – 133

Even outside the insane frenzy of PokerBaazi’s ₹100 Crores GTD NPS India 2025, Adda52 served up a week-long poker feast, bringing back the ₹1.50 Crores GTD Masterminds Arena, and it all wrapped up in an explosive Sunday finale.

With nine tournaments and a whopping ₹44.75 Lakhs in guaranteed prizes, the MMA finale was a true poker spectacle. And with over a dozen other signature events firing off on #Adda52, the total guarantees for Sunday soared past a phenomenal ₹90 Lakhs!

But the real headliner who stole the show was Aniruddha ‘Pocketaces69’ Joshi, the popular poker streamer on a mission to conquer a ₹1 Crore profit challenge in 2025! And on Sunday, he took a big step forward by demolishing the ₹25 Lakhs GTD MMA Main Event! This tournament was a beast, attracting a gigantic field of 1,041 entries (659 unique) across nine starting flights (March 17 to 23). The 133 survivors converged for the finale at 10 PM last night, and Joshi, like a true poker warrior, outlasted them all in an epic showdown, claiming his fourth title of the year and a sweet ₹4.18 Lakhs payday.

But Joshi wasn’t finished. He kept his foot on the gas, adding another cash in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 #Marathon (160th, for ₹6,800), pushing his total Sunday haul to an impressive almost ₹4.25 Lakhs.

Aniruddha Joshi’s online stats (excluding Natural8 India, Junglee Poker and Pocket52): Lifetime Winnings: ₹2.69 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹55.49 Lakhs | Titles Won in 2025: #4

Mohsin ‘gongo’ Shaikh has been on a breakout run in March, and he kept that blazing momentum going on Sunday. He’s already snagged his career-best win in NPS#168 Super High Roller last Wednesday. In the MMA Main Event, he came this close to another massive victory, finishing runner-up for a still very respectable ₹3.01 Lakhs.

A well-known name in the poker circuit, a former The MoneyMaker 85.0 champion who played a pivotal role in Deccan Aces‘ record-breaking victory in the Pocket52 PSL Season 6 last year, Shaikh has really cranked up the intensity in the late stages of this year’s NPS. Not long after his MMA Main Event near-miss, he almost clinched the Gold Medal in PokerBaazi’s ₹30 Lakhs GTD NPS#187 Sunday Smash, striking a heads-up deal with “High Roller Specialist” Karan Sitlani to walk away with the lion’s share of the prize pool, a hefty ₹3.26 Lakhs—his third-biggest score ever on the platform—and his first NPS Silver Medal (his second medal overall). But Shaikh still wasn’t done.

Shaikh kept the party rolling, adding three more deep runs to his already impressive Sunday resume, with his total winnings that one day just shy of ₹6.45 Lakhs, and also locked up a seat for Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s NPS#191 MainEvent!

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹3,26,321* (heads-up deal)

> 2nd in Adda52’s MMA Main Event for ₹3,00,611

> 127th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 Marathon for ₹6,800

> 50th in Adda52’s MMA High Roller for ₹6,353

> 171st in PokerBaazi’s NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹4,886

> Made Day 2 in PokerBaazi’s NPS#191 Main Event (Qualifier 9 – Turbo)

Mohsin Shaikh‘s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52 and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹4.05 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹1.46 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #3 | Moves to #1 on the Goa State Leaderboard | Moves to #14 on the NPC Leaderboard | NPS Medals Won: 1 Gold & 1 Silver | Lifetime NPS Winnings: ₹47.46 Lakhs

Guneet ‘guntz’ Kwatra, a recreational player who crushed it as the August 2020 AOPS Mini Main Event champion, rounded out the MMA Main Event podium in third place, banking a cool ₹2.16 Lakhs. And just for kicks, he also crashed the Adda52 Millions final table, finishing sixth. With another deep run, his Sunday earnings totalled almost ₹3.52 Lakhs.

> 3rd in Adda52’s MMA Main Event for ₹2,16,266

> 6th in Adda52 Millions for ₹1,24,071

> 12th in Adda52’s MMA Highroller for ₹11,474

The MMA Main Event final table was a shark tank featuring heavy hitters like the recent NPS#182 Saturday Slamdunk finalist Samyak ‘stonedurr’ Sethi (4th for ₹1.56 Lakhs), last night’s NPS#186 #Marathon finalist Young Gun Shardul ‘vamos96’ Parthasarathi (5th for ₹1.12 Lakhs), the always dangerous Mohak ‘sparkie’ Kapoor (6th for ₹80,6670), and Mayank ‘AreyBetaRaise’ Maruka (7th for ₹58,125).

Like the other Adda52 headliners, even the MMA Main Event, despite its accessible ₹2,200 buy-in, recorded a massive ₹5.85 Lakhs in overlays! This meant insane value for everyone who participated, with the promised ₹25 Lakhs prize pool showering prizes on the top 133 finishers. Everyone who cashed got a sweet piece of the action, with even a min-cash earning a respectable ₹6,364 – almost triple the buy-in! It was a spectacular finish to another wildly successful Masterminds Arena series.

Final Table Results

1. Aniruddha ‘Pocketaces69’ Joshi – ₹4,18,022
2. Mohsin ‘gongo’ Shaikh – ₹3,00,611
3. Guneet ‘guntz’ Kwatra – ₹2,16,266
4. Samyak ‘stonedurr’ Sethi – ₹1,55,622
5. Shardul ‘vamos96’ Parthasarathi – ₹1,12,018
6. Mohak ‘sparkie’ Kapoor – ₹80,667
7. Mayank ‘AreyBetaRaise’ Maruka – ₹58,125
8. DilipKumar007 – ₹41,917

Sunday Head Hunter – ₹20 Lakhs GTD

Buy-in – ₹5,750

Entries – 161

Re-entries – 153

Re-buys – 10

Total Prize Pool – ₹20,00,000

Regular Prize Pool – ₹11,90,000

Bounty Prize Pool – ₹8,10,000

Places Paid – 47

While the IPL 2025 doubleheader and the high-octane penultimate day of the NPS India 2025 were sucking up all the oxygen on Sunday – with players scrambling like mad for those last precious medals and leaderboard points to get to the National Poker Champion showdown in Goa, Adda52 still managed to throw a haymaker with its own menu of Sunday signature tournaments. Sure, the MMA Main Event and the Adda52 Millions were the main attractions, but the ₹20 Lakhs GTD Sunday Head Hunter also turned heads—not just for the prize money, but for the sheer star power it attracted.

And in this 8 PM slugfest, it was none other than the incredibly popular veteran, Natural8 India’s Executive Director and Brand Ambassador, Kunal ‘FloatToMyBoat’ Patni, who finally landed that knockout blow! Like many in the Indian poker scene, Patni’s been on a relentless quest for NPS glory, coming so close with a Silver in the NPS#46 (PLO-4) Megadive and a Bronze in the NPS#108 Monday Medley! But that Gold Medal had been taunting him, staying just out of reach. So, on Sunday, Patni decided to shake things up, jumping into a few Adda52 tournaments – and BAM! – that decision was pure gold.

He charged into the 8 PM Sunday Head Hunter and steamrolled a field of 324 entries (161 unique), taking it down for the first time and pocketing a sweet ₹4.58 Lakhs. This included a hefty ₹2.31 Lakhs in bounties! This was his second-largest score of 2025, and it finally broke the title hex that had been dogging him for three long months, a period filled with heartbreaking near-misses.

It was a banner day all around for Patni, as he also cashed in three NPS events, resulting in a total haul that danced around the ₹5.24 Lakhs neighbourhood.

> 1st in Adda52’s Sunday Head Hunter for ₹4,57,623* (₹2,31,396 in bounties)

> 53rd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#188 Sunday Marathon for ₹43,812

> 32nd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹12,358

> 57th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹10,006

Kunal Patni’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52, PokerStars India and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹11.67 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹3.23 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #1 | Annual Winnings: ₹33.08 Lakhs

Adding even more firepower to the Sunday Head Hunter’s final showdown was the legendary three-time POY and the winningest player on our tracked database, Young Gun Gaurav ‘BuildPuntOK’ Sood, who’d already snagged that Gold Medal in NPS#106 (PLO-5) just two weeks ago. Like Patni, Sood was gunning for his first Sunday Head Hunter title, but he had to settle for the runner-up spot again (he’d finished second in last Sunday’s Adda52 Millions), earning ₹2.18 Lakhs (₹51,955 in bounties).

But Sood’s a grinder through and through. He also went deep in the Adda52 Millions, aiming for redemption, but fell just three spots short of the top, collecting ₹2.17 Lakhs for his fourth-place exit. When all was said and done, Sood cashed in seven events, making his Sunday grind worth almost ₹4.97 Lakhs in total winnings.

> 2nd in Adda52’s Sunday Head Hunter for ₹2,17,783* (₹51,955 in bounties)

> 4th in the Adda52 Millions for ₹2,16,837

> 17th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#187 Sunday Smash for ₹26,224

> 21st in Adda52’s MMA Main Event for ₹11,528

> 102nd in PokerBaazi’s NPS#186 Marathon for ₹9,200

> 59th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#189 Afterparty for ₹8,335

> 264th in PokerBaazi’s NPS#185 Sunday Kickoff for ₹7,012

Gaurav Sood’s online stats (PokerBaazi, Adda52, PokerStars India and Spartan Poker): Lifetime Winnings: ₹23.35 Crores | Lifetime Profits: ₹12.08 Crores | Titles Won in 2025: #7 | Annual Winnings: ₹76.27 Lakhs | Moves to #18 on #PokerBaazi’s 2025 POY Leaderboard

The final table of the Sunday Head Hunter was a straight-up shark tank, packed with some of the most feared and consistent crushers in the Indian poker scene, including the four-time medalist at this year’s NPS, Shagun ‘sogani94’ Jain (3rd for ₹1.38 Lakhs), last week’s Sunday Head Hunter champion Rubin ‘kornkif’ Labroo (4th for ₹1.02 Lakhs), Siddharth ‘kab00m’ Gangwar (5th for ₹92,340), the ever-dangerous Myron ‘zzzzz369’ Pereira (6th for ₹60,840), Saturday’s Head Shot Bounty finalist Dhaval ‘faizal1506’ Doshi (7th for ₹46,027), and last night’s Adda52 Millions finalist Arun ‘ShahidKapoorAfridi’ Kumar (8th for ₹37,751).

With all the buzz around the NPS India 2025 and cricket fever pulling some players away from the tables, overlays were the name of the game, and even the ₹5,750 buy-in Sunday Head Hunter couldn’t escape, falling a substantial ₹3.80 Lakhs short of its ₹20 Lakhs guarantee. The value was insane, especially for the top 47 finishers who cashed, each walking away with at least ₹8,391 – over 1.5 times their initial investment. Bottom line: Adda52 once again delivered a weekend overflowing with action and insane value!

Final Table Results (Includes Bounties)

1. Kunal ‘FloatToMyBoat’ Patni – ₹4,57,623
2. Gaurav ‘BuildPuntOK’ Sood – ₹2,17,783
3. Shagun ‘sogani94’ Jain – ₹1,37,646
4. Rubin ‘kornkif’ Labroo – ₹1,01,597
5. Siddharth ‘kab00m’ Gangwar – ₹92,340
6. Myron ‘zzzzz369’ Pereira – ₹60,840
7. Dhaval ‘faizal1506’ Doshi – ₹46,027
8. Arun ‘ShahidKapoorAfridi’ Kumar – ₹37,751

‘Elaappa3388’ won the ₹25 Lakhs GTD Adda52 Millions for ₹5.01 Lakhs.

The other Masterminds Arena title winners of the day included Gunisha ‘obimikel’ Sinha (Won ₹10 Lakhs GTD MMA Highroller for ₹1.69 Lakhs), ‘Takut007’ (Won ₹3 Lakhs GTD MMA PKO 6-Max for ₹68,254), Janish ‘Janish1998’ Jain (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD MMA Monster Stack for ₹46,229), ‘Arch1806’ (Won ₹1.25 Lakhs GTD MMA Mystery Bounty for ₹27,560), ‘firoz11’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD MMA PKO for ₹21,183), ‘rjthegod’ (Won ₹50K GTD MMA PLO4 Bounty for ₹17,728), and ‘noobmonkey’ (Won ₹75K GTD MMA Turbo 6-Max for ₹15,149).

Pocket52

‘Rajlodhi’ won the ₹10 Lakhs GTD Pocket Kings for ₹2.21 Lakhs.

Spartan Poker

‘pokergur’ (Won ₹2 Lakhs GTD Spotlight for ₹44,400), ‘Neel18’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Monster Turbo for ₹33,300), ‘jaan99’ (Won ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD Moster Stack for ₹36,900), and ‘MisterCool’ (Won ₹1 Lakh GTD Daily Kickoff for ₹22,200) won the Sunday marquees on Spartan Poker.

Keep following PokerGuru for daily updates on the biggest winners across the major domestic networks!