This Week in Poker: April 16 – 22

Welcome to the latest edition of ‘This Week in Poker,’ where we bring you the most significant online scores by Indian MTT players and the top stories from both the live and online poker circuits. Here are this week’s highlights!

With live poker action hitting top gear alongside the usual online grind, this past week felt like a full-blown poker whirlwind, setting both the live and virtual arenas ablaze. All eyes turned to Goa, where India celebrated its first-ever National Poker Champion, sending ripples of excitement through the community and creating a landmark occasion in Indian poker history.

Internationally, Poker Dream 17 Malaysia penned another successful entry for Asian grinders, while across the globe, the 2025 U.S. Poker Open, known for its elite fields, brought intense competition for high rollers.

Back on home soil, the digital felt buzzed with activity. In an interesting turn, Adda52 grabbed the Sunday spotlight, outperforming regular heavyweights like PokerBaazi and Natural8 India thanks to its newly revamped tournament schedule featuring bigger guarantees. For the remainder of the week, however, PokerBaazi and Natural8 India held their ground with consistent flagship results.

Junglee Poker cranked up the excitement with its ₹50 Crores GTD Battle Ground series finding its ₹50 Lakhs GTD BG Main Event winner on Sunday. Simultaneously, PokerDangal wrapped up its ₹60 Lakhs GTD Dangal Value Series, where the ₹25 Lakhs GTD DVS Main Event didn’t just meet expectations but comfortably surpassed its guarantee.

History Made: Mohit Bohra Crowned India’s Inaugural National Poker Champion!

The biggest headline belongs to Mohit Bohra! Last Thursday in Goa, the player from Gujarat etched his name into Indian poker history, becoming the country’s first-ever National Poker Champion. Outlasting 11 other elite state champions over four days of intense match-play at the Novotel Resort & Spa (streamed live on JioHotstar with PokerGuru updates!), Bohra claimed the monumental ₹1 Crore top prize!

His path was legendary: Bohra played all 191 events at NPS India 2025, cashing 126 times (~₹36.96 Lakhs earned), winning five medals (3 Gold, 2 Silver), and collecting ₹10 Lakhs in leaderboard payouts before sealing the deal in Goa. His victory also triggered a ₹1 Crore “NPC State Freeroll” for Gujarat players (April 26, 7 PM). Sreekanth Narayan put up a commendable fight to finish as the runner-up, while Ankit Wadhawan, who started the finale with the chip advantage, finished third. Bohra’s triumph confirmed his place in history and deservedly makes him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Poker Dream 17 Malaysia: Sharma, Jolly & Nasa Lead Strong Indian Showing

Shifting gears to the Asian poker circuit, Poker Dream 17 Malaysia wrapped up its 12-day festival at Resorts World Genting on April 21. Though the Indian contingent arrived late to the party, they put together a solid showing, tallying 32 cashes, 10 final table appearances, a title, and another runner-up finish, adding another chapter to India’s successful history on the Poker Dream tour.

Leading the Indian charge once again was Poker Dream legend Nishant Sharma. The three-time Poker Dream Main Event champ cashed three times, his series earnings reaching a blistering ₹81.84 Lakhs, the highest by any Indian at the stop. His biggest hit came in Event #54: MYR 12K Mystery Bounty High Roller, where a third-place finish yielded ₹60.15 Lakhs, including a massive ₹42.92 Lakhs bounty haul (the event’s largest!).

Siddharth Jolly also had a great series, cashing four times for ₹34.96 Lakhs, highlighted by a runner-up finish in Event #8: MYR 2.1K Mystery Big Bounty worth ₹30.11 Lakhs (where he also had the biggest bounty total).

The lone Indian title went to Akshay Nasa. He took down Event #53: MYR 2.7K Monster Stack, claiming ₹20.54 Lakhs. This stands as his biggest live score of 2025 and his second Poker Dream trophy.

Team India Scorecard at Poker Dream 17 Malaysia

The MYR 5 Million GTD Main Event drew 1,974 entries. Singapore’s Dingxiang Ong navigated this massive field to claim the title and MYR 771,781 after a heads-up deal with China’s Zuyou Wang (MYR 755,555).

Six Indian players cashed in the Main Event, led by Alok Birewar (19th for ₹7.30 Lakhs). He was followed by Deepak Bothra (22nd for ₹6.25 Lakhs), Nishant Sharma (65th for ₹2.23 Lakhs), Nikesh Chawla (82nd for ₹1.96 Lakhs), Siddharth Jolly (111th for ₹1.76 Lakhs), and Jatin Sablani (114th for ₹1.76 Lakhs).

Online Action: Tarun Goyal Extends POY Lead

While live poker grabbed many headlines, the online grind continued intensely, and Tarun Goyal made sure everyone remembered who’s boss! The reigning 2024 Player of the Year stormed back after a brief two-week breather with a Monday night tear. He finished fifth in Natural8 India’s Bounty Hunters 525 for a staggering ₹22.81 Lakhs – his third-biggest score of 2025. This pushed Goyal’s 2025 winnings to an incredible ₹4.70 Crores, extending his lead over second-placed Anant Purohit (₹3.73 Crores).

Other Online Standouts

It wasn’t just Goyal crushing online. Other notable players putting up big scores during the week included Snehil Aggarwal, Dhinesh Kumar, Aniket Waghmare, Siddhanth Kapoor, Naresh Veeravalli, Pranay Chawla, Kartik Ahuja, Lavesh Meena, and Yash Jaiswal.

Notable Online Winners of the Week

What’s Coming Up: The MoneyMaker Returns, WPT Hits Bangkok!

Building on the excitement of the National Poker Champion finale, PokerBaazi is preparing for a massive May with the return of its iconic tournament, The MoneyMaker. Scheduled daily from May 1 to 31 at 7:30 PM, this legendary event boasts a ₹1 Crore guarantee every single night for a ₹10,000 buy-in. Each winner will also receive The MoneyMaker championship bracelet. Following the roaring success of April 2024’s The MoneyMaker Mania, this is only the second time the tournament will run daily for a whole month, presenting 31 opportunities for glory and ₹31 Crores in guaranteed prizes.

In major regional news, the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced its debut in Bangkok with WPT Prime Thailand. With backing from Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism & Sports, the move highlights the country’s ambition to become a centre for mind sports – and potentially casino tourism, as plans for entertainment zones are being developed. Supported by the government and plans to host 3-4 WPT events annually, Thailand is setting its sights on a billion-baht poker industry expansion. Players can utilise WPT Global India Passport Dollars for all related expenses, with specific event details anticipated shortly.

Industry Buzz: Barbero Out at ACR, Massive BBJ Hits!

ACR Poker officially parted ways with ambassador Nacho Barbero after a string of controversial incidents. The final straw appeared to be Barbero’s remarks during the 2025 U.S. Poker Open live stream, where he was heard seemingly mocking ACR’s anti-cheating measures. CEO Phil Nagy cited a “fundamental misalignment” with the brand`s core values. This followed an earlier incident in which Barbero was caught with GTO Wizard open while playing.

At ACR Poker we take our game integrity and our responsibility to ensure a fair and competitive environment for all players seriously.
We expect the same from the ambassadors who represent our brand. That expectation has been tested a lot this year and in light of recent comments…

— ACR Poker (@ACR_POKER) April 17, 2025

Déjà vu struck in Quebec on April 16! Casino du Lac-Leamy‘s OK Poker Lounge triggered the second-largest Bad Beat Jackpot ever—CAD 2.51 Million ($1.81 Million)! A $1/$3 NLH game saw quad tens lose to a straight flush, awarding the ‘losing’ player CAD 1+ million and spreading payouts across 46 players.

Shorr Shines Captures U.S. Poker Open Series Championship in Dramatic Finale!

On the international circuit, the 2025 U.S. Poker Open finished dramatically at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. Shannon Shorr distinguished himself at the series and claimed the overall championship in a down-to-the-wire finish. Shorr won two titles: first, Event #5: $10,100 NLHE ($220,400), and then the series finale, Event #8: $25,200 NLHE. In the final event, he defeated Nacho Barbero heads-up to collect $529,250, claiming his sixth career PGT title (an incredible fourth this year), the Golden Eagle trophy and the $25,000 PGT Passport!

The final heads-up match was more than just a contest for prize money; it decided the overall series championship. Shorr required the victory to overtake Matthew Wantman’s 512 points, and he did exactly that, finishing with 538 points and $749,650 in series earnings. Wantman finished second overall, while Barbero’s late surge placed him third with 402 points.

Around the World: Other Live Title Winners

Other notable live title winners of the week included Boris Kolev (Won Merit Poker Classic Millions $10,400 Merit Millions Event for $1 Million), Simon Wilson (Irish Poker Open Main Event for €600,000), Steve Buell (Won WSOPC Grand Victoria Main Event for $175,684), Robbie Toan (Won Irish Open €10K Super High Roller for €163,800), Bee Yang Scores (Won MSPT Minnesota Poker State Championship for $140,288), Deddi Orpaz Captures (Won SiGMA Brazil Poker Main Event for $58,700), and Beomhui Kang (Won PokerStars Okada Millions Main Event for ₱1,305,000).

With this, we conclude this week’s roundup of the latest news updates and developments from the world of poker. We will return next week with our weekly report. Stay tuned.