This Week in Poker: December 25 – 31

Welcome to our 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!

Happy New Year, everyone! The holiday season was on fire for the poker community, thanks to the 2024 WSOP Paradise, 2024 WPT World Championship Wynn Las Vegas, and 2024 PokerStars EPT Prague lighting up the live felts in early December. But as the month wound down, the live poker buzz chilled out—though the online action stayed red-hot.

After PokerBaazi’s colossal ₹35 Crores GTD WPT India Online wrapped up on December 23, things slowed a smidge on the virtual tables as folks spent quality time with loved ones. But in those final days of the year, a fierce tug-of-war ignited between POY contenders Anant Purohit and Nishaanth Shamnmughasundaram.

When the dust settled, it was Anant Purohit who claimed the year’s last “PokerGuru Star of the Week” crown, stacking up a jaw-dropping ₹33.07 Lakhs in weekly winnings. Known as the ‘Silent Assassin,’ Purohit found his sweet spot on Natural8 India, where he raked in a monumental ₹23.91 Lakhs by finishing third in Saturday’s Bounty Hunters HR 525. He kept his heater going with a runner-up finish in PokerBaazi’s BSS Superstack for ₹5.41 Lakhs, plus two additional deep runs, comfortably securing top honors in the weekly charts.

Hot on his heels, Nishaanth Shamnmughasundaram ended the year with a bang of his own, pocketing ₹22.30 Lakhs. After snagging third place in Natural8 India’s Bounty Hunters HR Mystery Paradise 525 in early December, Nishaanth announced he’d be stepping away from the tables for the rest of 2024 to gear up for an even bigger 2025. But plans changed in a flash—he couldn’t resist the thrill of competition. Over the weekend, he dove back in for a podium finish in Natural8 India’s Saturday Santa’s Secret KO 150, locking up a handsome ₹15.71 Lakhs. He then booked a runner-up spot in PokerBaazi’s The Endeavour for another ₹5.99 Lakhs on New Year’s Eve, sealing his status as the second-highest earner of the week.

Purohit and Nishaanth weren’t the only ones setting the online felts ablaze. The likes of Nishant Kumar, Young Gun Hardik Nair, Amit Kaushik, Mukesh Surana, Satyam Verma, Shreyansh Sharma, Advait Rajguru, Suraj Bhan, M Jimmy, and Surbhit Grover also made powerful statements, proving once again that India’s poker scene is brimming with unstoppable talent.

Top Online Winners of the Week

Get ready to leave 2024 in the dust, because 2025 is coming in hot with a blockbuster lineup of poker action! First up: the National Poker Series (NPS) India 2025, returning to PokerBaazi from February 23 to March 24 and dishing out a staggering ₹100 Crores in guaranteed prizes across 191 events. This record-shattering series includes 21 tournaments boasting ₹1 Crore in guarantees each, with headliners like the ₹10 Crore GTD NPS Main Event and the ₹1 Crore GTD Golden Rush. Brace yourselves: with so many colossal prize pools, NPS 2025 is set to be India’s biggest-ever poker festival!

Meanwhile, PokerStars is set to shake up European poker with the all-new PokerStars Open (PSO) in 2025. By merging popular tours like the UK & Ireland Poker Tour and Eureka Poker Tour, PSO debuts six big stops—including three fresh locales. Each Main Event carries a €1,100/£1,100 buy-in and a massive €1 Million/£1 Million guarantee, with key stops in Campione, Dublin, Cannes, and tie-ins to EPT favorites in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

On top of that, PokerGO has boosted its broadcasting prowess by acquiring PokerGFX, a top-tier real-time poker graphics and stats platform. Known for its seamless integration of live data, PokerGFX will elevate coverage of the PokerGO Tour, WSOP livestreams, and exclusive PokerGO Studio events—offering sharper insights and richer visuals. Existing PokerGFX customers can expect a smooth transition as the partnership paves the way for even more innovative and immersive poker entertainment.

This concludes this week’s round-up of the latest news and developments from the world of poker. We will return next week with another weekly report. Stay tuned