This Week in Poker: February 17 – 23

In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker,’ we bring you the weekly roundup of the most significant online scores by Indian MTT players and the top stories from both the live and online poker circuit.

Here are this week’s top stories!

We are now in the final week of February, and the month seems to be ending on a strong note. As has been the case since the start of 2021, online poker dominated the action.

With both Spartan Poker and Adda52 running ₹1 Crore GTD tournaments over the weekend, it turned out to be a spectacular Sunday. Adda52`s Full House Finale awarded the week`s single-biggest payout worth ₹21 Lakhs to Devrat Singh. He FT-ed two other tourneys this past week, banking ₹25.31 Lakhs. For his phenomenal weekly run, Singh is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Singh is presently ranked #32 on the annual leaderboard with ₹38.72 Lakhs (₹25.79 Lakhs in profit) in total earnings in 2021.

The former WPT India champion Alok Birewar placed #2 on the list of top winners of the week. And getting him there was his trailblazing run in Spartan Poker`s third Millionaire edition this month, worth a career-best ₹16.97 Lakhs.

Manish Lakhotia, Myron Pereira, Manish Gandhi, PokerGuru Ambassadors Arjanveer Singh Chaddha, Ashish Munot, Devvrat Arya, and Laksh Pal Singh were the week`s other top winners.

PokerStars India’s ‘Star of the Month’ February leaderboard race closed out Week #4 on Sunday with online phenom Sanat Mehrotra headlining the 25 qualifiers moving into the Finale. Armaan Kochhar came out on top in the February Finale on Wednesday to become the “Star of the Month” – February. He won MTT tickets worth ₹1.15 Lakhs and a PokerStars India branded goodie bag. Amar B Iyer finished runner-up to win ₹35K worth in tournament tickets.

India`s first-ever virtual poker league, the Pocket52 PSL Season 3 (Virtual), is now in the books. A spectacular performance by Vaibhav Sharma secured the Deccan Aces the PSL champion`s title, while MPL Mumbai Anchors came in second and PokerDangal Kolkata Kings finished third. You can watch the replay of the season on the VOOT app.

Spartan Poker ‘FABruary’ promotions kept the poker community entertained with a Millionaire tourney every weekend this month. With the final Millionaire event set to culminate on February 28, the site has announced its plans for the coming month. The site`s popular Final Table Series (FTS) will be returning for a second edition from March 7 to 14 next month. Comprising of 25 events, the series boasts of jaw-dropping ₹10 Crores in prize pool guarantees. The series, like its predecessor, will host eight featured events that will be live-streamed across multiple platforms, with a wide range of national and internationally renowned commentators calling the action.

While the FTS 2.0 is still a while away, for now, poker enthusiasts can focus on the Moneycontrol Poker for People (PFP) promotion running on Spartan Poker. Mega Qualifiers to this one-of-a-kind tourney have been underway since February 24 and will run daily until February 27. The PFP tourney takes place on February 28 and guarantees ₹25 Lakhs in prize money.

Asia’s largest online poker room, Natural8, is running a massive $7 Million giveaway through its “Honeymoon for Newcomers” promotion all through February.

Moving to the live poker circuit, the dark clouds seem to have finally parted. After almost a year of waiting, the first domestic live tournament series has been announced. Deltin Royale will be hosting “India’s Most Buzzing Poker Tournament” – the DPT Xpress next month. Even though the final schedule is still unknown, the series is slated to run from March 11 to 14 and will be the first live poker series in Goa since the COVID-19 induced lockdown.

In other news, The Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his state cabinet, on February 17, granted another six-month extension to offshore casinos operating from the Mandovi river off Panaji.

After Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Karnataka might become the next state to ban real-money online gaming. In the latest hearing of the petition demanding a statewide ban on online betting before the Karnataka High Court, the state government informed a division bench of the court that it would be bringing in legislation to regulate online betting. The government has sought six weeks to respond so as to table a proposal for the proposed legislation before the state cabinet.

With the cricket season back in full swing, fantasy operators have renewed their marketing efforts. The renowned Indian cricketer and legendary test batsman VVS Laxman has been roped in as the latest addition to the fantasy gaming company My11Circle as part of its ‘Play with Champions’ group of ambassadors.

Prominent Asian poker operator Poker King sponsored the World Poker Tour (WPT) Spring Festival. The series concluded on February 22 with the ¥2,000 (~$300) buy-in Main Event crowning “DannyAce66” as the champion. The mystery player traversed a field of 3,505 entries to win the ¥1,750,000 (~$270,305) top prize and the Baccarat Crystal trophy.

Live-action is back in Asia, with the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Taiwan now in full swing. Kun Han Lee shipped the series-opener NT$500K GTD APT Taichung Mini Main Event for NT$332,200 (~$11,900), along with the APT Champion’s Ring and the APT Golden Lion Trophy.

Online Railbird Report

Online reg Devrat Singh topped the weekly charts after his blazing run across the 1,892-player field in Adda52’s ₹1 Crore GTD Full House this past weekend. Singh banked a career-best ₹21 Lakhs in the tourney and lapped up ₹25.31 Lakhs through the week, making his debut appearance as our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

His top finishes include:

– 1^st in the Full House Finale ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹21 Lakhs

– 5^th in the Maverick for ₹75,000

– 2^nd in the Ultimate DST ₹1 Lakh GTD for ₹26,616

MTT specialist Alok Birewar finally got his hands on the coveted Millionaire title on Sunday. Birewar banked ₹16.97 Lakhs in the Spartan Poker flagship and ended up cashing ₹17.65 Lakhs over the week.

His top finishes include:

-1^st in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹16.97 Lakhs

Manish Lakhotia has persisted with his phenomenal form. He cashed almost ₹19.50 Lakhs this past week, which included winning The Big Deal alongside another three FT finishes. He currently sits on over ₹81.76 Lakhs (₹19 Lakhs net profit) in recorded winnings in 2021 – ranking #4 in the annual leaderboard standings.

His top finishes include:

– 1^st in The Big Deal ₹35 Lakhs GTD for ₹8.66 Lakhs

– 2^nd in The Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTD for ₹2.71 Lakhs

– 3rd in Destiny ₹23 Lakhs GTD for ₹2.38 Lakhs

– 2^nd in the Mega Stack 16 Lakhs GTD Millionaire Bubble for ₹1.96 Lakhs

– 21st in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹1.04 Lakhs

Myron Pereira might have missed out on winning the Full House Finale, but he deserves a prominent mention among the top winners of the week. The online reg FT-ed three tourneys this past week, adding up to ₹19.37 Lakhs in total earnings.

His top finishes include:

– 2^nd in the Full House ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹14.32 Lakhs

– 4th in the Godfather for ₹1.87 Lakhs

– 3rd in The Endeavour ₹12 Lakhs GTD for ₹1.20 Lakhs

PokerGuru Ambassador Arjanveer Singh Chaddha won The Ballers title for the third time on Adda52. He rounded out the week with ₹12.98 Lakhs in total earnings. Chaddha is ranked #7 on the 2021-leaderboard standings and is among four PokerGuru Staking members in the top 10.

His top finishes include:

-1^st in The Ballers for ₹5.62 Lakhs

-2^nd in the Adda52 Millions ₹25 Lakhs GTD for ₹4 Lakhs

-4^th in the Trending Thursday ₹16 Lakhs GTD for ₹1.36 Lakhs

Chadha`s teammate Ashish Munot made the top scorers list yet again. Munot ran deep in two Spartan Poker flagships to rake in almost ₹12.37 Lakhs this week. He is currently ranked #3 in the annual leaderboard standings with ₹83.97 Lakhs in recorded earnings this year.

His top finishes include:

– 3^rd in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹6.85 Lakhs

– 2^nd in The Elite ₹30 lakhs GTD for ₹5.21 Lakhs

Here are the other seven-figure scores of the past week, their cumulative scores, and their best finishes:

> Manish Gandhi: Won ₹12.13 Lakhs, Best Finish: 3^rd in the Full House Finale ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹9 Lakhs

> borntrouble: Won ₹12.07 Lakhs, Best Finish: 4^th in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹12.07 Lakhs

> Devvrat Arya: Won ₹10.76 Lakhs, Best Finish: 1^st in The Elite ₹30 Lakhs GTD for ₹5.22 Lakhs

>Armaan Kochhar: Won ₹10.68 Lakhs, Best Finish: 2^nd in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹9.40 Lakhs

> Laksh Pal Singh: Won ₹10.08 Lakhs, Best Finish: 1^st in The Mint ₹15 Lakhs GTD for ₹3.75 Lakhs

Notable Winners of the Week

Sanat Mehrotra & Amar Iyer Headline the Last Batch of 25 Qualifiers Moving Into the February Finale

MTT reg Sanat Mehrotra topped the final batch of 25 qualifiers securing their seat into the PokerStars India “Star of the Month” – February Finale. The Finale saw 100 qualifiers converging for a shot to win MTT tickets worth ₹1.15 Lakhs, which Armaan Kochhar eventually won. The runner-up, Amar B Iyer, received ₹35,000 worth of MTT tickets.

Read the complete report here

Spartan Poker to Host ₹10 Crores GTD FTS 2.0 From March 7-14

Spartan Poker has unveiled details of the second edition of its popular Final Table Series (FTS). The 25-event series runs from March 7 to 14 and guarantees a whopping ₹10 Crores.

Read the complete report here

Spartan Poker Collaborates with Moneycontrol for Poker for People Promotion Ft. ₹25 Lakhs in Prizes

Spartan Poker has joined hands with Moneycontrol to host the Moneycontrol Poker for People (PFP) promotion. To bring the game to a new segment of players, Spartan Poker will be hosting a generous ₹25 Lakhs guaranteed free-to-play tournament on February 28. Mega Qualifiers to the tournament will be running at 8 PM daily from February 24 to 27.

Read the complete report here

Natural8 is Giving Away $7 Million in February

Asia’s largest online poker room, Natural8, is handing out a jaw-dropping $7 Million through its February offerings.

Read the complete report here

Deccan Aces Win Pocket52 PSL Season 3 (Virtual), MPL Mumbai Anchors Finish Second

India`s first-ever virtual poker league, the Pocket52 PSL Season 3 (Virtual), wrapped up on Saturday with the Deccan Aces captained by Kunal Patni walking away as the champions. The team had won the inaugural Virtual Poker League in October last year.

The MPL Mumbai Anchors finished runner-up with the PokerDangal Kolkata Kings rounding out the ITM finishing teams of the season.

Read the complete report here

DPT Xpress to Run From March 11 to 14 at Deltin Royale

Live tournament poker is coming back in Goa. The coastal state`s first live poker tournament series since the COVID-19 pandemic last year will be taking place next month, with Casino Deltin Royale announcing the DPT Xpress series from March 11 to 14.

Read the complete report here

WPT Spring Festival Highlights

Prominent Asian poker operator Poker King sponsored the World Poker Tour (WPT) Spring Festival. The series played out virtually on Poker King from February 11 to 22.

The ¥2,000 (~$300) buy-in Main Event drew 3,505 entries across three starting flights. The mystery player “DannyAce66” came out on top to win ¥1,750,000 (~$270,305) and the Baccarat Crystal trophy.

There were 16 celebrity players, with a ¥1,500 bounty each on them. Six of them made it to Day 2 where Poker King Ambassadors Jean-Robert Bellande (325th for ¥6,000 – $927), and Phil Ivey (233rd for ¥6,000 – $927), Phil Hellmuth (229th for ¥6,000 – $927), and Nick Petrangelo (157th for ¥9,000 – $1,390) finished ITM.

The Main Event FT was live-streamed in different regions, with PokerGuru streaming the action on its Facebook page. Bracelet winners Nipun Java and Mohsin Charania commentated on the stream.

Read the complete report here

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