7 Minutes Read
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 circuits. Here are this week’s top stories!
It`s been a busy start to 2023, thanks to PokerBaazi’s 1000X Series 2.0 and PokerStars India’s Winter Series 5.0.
The year’s first mega-series dished out massive cash prizes, and unsurprisingly, this week’s “PokerGuru Star of the Week!” is the 1000X Main Event champion Young Gun Gaurav Sood. The two-time POY winner thrashed out ₹18.02 Lakhs in weekly winnings (including two titles), asserting himself as a strong contender for the 2023 POY title.
Vishal Bajaj, Young Gun Sanat Mehrotra, Tarush Gupta, and Himanshu Arora were the week`s other top online scorers.
Breaking away from the online domain, Indians continued their domination in Vietnam by reeling in breakout scores in the ongoing WPC Loyal Hanoi! The country’s most respected poker stalwart Aditya Agarwal found early success in the series by finishing fourth in the WPC Kick-Off for a hefty VN₫ 225 Million!
Amit Kaushik (three ITM finishes), Jasven Saigal (two ITM finishes), Rahul Melwani, Yash Khandelwal, Anshul Rajput, and Akshay Nasa are some other Indian players to have notched up scores in WPC Loyal Hanoi.
Moving over to the promotional announcements, Eastern Europe’s leading online poker room, PokerMatch, recently launched in India as PokerMatch India. And they announced their entry into the country with a bang by joining hands with the world’s first professional Match Poker league, Match IPL, and are the title sponsors for Season 5 of the MIPL.
PokerStars India is currently hosting its first flagship MTT festival of 2023 – the Winter Series. The popular series returned for its fifth & biggest-ever edition on January 5 and runs till January 15, guaranteed over ₹3 Crores in cash prizes across 59 tournaments.
IndiaPlays’ brand-new ₹15 Lakhs GTD Resolution Series is also off the mark. The one-of-a-kind series promises unmatched value for all 14 tournaments on the schedule are RAKE-FREE. The series will run until January 18.
In other news, Global Poker Index (GPI) unveiled the GPI Player of the Year (POY) winners of 2022, ranking the top-ranked players across 79 countries. Ankit Ahuja (2,140.10 points) topped the 2022 GPI India POY rankings, followed by bracelet winners Abhinav Iyer (2,107.33 points) & Kartik Ved (2,107.33 points).
Stephen Song (3,543 points) won the 2022 GPI POY title while also topping the GPI Mid-Major rankings (2,580 points). Cherish Andrews (2,835 points) bested a fiercely contested race against Angela Jordison (2,612 points) to bag the 2022 GPI Female POY title.
The Union Minister of State (MeitY), Rajeev Chandrasekhar, disclosed last Thursday that the draft rules for online gaming released by MeitY earlier this week would be discussed with relevant stakeholders to get their input starting this week.
In an inexplicably refreshing development, the Chhattisgarh government passed the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Bill 2022, banning online gambling and betting but exempting games of skill such as poker, rummy, and fantasy sports.
A few weeks after releasing the schedule for the first quarter of the 2023 PokerGO Tour (PGT) season, PokerGO released an official statement announcing that is doubling up the prize pool for the 2023 season-ending extravaganza, the PGT Championship, offering a whopping $1 Million in freeroll guarantees.
Online Railbird Report
Young Gun Gaurav Sood was the week’s top scorer, making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week.” The two-time POY winner thrashed out ₹18.02 Lakhs in weekly winnings (including two titles), asserting himself as a strong contender for the 2023 POY title. His best finish was conquering PokerBaazi’s ₹50 Lakhs GTD 1000X#32 Main Event for ₹7.89 Lakhs.
His top finishes include:
> 1st in PokerBaazi’s 1000X#32 Main Event for ₹7,89,096
> 1st in Adda52’s The Ballers for ₹5,76,290
> 6th in Spartan Poker’s Thursday High Roller (6-Max) for ₹1,51,200
Another top poker talent, Vishal Bajaj, added a hefty ₹17.67 Lakhs to his weekly tally, including two titles. The 26-year-old MTT phenom picked up scores across sites and won Spartan Poker’s Sunday Superstack for the third time for ₹8.98 Lakhs.
His top finishes include:
> 1st in Spartan Poker’s Sunday Superstack for ₹8,98,240
> 1st in PokerBaazi’s The Weekly HighRoller for ₹4,00,619
> 4th in Adda52’s Godfather for ₹1,89,750
> 7th in Spartan Poker’s Thursday High Roller (6-Max) for ₹1,19,700
Several top pros won two tournaments this past week, and one of them was Young Gun Sanat Mehrotra. He added ₹16.82 Lakhs on the back of two standout scores and a litany of deep runs.
His top finishes include:
> 1st in PokerBaazi’s BSS HighRoller for ₹4,91,300
> 1st in Spartan Poker’s Wednesday High Roller (6-Max) for ₹4,39,090
> 2nd in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-02 [High Roller], 6-Max for ₹3,55,766
Tarush Gupta walked away with the week`s single-biggest paycheque, winning the ₹50 Lakhs GTD Adda52 Big Game for ₹16.25 Lakhs.
His top finishes include:
> 1st in Adda52’s Big Game for ₹16,25,000
The first The MoneyMaker champion of the year, Himanshu Arora, lapped up ₹11.79 Lakhs across his weekly run.
His top finishes include:
> 2nd in Spartan Poker’s Tuesday High Roller (6-Max) for ₹2,89,000
> 3rd in PokerStars India’s Winter Series-21 [Sunday High Roller], 6-Max for ₹2,52,144
> 3rd in PokerBaazi’s The Summit for ₹2,44,673
> 8th in PokerBaazi’s BSS HighRoller for ₹1,06,930
> 4th in Adda52’s Sunday Showdown for ₹84,556
Vinay Rajpal, Avneesh Munjal, Rising Star Ritwik Khanna, Pradip Ghosh, Goonjan Mall, Ashutosh Balodhi, and Akhilendra Chauhan were the week`s other top online scorers.
Notable Winners of the Week
Player | Prize Amount | Event | Poker Site |
---|---|---|---|
Tarush Gupta | ₹16.25 Lakhs | Adda52 Big Game ₹50 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Vishal Bajaj | ₹8.98 Lakhs | Sunday Superstack ₹35 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Gaurav Sood | ₹7.89 Lakhs | 1000X#32 Main Event ₹50 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Anuj Yadav | ₹6.71 Lakhs | The Elite (6-Max) ₹30 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Aayush Arya | ₹6.61 Lakhs | Thursday High Roller (6 Max) ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Gaurav Sood | ₹5.76 Lakhs | The Ballers ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Neel Joshi | ₹5.24 Lakhs | (7-Max) BSS Championship ₹35 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Rajneesh Thakur | ₹4.97 Lakhs | 1000X#16 Mini Main Event ₹35 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Ashutosh Balodhi | ₹4.94 Lakhs | Ultron ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Sanat Mehrotra | ₹4.91 Lakhs | BSS HighRoller ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Nitin Rawat | ₹4.90 Lakhs | Godfather ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Pradip Ghosh | ₹4.89 Lakhs | 1000X#24 Friday Prime ₹35 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Vinay Rajpal | ₹4.82 Lakhs | Winter Series-02 [High Roller] ₹25 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Vinay Rajpal | ₹4.63 Lakhs | Winter Series-21 [Sunday High Roller - Boosted GTD] (6-Max) ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Sanat Mehtora | ₹4.39 Lakhs | Wednesday High Roller ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ritwik Khanna | ₹4.28 Lakhs | Tuesday High Roller ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Rishabh Gupta | ₹4.12 Lakhs | The Summit ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Vishal Bajaj | ₹4.01 Lakhs | The Weekly HighRoller ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Anmol Mehta | ₹3.95 Lakhs | Armageddon ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Raghav Bansal | ₹3.94 Lakhs | DeepStack Turbo ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
“Sahni1509” | ₹3.66 Lakhs | Winter Series-20 [Mini Main] ₹25 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Uttam Gope | ₹3.25 Lakhs | 1000X#20 Thursday Prime ₹30 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Buhr Advirkar | ₹3.19 Lakhs | Destiny 25.0 ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Vikram Mishra | ₹3.13 Lakhs | The Endeavour ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Sunil Arora | ₹3.03 Lakhs | The Mint ₹14 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
“ridsofthrstorm” | ₹3.03 Lakhs | Maverick ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Suraj N Yadav | ₹3.01 Lakhs | Mega Stack (IOPC Bubble) ₹17 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Pradip Ghosh | ₹2.93 Lakhs | The Pride ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Gokul Raj | ₹2.91 Lakhs | Winter Series-08 [Uppercut] ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Faiz Alam | ₹2.54 Lakhs | 1000X#33 MegaStack ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Karan Radia | ₹2 Lakhs | Iron Man ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Parag Shah | ₹1.97 Lakhs | (7-Max) SPRINT ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Ashit Sharma | ₹1.90 Lakhs | Winter Series 26 [6-Max, Deep] ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Anuj Yadav | ₹1.85 Lakhs | Daily Value Boost ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Adarsh Jha | ₹1.76 Lakhs | The Big Show ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Shrvan Amlekar | ₹1.66 Lakhs | 1000X#34 AfterParty ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“Giraldik” | ₹1.56 Lakhs | Futuristic ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Anshul Bagai | ₹1.46 Lakhs | 1000X#21 ₹9 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“mangubansal” | ₹1.31 Lakhs | Daily Value Boost ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Sanjay Khanna | ₹1.31 Lakhs | 1000X#17 ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Pratibh Saluja | ₹2.28 Lakhs | The Rainmaker ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Abhijeet Kumar | ₹1.26 Lakhs | Winter Series-04 [Uppercut Mini] ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Ujjwal Narwal | ₹1.24 Lakhs | Master Minds [8-Max] ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Karan Thakker | ₹1.20 Lakhs | Money Heist ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Abilash Bala | ₹1.08 Lakhs | (7-Max) Afternoon Boost – ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Allen Romeo | ₹1.04 Lakhs | 1000X#19 ₹7.5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Akhand Shukla | ₹1.04 Lakhs | Winter Series-10 [Battle Royale] ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
“classic2908” | ₹1.02 Lakhs | Eliminator [8-Max] ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
“RageAce” | ₹1.01 Lakhs | 1000X#15 ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“princelorenzo90” | ₹1.01 Lakhs | 1000X#14 ₹7 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Gurpal Singh | ₹1.01 Lakhs | (7-Max) SPRINT ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“manish jangid” | ₹1.01 Lakhs | Winter Series-28 [The Classic] ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
“VikramJaiswal7” | ₹99K | 1000X#25 ₹8 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Kamal Joshi | ₹90K | 1000X#23 ₹7 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Kritagya Sharma | ₹86K | (7-Max) Afternoon Boost ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Ankit Jajodia | ₹81K | (7-Max) Daily SPRINT ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Aman Parakh | ₹75K | (7-Max) Daily SPRINT ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“Seedhemautt” | ₹69K | 1000X#18 ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Sanchit Anand | ₹68K | (7-Max) Daily SPRINT ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Pranay Chaudhry | ₹55K | (7-Max) Daily SPRINT ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Eastern Europe’s Leading Online Poker Room PokerMatch Launches in India; Becomes the Title Sponsor of MIPL Season 5
Eastern Europe’s leading online poker room, PokerMatch, has launched in India as PokerMatch India.
Read the complete report here.
Announcing its entry into the country with a bang, PokerMatch joined hands with the world’s first professional Match Poker league, Match IPL, becoming the title sponsor for Season 5 of the MIPL.
Standing by its promise of offering the best experience to players, PokerMatch India has been awarding free entry tickets into the prestigious Match IPL. Join the daily qualifiers running on the site until January 15 with 12 seats to Match IPL Season 5 up for grabs.
Read the complete report here.
Rake-Free ₹15 Lakhs GTD Resolution Series Kicks Off on IndiaPlays (January 10 – 18)
IndiaPlays raised the bar by announcing the ₹15 Lakhs GTD Resolution Series – which has all 14 tournaments on the schedule entirely rake-free. The series runs from January 10 until January 18 and offers a mix of Texas Hold’em, PLO6 & Bounty tournaments.
Read the complete report here.
2023 WPC Loyal Hanoi Updates
Sounding off the live tournament action in Asia was the World Poker Championship (WPC) Loyal Hanoi, which got underway at the Grand Loyal Poker Club on January 3. With a combined prize pool guarantee of $1 Million, this is the biggest-ever live poker festival held in Vietnam, and the action continues till January 15.
Vietnamese players have been a formidable force in the series, taking down several headliner tournaments. Do Anh Tai was one of them, and he tamed a guarantee-crushing field in the series-opener Event#1: Kick-Off, striking a heads-up deal with American pro Peter Kiem to win the trophy. Both players locked in an equal VN₫ 565 Million payday.
The Indian contingent is already off to a solid start in the series, with the country’s most renowned poker stalwart, Aditya Agarwal, finishing fourth in the WPC Kick-Off for a hefty VN₫ 225 Million.
There is a title sweat brewing for Team India in Event#15: Super High Roller, where Akshay Nasa is running hot on the final table.
Read the complete report here.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Que championed the WPC Loyal Hanoi VN₫ 3 Billion GTD HSOP Main Event following a heads-up deal with compatriot Dung Anh Trinh – both netting an equal VN₫ 756 Million.
India’s Jasven Saigal posted a 14th-place finish for VN₫ 66 Million.
Read the complete report here.
Vietnam’s Ngo Long won the WPC Loyal Hanoi Event #13: Mystery Bounty for VN₫ 479 Million after defeating fellow countryman Dinh Van Tien heads-up.
Three Indians, Jasven Saigal (19th for VN₫ 24 Million), Rahul Melwani (20th for VN₫ 24 Million), and Akshay Nasa (35th for VN₫ 15 Million), made ITM finishes in the Mystery Bounty.
The series showstopper, VN₫ 10 Billion GTD WPC Loyal Hanoi Main Event, is currently running its second starting flight.
Read the complete report here.
Team India Scores in the WPC Loyal Hanoi
Rank | Player | Event | Prize Amount |
---|---|---|---|
4th | Aditya Agarwal | Event #1: Kick Off | VN₫ 225 Million |
14th | Jasven Saigal | HSOP Main Event | VN₫ 66 Million |
18th | Amit Kaushik | Event #1: Kick Off | VN₫ 36 Million |
19th | Jasven Saigal | Event #13: Mystery Bounty | VN₫ 24 Million |
20th | Rahul Melwani | Event #13: Mystery Bounty | VN₫ 24 Million |
9th | Amit Kaushik | Event #7: Superstack | VN₫ 29.86 Million |
5th | Amit Kaushik | Event #5: Bounty Hunter | VN₫ 22.50 Million |
3rd | Yash Khandelwal | Event #5 Turbo Event | VN₫ 21.60 Million |
19th | Anshul Rajput | Event #11: Megastack | VN₫ 20 Million |
35th | Akshay Nasa | Event #13: Mystery Bounty | VN₫ 15 Million |
List of Side Event Winners
Player | Event | Prize Amount |
---|---|---|
Yu Seung Min | Event #8: Single Day High Roller | VN₫ 882 Million |
Kim Gab Yong | Super Star Challenge | VN₫ 861 Million |
Nguyen Van Que | HSOP Main Event | VN₫ 756 Million |
Do Anh Tai | Event #1: Kick Off | VN₫ 565 Million |
Tam Hoi Wai | Event #11: Megastack | VN₫ 450 Million |
Kim Kyoung Hun | Event #7: Superstack | VN₫ 290 Million |
Nguyen Manh Tu | Event #2: High Roller – Single Day | VN₫ 186 Million |
Suk Kim | Event #12: Short Deck | VN₫ 104.440 Million |
Ahn Sungmin | Event #6: Bounty Hunter | VN₫ 80.70 Million |
Vu Thai Bao | Event #4: Deepstack Freezeout | VN₫ 67 Million |
Tran Duc Chinh | Event #5: Turbo Event | VN₫ 59.20 Million |
Song Hyeong Yu | Event #10: Hyper Turbo | VN₫ 52 Million |
Yuta Izumi | Event #3: Hyper Turbo | VN₫ 36.45 Million |
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.