This Week in Poker: June 23 – 29

This Week in Poker
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  • Namita Ghosh June 30, 2021
  • 5 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 circuit.

Here are this week’s top stories!

It was an explosive week for online poker, with the National Poker Series (NPS) completing its debut run on PokerBaazi this past Sunday. The two-week-long series registered 83,793 entries across 64 tournaments, making it India’s most significant field to date. A total of medals were up for grabs, but reigning supreme over everyone else was the first-ever NPS Main Event champion, Mohammad Azhar!

The 23-year-old towered over every other player at the NPS. He was the only player to win more than one NPS Gold Medal – he won an incredible three Golds – and went on to top both the NPS Series Leaderboard and the NPS Podium Leaderboard. In all, he raked in a whopping ₹72.35 Lakhs at the series. With close to ₹60 Lakhs in weekly winnings, Mohammad Azhar is hands down our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Ashwini Vishwakarma, PokerGuru Ambassador’s Kartik Ved & Vivek Singh, and Shashank Jain were the other players who netted at least ₹20 Lakhs through the week.

With such an action-packed lineup of events, there were several standout winners. Some prominent names were Young Gun Gaurav Sood, Kunal Patni, Rohan Bhasin, Anirban D Das, Young Gun Kanchan Sharma, Sahil Mahboobani, Vinayak Bajaj, Abhishek Goindi, Karann Dembla, and Bharath Kumar, all of them banking seven figures in weekly earnings.

Coming to an end alongside the NPS was Spartan Poker’s, OFC Fantasy Series. The series’ Main Event was championed by the mystery user ‘HumbleGod’ for ₹1.10 Lakhs.

With the epic NPS now in the books, domestic poker players have about two weeks of downtime before they set out on Spartan Poker’s #MissionKhazana! Wondering what that is? Well, India’s leading online poker site has announced the 11th edition of the India Online Poker Championship (IOPC). The series, known for tumbling records, will be offering a never-before-seen ₹30 Crores in prize pool guarantees, making this the biggest poker series in India to date! From July 11 to August 1, the series will host 140 tourneys and a ₹1 Crore leaderboard race. So, if you are a poker lover, there is simply no way you can miss the IOPC.

Speaking of the ‘mega’ series, BLITZPOKER will be hosting 23 Mega Satellites for the IOPC from July 2 to July 10. If you are looking to play the upcoming IOPC on a budget, be sure to check out the mega satellites on BLITZPOKER.

While the upcoming IOPC is sure to blow poker players’ minds, there is more good news in store. In collaboration with the World College Poker (WCP), PokerStars will be hosting the free-to-play 2021 World College Poker Championship Main Event starting from July 24. Indian students who are 18 and above can participate in this global tournament on the PokerStars India app.

Moving on to live poker, there was a flurry of action across various stops in the US. However, domination them all was the massive Wynn Summer Classic. The event is currently over mid-way through the $10 Million GTD Wynn Millions with a sea of notables in the running. However, no one is getting more media attention than GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu, who bagged one of the top 10 stacks on Day 2C.

The defending WPT POY Brian Altman couldn`t have hoped for a better start to the new WPT season. Altman won his third WPT title in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Tampa for $613,225, bagging the first Main Event title of Season XIX.

 

Online Railbird Report

We have to hand it to Mohammad Azhar! All of 23, this cash game reg has achieved what most poker players would only dream of doing in a fortnight. An MTT reg with a penchant for high-stakes cash games, Azhar went on a heater at the inaugural National Poker Series on PokerBaazi. He entered the week with 23 ITM finishes at the NPS to his name, including the Gold Medal in the ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS Kick-Off. Azhar went on to champion the NPS #79 Friday Force for his second NPS Gold Medal, a feat that catapulted him to the top of the NPS Podium Leaderboard. Azhar signed off the series in style by claiming the first-ever ₹3 Crore GTD NPS #93 Main Event as he continued to pick scores. Azhar’s Main Event victory brought him a life-changing ₹50.13 cash prize and his third NPS Gold Medal.

He topped the NPS Series Leaderboard, the NPS Podium Leaderboard and placed second in the Sunday NPS Daily Leaderboard for additional prizes, including a ₹10 Lakhs Vegas Package! Only counting his scores, he won a massive ₹59.13 Lakhs this week. Who else but Azhar can be our PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Mohammad Azhar
Mohammad Azhar

His top finishes include:

> 1st in the NPS #93 NPS Main Event ₹3 Crore GTD for ₹50.13 Lakhs

> 1st in the ₹30 Lakhs GTD NPS #79 Friday Force for ₹7.08 Lakhs

The 27-year-old Ashwini Vishwakarma scored a jackpot of ₹33.21 Lakhs for placing runner-up to Mohammad Azhar in the NPS Main Event. Vishvakarma raked in a collective ₹33.43 Lakhs, making him this week`s second-biggest winner.

Ashwani Vishwakarma
Ashwani Vishwakarma

 

The former The Millionaire champion PokerGuru Ambassador Kartik Ved won the second edition of the Adda52 Colossus on Sunday for a ₹20.67 Lakhs payday, adding up to a week’s run worth ₹25.02 Lakhs.

Kartik Ved
Kartik Ved

 

His top finishes include:

> 1st in Adda52 Colossus for ₹20.68 Lakhs

> 3rd in Adda52’s Deepstack Madness for ₹2.10 Lakhs

Delhi-based Shashank Jain won a personal-best ₹20.31 Lakhs and the NPS Gold Medal in the ₹1 Crore GTD NPS#72 Highroller. Jain closed out the week with ₹21.53 Lakhs in cumulative winnings.

Shashank Jain
Shashank Jain

 

PokerGuru Ambassador Vivek Singh was another player on a mission this week. Since he opted out of our tracking, we couldn`t track all his scores; however, we know that he bagged a collective ₹21.37 Lakhs in winnings from two deep runs alone.

Vivek Singh
Vivek Singh

 

His top finishes include:

> 2nd in the Colossus ₹70 Lakhs GTD for ₹13.77 Lakhs.

> 1st in the Destiny ₹26 Lakhs GTD for ₹7.61 Lakhs

Young Gun Gaurav Sood came dangerously close to winning the NPS Main Event title, finishing fifth for ₹9.93 Lakhs. Ranked #2 on the annual leaderboard standings, Sood lapped up ₹19.87 Lakhs through the week.

Gaurav Sood
Gaurav Sood

 

His top finishes include:

> 5th in the NPS #93 NPS Main Event ₹3 Crore GTD for ₹9.93 Lakhs

> 5th in the Nano Main Event Finale ₹25 Lakhs GTD for ₹2.13 Lakhs

> 5th in the Deepstack Madness for ₹1.04 Lakhs

> 2nd in the Godfather for ₹3.63 Lakhs

Former banker turned poker pro-Kunal Patni banked a whopping ₹18.78 Lakhs, primarily on the back of his runner-up finish in the NPS #72 NPS Highroller for ₹14.05 Lakhs.

His top finishes include:

> 2nd in the NPS #72 NPS Highroller ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹14.05 Lakhs

> 7th in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for 2.57 Lakhs

The former FTS challenger champion Rohan Bhasin became the latest The Millionaire champion on Sunday, banking a career-best ₹17.05 Lakhs.

Rohan Bhasin
Rohan Bhasin

 

The other headliner winners were:

> Anirban D Das (Collective winnings – ₹13.84 Lakhs)

> The Millionaire finalist and Deepstack Madness champion, Young Gun Kanchan Sharma (Collective winnings – ₹12.53 Lakhs)

> The Millionaire runner-up Sahil Mahboobani (Collective winnings – ₹12.26 Lakhs)

> Nano Main Event champion Vinayak Bajaj (Collective winnings – ₹12.14 Lakhs)

> Adda52 Colossus third-place finisher Abhishek Goindi (Collective winnings – ₹11.88 Lakhs)

> Godfather champion Karann Dembla (Collective winnings – ₹11.02 Lakhs)

> NPS #73 Thursday Thunder champion Bharath Kumar (Collective winnings – ₹10.96 Lakhs)

> NPS Golden Rush champion Vivek Bajaj (Collective winnings – ₹9.86 Lakhs)

> Sunday Superstack champion Guneet Kwatra (Collective winnings – ₹9.83 Lakhs)

> The Elite champion Saurabh Rohila (Collective winnings – ₹9.32 Lakhs)

 

Notable Winners of the Week

PlayerPrize AmountEventPoker Site
Mohammad ‘chandlerbing’ Azhar₹50.13 LakhsNPS#55 Main Event ₹3 Crores GTDPokerBaazi
Kartik ‘Pegasus1505’ Ved₹20.67 LakhsAdda52 Colossus ₹70 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Shashank 'Westworld' Jain₹20.31 LakhsNPS#72 Highroller ₹1 Crore GTDPokerBaazi
Rohan 'The Sightseer' Bhasin₹17.05 LakhsThe Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTDSpartan Poker
Bharath 'hzgod' Kumar₹9.64 LakhsNPS#73 Thursday Thunder ₹40 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Vivek ‘V42V’ Bajaj₹9.15 LakhsNPS#92 Golden Rush Finale ₹1 Crore GTDPokerBaazi
Guneet ‘GeeKay’ Kwatra₹8.02 LakhsSunday Superstack ₹40 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Vishnu 'violator' Khandelwal₹7.91 LakhsNPS#91 Sunday Marathon ₹30 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Kushagra 'The Unconventional' Mehta₹7.87 LakhsThe Big Deal ₹30 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Saurabh 'darksider' Rohila₹7.79 LakhsThe Elite ₹33 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Vivek ‘KasolHieghts’ Singh₹7.60 LakhsDestiny ₹26 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Mohammad 'chandlerbing' Azhar₹7.07 LakhsNPS#79 Friday Force ₹30 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Karann ‘ICMsucks’ Dembla₹6.12 LakhsGodfather ₹25 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Ujjwal 'fourteenk' Narwal₹5.78 LakhsThe Ballers ₹22.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Kaushik ‘ikigai’ Tibrewal₹4.61 LakhsTrending Thursday ₹23 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Vinayak ‘bhai_on_mary_jane’ Bajaj₹4.55 LakhsNano Main Event Finale 25 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Kanchan ‘thandicoke’ Sharma₹4.23 LakhsDeepstack Madness ₹20 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Chitti99₹3.82 LakhsMaverick ₹15 Lakhs GTDAdda52
gouthamishan₹3.75 LakhsThe Mint ₹15 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Kanchan Sharma₹3.33 LakhsNPS#65 Sprint DST ₹10 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Goonjan 'gmtesting' Mall₹3.19 LakhsNano Highroller ₹17 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Harish 'Realfc' Chaudary₹3.18 LakhsNPS#81 Sprint ₹10 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Dipankar ‘dipankar29’ Kaushal₹2.91 LakhsNPS#90 Slam Dunk ₹10 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
sumitkulkarni₹2.88 LakhsThe Endeavour ₹12 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
sumit1386₹2.71 LakhsSunday Special Progressive KO ₹15 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Anurag ‘13anurag’ Srivastava₹2.36 LakhsNPS#94 Sprint ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Shagun 'sogani22' Jain₹2.36 LakhsNPS#75 Sprint ₹6 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Jagdeep 'Zenos' Singh₹2.33 LakhsOFC Fantasy Series #3 High Roller ₹8 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Anirban ‘nocluewho’ D Das₹2.28 LakhsHighroller ₹10 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Vinuggurikar₹2.20 LakhsThe Big Show ₹7.50 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
MAP8989
₹2 LakhsNPS#71 Deepdive ₹5 Lakhs GTD
PokerBaazi
DangerDaddy₹1.88 LakhsIron Man ₹8 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Rajat ‘NoPrisoners’ Sharma₹1.74 LakhsMonster Stack ₹9 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
TheRealG₹1.73 LakhsMoney Heist ₹9 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Ataraxia₹1.68 LakhsWednesday Vibes ₹8 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
defeated₹1.64 LakhsMonster Turbo ₹5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Ashwini 'DANIELDURR' Panwar₹1.61 LakhsReCharge ₹9.5 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
iveynotivy₹1.52 LakhsBattle Royale ₹6 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
acesnkings12₹1.40 LakhsFuturistic ₹9.50 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
nafeesahmed₹1.28 LakhsNPS#63 Slam Dunk (6-Max) ₹3 Lakhs GTD
PokerBaazi
MAN1506₹1.14 LakhsRunning Hot ₹5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
HumbleGod₹1.10 LakhsOFC Fantasy Series#9 – Main Event ₹4 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Himanshu Kataria₹98,239Night on Stars ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
talwaranks₹91,760La Luna ₹4 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Pritam ‘pritam1301’ Amritkar₹91,500Voyager ₹3 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Navaneesha 'np406' P₹84,584Sixth Sense ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
dp178₹80,500Voyager ₹3 Lakhs GTDAdda52
dejavutilt₹76,547Uppercut ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Umesh ‘dhondu.chilll’ Sharma₹65,152Battle Royale ₹3 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Nishant 'Balaark' Pandey₹64,784Big Bubble Rush ₹3 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Vivek ‘acchemicals’ Karwa₹64,127Monster Stack ₹3 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
user1623144920₹62,500The Big One ₹3 Lakhs GTDGoodPoker
sammybulldog₹61,000Nano DST ₹2 Lakhs GTDAdda52
hellhell ₹59,990Monster Stack ₹3 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Sagar ‘rajsagar32’ Raj₹59,576Nano Godfather ₹3.2 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Ero Sennin
₹54,213Night Rider - Monster Stack ₹2.10 Lakhs GTD
Spartan Poker
Funkroki99₹51,750Weekend Special ₹2.25 Lakhs GTDGoodPoker
POKER030489₹48,828The Classic ₹1.75 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
AN11328₹47,174Deepstack ₹1.75 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
venkat11223
₹46,620NPS#69 PLO5 Madness ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD
PokerBaazi
Cham10n₹43,000BigBang ₹1 Lakh GTDKhelo365
wahi7777₹42,816Sunday Night Rider ₹1.50 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Suraj N ‘MR.BEAST’ Yadav₹40,096Night Rider – DeepStack Turbo ₹2.1 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Ankit 'GongZilla' Singh₹39,375Sunday Kick-off ₹1.5 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
60kk108₹37,899Big Bubble Rush ₹1.75 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Muthukumar ‘hero1965’ Rajagopalan₹36,450Nano Siesta ₹1.35 Lakhs GTDAdda52
narayanpn₹34,787Nighttide DST Adda ₹1.75 Lakhs GTDAdda52
CMPUNK2412₹34,105OFC Fantasy Series#8 – Main Event ₹1.15 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Ron007₹33,000The Closer ₹1.5 Lakhs GTDGoodPoker
BadbetAA₹33,000The Closer ₹1.5 Lakhs GTDGoodPoker
jb13₹32,500Nano Sunday Blast ₹1.25 Lakhs GTDAdda52
SANDY123890₹31,200Nano Thursday Adda ₹1.2 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Messironaldo007₹29,743Nano Siesta ₹1.35 Lakhs GTDAdda52
TriggerHappy₹29,400Warrior Arena Bounty ₹1.2 Lakhs GTDPokerDangal
MaHaKaal777₹28,860Nano Maverick ₹1.65 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Kaps19₹28,800Dangal Friday ₹1.20 Lakhs GTDPokerDangal
Kiran 'KingAA' Kumar₹27,500OFC Fantasy Series #2 ₹1 Lakh GTD
Spartan Poker
Shivam ‘brooskyradio1’ Shukla₹25,673Ultrasonic ₹1 Lakh GTDPokerStars India
Umesh ‘dhondu.chill’ Sharma₹24,970Ultrasonic ₹1 Lakh GTD PokerStars India
sammy19₹24,590Nano Wednesday Adda ₹1.2 Lakhs GTDAdda52
pyaar₹24,300Punch ₹80K GTDAdda52
Aditya ‘KesarDaa’ Kesharwani₹24,298Epic 1.25 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Paperplane₹24,000Daily NLH ₹1 Lakh GTDPokerDangal
Ashish 'UGOTBLUFF' Pareek₹23,706Epic ₹1.1 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
jul1u592
₹23,493Total Ko 100% ₹10K GTD
PokerStars India
Jai1209
₹22,055The Centurion ₹1.10 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
chiru1999₹21,863OFC Fantasy Series#7 ₹75K GTDSpartan Poker
OfcourseOfcourse ₹21,863Sunday Deep Freeze ₹75K GTDSpartan Poker
ulta_chor₹21,801Total KO 75% ₹50K GTDPokerStars India
88bluff₹21,000Daily PLO Grind ₹1 Lakh GTDPokerDangal
sssss951
₹20,491Ultrasonic ₹1 Lakh GTD
PokerStars India
Rakshit ‘4betshov’ Vedh₹19,814Total KO 90% ₹50K GTDPokerStars India
FuckedUpLife₹19,489Nano Crack Jack ₹75K GTDAdda52
Shubham007₹18,893Bigstack Turbo ₹70K GTDPokerStars India
MallaNi₹18,277Nano Crack Jack ₹75K GTDAdda52
adi2244
₹17,004Bigstack Turbo ₹70K GTD
PokerStars India
Kunal 'kunnotaguero' Yadav₹16,976Afternoon on Stars ₹60K GTD
PokerStars India
Mahaka1₹16,033Last Chance ₹55K GTDSpartan Poker
Gold999₹16,000Dominator ₹50K GTDKhelo365
Arrested Development₹15,084The Centurion ₹90K GTDSpartan Poker
umangthakar₹14,879Sunday Energise ₹65K GTDSpartan Poker
lavesh786₹14,277Afternoon on Stars ₹60K GTDPokerStars India
gauravarora77₹14,102Afternoon on Stars ₹60K GTDPokerStars India
sara10477₹12,900Prime Time ₹30K GTD PLOKhelo365
DILAXSHAN₹11,5006 Feet Under PLO ₹30K GTDKhelo365
Neeraj ‘kumartomar’ Kumar₹10,071Nano Battleship ₹30K GTDAdda52
echan₹9,902Nano PLO ₹35K GTDAdda52
Ravi ‘DJBravo’ Yadav₹9,300Insomnia ₹30K GTDPokerDangal
KOHINOOR₹9,200Snacks ₹40K GTDGoodPoker
fuckRey
₹8,756Deepstack ₹40K GTD
PokerStars India
I M SIMBA
₹8,494Striker ₹45K GTD
Spartan Poker
yogisoni2704₹8,386Deepstack ₹40K GTDPokerStars India
sangeeta132₹8,424Nano PLO 35K ₹35K GTDAdda52
ranvijay113₹8,285Deepstack ₹40K GTDPokerStars India
Lara4u₹7,849Primetime Grind ₹40K GTDPokerStars India
Saibaba387₹7,401Striker ₹40K GTDSpartan Poker
RAV1619₹7,139Primetime Grind ₹40K GTDPokerStars India
Sai 'stonehenge93' Siddharth
₹6,252Primetime Grind ₹40K GTDPokerStars India
spingo₹4,160Quick Freeze ₹10K GTDKhelo365

 

BLITZPOKER to Host 23 Mega Satellites to the 11th Edition of the IOPC

BLITZPOKER, a part of the Quadnet Poker Network, will be running 23 Mega Satellites for the ₹30 Crore GTD IOPC starting on July 11. There are three Mega Satellites – the Spotlight Mega Satellite, Prime Mega Satellite, and the Highroller Mega Satellite offering tickets to the IOPC Spotlight, Prime, and Highroller tourneys, respectively.

 

PokerStars Partners With World College Poker For the World College Poker Main Event (July 24)

Global online poker giant PokerStars has partnered with World College Poker (WCP) to sponsor and host the free-to-play 2021 World College Poker Championship Main Event. Open for students aged 18 and older, the global event will take off on July 24 under the Play Money section, and Indian players can participate on PokerStars India.

The eventual winner walks away with a fully paid travel package to the EPT, along with other prizes and PokerStars merchandise.

PokerStars Partners With World College Poker For the 2021 World College Poker Main Event Starting on July 24

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 next week with our weekly report. Stay tuned.

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