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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!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Player | Prize Amount | Event | Poker Site |
---|---|---|---|
Mohammad ‘chandlerbing’ Azhar | ₹50.13 Lakhs | NPS#55 Main Event ₹3 Crores GTD | PokerBaazi |
Kartik ‘Pegasus1505’ Ved | ₹20.67 Lakhs | Adda52 Colossus ₹70 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Shashank 'Westworld' Jain | ₹20.31 Lakhs | NPS#72 Highroller ₹1 Crore GTD | PokerBaazi |
Rohan 'The Sightseer' Bhasin | ₹17.05 Lakhs | The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD | Spartan Poker |
Bharath 'hzgod' Kumar | ₹9.64 Lakhs | NPS#73 Thursday Thunder ₹40 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Vivek ‘V42V’ Bajaj | ₹9.15 Lakhs | NPS#92 Golden Rush Finale ₹1 Crore GTD | PokerBaazi |
Guneet ‘GeeKay’ Kwatra | ₹8.02 Lakhs | Sunday Superstack ₹40 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Vishnu 'violator' Khandelwal | ₹7.91 Lakhs | NPS#91 Sunday Marathon ₹30 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Kushagra 'The Unconventional' Mehta | ₹7.87 Lakhs | The Big Deal ₹30 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Saurabh 'darksider' Rohila | ₹7.79 Lakhs | The Elite ₹33 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Vivek ‘KasolHieghts’ Singh | ₹7.60 Lakhs | Destiny ₹26 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Mohammad 'chandlerbing' Azhar | ₹7.07 Lakhs | NPS#79 Friday Force ₹30 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Karann ‘ICMsucks’ Dembla | ₹6.12 Lakhs | Godfather ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Ujjwal 'fourteenk' Narwal | ₹5.78 Lakhs | The Ballers ₹22.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Kaushik ‘ikigai’ Tibrewal | ₹4.61 Lakhs | Trending Thursday ₹23 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Vinayak ‘bhai_on_mary_jane’ Bajaj | ₹4.55 Lakhs | Nano Main Event Finale 25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Kanchan ‘thandicoke’ Sharma | ₹4.23 Lakhs | Deepstack Madness ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Chitti99 | ₹3.82 Lakhs | Maverick ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
gouthamishan | ₹3.75 Lakhs | The Mint ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Kanchan Sharma | ₹3.33 Lakhs | NPS#65 Sprint DST ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Goonjan 'gmtesting' Mall | ₹3.19 Lakhs | Nano Highroller ₹17 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Harish 'Realfc' Chaudary | ₹3.18 Lakhs | NPS#81 Sprint ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Dipankar ‘dipankar29’ Kaushal | ₹2.91 Lakhs | NPS#90 Slam Dunk ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
sumitkulkarni | ₹2.88 Lakhs | The Endeavour ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
sumit1386 | ₹2.71 Lakhs | Sunday Special Progressive KO ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Anurag ‘13anurag’ Srivastava | ₹2.36 Lakhs | NPS#94 Sprint ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Shagun 'sogani22' Jain | ₹2.36 Lakhs | NPS#75 Sprint ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Jagdeep 'Zenos' Singh | ₹2.33 Lakhs | OFC Fantasy Series #3 High Roller ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Anirban ‘nocluewho’ D Das | ₹2.28 Lakhs | Highroller ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Vinuggurikar | ₹2.20 Lakhs | The Big Show ₹7.50 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
MAP8989 | ₹2 Lakhs | NPS#71 Deepdive ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
DangerDaddy | ₹1.88 Lakhs | Iron Man ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Rajat ‘NoPrisoners’ Sharma | ₹1.74 Lakhs | Monster Stack ₹9 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
TheRealG | ₹1.73 Lakhs | Money Heist ₹9 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ataraxia | ₹1.68 Lakhs | Wednesday Vibes ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
defeated | ₹1.64 Lakhs | Monster Turbo ₹5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Ashwini 'DANIELDURR' Panwar | ₹1.61 Lakhs | ReCharge ₹9.5 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
iveynotivy | ₹1.52 Lakhs | Battle Royale ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
acesnkings12 | ₹1.40 Lakhs | Futuristic ₹9.50 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
nafeesahmed | ₹1.28 Lakhs | NPS#63 Slam Dunk (6-Max) ₹3 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
MAN1506 | ₹1.14 Lakhs | Running Hot ₹5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
HumbleGod | ₹1.10 Lakhs | OFC Fantasy Series#9 – Main Event ₹4 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Himanshu Kataria | ₹98,239 | Night on Stars ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
talwaranks | ₹91,760 | La Luna ₹4 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Pritam ‘pritam1301’ Amritkar | ₹91,500 | Voyager ₹3 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Navaneesha 'np406' P | ₹84,584 | Sixth Sense ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
dp178 | ₹80,500 | Voyager ₹3 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
dejavutilt | ₹76,547 | Uppercut ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Umesh ‘dhondu.chilll’ Sharma | ₹65,152 | Battle Royale ₹3 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Nishant 'Balaark' Pandey | ₹64,784 | Big Bubble Rush ₹3 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Vivek ‘acchemicals’ Karwa | ₹64,127 | Monster Stack ₹3 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
user1623144920 | ₹62,500 | The Big One ₹3 Lakhs GTD | GoodPoker |
sammybulldog | ₹61,000 | Nano DST ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
hellhell | ₹59,990 | Monster Stack ₹3 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Sagar ‘rajsagar32’ Raj | ₹59,576 | Nano Godfather ₹3.2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Ero Sennin | ₹54,213 | Night Rider - Monster Stack ₹2.10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Funkroki99 | ₹51,750 | Weekend Special ₹2.25 Lakhs GTD | GoodPoker |
POKER030489 | ₹48,828 | The Classic ₹1.75 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
AN11328 | ₹47,174 | Deepstack ₹1.75 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
venkat11223 | ₹46,620 | NPS#69 PLO5 Madness ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Cham10n | ₹43,000 | BigBang ₹1 Lakh GTD | Khelo365 |
wahi7777 | ₹42,816 | Sunday Night Rider ₹1.50 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Suraj N ‘MR.BEAST’ Yadav | ₹40,096 | Night Rider – DeepStack Turbo ₹2.1 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ankit 'GongZilla' Singh | ₹39,375 | Sunday Kick-off ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
60kk108 | ₹37,899 | Big Bubble Rush ₹1.75 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Muthukumar ‘hero1965’ Rajagopalan | ₹36,450 | Nano Siesta ₹1.35 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
narayanpn | ₹34,787 | Nighttide DST Adda ₹1.75 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
CMPUNK2412 | ₹34,105 | OFC Fantasy Series#8 – Main Event ₹1.15 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ron007 | ₹33,000 | The Closer ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | GoodPoker |
BadbetAA | ₹33,000 | The Closer ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | GoodPoker |
jb13 | ₹32,500 | Nano Sunday Blast ₹1.25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
SANDY123890 | ₹31,200 | Nano Thursday Adda ₹1.2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Messironaldo007 | ₹29,743 | Nano Siesta ₹1.35 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
TriggerHappy | ₹29,400 | Warrior Arena Bounty ₹1.2 Lakhs GTD | PokerDangal |
MaHaKaal777 | ₹28,860 | Nano Maverick ₹1.65 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Kaps19 | ₹28,800 | Dangal Friday ₹1.20 Lakhs GTD | PokerDangal |
Kiran 'KingAA' Kumar | ₹27,500 | OFC Fantasy Series #2 ₹1 Lakh GTD | Spartan Poker |
Shivam ‘brooskyradio1’ Shukla | ₹25,673 | Ultrasonic ₹1 Lakh GTD | PokerStars India |
Umesh ‘dhondu.chill’ Sharma | ₹24,970 | Ultrasonic ₹1 Lakh GTD | PokerStars India |
sammy19 | ₹24,590 | Nano Wednesday Adda ₹1.2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
pyaar | ₹24,300 | Punch ₹80K GTD | Adda52 |
Aditya ‘KesarDaa’ Kesharwani | ₹24,298 | Epic 1.25 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Paperplane | ₹24,000 | Daily NLH ₹1 Lakh GTD | PokerDangal |
Ashish 'UGOTBLUFF' Pareek | ₹23,706 | Epic ₹1.1 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
jul1u592 | ₹23,493 | Total Ko 100% ₹10K GTD | PokerStars India |
Jai1209 | ₹22,055 | The Centurion ₹1.10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
chiru1999 | ₹21,863 | OFC Fantasy Series#7 ₹75K GTD | Spartan Poker |
OfcourseOfcourse | ₹21,863 | Sunday Deep Freeze ₹75K GTD | Spartan Poker |
ulta_chor | ₹21,801 | Total KO 75% ₹50K GTD | PokerStars India |
88bluff | ₹21,000 | Daily PLO Grind ₹1 Lakh GTD | PokerDangal |
sssss951 | ₹20,491 | Ultrasonic ₹1 Lakh GTD | PokerStars India |
Rakshit ‘4betshov’ Vedh | ₹19,814 | Total KO 90% ₹50K GTD | PokerStars India |
FuckedUpLife | ₹19,489 | Nano Crack Jack ₹75K GTD | Adda52 |
Shubham007 | ₹18,893 | Bigstack Turbo ₹70K GTD | PokerStars India |
MallaNi | ₹18,277 | Nano Crack Jack ₹75K GTD | Adda52 |
adi2244 | ₹17,004 | Bigstack Turbo ₹70K GTD | PokerStars India |
Kunal 'kunnotaguero' Yadav | ₹16,976 | Afternoon on Stars ₹60K GTD | PokerStars India |
Mahaka1 | ₹16,033 | Last Chance ₹55K GTD | Spartan Poker |
Gold999 | ₹16,000 | Dominator ₹50K GTD | Khelo365 |
Arrested Development | ₹15,084 | The Centurion ₹90K GTD | Spartan Poker |
umangthakar | ₹14,879 | Sunday Energise ₹65K GTD | Spartan Poker |
lavesh786 | ₹14,277 | Afternoon on Stars ₹60K GTD | PokerStars India |
gauravarora77 | ₹14,102 | Afternoon on Stars ₹60K GTD | PokerStars India |
sara10477 | ₹12,900 | Prime Time ₹30K GTD PLO | Khelo365 |
DILAXSHAN | ₹11,500 | 6 Feet Under PLO ₹30K GTD | Khelo365 |
Neeraj ‘kumartomar’ Kumar | ₹10,071 | Nano Battleship ₹30K GTD | Adda52 |
echan | ₹9,902 | Nano PLO ₹35K GTD | Adda52 |
Ravi ‘DJBravo’ Yadav | ₹9,300 | Insomnia ₹30K GTD | PokerDangal |
KOHINOOR | ₹9,200 | Snacks ₹40K GTD | GoodPoker |
fuckRey | ₹8,756 | Deepstack ₹40K GTD | PokerStars India |
I M SIMBA | ₹8,494 | Striker ₹45K GTD | Spartan Poker |
yogisoni2704 | ₹8,386 | Deepstack ₹40K GTD | PokerStars India |
sangeeta132 | ₹8,424 | Nano PLO 35K ₹35K GTD | Adda52 |
ranvijay113 | ₹8,285 | Deepstack ₹40K GTD | PokerStars India |
Lara4u | ₹7,849 | Primetime Grind ₹40K GTD | PokerStars India |
Saibaba387 | ₹7,401 | Striker ₹40K GTD | Spartan Poker |
RAV1619 | ₹7,139 | Primetime Grind ₹40K GTD | PokerStars India |
Sai 'stonehenge93' Siddharth | ₹6,252 | Primetime Grind ₹40K GTD | PokerStars India |
spingo | ₹4,160 | Quick Freeze ₹10K GTD | Khelo365 |
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.
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.