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!

Dominating the final week of March was Spartan Poker`s ₹1 Crore GTD The Millionaire. Running from Friday to Sunday, The Millionaire crowned its latest champion in PokerGuru Ambassador Vishal Bajaj. The 24-year-old banked a career-best ₹16.86 Lakhs for his win, making his debut as our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Gaurav Sharma (runner-up for ₹9.32 Lakhs) and Young Gun Kanchan Sharma (3rd for ₹6.47 Lakhs) secured podium finishes in The Millionaire!

The other breakout player this week was our latest Young Gun, Sanat Mehrotra. The Gurgaon-based pro raked in ₹9.75 Lakhs in weekly earnings on the back of a smashing three FT finishes.

Shashank Jain, Kanav Parwal, PokerGuru Ambassadors Ashish Ahuja and Devvrat Arya, and Pratibh Saluja and Akshay Nasa were the other top scorers of the week.

PokerStars India’s “Star of the Month” leaderboard race ended its six-month-long run with the March finale last Wednesday. Online reg Harsh Dembla, playing under the moniker ‘Kakori kabab,’ shipped the Finale, becoming the last player to win the bragging rights of becoming a “Star of the Month” champion. He won MTT tickets worth ₹1.15 Lakhs and a PokerStars India goodie bag.

Even though the week ahead does not have any online poker series scheduled, MTT players have Spartan Poker`s ever-popular ₹1 Crore GTD The Millionaire to look forward to from April 2 to 4. Satellites for the ₹5,500 entry buy-in tourney are running round the clock on the site since March 29.

With the IPL season just around the corner, sports celebrities are very much in demand, especially with gaming websites. While Ajinkya Rahane joined My11Circle as a brand ambassador, Harbhajan Singh has joined Rummy Culture to promote the site`s “Champions” campaign. Meanwhile, Leander Paes and Geeta Phogat have been roped in by Mobile Premier League’s (MPL) to endorse the fantasy platform’s “Maidan Naya, Khelo Wohi” campaign.

Speaking of fantasy sports, India’s first gaming unicorn, Dream Sports (parent company of Dream11), recently closed a $400 Million secondary funding round through TCV, D1 Capital Partners, and Falcon Edge at a valuation of $5 Billion.

The country’s first gaming company to go public, Nazara Technologies ended its listing day at National Stock Exchange (NSE) at ₹1,592 – an over 45% gain on the issue price. The share price dropped down further to ₹1,466.30 on March 31.

The Goa government has imposed section 144 of CrPC in North and South Goa districts after a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases was detected. The Health Department has declared an offshore casino as a micro-containment zone after 26 staffers tested positive.

The bidding war between Element Partners LLC and Bally’s Corp. for Allied Esports Entertainment`s acquisition is getting intense. According to the latest update, the US-based casino giant Bally`s Corp has made a counter-offer for $100.5 Million to acquire WPT.

The first live PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) of 2021 is now in the books, with 23-year-old Russian pro Artur Martirosian taking down the 2021 EPT Sochi ₽175,000 ($2,311) Main Event title for ₽24,633,000 (~$325,316).

Live poker in the US is getting back on its feet, with a host of MTT stops taking place this past week. Will Joyner (2021 Wynn Spring Classic $1,600 buy-in NLHE $1 Million GTD Event for $243,188), Hal Rotholz (2021 bestbet Jacksonville Spring Series closer – the $2,500 Main Event for $180,986), and Daniel Sepiol (Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Riverside $1,100 Main Event for $162,750) were the notable winners.

Online Railbird Report

The standout performer this week was PokerGuru Ambassador Vishal Bajaj! The MTT pro became the latest Millionaire champion on Sunday, banking a personal-best ₹16.86 Lakhs. His performance not only landed him the top spot on the weekly rankings but also awarded him the “PokerGuru Star of the Week” title!

Gaurav Sharma had come incredibly close to clinching the Millionaire title but fell one spot short, finishing runner-up for a career-best ₹9.32 Lakhs. Our only female Young Gun to-date, Kanchan Sharma, secured a third-place finish worth ₹6.47 Lakhs.

Our latest Young Gun Sanat Mehrotra has also been in sublime form this week. The former Full House champion raked in ₹9.75 Lakhs in weekly earnings and is presently ranked #2 on the weekly leaderboard.

His top finishes include:

– 2nd in ₹30 Lakhs GTD Mega Suits for ₹4.11 Lakhs

– 1st in ₹16 Lakhs GTD Mega Stack – Millionaire Bubble for ₹3.49 Lakhs

– 3rd in ₹20 Lakhs GTD BSS#4 SuperStack for ₹1.89 Lakhs

Seasoned pro Shashank Jain topped a 593-entry field in Adda52’s Mega Suits to bank an impressive ₹7.05 Lakhs.

Kanav Parwal championed the Adda52 Millions for ₹6.86 Lakhs.

PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish Ahuja closed out another trailblazing week. The #3 ranked player of 2020, Ahuja, is currently placed #7 on the weekly rankings with ₹5.62 Lakhs in weekly earnings. He is ranked #5 on the yearly leaderboard and became the fifth player to cross the ₹1 Crore-mark in annual winnings this week.

His top finishes include:

– 2nd in ₹20 Lakhs GTD BSS#4 SuperStack for ₹2.94 Lakhs

– 1st in ₹5 Lakhs GTD Battle Royale for ₹1.10 Lakhs

PokerGuru Ambassador Devvrat Arya, Pratibh Saluja, Akshay Nasa, Sriharsha Doddapaneni, Young Gun Sahil Chutani, Manish Ranjan, Siddarth Singhvi, and Manish Lakhotia were among the other top scorers this week.

Notable Winners of the Week

Eminent Sports Personalities Endorse Fantasy Sports Apps Ahead of IPL 2021

With the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) all set to commence on April 9, fantasy sports and rummy platforms have gone on overdrive by roping well-known sports personalities for endorsements.

Ajinkya Rahane Joins My11Circle as Brand Ambassador

The vice-captain of the Indian test team, Ajinkya Rahane, has joined My11Circle as its latest brand ambassador. The online gaming portal already boasts an illustrious lineup of sports representatives like former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, Australian cricketer Shane Watson, Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Rashid Khan and former Indian batsman VVS Laxman.

Harbhajan Singh Promotes Rummy Culture’s “Champions” Campaign

Cricketing legend Harbhajan Singh headlines Rummy Culture’s “Champions” campaign that also featured other sporting greats such as tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi, Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra, and World Billiards and Snooker champion Pankaj Advani.

Leander Paes & Geeta Phogat Join MPL’s “Maidan Naya, Khelo Wohi” Campaign

Tennis icon Leander Paes and wrestler Geeta Phogat launched Bengaluru-based Mobile Premier League’s (MPL) national print and TV campaign, “Maidan Naya, Khelo Wohi” this week.

Read the complete report here

Offshore Casino in Goa Sealed Off as Micro Containment Zone After Staffers Test Positive

Goa`s state government has imposed section 144 of CrPC in North and South Goa districts prohibiting social gatherings following a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases. The famous Shigmo festival has also been canceled, and the state health department has declared an offshore casino as a micro-containment zone after 26 staffers tested positive.

Read the complete report here

Dream Sports Reaches $5 Billion Valuation After Securing $400 Million in Secondary Funding Round

Fantasy gaming portal Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports, closed a secondary funding round amassing $400 Million (~₹2,904 Crores) from TCV, D1 Capital Partners, and Falcon Edge. Dream Sports is now valued at $5 Billion (~₹36,218 Crores), nearly doubling its valuation in six months since the last funding round in September last year.

Read the complete report here

Nazara Technologies Registers 45% Gains to Close at ₹1,592 on Listing Day

Mobile gaming company Nazara Technologies became the country’s first gaming company to go public on March 17. The company’s stock witnessed quite an upheaval on listing day at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on March 30. The stock opened at an 80.7% premium at ₹1,990 and hit an intra-day high of ₹2,024 but shed over 20% in the afternoon trade to close at the day’s low of ₹1,592. The share price dropped down to ₹1,466.30 on March 31.

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.