7 Minutes Read
In the PokerGuru feature, ‘This Week in Poker,’ we bring you the weekly round-up 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!
The second week of March brought abundant action on the online and offline felts! The weekend was especially electrifying as Spartan Poker’s Final Table Series 6.0, PokerBaazi’s 1000X Seriers 3.0, PokerStars India’s MicroMillions 5.0, and IndiaPlays’ The Dominator Series reached a crescendo.
The live tournament action was equally astounding as the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia went underway at the NagaWorld Integrated Resorts with a large Indian contingent in attendance.
The Sunday magnum opus was Spartan Poker’s ₹2 Crores GTD FTS #58 G.O.D. Ashish Ahuja became the first-ever FTS G.O.D champion, banking a jaw-dropping ₹27.55 Lakhs following a three-way deal. Despite his stellar win, Ahuja was not the week`s top scorer as WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer stole the show. The Young Gun‘s spectacular runs saw him accumulating ₹54.80 Lakhs this week, including two FTS gold medallions and The Master Table victory that landed him a Las Vegas package worth ₹10 Lakhs. For his phenomenal performance, Iyer is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”
Ashish Munot, Sreekanth Narayan, Srihari Bang, and Ankit Wadhawan were the other top scorers this past week.
After a hectic two weeks, the online poker crowd gets a few weeks of downtime before the biggest-ever National Poker Series India returns on PokerBaazi on March 29.
In the meantime, PokerDangal’s Dangal Micro Value Series will keep the micro-stakes player engaged from March 16 to 19 alongside IndiaPlays’ inaugural ₹35 Lakhs GTD Micro Poker League, which runs until April 2.
PokerMatch India is all set to host the much-awaited Poker Episode 2 – Turbo Weekend mini-series, which guarantees a staggering ₹1.70 Crores (over €200,000) in guaranteed prize money across 20 fast-paced tournaments from March 16 to 19.
PokerSaint has recently launched a captivating promotion named ‘Ace It,’ which spans 28 days and offers cash game players an opportunity to win from the guaranteed ₹10.50 Crores in rewards on the cash tables.
While the online tournaments have been low-key since the start of the week, the live action at the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia has not. As of March 14, the Indian contingent at the series has registered 36 cashes, including 12 final table finishes and a title win.
Headlining the Indian scorecard in Cambodia is Vikaash Shah, with his runner-up finish in the NagaWorld Millions for $35,170. Taiwan’s Maggie Chien Chih Weng shipped the event for a personal-best $50,150, claiming her maiden live title and becoming the first woman to lift a WPT trophy at the ongoing series.
Bringing India her first WPT title of the year was Alok Birewar, who took down the Deepstack NLH Freezeout for $7,748 and his second WPT trophy.
With the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia slated to run till March 21, the Indian rail will likely see many more title sweats from our Indian challengers.
In other news, Meghalaya’s Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, announced the government’s decision to repeal the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act 2021, which legalized regulated gaming and casinos in select locations in the state. The government plans to table an amendment bill during the assembly budget session starting on March 20.
The first-ever outing for the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series at the Hoiana Resort & Golf in Quang Nam, Vietnam, ran from March 1 to 13, comprising 15 high-stakes tournaments. Two days after Talal Shakerchi won the $100K NLHE Main Event for a career-best $3.25 Million, Aaron Zang championed the $100K Short Deck Main Event for $1.54 Million.
Danny Tang (Won Event #11: $25K Short Deck for $427,000), Mike Watson (Won Event #12: $50K Short Deck for $695,000), and Sam Greenwood (Won Event #14: $20K Short Deck Turbo for $207,000) won the other Short Deck titles wrapping up the series.
The first-ever PGT PLO Series kicked off on March 12 at the PokerGO Studio inside the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Daniyal Iqbal (Event #1: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for $160,000) and Allen Shen (Event #2: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty for $127,290) shipped the first two tournaments at the series.
Online Railbird Report
One of India’s top poker stalwarts, Abhinav Iyer, was on a lush scoring spree throughout the week. He added a jaw-dropping ₹54.80 Lakhs in cash prizes and a Las Vegas package worth ₹10 Lakhs this past week, courtesy of two title victories and two podium finishes. The country’s first solo WSOP bracelet winner set the virtual felts ablaze with his extravagant performance, making him the week’s top scorer and our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!
His top finishes include:
> 1st in Spartan Poker’s FTS #40 Thursday Grande (6-Max) for ₹22,00,000
> 1st in Spartan Poker’s FTS #57 Sunday Grande (6-Max) for ₹17,06,250
> 1st in Spartan Poker’s FTS -Master Table (6 Max) for ₹10,00,000 Vegas Package
> 6th in Spartan Poker’s FTS #46 Super High Roller (6-Max) for ₹9,79,600
> 3rd in Spartan Poker’s FTS #49 Saturday Titan – Beat The Pro – PKO for ₹3,86,331
The IOPC 14.0 Super High Roller champion Ashish Munot has been the talk of the poker community ever since he won Spartan poker FTS #46 Super High Roller – his second SHR title of the year – for a career-best payday worth ₹46.06 Lakhs.
Munot`s breakout Friday score catapulted the poker pro to the top of the annual rankings, making him the first player to cross ₹1 Crore in yearly profits. This week, he added a hefty ₹52.42 Lakhs to his poker bankroll.
His top finishes include:
> 1st in Spartan Poker’s FTS #46 Super High Roller (6-Max) for ₹46,05,700
> 5th in Spartan Poker’s FTS #57 Sunday Grande (6-Max) for ₹5,00,500
Sunday’s top scorer, Sreekanth Narayan, finished third on the week`s online charts, netting a whopping ₹36.85 Lakhs overall. Even though Narayan missed out on a title victory, he fired a string of masterful finishes in some of the biggest guaranteed tournaments.
His top finishes include:
> 3rd in Spartan Poker’s FTS #58 – 2 Crore GTD – G.O.D (Game Of Diamonds) for ₹26,40,255
> 3rd in Adda52 Millions for ₹3,75,718
> 3rd in PokerBaazi’s BSS SuperStack for ₹2,17,086
> 4th in Spartan Poker’s FTS #43 Marathon for ₹1,88,100
> 2nd in PokerStars India’s Micro Millions-28 [KO Low Roller] for ₹1,17,677
The former IOPC The Millionaire champion, Srihari Bang, surfed through Spartan Poker’s FTS in grand style, thrashing out a lofty ₹35.70 Lakhs this past week. He most notably won Spartan Poker’s FTS #35 Wednesday Grande (₹15.84 Lakhs) and came second in FTS #57 Sunday Grande (6-Max) (₹11.96 Lakhs).
His top finishes include:
> 1st in Spartan Poker’s FTS #35 Wednesday Grande for ₹15,84,100
> 2nd in Spartan Poker’s FTS #57 Sunday Grande (6-Max) for ₹11,96,000
> 1st in PokerBaazi’s The Summit for ₹4,80,246
Ankit Wadhawan placed fifth on the week`s online charts, adding ₹32.22 Lakhs to his poker bankroll. His biggest score came from a scintillating runner-up finish in Spartan Poker’s FTS #58 – 2 Crore GTD – G.O.D (Game Of Diamonds) (₹26.65 Lakhs).
His top finishes include:
> 2nd in Spartan Poker’s FTS #58 – 2 Crore GTD – G.O.D (Game Of Diamonds) for ₹26,64,580
> 4th in PokerBaazi’s BSS SuperStack for ₹1,65,579
Harshit Sanghi, Vikrant Varma, Ashish Ahuja, Manish Lakhotia, Aditya Agarwal, and Myron Pereira were the week`s other top online scorers.
Notable Winners of the Week
Player | Prize Amount | Event | Poker Site |
---|---|---|---|
Gokul Raj | ₹29.87 Lakhs | MHW Colossus ₹1 Crore GTD | Adda52 |
Laksh Pal Singh | ₹26.51 Lakhs | FTS #9 High Roller (6-Max) ₹1 Crore GTD | Spartan Poker |
Rajat Sharma | ₹16.93 Lakhs | FTS #19 Sunday Grande ₹60 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ashish Ahuja | ₹15.89 Lakhs | FTS #18 Sunday Titan ₹1 Crore GTD | Spartan Poker |
Monam Hayat | ₹14.80 Lakhs | FTS #8 Friday Titan ₹70 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Advait Rajguru | ₹14.75 Lakhs | MHW Big Game ₹50 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Vinayak Bajaj | ₹13.91 Lakhs | FTS #4 Thursday Grande (6-Max) ₹60 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Sanjay Mohan | ₹13.26 Lakhs | The MoneyMaker ₹2 Crores GTD | PokerBaazi |
Amit Gehani | ₹12.89 Lakhs | FTS #29 Tuesday Titan ₹65 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Sahil Nair | ₹11.83 Lakhs | FTS #20 Marathon ₹50 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Rahul Jain | ₹11.29 Lakhs | FTS #30 Tuesday Grande ₹50 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Laksh Pal Singh | ₹9.10 Lakhs | FTS #3 Thursday Titan ₹50 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Satyam Verma | ₹5.55 Lakhs | FTS #16 ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
“Slothers” | ₹5.43 Lakhs | FTS #21 Turbo ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Avinash Koneru | ₹5.30 Lakhs | 1000X#12 Sunday Prime ₹40 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Karan Kapur | ₹5.24 Lakhs | (7-Max) BSS Championship ₹35 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Avneesh Munjal | ₹5.17 Lakhs | Destiny 26.0 ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Maddhav Kohli | ₹5.40 Lakhs | The Summit ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Aditya Sushant | ₹5.16 Lakhs | The Weekly Highroller ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Mahesh Shyamsundar | ₹5.11 Lakhs | Wednesday High Roller (6-Max) ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Siddharth Gangwar | ₹4.77 Lakhs | BSS HighRoller ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Kunal Patni | ₹4.65 Lakhs | Godfather ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Vaidik Murkar | ₹4.38 Lakhs | FTS #1 Big Bang ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Dhaval Mudgal | ₹4.11 Lakhs | Maverick ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Ankit Wadhawan | ₹4.05 Lakhs | 1000X#3 Friday Prime ₹35 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Sriharsha Doddapaneni | ₹3.81 Lakhs | The Endeavour ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“Squeezeit” | ₹3.72 Lakhs | 1000X#20 Tuesday Prime ₹25 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“saifjolly” | ₹3.70 Lakhs | The Pride ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“kartikhaha” | ₹3.63 Lakhs | The Mint ₹14 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Gaurang Bhatti | ₹3.14 Lakhs | FTS #17 Triple Chance ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Satyam Bhalla | ₹3.11 Lakhs | FTS #31 Turbo Deepstack ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ganesh Kamat | ₹3.07 Lakhs | FTS #5 Turbo ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Areyann Gurbaxani | ₹3.02 Lakhs | Sunday Special [8-Max] PKO ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
“ansh91174000000” | ₹2.64 Lakhs | 1000X#9 Sunday Kickoff ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Ravi Jain | ₹2.42 Lakhs | FTS #2 ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Gautam Bansal | ₹2.30 Lakhs | 1000X#13 ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Vijay Maithani | ₹2.28 Lakhs | FTS #10 Turbo – Monster Stack ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Bhanu Prakash KC | ₹2.19 Lakhs | FTS #28 ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Kanishka Samant | ₹2.19 Lakhs | (7-Max) SPRINT ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Pankaj Khandelwal | ₹2.10 Lakhs | (7-Max) SPRINT ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“1299sanj” | ₹2.02 Lakhs | (7-Max) SPRINT ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Rajat Sharma | ₹2.01 Lakhs | The Colosseum [6-Max] ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
“ToiDoi11” | ₹1.97 Lakhs | The Big Bash [8-Max] PKO ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Rishab Malik | ₹1.92 Lakhs | Sunday Showdown ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Pradip Ghosh | ₹1.81 Lakhs | (7-Max) SPRINT ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Parag Shah | ₹1.69 Lakhs | Daily Value Boost ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Kanishka Samant | ₹1.61 Lakhs | FTS #6 ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Jimmy Arora | ₹1.58 Lakhs | FTS #27 Triple Chance ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Lourembam Joshima Devi | ₹1.57 Lakhs | 1000X#1 Kickoff ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Rishab Malik | ₹1.52 Lakhs | Daily Value Boost ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Ridhav Chawla | ₹1.35 Lakhs | 1000X#11 ₹12.5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Amol Nimsarkar | ₹1.32 Lakhs | FTS #7 Triple Chance ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Rajneesh Thakur | ₹1.31 Lakhs | 1000X#4 (6-Max) ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“Haydos21” | ₹1.18 Lakhs | 1000X#21 ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Rahul Purohit | ₹1.16 Lakhs | 1000X#19 ₹8 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Surbhit Grover | ₹1.01 Lakhs | (7-Max) Afternoon Boost ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Karan Malhotra | ₹1 Lakh | Master Minds [8-Max] ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
“SetAlight” | ₹1.02 Lakhs | Daily Turbo (6-Max) ₹4.50 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Vinay B | ₹99K | (7-Max) Daily SPRINT ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“Whoarewe” | ₹93K | (7-Max) Daily SPRINT ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“SHIPITUP18” | ₹86K | (7-Max) Afternoon Boost ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“Amod” | ₹83K | 1000X #18 ₹7 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“sabkabaaapkc” | ₹82K | (7-Max) Afternoon Boost ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
“BHARATSINGH01” | ₹80K | (7-Max) Afternoon Boost ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Piyush Nanda | ₹74K | Micro Millions-13 [Uppercut Mini] ₹3.5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Cherag Batliwalla | ₹73K | 1000X#2 Turbo ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
IndiaPlays First-Ever Micro Poker League Gets Extra-Rewarding With Attractive Deposit Offers!
IndiaPlays’ first-ever ₹35 Lakhs GTD Micro Poker League kicked off on March 10 and will run until April 2. Sporting affordable tournament buy-ins ranging from ₹1 to ₹880, the low-to-mid-stakes grinders are in for a treat. The site also offers free tickets to tournaments or an Instant Bonus ranging from 5-10% through attractive deposit offers.
Read the complete report here.
PokerMatch India’s Poker Episode 2 – ₹1.70 Crores GTD Turbo Weekend Mini-Series to Run From March 16 – 19
PokerMatch India`s Poker Episode 2 – Turbo Weekend mini-series starts soon for a four-day run, guaranteeing a massive ₹1.70 Crores (over €200,000) across 20 tournaments from March 16 to 19.
The tournament buy-ins in the Turbo Weekend mini-series range from ₹400 (€5) to ₹40,000 (€500), and the top attractions are three multi-flighted tournaments – each sporting a Progressive Knockout format.
Read the complete report here.
PokerSaint’s ‘Ace It’ Promotion Offer a Jaw-Dropping ₹10.50 Crores For Cash Game Enthusiasts (March 13 – April 9)
PokerSaint’s has unveiled a brand-new 28-day ‘Ace It’ promotion that gives all cash game opportunists a chance to win from the guaranteed ₹10.50 Crores in rewards on the cash tables. Play at the stakes you like and collect VIP Points to climb the daily leaderboards to win from ₹37,48,500 daily.
Read the complete report here.
WPT Prime Cambodia Updates
The 2023 World Poker Tour Prime Cambodia, the second WPT Prime stop of Season XXI, returned to NagaWorld Integrated Resorts on Thursday, March 9. The 30-tournament festival will run until March 21.
A sizable Indian contingent is present at the series, and the scores are piling on. The team scored its first win on Saturday, with Alok Birewar extending his Day 1 chip lead in Deepstack NLH Freezeout to the finish line, lifting his second WPT trophy and $7,748 in first-place prize money.
Read the complete report here.
Team India’s Vikaash Shah was close to binking the NagaWorld Millions but fell one short of the glory, banking $35,170 for his runner-up finish. Spartan Poker Team Pro Zarvan Tumboli finished fourth for $15,150. Taiwan’s Maggie Chien Chih Weng claimed victory, winning her first-ever live title and a personal-best $50,150.
Read the complete report here.
India’s Deep Raina finished runner-up in the $300 buy-in NLHE Turbo for $4,094.50 following an even heads-up deal with USA’s Lucas Tae (1st for $4,094.50).
Read the complete report here.
Team India Scores at WPT Prime Cambodia (Until March 14)
Rank Player Event Prize Amount (USD)
2nd Vikaash Shah NagaWorld Millions $35,170
4th Zarvan Tumboli NagaWorld Millions $15,150
1st Alok Birewar Deepstack NLH Freezeout $7,748
11th Dhanesh Chainani NagaWorld Millions $4,230
2nd Deep Raina $300 NLHE Turbo $4,094.50
4th Dhanesh Chainani NagaWorld Supertsack 50K $3,360
16th Rajeev Kanjani NagaWorld Millions $2,900
7th Vineet Kumar NagaWorld Supertsack 50K $1,832
34th Harsh Bubna NagaWorld Millions $1,375
45th Abhijith Cheruku NagaWorld Millions $1,220
37th Gaurav Sood NagaWorld Millions $1,220
51st Arun Sriram NagaWorld Millions $1,100
7th Deep Raina 8-Max NLH Single Day $1,062
7th Sameer Agarwal Deepstack NLH Freezeout $1,010
13th Ankit Jajodia Deepstack NLHE $701
14th Rahul Marwaha Deepstack NLHE $701
25th Jasven Saigal NagaWorld Supertsack 50K $403
With this, we conclude this week’s round-up of the latest news updates and developments from the poker world. We will return next week with another weekly report. Stay tuned.