This Week in Poker: May 13 – May 20

In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker,’ we bring you the weekly roundup of the most significant online scores by Indian MTT players along with the top stories from both the live and online poker circuit.

Here are this week’s top stories!

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a devastating blow to the economy and businesses worldwide. The pandemic’s impact on the poker industry has been significant – the only silver lining being the uptick in online poker that seems to have captivated the imagination of players like never before.

And once again, our weekly recap is centered mainly on the online updates. Spartan Poker’s Millionaire United, the PMVS Special Edition on PokerBaazi, and Adda52’s AOPS series form the top stories this week.

The AOPS Main Event with its ₹2 Crores guaranteed prize pool had the most massive prize money. Despite the site managing to land itself in another controversy over extra rake charged on its ‘Run it Twice’ cash tables, the ₹11,000 buy-in flagship tourney registered 1,937 entries across its six starting flights. It all came to a close on Sunday, where the anonymous ‘autobot93’ walked away with the life-changing ₹50 Lakhs! Sanket ‘cowboy12’ Jain finished runner-up for ₹26 Lakhs coming out as the week’s top performer, second only to ‘autobot93.’ Given the winners’ anonymity, Jain’s blistering run makes him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

The abundance of online action saw numerous players winning seven-figure payouts. This included AOPS Main Event FT finishers Pranav ‘pranavbang’ Bang (3rd for ₹15 Lakhs) and ‘Karanmangla (4th for ₹11.50 Lakhs).

Uttam ‘chinunew’ Kumar Sinha was another juggernaut who raked up ₹18.33 Lakhs in winnings from two titles – the Destiny ₹40 Lakhs GTD (₹9.93 Lakhs) and AOPS Holdem Highroller ₹40 Lakhs GTD (₹9.48 Lakhs).

Young Gun Arsh ‘BigggTymeR’ Grover was at his crushing best this week. His most prominent exploits included winning the INSCOOP Highroller ₹30 Lakhs GTD (₹6.29 Lakhs), not to forget his blistering runner-up finish in The Millionaire United for ₹11.41 Lakhs. He collected a total of ₹17.7 Lakhs from these big finishes.

Joining the Millionaire champion’s club was ‘lol this guy’ who won ₹14.86 Lakhs in The Millionaire United on Sunday.

Rounding out the list of seven-figure winners was Sanat ‘mehro2511’ Mehrotra who won ₹12.98 Lakhs from two AOPS victories, namely, the AOPS Mandovi ₹35 Lakhs GTD (₹9.07 Lakhs) and the AOPS PLO Highroller ₹12.5 Lakhs GTD (₹3.91 Lakhs).

In the international updates, the GGPoker Network-hosted WSOP Online Super Circuit Series has awarded 11 out of 18 gold circuit rings with ‘800-5224700’ capturing the series’ biggest event $25,000 buy-in Event #8: High Roller Championship $10M GTD for $2.19 Million.

All six SCOOP Main Events on PokerStars are done and dusted, with Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan claiming the $10,300 buy-in PLO 6-Max Main Event for $322,264 and his fifth SCOOP title. Belarus’ ‘Alexgirs‘ walked away with the Event #74-High: $10,300 NLHE 8-Max Main Event title and a $920,595.81 up top following a three-way deal.

Over at WPT Online Series, Sweden’s Christian Deppsson walked away with the series’ biggest prize, a $923,786 payday after a heads-up deal with Viktor Ustimov in the record-shattering $3,200 Online Championship.

The other segment of updates is all related to the attractive promotions announced by the major online operators. Spartan Poker has come out with a new ‘Level Up’ promotion, promising players a 25% to 50% deposit bonus on reaching the top tier Gladiator and Elite VIP levels.

Hot on the heels of a hugely successful PMVS Special Edition, PokerBaazi has rolled out round-the-clock Free Entry Tournaments from May 15 to June 16 with ₹1 Crore in Real Cash Bonus giveaways!

Poker Dangal has launched its own “Cash MAYrathon” – a month-long bonanza promising cashback at all levels, starting at ₹35 and going up all the way to ₹2.5 Lakhs.

That’s not all. Fast-growing poker network Pocket52 has laid out a lineup of 279 high-value MTTs with ₹1.2 Crores in prize pool guarantee and an additional ₹4.5 Lakhs in leaderboard prizes!

Online Railbird Report

Another blockbuster week for online poker has passed us by! This time it was Adda52’s AOPS Main Event that with its ₹2 Crores GTD had the most massive guarantee on offer. Outlasting the large 1,937-entry field was the anonymous ‘autobot93,’ who defeated Sanket ‘cowboy12’ Jain heads-up to add a whopping ₹50 Lakhs to their bankroll. Given the champion’s anonymity, Jain’s impressive runner-up finish worth ₹26 Lakhs, makes him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!!”

Pranav ‘pranavbang’ Bang (3rd for ₹15 Lakhs) and ‘Karanmangla (4th for ₹11.50 Lakhs) were others who banked seven-figure scores in the AOPS Main Event.

Uttam’ chinunew’ Kumar Sinha also captured the glory and two titles – making podium finishes in the Destiny ₹40 Lakhs GTD (₹9.93 Lakhs) and AOPS Holdem Highroller ₹40 Lakhs GTD (₹9.48 Lakhs) – for a cumulative ₹18.33 Lakhs.

Closing out a hugely successful week was Young Gun Arsh ‘BigggTymeR’ Grover, who took down the INSCOOP – 52 Highroller ₹30 Lakhs GTD for ₹6.29 Lakhs. Grover was also among the frontrunners to win the Millionaire United ₹1 Crore GTD that attracted 1,407 entries. He ultimately lost the race to ‘lol this guy’ (winner for ₹14.86 Lakhs) heads-up. Nevertheless, Grover’s runner-up finish fetched him a hefty ₹11.41 Lakhs payday. These two scores alone added a jaw-dropping ₹17.7 Lakhs to his tally!

Sanat ‘mehro2511’ Mehrotra was another standout winner with two AOPS titles fetching him ₹12.98 Lakhs in prize money.

Aditya ‘SuperuSer’ Sushant (The Elite ₹45 Lakhs GTD for ₹9.14 Lakhs) and Guneet ‘guntz’ Kwatra (PMVS#24 Main Event SuperStack ₹50 Lakhs GTD for ₹8.61 Lakhs) also find mention among the top winners of the week!

The notable scores of the week include –

Pocket52 to Award Over ₹1.2 Crore Through Daily MTTs in May

Fast-growing online poker network Pocket52 has announced an ambitious lineup of MTTs for May. The network will be hosting 279 high-value tournaments with a combined prize pool guarantee of ₹1.2 Crores. There are an additional ₹4.5 Lakhs to be won in leaderboard prizes.

Read the complete report here

Spartan Poker Launches ‘Level Up’ Promotion

Spartan Poker has come out with a brand new offer ‘Level Up” that promises between 25% to 50% deposit bonus to all players who reach the top tier Gladiator and Elite VIP levels on the site.

Read the complete report here

Poker Dangal’s Cash MAYrathon

Poker Dangal has rolled out a month-long cash game promo called the “Cash MAYrathon.” Between May 15 to June 15, the site is assuring cashback at all levels, starting at ₹35 and going up to ₹2.5 Lakhs. Players have to accumulate Dangal Points at the cash tables and exchange them for 100% instantly redeemable winnings up to ₹2.5 Lakhs.

Read the complete report here

Adda52 Lands in Another Controversy Over Extra Rake Charged on Run It Twice Tables

India’s biggest online poker site Adda52 has managed to land itself in another controversy after many players took to social media accusing the site of charging extra rake on the Run It Twice cash game tables.

Read the complete report here

PokerStars UK Launches The Rail, Throwables

PokerStars UK now has two new features. The first is ‘The Rail’ – an interactive section within the client displaying personalized updates for players. Making their grinding hours fun, the brand has also launched ‘Throwables’ that allows players to throw virtual objects at their opponents for fun.

Read the complete report here

32Red Poker Shuts Down

Long time running online poker room 32RedPoker ceased poker operations this week as the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) shut shop. The poker skin that is owned by the Kindred Group chose not to transition to another network like many other skins running on MPN.

Read the complete report here

WSOP Online Super Circuit Series

The WSOP Online Super Circuit Series underway on the GGPoker Network has crossed the mid-way mark, with 11 out of 18 ring events finding winners. While there’s been side event action galore, Brazil’s ‘JoaoValli’ stormed past a 3,615-entry field to capture Event #6 Deepstack Bounty Hunters $500K GTD for $84,706 (including bounties).

Joining the gold ring winner’s club was ‘800-522-4700,’ who outlasted Patrick’ Babu$hka’ Leonard in the series’ biggest buy-in event, the $25,000 Event #8: High Roller Championship $10M GTD, for a $2.19 million payday.

Also winning WSOP circuit rings were ‘ShopChop96′ (Event #7: Monster Stack $500K Gtd for $135,965), ‘miya111’ (Event #9: Mini Main Event $1M GTD for $278,362), ‘ChilaxChuck’ (Event #10: PLO High Roller Championship $1M GTD for $442,041) and Lithuania’s ‘NeverGambol’ (Deepstack Bounty Hunters $500K for $73,088).

Read the complete report here

PokerStars SCOOP

This is a busy month for PokerStars that is currently hosting its biggest-ever Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). The overwhelming response has prompted the site to extend the series to May 31. Even the prize pool guarantees have been bumped up to $135 Million.

There were several standout winners this week. While Steve’ Mr. Tim Caum’ O’ Dwyer topped 89 entries to win the $25,000 Super High Roller for $522K, the series saw all of its six SCOOP Main Events crown winners.

Read the complete report here

The biggest revelation has been Connor’ blanconegro’ Drinan. After winning four SCOOP titles at the ongoing fest, Drinan raced past 159 entries to win the $10,300 buy-in PLO 6-Max Main Event for a $322,264 payday!

Another star performer was Mike Watson, who took down Event #66-H $2,100 NLHE. Watson for $80.64K. The money apart, this is Watson’s career-fifth SCOOP title.

Over at Event #75-M: $1,050 PLO 6-Max Main Event $750K GTD, three-time EPT champion Nicolas’ niccc’ Chouity topped the 1,112-player field to walk away with the top prize of $154,039.

The third PLO Main Event, Event #75-L: $109 PLO 6-Max Main Event $400K GTD attracted 6,126 runners and crowned a champion in ‘The_Truht’ who collected an $87,059 paycheque.

Read the complete report here

The showstopper tourney, Event #74-High: $10,300 NLHE 8-Max Main Event crowned a champion in Belarus’ ‘Alexgirs‘ who pocketed a $920,595.81 payday following a three-way deal with eventual runner-up Pablo ‘pabritz’ Brito Silva (2^nd for $764,941.51), and Alex ‘dynoalot’ Difelice (3^rd for $722,074.96). Brazil’s Joao ‘HayashiJoão’ Hayashi (Event #74-Medium: $1,050 NLHE Main Event for $920,066.91) and ‘auercan‘ (Event #74-Low: $109 NLHE Main Event for $371,750.73) snagged the remaining two Main Events.

WPT Online Series

It was Sweden’s Christian Deppsson, who emerged as the biggest winner at the WPT Online Series on partypoker. The online crusher topped a field of 2,130 entries in the $3,200 Online Championship for $923,786 after striking a heads-up deal with Viktor Ustimov.

This tourney entered the history books as the largest WPT Main Tour event to be ever hosted with a guarantee-smashing prize pool collection worth $6.39 million.

The other prominent winners were David Peters (Event #43 $10,300 High Roller for $247,450) and Brazil’s Thaigo Silva (Event #04 WPT Super50 for $124,074).

Read the complete report here

Earlier in the week, Canada’s Elio Fox took down Event #32 $25,000 Super High Roller for $565,500.

Read the complete report here

The popular WPT500 attracted a large field of 4,828 entries across 10 starting flights and crowned a champion in Fabio Sperling, who won $281,125 following a four-way deal.

Read the complete report here

The WPT also announced its second online series on partypoker, the WPT World Online Championships. The online stop will run from July 1 to August 9 and feature a packed schedule of 15 Championship Events and numerous side events.

Kerala HC Declares Tax on Paper Lotteries Act 2005 Unconstitutional

Hearing a petition filed by the Sikkim government, a two-judge divisional bench of the Kerala High Court comprising of Justices CK Abdul Rahim and TV Anilkumar declared the Kerala Tax on Paper Lotteries Act 2005 as unconstitutional.

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CCI Dismisses Complaint Against WB Directorate of State Lotteries & Lottery Stockists Syndicate

Fair-trade regulator Competition Commission (CCI) has closed a complaint that had charged the Directorate of State Lotteries of West Bengal and the West Bengal Lottery Stockists Syndicate of unfair practices.

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Indian Gaming League (IGL) Organizes COVID Charity Tournament

eSports platform, Indian Gaming League (IGL), in collaboration with global non-profit organization Round Table Asia Pacific, hosted the ‘Quarantine International Gaming Tournament,’ and raised ₹75,000 for COVID-19 relief.

Read the complete report here

Goa Tourism Minister Wants Only ‘Rich Tourists’ to Visit

Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar has revealed the government’s plans to recreate the tourism image of Goa to come out of the slump brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. For this, they want to recreate the 1960’s era, and this tourism facelift will see the government giving preference to wealthy tourists over budget and local tourists.

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Poker Winnings Not Eligible For TDS Cess Under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

The Union government has announced Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan promising a 25% reprieve in TDS deductions under various heads, to infuse liquidity into the system. However, the scheme that was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not include 194B, which contains provisions relating to the deduction of TDS on winnings from lotteries and real money skill games like poker.

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AIGF Adds Three Emininent Gaming Personalities to Advisory Panel

The All-India Gaming Federation (AIGF) has onboarded three eminent personalities to its advisory panel. The incoming members include Supreme Court Judge Justice Vikramajit Sen, educationist Fatema Agarkar, and the former captain of the Indian national women’s cricket team Jhulan Goswami.

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Adriano Ho Will be New DICJ Chief

The current advisor to Macau’s Secretary of Security, Adriano Ho, will be taking over charge as the Director of Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) after Paulo Martins Chan gives up the chair on June 9.

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.