This Week in Poker: October 16 – 22

Welcome to ‘This Week in Poker,’ where we bring you 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 highlights!

This past week was a whirlwind for Indian poker, with action exploding both live and online! The highly anticipated Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) made a ‘grand’ return to Goa, rebranded as the DPT Grand and promising bigger prizes, more tournaments and even DPT bracelets. Meanwhile, a crew of Indian players headed to Manila for the APPT Manila Championship while others were busy setting the PokerStars EPT Cyprus on fire, racking up impressive scores. And back home, the online action continued to sizzle, with PokerBaazi’s 10th Anniversary celebrations and Natural8 India’s high-stakes tournaments serving up jaw-dropping prizes.

The inaugural DPT Grand kicked off on October 22 at the luxurious Casino Deltin Royale in Goa, featuring 15 tournaments and – for the first time ever – five DPT bracelets inspired by the legendary WSOP bracelets. The opening day featured two headline events: the Day 2 finale of the ₹11K DPT Grand Rush and the ₹40K Mystery Bounty.

Sagar Raj emerged as the hero of the opening day, taking down the DPT Grand Rush for a career-best ₹18.31 Lakhs and the first-ever DPT bracelet! Raj, who has been crushing it online this year with over ₹2.50 Crores in winnings and a #16 ranking in the POY race, proved that his skills translate seamlessly to the live arena. He battled through a field of 96 players who had qualified through online starting flights on Adda52.com, ultimately defeating Ramji Kishore G heads-up to win his first-ever live title. Kishore also had an amazing run, finishing runner-up for a personal best ₹13 Lakhs.

The ₹40K Mystery Bounty also drew a sizable crowd of 137 entries, with 27 players surviving the intense Day 1 action. Young Gun Ashwin Vijayvergiya bagged the chip lead with 276,000 chips, followed by Kishore Kumar (272,000) and Basant Singh (204,000). The final showdown ended in a three-way deal, with Chirag Sodha, who started the final day with a middling stack, winning an open flip to take home the DPT Grand medallion and ₹5.18 Lakhs. Debayan Das won the second flip to secure the runner-up spot and ₹4.15 Lakhs, while Kishore bagged the lion’s share of ₹6.64 Lakhs from the deal, but finished third after losing both flips.

Meanwhile, the 2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus concluded on October 20 at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa. Among the 45 winners, German pro Oliver Weis stood out by clinching the $5,300 EPT Cyprus Main Event title and a jaw-dropping $1.03 Million, winning his third major title this year! Local star Georgios Tsouloftas wasn’t far behind, pocketing a career-high $642,300 for his runner-up finish.

Indian poker powerhouse Santhosh Suvarna, the country’s all-time money leader, made significant strides in Cyprus. Despite starting Day 4 of the Main Event on a short stack, Suvarna fought back multiple times before finishing 21st, earning a solid $31,940 (~₹26.85 Lakhs).

Suvarna made three more standout performances in the series: a fifth-place finish in the $10,200 Mystery Bounty, adding $34,600 (~₹29.09 Lakhs) to his tally; seventh in the $15,200 NLHE Turbo Knockout Freezeout for $27,000 (~₹22.70 Lakhs); and 43rd in the $10,300 EPT High Roller for $20,100 (~₹16.90 Lakhs).

Although not up to his usual towering standards, these performances earned him a total of $113,640 (~₹95.94 Lakhs) in winnings from the series, boosting his career live earnings to over ₹122 Crores—all achieved in just two short years! Suvarna now proudly sits at #82 on poker’s all-time money list and leads the GPI POY (India) rankings.

For his outstanding performances at EPT Cyprus, Santhosh Suvarna takes the crown as our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Apoorva Goel also has a great run in Cyprus, finishing 23rd in the $10,300 EPT High Roller for $35,200 (~₹29.59 Lakhs) – his best live score of the year. This cash, along with his 27th-place finish in the $3,000 Mystery Bounty for $7,860 (~₹6.61 Lakhs), pushed his total live earnings past the $500,000 mark.

Here are some of the standout winners from EPT Cyprus:

• Guo Liang Wei (Won $3,000 Mystery Bounty for $265,972
• Elias Gutierrez (Won $25,000 Second Chance for $390,200)
• Ryan Mandara (Won $10,300 EPT High Roller for $709,285)
• Mikalai Vaskaboinikau (Won $10,200 NL Hold’em for $195,500)

On the Asian circuit, a small group of Indian players have been making waves at the PokerStars LIVE APPT Manila Championship 2024 at Okada Manila. Over the first five days, this crew has already racked up nine cashes, including four final table appearances and a thrilling title victory!

Pranav Agrawal has been a standout performer, clinching his first-ever live title in Event #13: NLH – 20/15/10, taking home ₱207,200 (~₹3.03 Lakhs) after a heads-up deal with Po Hsun Liao, who earned ₱181,800 for his runner-up finish.

PokerStars India ambassador Siddharth Karia has been active. Karia, who has kept us updated with regular social media posts, scored the largest win among the Indian contingent so far by finishing sixth in the ₱10 Million GTD Okada Kickoff for ₱380,000 (~₹5.55 Lakhs). He also placed 11th in Event #25: Megastack, adding another ₱37,000 (~₹54,000) to his series winnings.

Anju Abrol also joined the action, finishing 16th in Event #25: Megastack and pocketing ₱26,000 (~₹38,000).

Chirag Shah, a regular on the Asian circuit, has made his mark with several deep runs. He finished fourth in Event #4: Knockout Turbo [₱5K Bounty], earning ₱67,000 (~₹98,000), followed by a 16th place finish in the ₱10 Million GTD Okada Kickoff for ₱93,000 (~₹1.36 Lakhs). Shah also reached the final table in Event #17: Survivor Knockout [₱30K Bounty], placing eighth for ₱43,000 (~₹62,000).

Another PokerStars India ambassador, Young Gun Neel Joshi, took a break from his online grind for some live action, and it’s paying off! The 2024 Player of the Year (POY) race frontrunner bagged a hefty 452,000 stack on Flight A of the ₱25 Million GTD APPT Open, heading into Day 2 as the overall chip leader. Joshi ultimately finished 32nd, earning ₱155,000 (~₹2.24 Lakhs) for his deep run.

Rishi Karamchandani nearly claimed India’s second title of the series in Event #23: Knockout Hyper Turbo [₱5K Bounty], but finished runner-up for ₱138,000 (~₹2 Lakhs).

Even with the record-breaking G.O.A.T. 2024 wrapping up last week, the online poker scene remains as intense as ever. PokerBaazi’s 10th Anniversary celebrations have kept the virtual tables buzzing with fierce competition and high-stakes action as the two-month-long festivities reach their final stages.

Akash Malik stole the show this week, claiming the title of the top online winner. Malik raked in a stunning ₹18.03 Lakhs on a sensational Sunday across six deep runs. This cash game veteran turned tournament beast made a phenomenal debut on Natural8 India, finishing sixth in the Sunday Grande Main Event 250, earning a whopping ₹9.13 Lakhs. He came close to clinching another major title in PokerBaazi’s BSS SuperStack but ended as the runner-up, pocketing ₹5.94 Lakhs. Malik also triumphed in Natural8 India’s Sunday Hyper 50 (₹1.90 Lakhs) and finished runner-up in the Daily Hyper 100 (₹69,886). His exceptional performance made him the undisputed online king this week, surpassed only by Natural8 India’s ‘Shouryaanga,’ who took down the Zodiac Sunday Main Event for a colossal ₹18.72 Lakhs!

Uttam Gope, Nishant Kumar, Aditya Agarwal, Habil Jiruwala, Shreyansh Sharma, and Ankur Sehgal were among the other top online scorers this week!

Top Online Winners of the Week

In groundbreaking news for India`s real-money gaming industry, a new system called “The Skill Games Framework: An Objective Framework to Determine Permissible Online Real Money Games” has been launched. Developed by top statistician Padma Shri Professor (Dr.) Bimal Roy, in collaboration with The Dialogue (a public-policy think tank), this framework uses a scientific, data-driven approach to determine whether a game is truly skill-based or relies more on luck. This is a huge win for India’s booming online gaming market, and it’s the first comprehensive effort to create a standardized, objective method for classifying online real-money games in India!

The PokerGO Tour (PGT) made a spectacular comeback at the iconic PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas with the PGT PLO Series II, powered by PLO Mastermind, running from October 14 to 22. The series brought together the world’s top PLO players, all vying for glory, the prestigious $10,000 PGT Passport (awarded to the overall points leader), and a seat in the $1 Million PGT Championship freeroll for the top 40 players.

Nine champions were crowned throughout the series, but the spotlight shone brightest on Matthew Wantman, who emerged as the series champion after a close battle with Samuli Sipila. Wantman racked up an incredible 453 PGT points, dominating the field with a victory in Event #3: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha and four final table finishes. He capped off his stellar run with a seventh-place finish in Event #9: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty, securing the PGT Gold Cup and a $10,000 PGT Passport.

The series also featured big wins from poker’s elite. Online legend Ben Tollerene triumphed in Event #8: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, capturing the coveted title and a massive $496,000 first-place prize.

Daniel Negreanu, one of the most recognizable names in the game, claimed another major victory by winning Event #6: $10,100 Pot-Limit Omaha, taking home a cool $265,200! This marked Negreanu’s fourth major win of 2024 and his third PGT title of the season.

Poker legend Isaac Haxton added to the excitement by clinching the title in Event #5: $15,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Progressive Bounty, adding $383,740 to his already staggering earnings. This win brought Haxton’s lifetime tournament earnings just shy of the $50 Million mark, placing him hot on the heels of Dan Smith for fourth place on poker’s all-time money list.

Jeremy Ausmus also made his mark after an extended drought by winning Event #7: $15,100 Pot-Limit Omaha, snagging his sixth PGT title and a hefty $288,000, adding to his lead on the season leaderboard.

The other standout winners of the series were:

• Lautaro Guerra (Won Event #1: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha for $178,250)
• Dylan Weisman (Won Event #2: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Progressive Bounty for $195,245)
• James Chen (Won Event #4: $10,100 Pot-Limit Omaha for $220,000)
• Anthony Hu (Won Event #9: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty for $70,560)

With this, we conclude this week’s round-up of the latest news updates and developments from the world of poker. We will return next week with another weekly report. Stay tuned!