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!

After two months of high-octane MTT action, things seem to have settled down somewhat this week. The only silver lining in an otherwise uneventful week was Spartan Poker’s The Millionaire that crowned a first-time champion in Abhishek Jain. The 30-year-old from Siliguri won the title for a career-best ₹17.03 Lakhs just four days after his third-place finish in Spartan Poker`s Destiny. With a commendable 19.34 Lakhs in recorded winnings throughout the week, Jain tops the charts to clinch our “PokerGuru Star of the Week” title.

Among the other standout winners was PokerGuru Ambassador Ankit Wadhawan, who won the Destiny, even as Young Gun Arsh Grover shipped the Godfather and Running Hot. The Millionaire runner-up Pravin Garle, Young Gun Anuj Yadav, Vinay BK, PokerGuru Ambassador Vishal Bajaj, Mohammad Azhar, Rishab Malik, and Archit Saraogi were the other top scorers of the week.

Enough of the calm. We’re looking ahead at three flagship series on the horizon! Spartan Poker’s Final Table Series (FTS 3.0) gets going on Friday (September 10) and will unleash 30 high-value events promising ₹12 Crores in guaranteed prizes.

The other heavy-duty series coming up ahead is PokerStars India’s India Championship of Online Poker (INCOOP). The site`s fourth flagship MTT offering of the year, INCOOP, returns for its second edition from September 14 to 28. There is a whopping ₹5.70 Crores guaranteed across 142 high-value events.

For the low to mid-stakes players, PokerBaazi will be hosting the Indian Micro Poker Series (IMPS) Gold Edition from September 12 to 26.

Moving on to the top developments, the online gaming sector was delivered another massive blow this week. On Saturday, the Karnataka state cabinet unanimously decided to ban all forms of online betting activities, except lotteries and horseracing. Like bans imposed in other southern states, all forms of real-money online betting are to be declared a criminal activity in Karnataka. On September 13, the government will table a draft bill seeking amendments to the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, to enact the ban.

However, not all the news was gloomy. Goa’s Ports Minister Michael Lobo hinted that the government might permit casinos to reopen in October after evaluating the COVID-19 situation in the country.

In another positive development, Goa’s Investment Promotion Board (IPB) finally approved Delta Corp’s ambitious Integrated Resort project at Dhargal, Pernem, and the company`s share prices have witnessed a sharp increase in reaction to this news.

Moving to the international live updates, the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) Europe came to a close on Wednesday. The former Polish professional handball player and high stakes cash game crusher Wiktor Malinowski walked away with the Main Event title and a personal-best $3.70 Million.

The 2021 WSOP Online Series on GGPoker/Natural8 is only four days away from the finish line. With only a handful of bracelets left to be won, all eyes are on the $20 Million GTD Main Event Online Championship. The event registered a 4,092-player field overlaying over $500K. It`s down to the final table with Brazil’s Edson Tsutsumi Jr. leading the group. India’s fifth bracelet champion, “Mandovi,” was among the handful of Indians who made Day 2 and finished 27th for $68,301 (₹50.15 Lakhs).

Online Railbird Report

Spartan Poker’s ₹1 Crore GTD The Millionaire was the star attraction this week and saw 30-year-old Abhishek Jain storm his way into the “Millionaire`s Club” after toppling a 1,863-strong field on Sunday to win a career-best ₹17.03 Lakhs. Jain had placed third in Destiny for ₹2.31 Lakhs four days ago. With ₹19.34 Lakhs in recorded winnings this week, Jain is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week.”

His top finishes include:

> 1st in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹17.03 Lakhs

> 3rd in the Destiny ₹23 Lakhs GTD for ₹2.31 Lakhs

PokerGuru AmbassadorAnkit Wadhawan added ₹11.91 Lakhs in weekly winnings. Over half of this figure came from his winning run in the Destiny. He also FT-ed The Summit and the BSS SuperStack.

His top finishes include:

> 1st in the Destiny ₹23 Lakhs GTD for ₹6.12 Lakhs

> 3rd in The Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTD for ₹1.75 Lakhs

> 5th in the BSS SuperStack ₹20 Lakhs GTD for ₹1.08 Lakhs

Young Gun Arsh Grover had quite the run on Adda52 this past week. He won the Godfather and Running Hot titles, in addition to final tabling the Maverick, netting over ₹10.75 Lakhs.

His top finishes include:

> 1st in the Godfather ₹25 Lakhs GTD for ₹6.13 Lakhs

> 1st in the Running Hot for ₹1.48 Lakhs

> 3rd in the Maverick for ₹1.54 Lakhs

PokerGuru Ambassador Mithun Mahesh worked up ₹10.51 Lakhs in recorded winnings this week.

His top finishes include:

> 3rd in The Millionaire ₹1 Crore GTD for ₹6.59 Lakhs

> 1st in the Bounty Builder ₹10 Lakhs GTD for ₹2.52 Lakhs

Pravin Garle placed runner-up in The Millionaire for ₹9.46 Lakhs, and his weekly tally touched approximately ₹10 Lakhs.

Young Gun Anuj Yadav, Vinay BK, PokerGuru Ambassador Vishal Bajaj, Mohammad Azhar, Rishab Malik, and Archit Saraogi were the other top scorers.

Notable Winners of the Week

PokerStars India’s INCOOP to Make 2nd Run (Sept 14 – 28) With ₹5.70 Crores GTD

MTT players get ready for the India Championship of Online Poker (INCOOP) that hits the PokerStars India client from September 14 to 28. The series guarantees ₹5.70 Crores across 142 events with ticket giveaways, a series leaderboard, and much more.

Read the complete report here.

Karnataka Cabinet Approves Ban on Online Betting

Online poker and rummy could soon become illegal in Karnataka. This decision was taken by the state cabinet in a meeting on Saturday, and all forms of online betting, except for lottery and horseracing, could soon be declared a criminal activity.

The government will table a draft bill to amend the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, on September 13.

Read the complete report here

WSOP Online 2021

The GGPoker/Natural8-leg of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online 2021 is on its final stretch, with only four days left before the showdown.

The biggest attraction at the series, the $5,000 Main Event Online Championship, brought in 4,092 entries across a marathon of 27 starting flights. The event is now down to its nine-handed final table, with Brazil’s Edson “CrownUpTsu” Tsutsumi Jr leading the pack with 101 big blinds.

Several Indian players were seen in action on Day 2, and India’s fifth bracelet champion “Mandovi,” posted the deepest run from the country, finishing 27th for $68,301 (₹50.15 Lakhs).

The final table convenes at 5 PM (GMT) on September 11, and the action will be live-streamed on GGPoker`s Twitch channel.

Read the complete report here

Event #15: $10K Heads-up NLHE Championship also played out its finals. France’s Arthur Conan emerged triumphant to claim the top prize of $466,167.

Read the complete report here

Alexandru Papazian (Won Event #26: $888 Crazy Eights for $241,128), David “ZONEDin” Jackson (Won Event #25: $777 Lucky Sevens for $194,178) and Nuno “Albertov” Capucho (Won Event #23: $600 Deepstack Championship for $190,274) were the other bracelet winners of the week.

Wiktor Malinowski Wins Super High Roller Bowl Europe Main Event

This past Wednesday, the high-stakes online crusher from Poland, Wiktor “Limitless” Malinowski, added another significant accomplishment to his poker resume. A former professional handball player, Malinowski, took down the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) Europe Main Event title for a career-best $3.70 Million.

Read the complete report here

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.