WPT India: Vikash Mantri Takes Down ₹55K Main Event For ₹60.30 Lakhs

Vikash Mantri
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  • PG News November 14, 2017
  • 4 Minutes Read

The inaugural World Poker Tour (WPT) India will surely be remembered as a trailblazer in the history of Indian poker tournaments. From the opening day itself, the series witnessed unbelievable player-crowds and its headline ₹55K Main Event shattered all previous records for the highest turnout at any Indian poker series Main Event ever.

The series was flying at full throttle, with players coming in from all corners of the country and even renowned international names like Bryan Huang, Pete Chen and Daniel Weinman were in attendance.

The large numbers kept pouring in for the Main Event and a voluminous 244 entries registered on Day 1A. If that was any indication, it was surely expected that the last entry flight will see a massive field too and that’s exactly what happened as 283 entries took to the felts on Day 1B (total 527 entries), taking the total prize pool to a massive ₹2,74,08,216 with the top 54 places making it in the money.

Besting this massive field was Vikash Mantri (cover image) who banked a mammoth ₹60,30,000 in prize money for his finish. Mantri who started the final table as the chip leader kept a low profile for the most part before emerging victorious after defeating Arjun Arora in the heads-up battle.

Practically all the well-known pros had made it to the event and action was bustling throughout. Those who couldn’t make in the money included Muskan Sethi, Aditya ‘bitti’ Agarwal, WSOP bracelet winner Aditya Sushant, reigning WPT Beijing champion Pete Chen, and WPT Champions Club member Daniel Weinman.

Many notables made it in the money including Anup Palod (12th place ₹3,70,00), Mayank Agarwal (22nd place – ₹1,78,000), Sumit Asrani (25th place – ₹1,78,000), Naresh Veeravalli (26th place – ₹1,78,000), Jujhar Kochar (31st place – ₹1,64,000), Jude Praveen Kumar (32nd place – ₹1,50,500), Sahil Chutani (33rd place – ₹1,50,500), Rakesh Singh (36th place – ₹1,50,500), Vidwath Shetty (39th place – ₹1,37,041), Sailesh Lohia (40th place – ₹1,37,041), Anuj Gupta (53rd place – ₹1,10,000) and Abhishek Gondi (54th place – ₹55,000).

The nine-handed final table was set late on Sunday night after Dhruvin Kothari exited in 10th place. The hand in question saw Kothari announcing all-in with and Sunny Vijaywargi called from the big blind with . The board was of no help to Kothari who became the last elimination on Day 2.

The nine finalists then bagged their chips for the last time in the event with a plan to come back at 4 pm on Monday to play down to a champion!

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Vikash Mantri – 2,145,000
2. Sunny Vijaywargi – 1,890,000
3. Arjun Arora – 1,775,000
4. Anuj Wadhwa – 1,670,000
5. Manish Lakhotia – 1,410,000
6. Kiran Kumar – 1,350,000
7. Pavan Jain – 1,350,000
8. Anil Adiani – 1,015,000
9. Gaurav Chauhan – 500,000

 

Final Table Recap

Anuj Wadhwa was sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack when the final table began but was the first one to go out. Wadhwa made an adventurous all-in move with and Kiran Kumar looked him up with a better . Kumar further improved with a pair on the board to take down the pot, eliminating Wadhwa in ninth place.

Anuj Wadhwa
Anuj Wadhwa

Another big stack on the final table – Sunny Vijaywargi was the next casualty. Action saw Adiani opening with a raise, Vijaywargi 3-bet and Arjun Arora moved all-in behind them with . Adiani folded but Vijaywargi called with and immediately knew that he was in trouble. The board confirmed the bad news for Vijaywargi who exited in eighth place.

Sunny Vijaywargi
Sunny Vijaywargi

Next up, Kiran Kumar was knocked out in seventh place by Manish Lakhotia. Kumar opened only to see Lakhotia 3-bet holding . Kumar decided to jam with and got the call from Lakhotia who won the pot on the rundown.

Kiran Kumar
Kiran Kumar

Pavan Jain was the next to fall with Arjun Arora adding another victim to his list of eliminations. Jain open shoved and Arora called off with . Both players connected on the flop with a set for Arora and a nut straight for Jain. Jain had to avoid the full house draws to double up but the remaining two streets and paired up, completing the full house for Arora and Jain was relegated to the rails at sixth place.

Pavan Jain
Pavan Jain

Match IPL Team Kolkata Diamonds Mentor Anil Adiani played impressively to finish fifth after starting as the second shortest stack on the final table. On his last hand of the tournament, Adiani open shoved with and picked up not one but two callers in Manish Lakhotia and Arjun Arora . Both Arora and Lakhotia checked down all streets on the board with the latter taking down the pot.

Anil Adiani
Anil Adiani

The next one out was Gaurav Chauhan, who was the shortest stack when the final table play started but he managed to make it to four-handed play before his luck ran out. In another preflop showdown, Chauhan announced all-in with and Arora called with . The board missed both players and Chauhan exited in fourth place.

Gaurav Jain
Gaurav Jain

Arora was merciless and went on to claim his fourth victim on the final table in Manish Lakhotia. Arora opened the action and Lakhotia called to see the flop . Arora placed a c-bet and Lakhotia called off with the dealer bringing a to the turn. Arora fired another big bet and this time Lakhotia 3-bet; Arora called and the river completed the board. Lakhotia put in a big bet that prompted Arora to move allin with for a rivered full house. Lakhotia called and showed for a straight that sent him packing in third place.

Manish Lakhotia
Manish Lakhotia

The heads-up finale started with Arora enjoying a commanding chip lead over eventual champion Vikash Mantri but the latter turned the tables in no time and soon sealed the title.

On the final hand of the tournament, Arora limped and Mantri checked his option to see the flop open . Both players tapped the felt to see the turn card , Mantri led out and Arora 3-bet. Action was back on Mantri who called to see the complete the board. Mantri led out once again and this time Arora moved allin with for complete air. Unfortunately for Arora, Mantri called with for a flopped two pair to win the pot and along with that the title. And just like that, Mantri became the first-ever WPT India Main Event champion and walked away with a whopping ₹60.30 Lakhs in prize money along with the coveted WPT title.

Arjun Arora
Arjun Arora

Post his win, an elated Mantri said, “It is amazing, I can’t believe it. Thanks to my friends who kept cheering me up all the time, thank you so much, it’s awesome to have you.”

In an interesting side note, Mantri added, “I’m not a person who is superstitious, until today, and things changed when the WPT gave us a card protector. Now let me tell you, none of the other players used it, but I used it for all my hands, and it worked! I’m a bit superstitious now. I think I should get more of these, please (laughs).”

Vikash Mantri
Vikash Mantri

Final Table Results (INR)

1. Vikash Mantri – ₹60,30,000

2. Arjun Arora – ₹39,47,000

3. Manish Lakhotia – ₹25,20,000

4. Gaurav Chuahan – ₹19,20,000

5. Anil Adiani – ₹14,80,000

6. Pavan Jain – ₹11,51,000

7. Kiran Kumar – ₹9,32,000

8. Sunny Vijaywargi – ₹7,13,000

9. Arjun Wadhwa – ₹5,76,000

Keep following the latest updates from WPT India right here on PokerGuru!

Image and Content Courtesy: www.onlinepokernews.in

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