Saurabh Sindhwani

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Top 5 Developments of 2019 – Poker Goes Mainstream

Moving on to the fourth edition of the top five developments of 2019, we take a look at how 2019 was the year that saw poker go mainstream in the country!

Poker in India is getting more and more acceptance, and a lot of the credit for this has to be given to the media outreach efforts made by poker companies that have helped clear the negative perceptions surrounding the game.

2019 was the year that saw the industry leaders pouring millions into TV ads and digital promotions, broadening the horizons of the mind sport and taking it to the television-watching masses. The frontrunner here was the India-arm of online poker giant PokerStars. Reflecting on the change in its global strategy, PokerStars India went all out on marketing spends through mainstream channels. From sponsoring GPL India, signing on National award winner Nawazuddin Siddiqui to running round-the-clock TVC’s – the site did most of the legwork to get poker mainstream. Saving the best for the last, the site signed on as an associate sponsor for the immensely popular reality TV show Bigg Boss Season 13 on Colors.

Taking the cue from PokerStars India, even industry leader Adda52 came out with its first integrated brand campaign called ‘Banao Dimaag Ko Ameer’ last year. The campaign featured the site’s brand ambassador Chris Gayle with non-stop ads on television, OTT, and other digital platforms.

2019 was also the year that saw India further cementing its place on the international poker map. The revival of the live poker scene in Goa brought many international poker celebs like Robert Mizrachi, Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, and even Instagram sensation Dan Bilzerian to India. While their appearances helped spark public interest, it also brought Indian poker the much-needed international spotlight!

Dan Bilzerian
Dan Bilzerian

 

PokerStars India Signed Up Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Became Associate Sponsor For Bigg Boss Season 13

After entering India through its ring-fenced site, PokerStars India, in 2018, online poker giant PokerStars gave a significant impetus to increase its brand presence in the country last year. In February, it brought on-board popular Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as its brand ambassador and even roped in Oglivy India as its creative ad agency. Siddiqui was seen featuring in three videos that hit mainstream television and digital media as part of the brand’s campaign called ‘#IsNawazBluffing.’ This was followed by a digital marketing campaign in August called ‘#MadeforPoker,’ once again featuring Siddiqui.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Talking about the campaign, CEO of Sachiko Gaming, Ankur Dewani had said, “With #MadeForPoker, PokerStars India wants to connect with people from all walks of life and to make them aware of the potential poker player within them. We want to help people understand the game better and encourage them to play safely on a secure, regulated platform such as PokerStars India.”

Possibly, the most prominent marketing spend for PokerStars India came in later in the year when it signed on to become the Associate Sponsor for Season 13 of the reality TV show Bigg Boss that premiered on Colors (VIACOM) on September 29.

Watch the latest ‘# IsNawazBluffing’ video here:

Watch the latest ‘# MadeforPoker’ video here:

 

Adda52’s ‘Banao Dimaag Ko Ameer’ Campaign

Following on the footsteps of PokerStars India, the country`s largest online poker site, Adda52, launched its first integrated brand campaign with legendary cricketer and Brand Ambassador Chris Gayle. Called ‘Banao Dimaag Ko Ameer’, the campaign indicated the company’s impetus to affinity-based buying and gave out the message that poker is a mind game and enhances mental skills.

Talking about the campaign, CEO, and co-founder of Adda52, Mohit Agarwal had stated, “Poker has always maintained an image around winning prizes. As a market leader in the online poker category, Adda52 wanted to take a stand on the game which is not just about winnings but also about increasing mental agility and this is how #BanaoDimaagKoAmeer happened.”

 

Poker Leagues – Continue Mainstream Broadcasts

Poker leagues are playing a significant role in changing the public perception of poker. Two of them, Poker Sports League (PSL) (Discovery DSPORT) and Match Indian Poker League (MIPL) (MTV), made their debut on Indian television in 2018. The same year, India’s first-ever long-run poker league, Global Poker League (GPL), also set foot in India, in association with PokerStars India. Season 1 of GPL India was won by Mumbai Jetsetters, and each member of the winning team, namely, Team Manager Kavin Shah, Raman Gujral, Vivek Singh, Saurabh Sindhwani and Aneesh Gopinathan won a free Platinum Pass to the 2019 PSPC. The juicy highlights from Season 1 of GPL India were aired on Colors Infinity and Colors Infinity HD in 2019.

GPL India premiered on Colors Infinity & Colors Infinity HD

Talking about the same, GPL India Producer & Socios.com Chief Strategy Officer, Max Rabinovitch said, This is without a doubt our most ambitious expansion of Global Poker League competition. It makes me confident that poker really is the next mind sport set to blow up in India.”

Later in the year, Team India went on to create history by winning the International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP) Asian Nations Cup for the first time ever. MIPL Season 4 also played out in November, where Team Haryana Hawks captured the trophy for the second time in the league’s history, and all the action was subsequently aired on MTV.

Haryana Hawks won the MIPL Season 4

While poker’s growing presence through mainstream media channels undoubtedly engaged many new players, we will soon be revealing our pick for the most significant poker development of 2019 in our next feature. Stay tuned!

PokerStars Announces PSPC 2020 That Will Take Place During EPT Barcelona Next Year

PokerStars on August 27 announced the return of its historic PokerStars Players No Limit Hold ’em Championship (PSPC) during the 2019 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona. And that’s not all. The poker conglomerate will once again be giving away loads of those coveted Platinum Passes and the first ones to win these passes for the 2020 edition were Clement Eloy, Adrian Vinuela, Danielle Summer, Daryl Inglis, and Christoph Walkenhorst!

Last year, a group of eight Indians had won these Platinum Passes, namely, Kavin Shah, Raman Gujral, Young Gun Vivek Singh, Saurabh Sindhwani and Aneesh Nair, Sumit Sapra, Nikhil Segel, and Sharad Rao (who was recently named a PokerStars India Team Pro). While all of them fell out before the money bubble, they unanimously called the trip one of the best poker experience of their career.

Given the growing interest of the mind sport in the country, we have seen massive Indian participation in international tours. Now with a $25,000 buy-in, the PSPC is an expensive event but given that PokerStars has shifted the venue from the Bahamas to Barcelona, it should encourage more Indians to venture out next year, not to forget other promotions and giveaways we can expect from PokerStars India in the next few months mainly in the form of Platinum Passes!

PSPC 2019 – The Making of a Dream

In December 2017, poker giant PokerStars had announced its ambitious rake-free $25,000 buy-in event. The brainchild of PokerStars Marketing Director David Carrion, the PSPC aimed to make this $25K tournament an inclusive event and to achieve that, 320 Platinum Passes valued at $30,000 each were given away over a period of 13 months.

Several PokerStars Team pros were integrally involved with the handing out of Platinum Passes. Daniel Negreanu decided to award a Platinum Pass to the best fan video while supporting a worthy cause. Jeff Gross and Andrew Neeme chose to get people to vlog for winning the coveted Platinum Pass, while Maria Konnikova wanted players to share their poker stories.

Out of the list of 320 Platinum Pass winners were eight Indian players, namely Sumit Sapra, Nikhil Segel, Kavin Shah, Raman Gujral, PokerStars India Team pro Sharad Rao, Young Gun Vivek Singh, Saurabh Sindhwani and Aneesh Nair. They were joined by PokerStars India Team pro Aditya Agarwal, who had also made his way to the much talked about tournament.

8 Indian Platinum Pass Winners - Sumit Sapra, Nikhil Segel, Kavin Shah, Raman Gujral, Sharad Rao, Vivek Singh, Saurabh Sindhwani & Aneesh Nair
Sumit Sapra, Nikhil Segel, Kavin Shah, Raman Gujral, Sharad Rao, Vivek Singh, Saurabh Sindhwani & Aneesh Nai

The PSPC 2019 eventually registered a record-shattering 1,039 entries, collecting a record-breaking prize pool of $26,455,500. The 30-year-old former fitness trainer from Barcelona, Ramon Colillas became the first-ever PSPC champion, banking an enormous payday of $5,100,000.

Ramon Colillas Wins 2019 PSPC
Ramon Colillas

While Team India failed to cross the money line in the PSPC, seasoned pro Raman Gujral clinched his career-first international title in the $1,100 NLHE at the 2019 PCA for $76,760 (~₹54.64 Lakhs). Kavin Shah also cashed in the event, finishing 54th for $1,840 (~₹1.31 Lakhs).

Raman Gujral Wins 2019 PCA $1,100 NLHE
Raman Gujral & Kavin Shah

PSPC 2020 – Lets Chase the Dream Again

Following the tremendous success of the PSPC 2019, it was only a matter of time before the second edition of this phenomenally successfully tournament would be announced. And it’s happened!

On August 27, in the middle of the second starting flight of the EPT Barcelona €5,300 Main Event, James Hartigan took to the stage, along with PokerStars Ambassador Ramon Colillas, Adrian Garcia, and Clement Eloy to announce the return of PSPC 2020.

A month ago, the online poker conglomerate had announced a new promotion – “Chase Your Dream – Play Against Your Heroes” – wherein the brand would send five players to the EPT Barcelona festival to compete in a Celebrity-Pro Invitational. After qualifying through online freerolls, players were invited to send in audition videos explaining why they should be selected to win the package to Barcelona which included travel, hotel, spending money, and a seat in the invitational event.

Five finalists were selected: two from PokerStars.com, two from PokerStars.es (Spain), and one from PokerStars.fr (France). Each of the five took their seat on the live-streamed main stage at Casino Barcelona surrounded by players competing in the EPT Main Event.

Each of the five finalists played 25 hands against a group of celebrities: PokerStars Ambassadors Lex Veldhuis, Chris Moneymaker, and Fatima Moreira de Melo, as well as FC Barcelona star Gerard Pique, high stakes phenom Patrik Antonius, and the “Voice of the UFC” Bruce Buffer. The two players to accumulate the most chips in their limited time on the felt made it to the final heads-up match, set to play for a prize of €10,000 – all or nothing.

Catch the action of the EPT Barcelona Celebrity-Pro Invitational right here.

36-year-old freelance product designer from France – Clement Eloy and 23-year-old chemical engineering student/DJ from Spain – Adrian Vinuela were the two remaining finalists.

Just before the final showdown began, Hartigan introduced a video that showed a recap of PSPC 2019 and ended with an announcement that the next PSPC would be hosted in the hometown of the inaugural PSPC champion as part of next year’s PokerStars EPT Barcelona festival from August 20 to 24, 2020.

What followed was a high-pressured heads-up confrontation, with Eloy emerging as the eventual winner and seemingly the first player to claim the coveted PSPC Pass to the 2020 edition. But Hartigan had another surprise up his sleeve. He asked the other three finalists, Danielle Summer (UK), Daryl Inglis (Canada) and Christoph Walkenhorst (Germany), to come up on the stage along with Eloy and Vinuela. He then declared that all five finalists had won the Platinum Passes and will be attending the PSPC 2020 in Barcelona next year!

Clement Eloy, Adrian Vinuela, Danielle Summer, Daryl Inglis & Christoph Walkenhorst - First 5 PSPC 2020 Platinum Pass Winners
Clement Eloy, Adrian Vinuela, Danielle Summer, Daryl Inglis & Christoph Walkenhorst

PSPC 2.0 – The Details

Just after the PSPC was announced at the EPT Barcelona Main Event, a blog titled “PokerStars announces PSPC 2020” was published on PokerStars Blog, stating the details regarding the upcoming tournament.

With about 12 months left for the €22,500 buy-in (approximately $25,000) PSPC 2.0 to commence in Spain, PokerStars will once again be giving away a LOT of Platinum Passes.

Talking about the PSPC 2019, Managing Director & Commercial Officer at PokerStars, Severin Rasset said, “The inaugural PSPC generated hundreds of personal stories of achievement and ambition among the Platinum Pass winners who dared to dream of playing in an exclusive high-roller event.”

Severin further added, “The PSPC demonstrates our commitment to cultivating and growing the game, not only by creating opportunities for poker fans of all levels to win life-changing sums of money, but by showcasing poker and its many inspirational stories well beyond the poker realm.”

Details on future pass giveaways are sparse at the moment and the total number to be awarded and the various avenues from which to win one remain to be seen. They did announce that 10 passes will be randomly awarded online — five on .com and five on. fres — via the Stars Rewards Mystery Chest promotion which begins August 28.

Commenting on his experience of taking down the first-ever PSPC, champion and PokerStars Team pro Ramon Colillas said, “The PSPC was an incredible experience for me. From the lead-up to the tournament to the event itself, and now wearing the PokerStars patch, it has been a dream come true. I’m so happy it’s back again and I get to be a part of an event that could change someone’s life. Although, I am definitely going to attempt a back-to-back!”

Keep following PokerGuru for more updates on the PSPC 2020!

This Week in Poker: April 9 – 16

In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker’ we bring you the weekly round-up of the biggest 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

Mirroring the rising heat of the summer month, the poker action on the live and online felts was sizzling hot in the past week. Let’s take a recap of the week that was.

Indian pros Yasheel Doddanavar and Meherzad Munsaf prominently featured at the third edition of Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Korea. On the heels of his third-place finish in the ₩1M Short Deck Re-Entry (₩7,578,000 – ₹4.58 Lakhs), Doddanavar picked up his second final table score of the series and finished seventh in the ₩4 Million High Roller for ₩24,295,000 (~₹14.84 Lakhs). For this, Doddanavar is our PokerGuru Star of the Week.”

Malaysia pro – Michael Soyza is having a fantastic year. After winning the HK$500K NLHE – 6-Handed event at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series – Jeju, he went on to take down the ₩10M Super High Roller for ₩178.89 Million at this series, proving why he is one of the best in the business. Sparrow Cheung wrapped up the series in style and claimed the APPT Main Event title which registered a record-breaking 581 entries and pocketed ₩198 Million in the process.

Staying at par with the excitement of the live action, the online felts too offered attractive payouts. India’s most trusted poker site, PokerBaazi’s mainstay Sunday event, Baazi Super Sunday (BSS) SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD, drew in 567 entries (309 unique and 258 re-entries) and found a winner in online pro Abhishek ‘abhi3333’ Garg who decimated the field to bag a colossal paycheque of ₹5.35 Lakhs. PokerStars India’s signature Sunday event, Sunday Special Progressive KO ₹25 Lakhs GTD, had an overlay for a seventh consecutive week and registered an all-time low attendance of 403 entries (240 unique and 163 re-entries). ‘Infic11’ was the last player standing by the time the event concluded in the wee hours of Monday morning and banked ₹3.86 Lakhs, after a four-way chop with Young Gun Abhinav ‘abhi58’ Iyer (runner-up for ₹2.21 Lakhs), pal-ash7 (3rd for ₹2.40 Lakhs) and Sogani22 (4th for ₹1.89 Lakhs).

Fast-growing poker site MadOverPoker (MOP) recently announced the promotional offer – ‘Viva Las Vegas’ comprising of a 15 tournament-long online poker festival, titled ‘Vegas Series’, which kicked off on April 15 and will run till April 18. The tournament series also features a leaderboard that will award it`s winner a ₹1.5 Lakhs package to Las Vegas. A total of four events were hosted on the opening day and crowned winners in Sawan ‘Kahkelunga’ Kumar (Event #1 – ₹50K GTD for ₹20,022), Mahipal Zti3978 Vala (Event #2 ₹1 Lakh GTD for ₹21,256), Rajesh Sankibuddha Shukla (Event #3 – ₹1.75 Lakh GTD for ₹41,125) and StarWarsAA (Event #4 – ₹30K GTD for ₹5,748).

Meanwhile, global poker giant PokerStars on April 14 celebrated the 13th anniversary of its biggest weekly tournament, the Sunday Million. The event offered a special guarantee of $10 Million on its international client and drew in the second-largest field of 61,342 entries which included 15,400 re-entries, in the brand’s online poker history. China’s ‘wangli0402’ emerged as the winner and collected $611,944 in first-place prize money after a five-way chop.

The domestic poker community has much to look forward too as the second edition of the Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Colossus is scheduled to run from May 2 to 5 at the Casino Deltin Royale in Goa. With Indian pros dominating the international poker scene, it is extremely possible that a few may even pop up at the 888Live Local London (April 18-21) and European Poker Series of Rozvadov (April 24-May 5) that are scheduled for later this month.

While online poker is legal in most states of the country, the north-western state of Gujarat is stuck in quite the legal conundrum. Even though both live and online poker are considered a game of chance in Gujarat, taking things a step further, the Gujarat police have now approached the state Home Department to modify current laws and ban all forms of online gaming in the state including online poker.

Though poker may have suffered a setback in Gujarat, the Indian fantasy gaming industry has been enjoying the onset of the Indian Premier League’s 2019 season. Joining the list of brands that have received lucrative investments or struck profitable deals, is the online fantasy gaming portal, BalleBaazi which received funding to the tune of $1 Million (~₹7 Crores) from its parent company Baazi Games to help establish its standing in the highly competitive market.

Online Railbird Report

Faring slightly better than last week, PokerBaazi’s most popular weekly tournament, BSS Superstack ₹25 Lakhs GTD, registered 567 entries (309 unique and 258 re-entries) this past Sunday. Seasoned online poker player Abhishek abhi3333 Garg who has been in great form recently, took down the event for a gigantic payday of ₹5.35 Lakhs.

Abhishek Garg
Abhishek Garg

Other notable scores of the week include –

Raman ‘ifryu’ Gujral won ₹4.42 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘The Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTD’

‘Infic11’ won ₹3.86 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Special Progressive KO ₹25 Lakhs GTD’

Shravan ‘lukBo$$13’ Chhabria won ₹3.06 Lakhs for 1st place in the 9stacks ‘Sunday Stacks ₹15 Lakhs GTD’

Siddhanth ‘Bullzeye’ Kapoor won ₹2.42 Lakhs for 1st place in PokerBaazi ‘The Vegas ₹10 Lakhs GTD’

‘sogani22’ won ₹1.20 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘BSS Megastack ₹5 Lakhs GTD’

Shravan ‘Kissmyace’ Chhabria won ₹1.57 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Wednesday Stars ₹8 Lakhs GTD’

Kapil ‘racemonk’ Arora won ₹40,797 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘The Classic ₹2 Lakhs GTD’

‘fcukstars420’ won ₹40,470 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Stars ₹2 Lakhs GTD’

‘lalanwa’ won ₹39,272 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Storm ₹2 Lakhs GTD’

‘vishtiru’ won ₹27,638 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Warm-Up ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD’

‘pokergod576’ won ₹24,269 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Supersonic ₹1 Lakh GTD’

‘Clearsky’ won ₹17,500 for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘Sunday ₹1 Lakh GTD’

MadOverPoker’s Las Vegas Series Kicks Off

MadOverPoker (MOP) came out with its latest promotional offer, ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and is hosting the ‘Vegas Series’ which commenced on April 15. The 15-tournament online fest features buy-ins starting as low as ₹200 and going up as high as ₹1,600 and boasts of a total prize pool guarantee of ₹18.75 Lakhs with a Tournament Leaderboard offering another ₹3 Lakhs in prizes!

MOP-Cover

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PokerStars Announces 2019 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) From May 12-27

PokerStars recently announced 2019 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). Boasting of $75 Million in GTD prize money, the series will run from May 12-27 and will feature 67 numbered events with each event hosting three tournaments at different buy-in levels.

SCOOP 2019

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PokerStars VR Now Offers In-App Purchases

The free-to-play virtual reality social game, PokerStars VR received its first major upgrade and now offers in-app chip purchases which begin at $1.99 for 10,000 chips and max out at 10 Million chips for $99.99. The update also includes several features including Sit & Go tournaments, leaderboards and “privacy bubble.”

PokerStars VR

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PokerStars Rebrands Spin & Go Tournaments With UFC

In another significant development at PokerStars, the global poker site announced that all its Spin and Go tournaments will carry UFC branding going forward. The default Spin & Go table layout will now resemble a UFC Octagon, with branding appearing prominently and the UFC logo will also appear in the lobby of the games.

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‘wangli0402’ Wins PokerStars’ Sunday Million on its 13th Anniversary

April 14 was the 13th anniversary of PokerStars most popular weekly tournament – Sunday Million – which had announced a special $10 Million GTD for this occasion and registered the second-largest field of 61,342 entries (including 15,400 re-entries) in the brand’s online poker history. China’s ‘wangli0402’ became the ultimate champion after striking a five-way deal that saw the five finalists flattening the pay jumps, with only the title and $50,000 in prize money left in play. ‘wangli0402’ took down the title and banked $611,944 for their win.

PokerStars Sunday Million

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partypoker Shuts Down 277 Bot Accounts

partypoker, the second largest online poker site in the world announced earlier this week that it has shut down 277 “bot” accounts and redistributed $734,852.15 in funds to the affected players. According to a press release, a specialist Poker Fraud Team has been put in place at partypoker to investigate suspicious activity.

partypoker

 

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Randy Lew Parts Ways with PokerStars Team Pro, Kalidou Sow Joins the Brand

Randy Lew is the latest pro to quit the PokerStars Pro Team after being a Team Online Pro of the brand for nine years. PokerStars is also filling up the vacancies created by the exits with French poker pro Kalidou Sow becoming the latest Team Pro for the brand.

Randy Lew
Randy Lew

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Gujarat Police Want Online Poker Banned in the State

Gujarat police continue to crack down on online gaming in the state, and after banning PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds aka PUBG in several districts in the state, the police recently approached the state Home Department, seeking a ban on all forms of online gaming including online poker.

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Baazi Games Invests $1 Million in BalleBaazi

Online cricket fantasy gaming portal, BalleBaazi’s parent firm Baazi Games has allotted funding worth $1 Million (~₹7 Crores) to its subsidiary to expand its verticals and enhance user experience with new and innovative gaming concepts.

BalleBaazi

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Goa’s Casino Employees Applications Rejected by Election Poll Panel

Following Goa’s State Revenue and IT Minister Rohan Khaunte accusing casino operators of trying to influence Lok Sabha elections, the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Narayan Sawant on April 10 announced that a majority of the applications made by casino employees to include their names in the Porvorim constituency have been rejected.

Rohan Khaunte
Rohan Khaunte

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Wynn Resorts Looking to Ban Former CEO Steve Wynn From All Its Properties

In a 49-page legal brief filed to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Wynn Resorts has outlined the company’s plan to ban its former CEO Steve Wynn from all its properties around the world. Wynn, who is facing a federal case over alleged sexual misconduct will not be allowed in any of Wynn Resorts’ properties.

Steven Wynn
Steven Wynn

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2019 APPT Korea

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) was hosted at the Paradise City Casino and Hotel in Incheon and ran a full schedule of 21 tournaments from April 5-14. The series drew in a total of 3,247 entries that competing for a mind-boggling ₩3,654,222,800 (~₹22.32 Crores) in prize money. It turned out to be the biggest live poker festival organized by PokerStars in Korea!

After the ₩350K APPT Kickoff crowned a winner in China’s Xing Biao Zhu, the series’ in its second week saw the ₩700,000 APPT National crown a champion n in Yan Li.

Team India had modest participation at the poker festival, with two runners, Meherzad Munsaf and Yasheel Doddanavar. After an empty first week that saw both the challengers fall out of the APPT Kickoff and the APPT National, Doddanavar managed to convert his deep run in the ₩1M Short Deck Re-Entry into a third-place finish (₩7,578,000 – ₹4.58 Lakhs).

Read the complete story here

Doddanavar picked up his second score of the series in the ₩4 Million High Roller where he finished seventh place for ₩24,295,000 (~₹14.84 Lakhs), making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week”. Keiji Takahashi eventually claimed the title for ₩143,890,000.

Yasheel Doddanavar
Yasheel Doddanavar

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Malaysia’s breakout star – Michael Soyza – continued his outstanding form and clinched the title in the ₩10M Super High Roller for ₩178.89 Million.

Michael Soyza
Michael Soyza

With 581 entries, the Main Event created a new record for the biggest APPT Turnout on Korean soil and crowned a champion in Hong Kong’s Sparrow Cheung (₩198M).

Sparrow Cheung
Sparrow Cheung

 

2019 APPT Korea Winners

Event NamePlayer NamePrize Money
₩200K NLHE Igor Kim ₩4,384,000
₩350K APPT Kickoff NLHE Xing Biao Zhu ₩21,290,000
₩350K NLH Freezeout Yan Li ₩8,032,000
₩1M PLOOsamu Hori ₩8,443,000
₩250K NLH Xinglong Huang ₩5,421,000
₩800K NLH Freezeout Lei Yu ₩18,817,000

 

2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown

Nick Ahmadi Captures Maiden SHRPO Title in Series Opener $570 NLHE Deepstack

The series-opener $570 buy-in NLHE Deepstack (RE) of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown series drew in 2,958 entries from six starting flights and was taken down by Nick Ahmadi. Ahmadi struck a down-the-middle chop deal with heads-up opponent Robert Pollmeier that saw them pocketing $209,977 each, but it was the former who walked away with the trophy.

Nick Ahmadi
Nick Ahmadi

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Elio Fox Clinches Title in $50K Super High Roller

Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Elio Fox defeated a field of 20 runners, which included a heads-up battle against eight-time WSOP bracelet champion Erik Seidel, to win the event for $440,000 in prize money.

Elio Fox
Elio Fox

Rich Alati Wins $1,100 NLH Re-Entry After a Heads-Up Chop

The $1,1,00 NLH Re-entry pulled in 689 entries, generating a prize pool of $668,330. Topping the field to claim the ultimate prize was Rich Alati. He agreed to a heads-up chop with Sam Panzica and took home $107,740 along with the title, while Panzica locked in $100,836 for his runner-up finish.

Rich Alati
Rich Alati

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Sandro Pitzanti Wins 888poker WPT DeepStacks Malta Main Event

Sandro Pitzanti emerged as the champion in the 888poker WPT DeepStacks Malta Main Event which was held at Casino Malta inside the Intercontinental Hotel. The event pulled in 275 players, and Pitzanti overcame the field to claim the trophy and the top prize of €52,000.

Sandro Pitzanti
Sandro Pitzanti

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Dan Wagner Ships HPT The Meadows $1,100 Main Event

New York native Dan Wagner clinched his first-ever HPT title in the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) The Meadows $1,100 Main Event banking $76,165 in the process.

Dan Wagner
Dan Wagner

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Tuiofu Hunkin Takes Down WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley For $121,000

The World Poker Tour (WPT) DeepStacks Thunder Valley Main Event played out at the Thunder Valley Casino, California last week with a starting field of 678 entries. Outlasting them all was American player Tuiofu Hunkin who took home a swell payday of $121,000.

Tuiofu Hunkin
Tuiofu Hunkin

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John Boriolo Claims Career-First Live Title in RIU Reno VIII Mini Main Event

Besting a 285-strong entry field, John Boriolo captured his first-ever live title in Run It Up Reno VIII $440 Mini Main Event, along with a career-best score of $26,073.

John Boriolo
John Boriolo

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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.

Team Mumbai Jetsetters Led by Kavin Shah Win GPL India Season 1

Showcasing India’s immense poker talent, the inaugural season of Global Poker League (GPL) India proved that the country’s interest in poker and the leagues associated with it is steadily growing. A product of Mediarex, GPL was hosted in India in association with PokerStars India and powered by Socios.com.

Though GPL India Season 1 took place last year, due to post-production work that had to be done to make the finished product suitable for the television viewing audience, the season was aired on Colors Infinity and Colors Infinity HD from March 9 to April 6.

The final two episodes featured the ‘Semi-Finals’ and ‘Grand Finale’ and witnessed the last four teams – Mumbai Jetsetters, Chennai Sharks, Bengaluru Hackers, and Delhi Diehards – battle it out for the ultimate prize, the five PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) Platinum Passes worth over ₹1 Crore in total!

Team Mumbai Jetsetters whitewashed Delhi Diehards in the Playoffs and obliterated Chennai Sharks in the finale to punch their ticket to the PSPC in the Bahamas. Led by high stakes cash game boss Kavin Shah, the team roster included wildcard pros – cash game veteran Raman Gujral and online tournament specialist Vivek Singh along with online qualifiers Saurabh Sindhwani and Aneesh Gopinathan. The team performed brilliantly and showed how strategic planning plays an integral role in winning a sports league of this magnitude.

 

Episode 1 to 8 – A Quick Recap

The first four episodes of the season brought TV audiences highlights of the action from the Bootcamp. The six Team Managers – Vikram Kumar (Chennai Sharks), Muskan Sethi (Delhi Diehards), Abhishek Rathod (Pune Alphas), Kavin Shah (Mumbai Jetsetters), Aditya Agarwal (Kolkata Creators) and Vidwath Shetty (Bengaluru Hackers) were tasked with choosing their respective two online qualifiers at the GPL India Bootcamp. The selection process culminated with all team members including the Wild Card pros of each team coming together on stage for the first time on Draft Day where the Team Jerseys were unveiled.

TeamTeam ManagerInterview Round WinnerSNG Match WinnerWildcard Pros
Chennai SharksVikram KumarMithun KookkiriSuyog HAshish Munot & Gaurav Gala
Delhi SharksMuskan SethiAjitesh BhargavaAlbetrose AlexArsh Grover & Niharika Bindra
Pune AlphasAbhishek RathodVishal BajajVikas DhullNitin Jain & Kanishka Upreti
Bengaluru HackersVidhwath ShettyShiv BhargavaArun SriramAbhishek Panda & Rahul Melwani
Kolkata CreatorsAditya AgarwalGokul RajJai SahaJayjit Ray & Rishab Jain
Mumbai JetsettersKavin ShahSaurabh SindhwaniAneesh GopinathanRamandeep Gujral & Vivek Singh

Once the 6 city-based teams were drafted, the GPL India Regular Season kicked off. Episodes 5-8 brought us all the action from the Regular Season starting with the Manager’s Brawl, Qualifiers Showdown, Battle of the Pros and finally the Manager’s Finale.

Team Pune Alphas was the first team to get eliminated in Season 1 following a less than desirable run in the Regular Season. Even with Pune Alphas out, the competition did not subside, as two races were going on – for the no 1 spot in the Regular Season and the no 4 spot. Chennai Sharks and Mumbai Jetsetters were vying for the top spot while Kolkata Creators and Delhi Diehards were the two teams fighting for the fourth spot. It was Arsh Grover‘s (Delhi Diehards) phenomenal win over Vivek Singh (Mumbai Jetsetters) during the first ‘Battle of the Pros’ match that breathed a new life for the Delhi Diehards team and gave them an edge over Kolkata Creators. Aditya Agarwal needed a top-two finish in the Manager’s Finale to ensure Kolkata a spot in the Playoffs. Agarwal came very close but suffered a brutal bad beat leading to the team’s exit in fifth place.

With Kolkata Creators out of the competition, the remaining four teams started working for the upcoming Semi-Finals. Mumbai Jetsetters skyrocketed to the top of the Regular Season leaderboard with 29 points, followed by Chennai Sharks (24 points), Bengaluru Hackers (23 points) and finally Delhi Diehards who were at the bottom of the leaderboard with 17 points.

 

Episode 9 – The Semi-Finals

The top four teams returned for – ‘The Semi-Finals.’ The format for the playoff had the top-most team, Mumbai Jetsetter face the team at the bottom of the Regular Season leaderboard, Delhi Diehards, while the leaderboard runner-up, Chennai Sharks, having to face the team placed third on the leaderboard, Bengaluru Hackers in a best of three heads-up matches. The team on top enjoyed a distinct advantage as players from Mumbai Jetsetters started off with 50,000 in chips against the Delhi Diehards that had to make do with a starting stack of 35,000. Similarly, Chennai Sharks entered each Semi-Finals match with a starting stack of 45,000 against the Bengaluru Hackers’ 40,000.

With the four teams divided into two groups, each group played best of three heads-up matches where the Team Managers were required to nominate a member from their team before each game. An interesting stipulation to the format was that the Team Managers had to ensure all their players played before any repetition was allowed. This required Team Managers to put their thinking caps ON as this rule carried over the Finals as well, requiring Team Managers to decide whether to send in their stronger players in the Semi-Finals or to save them for the Finals.

Match 1: First up was the heads-up match between Mumbai Jetsetters and Delhi Diehards. Muskan Sethi nominated online qualifier Ajitesh Bhargava, while Kavin Shah decided to lead from the front and nominated himself.

Kavin Shah v. Ajitesh Bhargava
Kavin Shah v. Ajitesh Bhargava

Being the top-ranked team meant Shah enjoyed a sizeable chip lead over Bhargava as the former started off with a stack of 50,000 against the latter’s 35,000. The outcome of the match was unsurprising. Facing off against a Team Manager and cash game legend like Shah was never going to be easy for Bhargava, and the chip disadvantage only added to his woes. Shah made quick work of the Delhi Diehard qualifier who lost a big pot when his were cracked by Shah’s .

Shah then pressurized Bhargava further and went all-in holding . Bhargava decided to call with . The board was of no help to Bhargava, and with that, the Mumbai Jetsetters took an early lead in playoffs.

End of Match 1 Tally - Episode 9

 

Match 2: The second semi-final match pitted wildcard pro Ashish Munot (Chennai Sharks) against online qualifier Arun Sriram (Bengaluru Hackers).

Ashish Munot v. Arun Sriram
Ashish Munot v. Arun Sriram

It was yet another uneven match-up which saw the more experienced Munot, whose team also had a chip advantage coming in with a starting stack of 45,000, easily overpower Sriram, who started with a stack of 40,000. After losing a few crucial hands, Sriram eventually moved all-in with , and Munot made the easy call showing . Munot further flopped two pairs on the runout , securing the win for Chennai Sharks.

End of Match 2 Tally - Episode 9

 

Match 3: The third match saw Delhi and Mumbai return to the felts. This time, Delhi’s wildcard pro Niharika Bindra locked horns with Mumbai’s online qualifier Saurabh Sindhwani.

Saurabh Sindhwani v. Niharika Bindra

It was an interesting match-up since Sindhwani had the chip advantage, but Bindra was a cash game specialist with the ability to easily turn the match to her team’s favor. Sindhwani got the upper hand on Bindra early on, but the final hand of the match was a real head-turner. Sindhwani opened with a bet of 3,200 holding and Bindra 3-bet to 8,000 with . Sindhwani called, and the flop revealed and both players hit a flush draw. Bindra led out for 8,500 with her nut flush draw, and Sindhwani immediately shoved all-in for 40,100; Bindra snap-called. The turn gave Sindhwani a pair of fives and Bindra needed a spade on the river, but the completed the board. Sindhwani snatched the win away from Bindra after the brutal bad beat and knocked out Delhi Diehards from the competition. Mumbai Jetsetters became the first team to qualify for the Grand Finale.

End of Match 3 Tally - Episode 9

 

Match 4: The next game of the semi-finals began with Bengaluru Hackers on the backfoot. Online tournament specialist Rahul Melwani was tasked with ensuring his team’s qualification. The Chennai Sharks sent in their online qualifier Mithun Kookkiri who had performed exceptionally well in the Qualifier’s Showdown.

Mithun Kookkiri v. Rahul Melwani
Mithun Kookkiri v. Rahul Melwani

Melwani found early success when his bested Kookkiri’s with the board running , but Kookkiri clawed his way back into the match and on the final hand his defeated Melwani’s as the former flopped two pairs, booking Chennai Sharks’ seat in the finals.

 

Episode 10 – Grand Finale

At last, the moment we had all been waiting for had arrived. The ‘Grand Finale’ brought two of the best performing teams of the league – Mumbai Jetsetters and Chennai Sharks – face to face. With the chance to participate in the biggest-ever $25K buy-in event, the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC), hanging in the balance, the race to the finish line intensified.

In the much-awaited climax of the inaugural season of GPL India, the two finalist teams battled in a best of five heads-up match format to determine the winner.

Match 1: The first match had two veteran poker pros butt heads. From Chennai Sharks, PLO specialist Gaurav Gala took his seat at the table and was met with the cash game expert Raman Gujral from the Mumbai Jetsetters.

Gaurav Gala v. Raman Gujral

Gujral started strong and took the game away from Gala when his outlasted the latter’s . With the board showing , Gujral turned three-of-a-kind sevens taking a massive chip lead against his opponent.

Soon after that, Gujral jammed with and Gala snap called holding . The rundown brought and Gujral won the first match for Mumbai.

End of Match 1 Tally - Episode 10

 

Match 2: The second finale match-up had the Mumbai Jetsetters at a disadvantage. The team had up until then, been on point with their strategic planning, however, this time around, they had little choice but to send in their online qualifier Aneesh Gopinathan, who was perhaps their weakest link, against the Manager of the Chennai Sharks – Vikram “Lungi” Kumar.

Vikram Kumar v. Aneesh Gopinathan

It was never going to be easy for Gopinathan to win the match and as expected, Kumar dominated the former with his intimidating table talk and superior skills.

Ultimately, Gopinathan’s were knocked out of the park by Kumar’s which bettered to a set of aces on the flop. Though it was a short match, Kumar’s antics on the table certainly ensured that it was the most entertaining one. Kumar’s win meant that Chennai Sharks was now on an even standing with Mumbai Jetsetters.

 

Match 3: Due to the stipulation that the teams have to play all their players once before any player can be repeated resulted in the third match seeing the tables being turned on the Chennai Sharks as their online qualifier Suyog H now had to face off Mumbai’s online tournament specialist Vivek Singh.

Suyog H v. Vivek Singh
Suyog H v. Vivek Singh

Suyog got lucky early on as Singh’s pocket sixes were bested by his , as the rundown brought a better two pair counterfeiting Singh’s hand. Suyog however failed to convert the advantage into a win and soon enough, Singh’s spelled the end of Suyog’s , on the board . Mumbai Jetsetters were in the lead once again.

 

Match 4: It was now a do-or-die situation for Chennai Sharks, and in this dire time of crisis, they decided to lean on the supremely talented Ashish Munot. Though Munot was a skilful player, it was still a tough situation, primarily since he was to play the Mumbai Jetsetters Team Manager – Kavin Shah.

Ashish Munot v. Kavin Shah
Ashish Munot v. Kavin Shah

Shah showed why he is considered one of the top-most players in the country and whisked the win away from Munot. On the final hand of the season, Munot’s ran into Shah’s . The board bricked out, and with that, the Team Mumbai Jetsetters was crowned as the champions of GPL India Season 1!

GPL India Season 1 Champions - Mumbai Jetsetters
GPL India Season 1 Champions – Mumbai Jetsetters

With that, India’s first long-run poker league came to an end. It was an extraordinary journey that started with 7,500 online qualifiers competing for a spot in the six city-based teams and following several weeks of nail-biting action, crowned Team Mumbai Jetsetters as the first-ever GPL India champions!

Online Rankings

i Top Ranked Poker Players in India
Member Won
Member Won
Member Won
₹1,29,29,197
₹1,25,88,313
₹1,20,69,627
₹1,15,22,676
5.Vinay B Vinay B
₹1,14,52,995
6.M L M L
₹1,14,40,871
₹1,09,13,473
₹1,05,24,690
₹99,60,672
₹99,49,327
Member Profit
Member Profit
Member Profit
₹55,77,649
₹50,59,154
₹47,48,174
₹46,54,932
₹44,93,503
₹43,84,994
₹43,56,316
₹42,00,183
₹41,14,429
₹40,97,624
Member Points
Member Points
Member Points
42,268
35,945
28,827
4.N K N K
28,311
25,814
25,649
24,477
24,446
9.M L M L
23,604
22,922

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