Baazi Poker Tour: Abhijeet Shetty Takes Down Series-Opener ₹15K Kick-Off

Abhijeet Shetty
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis October 10, 2019
  • 5 Minutes Read

The very first event of the Baazi Poker Tour (BPT) comeback series – ₹15K Kick-Off – is now in the books! After two days of intense poker action, the first BPT crown was clinched by Abhijeet Shetty (cover image)!

Overcoming the 257 strong-entry field of the Kick-Off event was not an easy feat, but Shetty was a cool customer for the entirety of the final table. He had entered the final table as the chip leader, and after bringing about the eliminations of Gangadhar Raj, Charush Bhatia, and Manas Kalita, Shetty faced off against the more experienced Saumil Krishnani in the heads-up play. Though Krishnani had a slight lead over Shetty at the start of the heads-up finale, Shetty still managed to capture the title in the end, along with the ₹8.53 Lakhs top prize. Not only is this Shetty’s first-ever live title, but also his career-best live score to-date.

Shetty’s previous scores include final table finishes in the ₹15K Kickoff at the 2017 DPT September edition (4th for ₹2.17 Lakhs) and the ₹35K Main Event of the 2018 DPT February edition (4th for ₹7.64 Lakhs).

When asked what he intends to with his prize money, the colorful champion replied with a straight face, “Party!”

 

Final Day Recap

Thirteen finalists returned to the felts on the final day in the hunt for the coveted BPT crown, led by Avadh Shah. Following the eliminations of Ranjit Negi (13th for ₹51,100), Shawn Jose (12th for ₹62,300), Prithviraj Ganganna (11th for ₹62,300), and Yohan Patel (10th for ₹62,300), the nine-handed final table was formed.

With the top 27 places assured prizes, several notables had finished in-the-money on Day 1 itself. This list included names like PokerGuru Ambassador Laksh Pal Singh (14th for ₹51,100), Ashit Sharma (17th for ₹43,500), Shravan Chhabria (18th for ₹43,500), Meherzad Munsaf (19th for ₹38,000), Young Gun Siddharth Karia (20th for ₹38,000) and the first-ever BPT Main Event champion Puneet Dua (21st for ₹38,000).

 

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Abhijeet Shetty – 741,000

2. Avadh Shah – 672,000

3. Charush Bhatia – 601,000

4. Manas Kalita – 600,000

5. Saumil Krishnani – 332,000

6. Anant Purohit – 323,000

7. Sahil Chuttani – 300,000

8. Mohammad Azhar – 130,000

9. Gangadhar Raj – 114,000

BPT ₹15K Kick-Off Final Table
BPT ₹15K Kick-Off Final Table

 

Final Table Recap

The first casualty on the final table was none other than the shortest stack, Gangadhar Raj. With the blinds at 10,000/20,000 and an ante of 20,000, Abhijeet Shetty opened the action with a 50,000 bet. Action folded to Raj who shoved for 120,000 holding . Shetty called with . The board ran , and Shetty paired his ace on the board to take down the pot, dismissing Raj in ninth place.

Around 10 minutes later, Mohammad Azhar open-shoved from early position with . Charush Bhatia re-shoved from the small blind with , putting Azhar at risk. The board brought and was of no help to either player. Bhatia’s jack kicker held on, as Azhar was eliminated in eighth place.

Anant Purohit joined Azhar at the rail soon enough when he open-jammed with from the cutoff. Saumil Krishnani called from the big blind with . The board gave Krishnani a rivered full house, ending Purohit’s run in seventh place.

Anant Purohit
Anant Purohit

Finishing in sixth place was Charush Bhatia. He moved all-in with from the button and was called by Abhijeet Shetty in the big blind holding . The community cards fanned out in Shetty favor, sending Bhatia to the rail.

The next elimination was a double whammy that saw Saumil Krishnani knock out both Avadh Shah and Sahil Chuttani in a three-way pot. Shah was the first player to move all-in from the button, quickly followed by Chuttani and Krishnani.

Avadh Shah

Sahil Chuttani

Saumil Krishnani

The board did bring Chuttani a rivered set of tens, but it was no match for Krishnani’s turned set of kings. Chuttani was ousted in fifth place and Shah in fourth place since he held the larger stack at the start of the hand.

Manas Kalita went on to lose a huge pot to Shetty that got his extremely short. On the very next hand, Shetty raised to 154,000 with and Kalita called with his last 109,000 holding . The rundown saw Kalita hit a pair of nines on the flop, but it wasn’t enough to get past Shetty’s cowboys, leading to the former’s third-place exit.

Manas Kalita
Manas Kalita

The heads-up between Saumil Krishnani and Abhijeet Shetty began with both players starting with almost equal stacks, though Krishnani held a very marginal lead over Shetty. The chip lead changed hands a few times, but in the end, it was Shetty who walked away with the title.

Saumil Krishnani
Saumil Krishnani

On the final hand, Shetty raised to 75,000 from the button, and Krishnani announced all-in with . Shetty promptly called with . The flop came , giving Shetty the lead with a top pair. The and runout was of no assistance to Krishnani, who was relegated to a runner-up finish. And just like that, Shetty claimed his career-first title, along with a personal-best score of ₹8.52 Lakhs.

Abhijeet Shetty
Abhijeet Shetty

Final Table Results (INR)

1. Abhijeet Shetty – ₹8,52,700

2. Saumil Krishnani – ₹5,98,300

3. Manas Kalita – ₹3,84,800

4. Avadh Shah – ₹2,84,800

5. Sahil Chuttani – ₹2,13,800

6. Charush Bhatia – ₹1,71,000

7. Anant Purohit – ₹1,42,000

8. Mohammad Azhar – ₹1,13,800

9. Gangadhar Raj – ₹85,200

You can watch the final table action below.

Keep following PokerGuru for more exciting updates from the Baazi Poker Tour!

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