IPC: Raag Fernandes Headlines 58 Survivors to Day 2 of the ₹100K High Roller

Raag Fernandes
  • Profile picture
  • Attreyee Khasnabis January 17, 2020
  • 3 Minutes Read

The second event of the India Poker Championship (IPC) January 2020 edition, the ₹100K High Roller, got off to a phenomenal start as the event logged in a record-shattering 210 entries at the end of 12 levels of play, posting a humongous prize pool of ₹2.03 Crores.

It was a glamorous affair, with several celebrities turning up to participate in the event. Among them were the likes of Anita Hassanandani, Kunal Khemu, Karan Patel, Shruti Sinha, Baseer Ali, and Raj Kundra.

Kunnal Khemu
Kunnal Khemu

 

The massive ₹1.5 Crores prize pool guarantee attracted some of the best poker players from across the country to participate, but at the end of day topping them all was Raag Fernandes (cover image), who bagged the overnight chip lead with a stack of 1,356,000. He will headline the remaining 58 players to Day 2. A familiar name at the IPC, Fernandes has two previous scores to his name – both from deep runs at the 2016 IPC February edition.

Raag Fernandes
Raag Fernandes

 

Jai Saha (1,277,000) and Nathan Rao (994,000) bagged the other top stacks. Saha, for one, will be a tough contender for the title. His final table finish (7th for €95,100 – ₹76.44 Lakhs) in €1,100 EPT National at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona last year, was not only his career-best score till date, but was also among the top five live scores made by Indians in 2019.

The event kicked off at 6 PM on January 16, and it took less than four levels for the advertised guarantee to be smashed with 152 entries joining the action. By the end of Level 9, the number of entries stood at 207, the exact number as last edition’s ₹100K High Roller. With late registrations open till the start of Level 10, the record was crossed with three more entries being logged in during the fourth and final break of Day 1.

The top 24 places are assured a min-cash of ₹1.88 Lakhs, while the ultimate champion is slated to walk away with a mouth-watering top prize worth ₹51.61 Lakhs.

There is still a lot of play left before a winner is decided, and the fight to the title promises to be intense. Some top regs advancing to Day 2 include Sahil Mahboobani (942,000), Rahul Byrraju (915,000), Rajat Sharma (864,000), Sriharsha Doddapaneni (814,000), PokerGuru Ambassador Nadeem Basha (812,000), Goonjan Mall (789,000), BPT MegaStack winner Devang Yadav (775,000), Anish Patra (754,000), Vivek Rughani (651,000), Gaurav Sood (629,000), Arsh Grover (625,000) and Rajeev Kanjani (601,000).

Defending champion Pranay Chawla has also made it through to Day 2 with a workable stack of 324,000. Similar to Siddharth Mundada’s phenomenal run in the series-opener ₹10K Kick Off, Chawla too will be looking to make a serious bid to win back-to-back High Roller title’s. Incidentally, Mundada has also bagged a stack of 195,000 for Day 2.

Pranay Chawla
Pranay Chawla

 

Day 2 is scheduled to commence at 1 PM sharp on January 17, with blind levels set at 8,000/16,000 and a running ante of 16,000.

The star attraction of the series, the ₹50K Main Event, is the other feature event on the Friday schedule and is slated to begin its first starting flight, Day 1A, at 6 PM. Boasting of a ginormous ₹3.25 Crores guarantee, the Main Event is sure to pull in the crowds.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1

1. Raag Fernandes – 1,356,000

2. Jai Saha – 1,277,000

3. Nathan Rao – 994,000

4. Sahil Mahboobani – 942,000

5. Nitin Gupta – 929,000

6. Rahul Byrraju – 915,000

7. Prem Amarnani – 884,000

8. Rajat Sharma – 864,000

9. Ayush Garg – 855,000

10. Sriharsha Doddapaneni – 814,000

Read our complete coverage of the event here.

Watch the live-streamed action from the featured table below.

Keep following PokerGuru for more exciting updates from the IPC January 2020!

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Top Online Poker Rooms

Top
PokerGuru