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In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker,’ we bring you the weekly roundup of the most significant 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!
“Winter is here,” and the first week of December was somewhat slow as far as live poker action was concerned – at least for the Indian poker community. But this is the lull before the storm of live stops hit the coastal state of Goa, with both the Baazi Poker Tour (BPT) and the India Poker Championship (IPC) lined up back-to-back next month. PokerGuru will be on-site to provide you the complete live coverage at both stops, but for now, let’s take a look at the week that was!
The online action is the biggest news of the week once again! After hosting four Millionaire editions in November, Spartan Poker kicked off December with The Millionaire Lite ₹50 Lakhs GTD. The brand seems to have turned its flagship monthly event into a weekly extravaganza, and last Sunday, we saw The Millionaire Legends ₹2 Crores GTD make a return. The ₹27,500 buy-in tournament attracted 755 hopefuls. Once all was done and dusted, it was a former Millionaire champion Phanindra ‘k9akkin’ Akkina who came out on top to become the 41st Millionaire winner on the site. This win fetched him a whopping ₹41.33 Lakhs, making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”
The tournament awarded million-plus bucks to three other players,namely, Akash Gupta (runner-up for ₹32.57 Lakhs), Arsh ‘BigggTymeR’ Grover (3rd for ₹22.78 Lakhs) and Sriharsha ‘Fish2050’ Doddapaneni (4th for ₹12 Lakhs).
The PokerBaazi Monthly Value Series (PMVS) and Spartan Super Series (SSS) were two other stops that kept the pace of action on the uptick.
There was another record-breaking online event taking place internationally – partypoker’s MILLIONS Online $20 Million guarantee that posted a jaw-dropping $21 Million in the prize pool, becoming the second-largest single tournament in online poker history. Benjamin ‘frenchsniperrr’ Chalot’ outlasted the 2,108-strong entry field and banked a life-altering $2.26 Million top prize following a heads-up deal.
There was a slew of positive developments closer to home starting with the report of one India`s most active tournament regulars, Sumit Sapra signing on with the Asia Poker League (APL) to become the latest entrant in its ‘Da Dors’ roster of Brand Ambassadors.
Reiterating its deeply-rooted corporate and responsible gaming values, PokerBaazi launched a new ‘Baazi Care’ initiative that provides players with specific tools, features and helps enhance their gaming experience.
Meghalaya has taken a giant leap by re-instating the state-run lottery by approving the Meghalaya Lottery Rules 2019.
In an ominous turn of events, the Union Government and State government of Maharashtra have filed Special Leave Petitions (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court order in the Dream11 Vs. Sachar GST case.
The news coming in from Goa indicates that offshore casinos could be shifted to land in the next four years. There is also the possibility that the long-overdue casino policy will be tabled by the state government next month.
There was more than enough live-action at various stops in Asia and out West. The WSOPC The Star Sydney was of particular interest to the Indian audiences as two Indian-origin players Anish Kumar (13th) and Akshay Kapoor (15th) posted a top 15 finish in the $2,200 Main Event, banking A$26,729 (~₹12.97 Lakhs) each. Steven Zhou took down the event for A$260,904.
Back in Asia, the APT Finale Taiwan concluded on December 9, just as news came out that PokerStars was bringing its flagship APPT to Taiwan. The inaugural stop is slated to kick off in January-end, next year.
The two major stops currently underway are the PokerStars LIVE Manila Super Series 13 that kicked off at Okada Manila on December 10th and will continue till December 15, and the 49-event European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague that is being hosted at Casino Atrium in Prague.
This was another blockbuster week on the virtual felts with more than enough action and millions up for grabs. The biggest extravaganza to play out was The Millionaire Legends ₹2 Crores GTD that brought together 755 entries across three starting flights and paid out the top 120 finishers. Charting a trailblazing run at the event was a former Millionaire champion Phanindra ‘k9akkin’ Akkina, who defeated Akash ‘Akash0510’ Gupta heads-up to win a jaw-dropping ₹41.33 Lakhs in prize money. This win makes Akkina our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”
The event awarded three more players a seven-figure score – Gupta, who earned ₹32.57 Lakhs for his second-place finish, Arsh ‘BigggTymeR’ Grover (3rd for ₹22.78 Lakhs), Sriharsha ‘Fish2050’ Doddapaneni (4th for ₹12 Lakhs).
The notable scores of the week include –
Player | Prize | Event | Poker Site |
---|---|---|---|
Phanindra ‘k9akkin’ Akkina | ₹41.33 Lakhs | The Millionaire Legends ₹2 Crores GTD | Spartan Poker |
Vaibhav ‘vane_shado’ Temani | ₹8.61 Lakhs | PMVS Main Event ₹50 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Kavish ‘Dietchips’ Kukreja | ₹7.72 Lakhs | Sunday SuperStack ₹40 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ashish ‘mmonas’ Kaushik | ₹7.35 Lakhs | Destiny 12.0 ₹30 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
propernit | ₹6.04 Lakhs | The Elite ₹25 Lakhs GTD 6-Max RE | Spartan Poker |
Rubin ‘kornkif’ Labroo | ₹5.43 Lakhs | Mega Suits ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
som22asopa | ₹5.34 Lakhs | Godfather ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Goonjan ‘gmtesting’ Mall | ₹5.32 Lakhs | BSS SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Anant ‘Pro_Pro’ Purohit | ₹4.70 Lakhs | PMVS #11 ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Akshay ‘sherlock52’ Nasa | ₹4.41 Lakhs | The Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Anant ‘Pro’ Purohit` | ₹4.19 Lakhs | SSS #11 Mega Stack ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Rishi ‘ronaldo94’ Mundhra | ₹4.17 Lakhs | The Ballers ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Anurag ‘13anurag’ Srivastava | ₹3.70 Lakhs | G.O.A ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Rohit ‘rohit22m’ Mishra | ₹3.51 Lakhs | PMVS Mega Value Main Event ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Sanat ‘mehro2511’ Mehrotra | ₹3.31 Lakhs | Ultron ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ashit ‘nexus010’ Sharma | ₹3.13 Lakhs | The Endeavour ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Vaibhav ‘WakhraSwagNi’ Sharma | ₹2.90 Lakhs | The Dragon Hold’em High ₹10 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Kartik ‘TheInternetKid’ Ved | ₹2,82 Lakhs | PMVS #19 ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Manish ‘thekid’ Lakhotia | ₹2.87 Lakhs | SSS #5 ReCharge ₹14 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Srihari ‘zombieballs’ Bang | ₹2.74 Lakhs | Big Slick ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Kavish ‘Narcos’ Kukreja | ₹2.52 Lakhs | The Bout ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Ujjwal ‘CougarHunter69’ Narwal | ₹2.44 Lakhs | Sunday Special Progressive KO Edition ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Arsh ‘Button_Hai_Bro’ Grover | ₹2.41 Lakhs | PMVS #20 ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Ayush ’Kyanaamrakhu’ Garg | ₹2.38 Lakhs | Highroller ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
madhabpal2015 | ₹2.35 Lakhs | GOA Fest ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Umang ‘umang94’ Kakarania | ₹2.30 Lakhs | RPS Main Event ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
utsisharma | ₹2.16 Lakhs | Maverick ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Gaurav ‘gauravarod’ Sood | ₹2.10 Lakhs | Hitman ₹7.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
varunpothan82 | ₹2.09 Lakhs | Uppercut Progressive KO 6-Max MAGIC Edition ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Raghav ‘thatssosick’ Bansal | ₹2.03 Lakhs | TGIF ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Akshay ‘youcantcallme’ Nasa | ₹1.92 Lakhs | Sunday Special (L) ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Vaibhav ‘pgp282’ Temani | ₹1.68 Lakhs | SSS #12 Hi-Fi ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Manoj ‘Arnav17’ Singh | ₹1.60 Lakhs | Thunder @8 PM ₹5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Xqwxqw | ₹1.35 Lakhs | Sixth Sense ₹7.5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Sriharsha ‘Fish2050’ Doddapaneni | ₹1.32 Lakhs | Hi-Fi ₹6 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Mithun ‘Intuitionnn’ Mahesh | ₹1.32 Lakhs | Hi-Fi ₹6 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Arsh ‘Button_Hai_Bro’ Grover | ₹1.30 Lakhs | PMVS#2 ₹5 Lakhs GTD (8-Max) | PokerBaazi |
Aditya ‘gangajal’ Sushant | ₹1.28 Lakhs | PMVS #5 ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Srihari ‘bangbang99’ Bang | ₹1.26 Lakhs | Electric Big Daddy ₹6 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Nehal Kumar ‘dybalamask’ Agarwal | ₹1.20 Lakhs | Thursday MonsterStack ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Hsupta | ₹1.20 Lakhs | The Monster 6-Max ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Chandan ‘RunBarryRun’ Arora | ₹1.19 Lakhs | Monday Hustle ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Anuj ‘brockLesnar95’ Yadav | ₹1.14 Lakhs | Night on Stars ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Ankit ‘helter_skelter’ Kapoor | ₹1.12 Lakhs | Fri-Yay ₹4 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
sonig1924 | ₹80,400 | Friday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Sumit ‘runrabbitrun’ Advani | ₹77,765 | Tuesday MonsterStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Rishab ‘rishabjain1983’ Jain | ₹74,209 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
sristi | ₹72,000 | Re Raise ₹2 Lakhs GTD RE | Khelo365 |
jason911 | ₹71,250 | Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakh GTD | Adda52 |
virat_kohli | ₹69,030 | StackUp @8 ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Kaushik ‘kaushik1989’ Tibrewal | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Pratik Ramakrishna ‘pratik93’ Gautam | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Aniket ‘pockets’ Raj | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
dilbaghsingh | ₹60,943 | PMVS#1 ₹2 Lakhs GTD (8-Max) | PokerBaazi |
nutskibhookh | ₹59,426 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Ballbuster | ₹59,204 | Hexagram ₹2.50 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
kingsas | ₹59,115 | PMVS #9 ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Devashish ‘debumathur’ Mathur | ₹59,097 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Prakash ‘pinnug’ Gupta | ₹56,300 | BSS PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Pranav ‘pkpok’ Khandalkar | ₹55,500 | RPS Big Game ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Gaurav ‘DragGEReR’ Mittal | ₹53,711 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
MambaMentality | ₹53,217 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Kunal ‘Charsilaladka’ Chaudhary | ₹48,479 | RPS Big Game 3 ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Raghavv | ₹48,332 | RPS Big Game 4 ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Kabadi7 | ₹46,228 | NLHM 6-Max ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Harsh ‘kakori kabab’ Dembla | ₹44,793 | The Classic ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
apalece | ₹41,600 | Big Bang ₹1 Lakh GTD | Khelo365 |
captaiN029 | ₹41,600 | Mega Splash ₹1 Lakh GTD | Khelo365 |
Vikash ‘marajuana11’Kumar | ₹34,800 | Battlefield Tuesday ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | Poker Dangal |
Hemanth ‘mdp10s’ Motepalli | ₹34,032 | Deepstack ₹2 Lakh GTD | PokerStars India |
Ayush ‘(Giz^zY)91’ Khandelwal | ₹33,104 | Progressive KO 4-Max ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Mohakal | ₹33,000 | Warrior Arena ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | Poker Dangal |
$00th$ayer | ₹32,726 | Sunday Warm-Up NLHE ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
tradeofjack | ₹24,000 | Monday Texas ₹1 Lakh GTD | Poker Dangal |
Suman ‘BUTLER’ Basak | ₹24,000 | Sunday Bonanza ₹1 Lakh GTD | Poker Dangal |
Mohdasim0007 | ₹24,000 | Dangal Friday ₹1 Lakh GTD | Poker Dangal |
beerboy191 | ₹18,000 | Wow Wednesday ₹75K GTD | Poker Dangal |
apalece | ₹18,000 | Dominator PLO ₹50K GTD RE | Khelo365 |
Online poker brand PokerBaazi has made a strong push towards its advocacy for Responsible Gaming. The site has launched a unique ‘Baazi Care’ initiative that provides players with specific tools and features, allowing them to enhance their gaming experience. Baazi Care ensures that checks and balances are in place to safeguard player interests.
Read the complete report here
According to a report published by a news media outlet, Valliant News, a senior government official recently claimed that all off-shore casinos will be asked to move to land in the next four years. Additionally, the much-awaited draft casino policy is also likely to be tabled by the state government in January 2020.
Read the complete report here
Asia Poker League (APL) has inked a deal with Indian pro Sumit Sapra, who has been appointed as the tournament brand`s newest Brand Ambassador. Sapra’s contract will come into effect at the upcoming APL Da Nang, starting from December 12 to 21. He will be part of APL’s team of ambassadors called ‘Da Dors.’
Read the complete report here
In two separate Special Leave Petitions (SLP), the State government of Maharashtra and the Union government have challenged the April 30th order of the Bombay High Court. The court had quashed Gurdeep Singh Sachar’s petition against Dream11 and upheld that fantasy games amounted to games of skill. The order had further noted that the fantasy sports major was compliant in collecting 18% GST on the “fee” it collects in contests.
Read the complete report here
The state cabinet of Meghalaya has given the nod of approval to Meghalaya Lottery Rules 2019, paving the way for re-instating the State Lottery that has been defunct for 14 years.
Read the complete report here
Online poker brand PokerStars has announced that it is bringing its flagship Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) series to Taiwan. The inaugural APPT Taiwan will be hosted at the Chinese Texas Hold ‘em Poker Association (CTP) in the capital city of Taipei from January 31 to February 9. The 10-day stop will feature 33 high value events headlined by the TWD $35,000 APPT Open Main Event (Feb 3 – 7), which features a TWD $7.50 Million (~$245,766 – ₹1.75 Crore) prize pool guarantee.
Read the complete report here
Continuing its partnership with Poker Central, Global Poker Index (GPI) has announced the second annual edition of its prestigious awards ceremony – Global Poker Awards. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 6, 2020 at the PokerGo Studio at ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. It will honor players and stakeholders of the poker industry in over 20 different categories.
Read the complete report here
In a move to make his Casino Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham, England more ‘poker-dedicated,’ owner Rob Yong has announced that the cardroom will no longer offer live casino games.
Read the complete report here
The 2019 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Finale Taiwan kicked off on November 28 at the Chinese Texas Holdem Poker Association and awarded 23 trophies in total. Taking the spotlight were two of the most popular events, namely the NT$ 33,000 Main Event and the NT$ 49,500 Championships Event.
The Main Event logged in 319 entries, creating a prize pool worth NT$ 9,282,900 (~US$ 304,300). China’s Zhou Yueyang trounced the field to not only claim his career-first live title, but also a personal-best live score of NT$ 2,138,200 (~US$ 70,156)!
Read the complete report here
The Championships Events closed out the series in style, pulling in 159 entries and generating NT$6,940,300 (~US$ 228,000) in the prize pool. Dutch pro Tobias Peters obliterated the competition to claim his first-ever APT title, along with an impressive NT$1,848,800 (~US$ 60,500) payday.
The end of the series also meant the announcement of the winner of the ‘Player of the Series (POS)’ race. The Main Event champion Yueyang was awarded the honor for his phenomenal performance that saw him taking down both the Main Event and the NT$77,000 High Rollers, as well as make a fourth-place finish in the WeLoveSport Super Deep Stack Turbo event.
Read the complete report here
APT Finale Taiwan List of Winners
Event | Winner | Prize Money |
---|---|---|
Event 1: Nt$ 16,500 Monster Stack | Bingzhi Yap | NT$ 515,100 |
Event 2: Nt$ 7,700 Ladies Of Poker | Chen Yi Liu | NT$ 73,100 |
Event 3: Nt$ 11,000 Head Hunter Bounty Event | Zong Chi He | NT$ 176,900 |
Event 5: Nt$ 8,800 Pot Limit Omaha Hi | Ryan Ko | NT$ 116,900 |
Event 6: Nt$ 55,000 High Rollers Single Day | Im Sangguk | NT$ 627,500 |
Event 7: Nt$ 7,700 Nlh Single Day Event | Chi Jen Chen | NT$ 183,500 |
Event 8: Nt$ 9,900 No Limit Hold'em | Cheng Chao Ting | NT$ 234,300 |
Event 9: Nt$ 9,900 No Limit Hold'em | Chan Hui Tung | NT$ 258,100 |
Event 10: Nt$ 88,000 High Rollers | Pete Chen | NT$ 864,800 |
Event 11: Nt$ 11,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi | Chien Yu Wang | NT$ 116,600 |
Event 12: Nt$ 55,000 High Rollers Single Day | Dong Guo | NT$ 600,000 |
Event 13: Nt$ 7,700 Nlh Single Day Event | Keon Yong Ma | NT$ 132,600 |
Event 14: Nt$ 7,700 Welovesport Super Deep Stack Turbo | Peter Chien | NT$ 139,100 |
Event 15: Nt$ 5,500 Deep Stack Hyper Turbo | Woo Jong Ha | NT$ 78,100 |
Event 16: Nt$ 9,900 5 Card Pot Limit Omaha Hi | Anthony Abram | NT$ 80,400 |
Event 17: Nt$ 5,500 Deep Stack Turbo | Chris Leung | NT$ 128,400 |
Event 18: Nt$ 16,500 Monster Stack | Ori Kossonogi | NT$ 380,700 |
Event 19: Nt$ 77,000 High Rollers | Zhou Yue Yang | NT$ 697,500 |
Event 20: Nt$ 5,500 Deep Stack Turbo | Chi Jen Chen | NT$ 88,100 |
Event 21: Nt$ 55,000 High Rollers Single Day | Kotake Yusuke | NT$ 572,100 |
Event 22: Nt$ 5,500 Deep Stack Hyper Turbo | Muang Min Feng | NT$ 75,200 |
Nt$ 33,000 Main Event | Zhou Yue Yang | NT$ 2,138,200 |
Nt$ 49,500 Championships Event | Tobias Peters | NT$ 1,848,800 |
The 2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague got off to a fantastic start with 61 players entering the series-opener €10,300 NL Hold’em 8-Max (Single RE) at the host-venue Casino Atrium Hilton. Spanish poker professional and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Adrian Mateos won the event for €177,500 after defeating Anton Yakuba heads-up.
The stop features 49 events and will continue non-stop all the way through December 17. From the latest updates, Mateos has also stormed into the €50,000 Super High Roller final table that is currently underway.
Read the complete report here
The 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) International Circuit was hosted at The Star Sydney from November 14 to December 9, with 14 featured events on the schedule. One of the prominent winners at the series was Jonathan Karamalikis, who outran 52 others to capture the A$20,000 High Roller title for A$377,625.
Headlining the action was the $2,200 Main Event that brought in a total of 1,124 entries – and this included a few Indian players as well. Three of them managed to cross the money line. Ashish Gupta (93rd for A$4,361 ₹2.11 Lakhs) fell out early on Day 2 while Anish Kumar and Akshay Kapoor made it to Day 3, where both of them were able to finish in the top 15. Kumar ran the deepest, earning a 13th place finish equivalent to A$26,729 (~₹12.97 Lakhs) while Kapoor finished in 15th place for A$26,729 (~₹12.97 Lakhs).
The event was eventually taken down by local pro Steven Zhou who struck a four-way deal to take home a revised payout of A$260,904.
Read the complete report here
The World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO) recently played out at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hollywood. The star attraction of the stop was the $3,500 Main Event $2 Million GTD that attracted a record-breaking 988-strong –player field via the two starting flights to collect a whopping $3,161,600 in prize money. Bulgaria’s Milen Stefanov proved to be the last player standing and took home a career-best $545,070.
Read the complete report here
The stop featured for the first time, a $25,500 buy-in High Roller $1 Million GTD. All-Time Money topper Bryn Kenney outlasted the 45 entry field and struck a heads-up deal with Brock Wilson to bank the winner’s cheque worth $354,565.
Read the complete report here
The final stop of Season XV of the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) was hosted at the Hollywood Casino St. Louis. While Paul ‘Walnuts’ Bianchi took down the HPT $2,500 Championship event for $181,874, Nick Pupillo was another player who grabbed the headlines for winning HPT Player of the Year (POY) title.
Read the complete report here
The Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Millions hosted at the WTC Sheraton Golden Hall in Sao Paulo shattered all previous records of South America’s poker history. Headlining the stop was the ‘Akkari’s Road to PSPC 1M GTD Micro Millions’ event that attracted a gigantic field of 4,142 entries over six starting flights. The $30,000 Platinum Pass for the 2020 PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) was collected by Sebastian Gaviño who defeated Gabriel Finetto heads-up to win R$132,570 (~$31,757).
Read the complete report here
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.