This Week in Poker: December 11 – 17

This Week in Poker: December 11 – 17
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  • Namita Ghosh December 18, 2019
  • 6 Minutes Read

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!

With December bringing with it a dull phase for live tournaments in the country, action on the virtual felts has been tasked with filling in the gap. Leading the charge here was Spartan Poker that seems to have gained a considerable lead over the competition, especially when it comes to doling out massive tournaments. The site’s flagship The Millionaire was initially conceptualized as a monthly series, but since November, it has become an almost-weekly feature. Each week its the Spartan Poker Millionaire who inadvertently turned out becoming out PokerGuru Star of the Week, and so is the case this week again. The SSS Millionaire winner, Pulkit Goyal, a former national level boxer from Bhatinda, topped a field of 1,346 entries last Sunday to win ₹26.95 Lakhs, making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!!”

Goyal was not the only one to return with a seven-figure score. His heads-up opponent Vaibhav ‘Nikka Zaildar’ Sharma (2nd for ₹16.05 Lakhs) and PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish ‘Spewushhhiiiii’ Ahuja (3rd for ₹11.29 Lakhs) also went home millionaires. Incidentally, in addition to his runner-up finish, Sharma also won the Adda52 Goa Fest ₹12 Lakhs GTD for ₹2.31 Lakhs while Ahuja took down the PokerStars India Uppercut PKO 6-Max MAGIC Edition ₹10 Lakhs GTD for ₹1.95 Lakhs.

Amarjeet ‘superchor89’ Singh (SSS #17 Destiny ₹35 Lakhs GTD for ₹7.54 Lakhs) and Sanat ‘mehro2511’ Mehrotra (SSS #30 The Elite 30 Lakhs GTD for ₹6.64 Lakhs) were the other prominent winners this week!

The week also proved momentous for online poker platforms, Khelo365 and Poker Dangal. While Khelo365 moved over to a new and advanced platform, the Poker Dangal team had other reasons to celebrate after being listed as one of the 10 Best eSports Startups of 2019 by Silicon India startupcity.

With the new year approaching, there is a lot of anticipation building up around the January 2020 edition of the India Poker Championship (IPC). The tournament organizers have sweetened the deal for players by announcing that the Main Event winner at the upcoming series will be named the new ‘India Poker Champion.’ Along with the bragging rights, the winner will also be awarded a ₹20 Lakhs sponsorship deal to play in all future IPC events, along with an IPC engraved Panerai luxury watch worth ₹5 Lakhs.

Action in Asia was dominated by the Asia Poker League (APL), which is currently playing out its second stop in Vietnam. The inaugural APL Da Nang is shaping up to be a resounding success. On its last legs, the Main Event is down to the final table with newly minted APL Ambassador Sumit Sapra among the nine players in the running to win the coveted title and the VND 2,026,500,000 (~₹62.02 Lakhs) up top. Sapra is one of three Indian players who cashed the Main Event. The other two Indians were Vikas Sahni (36th for ₹1.49 Lakhs) & Manish Lakhotia (53rd for ₹1.27 Lakhs).

The other big international stop that played out this week was the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague. The 49-event stop ran from December 6 to 17. Stealing the limelight on the final day was Belarusian pro Mikalai Pobal, who trounced a tough field of 1,154 players to win the Main Event title for €1,005,600. Pobal’s rise to the top was remarkable, as he came back from a second-shortest stack at the start of the final table to win the tournament. He even entered the history books by becoming the second player ever to win two EPT Main Event titles.

In gaming developments, the Supreme Court has dismissed all the appeals that were filed against fantasy gaming giant Dream11, underlining once and for all that fantasy sports are a game of skill.

Meanwhile, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has finally come out with the dates for its summer run in 2020. The series will once again take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and run for 51 consecutive days starting May 27, 2020.

 

Online Railbird Report

A week of intense online action saw the return of the Spartan Super Series (SSS) that brought with it another Millionaire edition. Site regular Pulkit ‘Championplayer’ Goyal etched his name in poker fame by becoming the latest Millionaire champion. Goyal outlasted the 1,346-strong field and defeated Vaibhav ‘Nikka Zaildar’ Sharma heads-up to add a whopping ₹26.95 Lakhs to his bankroll. His brilliant run is the most standout performance of the week, making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!!”

The event also rewarded seven-figure scores to two more players – Vaibhav ‘Nikka Zaildar’ Sharma, who pocketed ₹16.05 Lakhs for finishing runner-up while PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish ‘Spewushhhiiiii’ Ahuja collected ₹11.29 Lakhs for his third-place finish. Sharma and Ahuja may have missed out on the glory of winning ‘The Millionaire,’ but they had other victories to celebrate. Sharma won Adda52’s Goa Fest ₹12 Lakhs GTD for ₹2.31 Lakhs, while Ahuja championed PokerStars India`s Uppercut PKO 6-Max MAGIC Edition ₹10 Lakhs GTD for ₹1.95 Lakhs.

Amarjeet ‘superchor89’ Singh (SSS #17 Destiny ₹35 Lakhs GTD for ₹7.54 Lakhs) and Sanat ‘mehro2511’ Mehrotra (SSS #30 The Elite 30 Lakhs GTD for ₹6.64 Lakhs) featured among the other prominent winners this week.

Pulkit Goyal
Pulkit Goyal

The notable scores of the week include –

PlayerPrizeEventPoker Site
Pulkit ‘Championplayer’ Goyal₹26.95 LakhsSSS The Millionaire ₹1.5 Crores GTD ₹11,000 RESpartan Poker
Hit ‘Em Up₹7.67 LakhsSSS #40 Sunday SuperStack ₹40 Lakhs GTD ₹5,500 RESpartan Poker
Amarjeet ‘superchor89’ Singh₹7.54 LakhsSSS #17 Destiny ₹35 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Rubin ‘kornkif’ Labroo₹6.58 LakhsMega Suits ₹25 Lakhs GTD Adda52
Sanat ‘mehro2511’ Mehrotra₹6.64 LakhsSSS #30 The Elite ₹30 Lakhs GTD ₹11,000 RESpartan Poker
Rajat ‘happyfish’ Mahajan₹5.24 LakhsBSS SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD 5,500 (RE)PokerBaazi
Kavish ‘narcoss’ Kukreja₹5.00 LakhsGodfather ₹20 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Harsh ‘100crdream’ Kumar₹4.55 LakhsThe Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Sahil ‘imhighishove’ Mahboobani₹4.17 LakhsThe Ballers ₹15 Lakhs GTD Adda52
Arsh ‘BigggTymeR’ Grover₹3,97 LakhsSSS #23 Ultron ₹25 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Devang ‘giraffeganger_1’ Yadav₹3.88 LakhsMega Stack ₹20 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Rahul ‘YOUAGAIN’ Pruthi₹3.70 LakhsG.O.A ₹20 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
GTO_LIFE_GG₹3.49 LakhsSunday Special Progressive KO ₹15 Lakhs GTD ₹5,500 PokerStars India
Anuj ‘brockLesnar95’ Yadav₹3.06 LakhsThe Endeavour ₹15 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
cheragb₹2.74 LakhsBig Slick ₹15 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Hitesh ‘hiteshbhai999’ Batra₹2.70 LakhsHighroller ₹12 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Aniket ‘Anteman’ Waghmare ₹2.55 LakhsReCharge ₹12 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
rajatnara₹2.48 LakhsMaverick ₹10 Lakhs GTD Adda52
Rahul ‘Clearsky’ Gupta₹2.35 LakhsThe Bout ₹10 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
F-Bomb ₹2.31 LakhsSSS $29 TGIF ₹12 Lakhs GTD ₹1,650 RESpartan Poker
Vaibhav ‘alienrobot’ Sharma₹2.22 LakhsGoa Fest ₹8 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Ashish ‘Spewushhhiiiii’ Ahuja₹1.95 LakhsUppercut Progressive KO 6-Max MAGIC Edition ₹10 Lakhs GTD ₹4,400PokerStars India
Rohit ‘ShippingYard’ Mishra₹1.68 LakhsSSS #25 Hi-Fi ₹8 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
nutskibhookh₹1.60 LakhsSSS #18 Hi-Fi ₹8 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Abhishek 'thegrinder' Garg₹1.53 LakhsHitman ₹7.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Arjanveer “holdbaby” Singh Chadha₹1.41 LakhsThe Monster 6-Max ₹5 Lakhs GTD ₹2,750 REPokerBaazi
Infic11 ₹1.36 LakhsSunday Special (L) ₹7.5 Lakhs GTD ₹2,750PokerStars India
Pranjal ‘lilmessipranjal’ Gandhi₹1.30 LakhsSSS #31 Hi-Fi ₹6 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 RESpartan Poker
Farhaad ‘kilpauk’ Khazvini₹1.23 LakhsThursday MonsterStack ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Chirag ‘miyagi’ Sodha₹1.20 LakhsBSS MegaStack ₹5 Lakhs GTD ₹2,750 REPokerBaazi
SANDYINC₹1.20 LakhsSSS #38 Afternoon Showdown ₹5 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 RESpartan Poker
Sixth Sense ₹7.5 Lakhs GTD – PokerStars India₹1.14 LakhsSixth Sense ₹7.5 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
desithug007₹1.10 LakhsSSS #41 Electric Big Daddy ₹6 Lakhs GTD ₹1,650 RESpartan Poker
Faiz ‘LFGgggg’ Alam₹1.09 LakhsMonday Hustle ₹6 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Kartik ‘TheInternetKid’ Ved ₹1.05 LakhsNight on Stars NLHM ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Anal-yzer₹98,147SSS #27 Afternoon Showdown ₹5 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200Spartan Poker
Romit “tilt83” Advani₹96,600Fri-YAY ₹4 Lakhs GTD 4,400 (RE)PokerBaazi
TheRussian06 ₹92,7366-Max Wednesday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
trickett₹86,000Twister ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹3,300 NLHM (RE)Khelo365
Paras ‘AAKKQQJJ’ Jain₹77,377Afternoon Hi-Fi ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Guruprasad “fish_calling” Gupta₹77,250Friday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD 2,200 (RE)PokerBaazi
royalty₹72,500Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Kohlii₹72,500Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
abhi1288₹72,500Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
anki20₹71,250Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Sam ‘lokimon’ Anand₹70,625Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Anuj ‘brockLesnar95’ Yadav₹65,000StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD9stacks
Shashank ‘biharibhaia’ Shekhar₹65,000StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD 9stacks
Anuj ‘Desijuari’ Manocha ₹65,000StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD 9stacks
Karan ‘chickentikka’ Sawhney₹65,000StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD ₹1,6509stacks
bigslik33₹57,817Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Deepak ‘3streakbluff’ Singh ₹56,300BSS PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 Half REPokerBaazi
Akash ‘bruce.lee0247’ Gupta₹55,128Progressive KO 4-Max ₹2 Lakh GTDPokerStars India
Sri@5774₹52,282The Classic ₹2 Lakh GTDPokerStars India
Terrier₹52,139Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 RESpartan Poker
thepokerbrat₹51,153SSS #28 Hi-Fi ₹3 Lakhs GTD ₹1,100Spartan Poker
Nishant ‘DoJingBULLETSS’ Sharma₹47,497The Sunday Stars ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200PokerStars India
tomdwan2₹46,000Big Bang ₹1 Lakh GTD NLHE ₹2,200Khelo365
apalece₹46,000Mega Splash ₹1 Lakh GTD ₹2,200 NLHM (RE)Khelo365
vn2016₹44,952Afternoon Showdown ₹2 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Dhinesh ‘you3betl4bet’ Kumar₹44,540NLHM 6-Max ₹2 Lakh GTD ₹1,650PokerStars India
Keechad₹42,407Deepstacks ₹2 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
VTN3COB₹36,000Warrior Arena ₹1.5 Lakhs GTDPoker Dangal
bigbluffaces₹31,500Battlefield Tuesday ₹1.5 Lakhs GTDPoker Dangal
nivask77ksr₹25,344Dangal Friday ₹1 Lakhs GTDPoker Dangal
Pankaj ‘Cyclonekabro’ Joshi₹24,000Monday Texas ₹1 Lakhs GTDPoker Dangal
Ravi ‘DJBravo’ Yadav₹24,000Sunday Bonanza ₹1 Lakhs GTD ₹770Poker Dangal
charecter1₹20,000Dominator ₹50K GTD NLHE ₹660 Khelo365
Suman ‘Butler’ Basak₹18,000Wow Wednesday ₹75K GTDPoker Dangal

 

Khelo365 Rolls Out New & Improved Poker Client

Khelo365 has been around the block for a long time and was also the first poker site to get the Nagaland Gaming License in December 2016. The site recently come out with its biggest-ever software upheaval by moving over to the industry-leading Connective Games platform.

Khelo365 rolled out new software upgrade
Khelo365 rolled out new software upgrade

Read the complete report here

 

Poker Dangal Gets Listed in Top 10 Best eSports Startups of 2019

Online poker site Poker Dangal is slowly establishing strong credibility in the poker industry and was recently named among the 10 Best eSports Startups of 2019 by business and technology magazine, Silicon India startupcity. Spartan Poker was another name that got featured in this list alongside 99Games, Nazara Technologies, Nodwin Gaming, etc.

Poker Dangal wins Silicon India’s 10 Best eSports Startups of 2019 Award
Poker Dangal wins Silicon India’s 10 Best eSports Startups of 2019 Award

Read the complete report here

 

IPC January Edition Main Event Winner to be Named ‘India Poker Champion’

IPC sponsors Spartan Poker has announced that the Main Event winner at the upcoming January edition will be named the ‘India Poker Champion!’ and will get a one-year sponsorship deal worth ₹20 Lakhs along with a gorgeous engraved watch worth ₹5 Lakhs!

IPC January, 2020 Edition Main Event winner to be named ‘India Poker Champion’
IPC January, 2020 Edition Main Event winner to be named ‘India Poker Champion’

Read the complete report here

 

Supreme Court Dismisses All Appeals Against Dream11

The Supreme Court, while hearing the appeal petitions against Bombay High Court’s April 30 ruling in the Gurdeep Singh Sachar vs. Dream11, dismissed all the petitions. The Central Revenue Department and the State of Maharashtra had filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) challenging the Bombay High Court`s order.

Dream11 Supreme Court
Dream11 Supreme Court

Read the complete report here

 

225 Crores in Betfair Bets During TNPL Match Lands Domestic Leagues in Trouble

The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has submitted a confidential report to the BCCI charging that close to ₹225 Crores was wagered on a Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) T20 cricket match between the Tuti Patriots and Madurai Panthers on Betfair. ACU has asked the BCCI to consider shutting down all such leagues.

Tuti Patriots and Madurai Panthers
Tuti Patriots and Madurai Panthers

Read the complete report here

 

Adda52 Rummy & Deltin Renew Sponsorship of Indian Super League FC Goa

Casino operator Deltin and Adda52 Rummy will have their brands represented on the Team Jersey of the Indian Super League (ISL) football team FC Goa. Adda52 Rummy will be the title sponsors with their logo to be the team’s main front-of-shirt sponsor, while Deltin, who is an associate sponsor, will have their logo on the club’s kits.

Read the complete report here

 

WSOP Announces Dates for 2020 Edition

On December 11, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) came out publicly with the dates of the much-awaited 2020 edition, which will mark its golden anniversary. The 51-day series will run through May 26 – July 15, 2020, and playing host once again will be the famous Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

WSOP 2020 dates announced
WSOP 2020 dates announced

Read the complete report here

 

APL Da Nang

The inaugural edition of the Asia Poker League (APL) Da Nang began at the Risemount Premier Resort in Da Nang, Vietnam, on December 12. The 16-event series has already crowned more than half-a-dozen champions at the stop. The showstopper i.e., the Main Event VND 8 Billion GTD, is now on the home stretch with a starting field of 525 entries trimmed down to the final nine players.

The latest pro to join APL’s ‘Da Dors’ team of brand ambassadors, India’s Sumit Sapra, has stormed his way into the final table and is in the hunt for the coveted title and the winner’s cheque of VND 2,026,500,000 (~₹62.02 Lakhs).

Besides Sapra, two other Indians, Vikas Sahni (36th for ₹1.49 Lakhs) & Manish Lakhotia (53rd for ₹1.27 Lakhs), were in the contention in the Main Event and bowed out on Day 2 after adding to their bankrolls.

Sumit Sapra
Sumit Sapra

Read the complete report here

 

APL Vietnam Da Nang Winners

PlayerEvent Prize Money
Nguyen Hoang Linh VND 10M KickoffVND 739,100,000
Im Sung GokVND 10M Deep StackVND 285,500,000
Kim Jae Hwan VND 8.8M NLHEVND 160,700,000
Li Shin HungVND 6.6M KO Bounty TurboVND 142,400,000
Nguyen Huu DucVND 6M NLHE Turbo 1VND 83,500,000
Lee Jung WookVND 5.5M Hyper TurboVND 79,400,000
Kwon Hyuk JinVND 5.5M Hyper Turbo 2VND 69,500,000

 

EPT Prague

The 2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague turned out to be a thundering success as the festival featured a whopping 49 events that ran from December 6-17. Dominating the headlines early was Stephen Chidwick, who won PokerStars EPT Prague Super High Roller defeating Bertrand Grospellier heads-up for a €725,710 payday.

Stephen Chidwick
Stephen Chidwick

Read the complete report here

Even as Semen Kravets, Alexandre Reard, Chin Wei Lim, and Sam Greenwood went on to win titles, the star of the series was Belarusian pro Mikalai Pobal, who defeated an enormous field of 1,154 players to win the €5,300 Main Event title for a whopping €1,005,600. Pobal, who had won the 2012 EPT Barcelona Main Event, has etched his name in the record books as the second two-time EPT champion after Victoria Coren Mitchell.

Mikalai Pobal
Mikalai Pobal

Read the complete report here

EPT Prague Winners

EventWinnerPrize
Event #1 – NLHE Single Re-EntryAdrian Mateos€ 177,500
Event #2 – NLHE FreezeoutMateusz Wozniak€ 52,930
Event #4 — EPT National ChampionshipSemen Kravets€ 262,309
Event #7 – NLHE Hyper Turbo FreezeoutOrhan Ates€ 32,950
Event #8 — NLHEJean-Noel Thorel€ 248,740
Event #50 — PLO unlimited re-entryBogdan Capitan€ 333,200
Event #11 — EPT CupJosef Snejberg€ 83,300
Event #12 — Super High RollerStephen Chidwick€ 725,710
Event #14 — NLHE Hyper TurboViet Vo€ 33,550
Event #16 – EPT National High RollerAlexandre Reard€ 342,810
Event #18 — 6+ (Short-Deck)Yake Wu€ 44,135
Event #21 — NLHE Single re-entryTsugunari Toma€ 135,220
Event #25 – Single-Day High RollerChin Wei Lim€ 378,160
Event #27 – NLHE Single Re-entryPim Kuipers€ 57,970
Event #26 – PLO Single Re-entryShahar Levi€ 38,835
Event #28 – NLHE Hyper TurboRemi Wyrzykiewicz€ 25,790
Event #29 – NLHE Single Re-entryPaul Michaelis€ 167,930
Event #30 – PLO Single Re-entryDuarte Baptista€ 130,050
Event #33 – NLHE Unlimited Re-entrySam Greenwood€ 384,968
Event #34 – NLHE Single Re-entry
Rasmus Agerskov€ 74,860
Event #36 – 6+ (Short Deck)Felix Schulze€ 12,070
Event #38 – HORSE Single Re-entryGrzegorz Wyraz€ 7,020
Event #40 NLHEAndreas Boelling€ 41,250
Event #42 – NLHE Hyper Turbo KnockoutAnton Suarez€ 25,140
Event #44 NLHE Turbo Win The Button FreezeoutPavlos Xanthopoulos€ 8,840
Event #45 NLHE Hyper Turbo FreezeoutLiu Yucheng€ 31,880
Event #39 – Single-Day High Roller
Tsugunari Toma€ 523,120
Event #20 – EPT Main EventMikalai Pobal
€ 1,005,600
Event #46 NLH Turbo Unlimited Re-entry
Seref Dursun Anar€ 5,200
Event #47 NLH Turbo 6-Handed Unlimited Re-entryGiorgiy Skhulukhiya€ 53,205
Event #48 NLH Turbo 6-Handed Unlimited Re-entryTimothy Adams€ 57,720
Event #49 NLHE Super Hyper Turbo FreezeoutCi Yuan Huang€ 11,750
Event #43 NLH Deep Stack Single Re-entryGab Yong Kim€ 92,560

 

David Moses Wins SHR Tampa Winter Poker Open Main Event

The 2019 Winter Poker Open (WPO) wrapped up at the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Bay on Monday. David Moses came out on top of the 479-strong field after defeating poker pro Justin Zaki heads-up to win the Main Event title for $149,595 and the gorgeous Guitar Trophy.

David Moses
David Moses

Read the complete report here

 

Boris Kasabov Wins WSOPC IP Biloxi Main Event

Toppling a field of 281 entries, Boris Kasabov took down the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) IP Biloxi $1,700 Main Event to win his first-ever WSOP Circuit Ring in addition to $98,044 and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

Boris Kasabov
Boris Kasabov

Read the complete report here

 

Said El Harrak Wins WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Main Event

Thirty-seven-year-old former pro boxes Said ‘Sid’ El Harrak won the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Bicycle Casino Main Event. Harrak outlasted a field of 487 entries and defeated Ronnie Tate heads-up to pocket the top prize of $147,435, along with his first WSOP Circuit ring, and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

Said El Harrak
Said El Harrak

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.

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