This Week in Poker: July 10 – 16

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  • Attreyee Khasnabis July 17, 2019
  • 6 Minutes Read

In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker’ we bring you the weekly roundup 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

It has been a milestone week for Indian poker! This past week saw the ‘biggest poker festival’ – 50th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) – come to an end with the $10,000 Main Event crowing a first-time champion in Hossein Ensan. While it was a momentous occasion as the German pro became only the third player in history to win $10 Million in the prestigious WSOP Main Event, it wasn’t the most exciting news for the Indian poker audience.

July 15 will forever remain a landmark day for Indian poker as on that day Young Gun Abhinav Iyer became the first Indian to claim the elusive solo WSOP gold bracelet by taking down The Closer. In 2018, Paawan Bansal had come close to achieving the goal, finishing runner-up for $378,765 (~₹2.60 Crores). Iyer charged into the final table as the chip leader and held on to his advantage till the very end. He ultimately defeated Sammy Lafleur heads-up to clinch the title, along with a personal-best score of $565,346 (~₹3.87 Crores).

While Iyer accomplished the dream of winning the bracelet, Kunal Punjwani fell short of realizing the feat, after suffering a brutal beat that resulted in his promising final table run in the $1.5K NLHE Double Stack coming to an untimely end in seventh place for $74,401 (~₹51 Lakhs).

PokerGuru Ambassador Kartik Ved has been in sublime form throughout the series. He proved to the poker fraternity that he as good a player on the lives felts as he is online by making back-to-back deep runs in the Main Event. Last year – that happened to be Ved`s first time at the WSOP – he was one of three Indian challengers, the other two being Nishant Sharma and Vivek Rughani, who made it through to Day 5 in the Main Event. Ved’s run had ended in 128th place for $57,010 (~₹39.20 Lakhs). This year not only did he make it to Day 6, but he also surpassed his previous best score at the event, finishing 51st for $173,015 (~₹1.18 Crores).

Las Vegas wasn’t the only poker destination where Indians were seen dominating the felts. Back in Asia, the sixth edition of Asian Poker Tour (APT) Vietnam that kicked off on July 3 wound down after a 12-day run on July 14. Team India was consistent in its performance and headlining the 14 scores posted by Indians was Manish Lakhotia, who after taking down the NLHE Single-Day 1 last week, added two more final table finishes to his tally to take home a cumulative ₹10.44 Lakhs in winnings. PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish Munot and Manoj Pentakota were the other top Indian scorers.

Terry Nguyen won the APT Player of the Series honor while China’s Zhou Jiaping and New Zealand’s Oliver Helm took down the flagship VND 8 Billion GTD Main Event and the VND 6 Billion GTD Championships Event respectively.

Moving over to the virtual felts we saw Chandan ‘darkfish’ Arora outlasting a packed field of 530 entries (323 unique and 207 re-entries) in PokerBaazi’s Baazi Super Sunday (BSS) SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD, for ₹5.14 Lakhs in first-place prize money. PokerGuru Ambassadors Ratul ‘luna’ Steves was another prominent winner who championed PokerBaazi’s BSS Megastack ₹5 Lakhs GTD, pocketing ₹1.20 Lakhs for his victory.

Popular online poker site, Poker Dangal, had recently hosted a cash-game centric promotion, Dangal Summer Fest. Saurabh ‘Newkidintown’ Arora topped the promotion by collecting 175,000 points playing high stakes cash games. He forfeited the grand prize of a Jeep Compass instead opting to take ₹15.75 Lakhs instead.

Now that the WSOP and APT Vietnam have both wrapped up proceedings, poker fans still have a lot to look forward to with the DPT July edition coming up from July 31 to August 5 onboard Casino Deltin Royale in Goa.

 

Online Railbird Report

Headlining the wins on the virtual felts this Sunday was Chandan darkfish Arora who bested a field of 530 entries (323 unique and 207 re-entries) in the BSS SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD and defeated Ankit d00mtr00p3r Wadhawan heads-up to earn a paycheque of ₹5.14 Lakhs.

Chandan Arora

Other notable scores of the week include –

Vikas ‘slecker’ Kumar won ₹3.73 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘The Summit ₹10 Lakhs GTD’

‘masteroffelts’ won ₹2.91 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Special – Progressive KO ₹15 Lakhs GTD’

Sahil ‘ImHighishove’ Mahboobani won ₹2.20 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘The Vegas ₹10 Lakhs GTD (RE)’

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

‘nakbsw’ who took down the Twister ₹2 Lakhs GTD Deepstack NLHE for ₹80,000.

Vinay ‘vinay09’ Rajpal won ₹59,997 for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘BSS PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD (Half RE)’)

Sachin1055 won ₹43,000 for 1st place in the Khelo365 ‘Mega Splash ₹1 Lakh GTD NLHE’

‘roha12344’ won ₹40,580 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Stars ₹2 Lakhs GTD’

zravasya won ₹40,000 for 1st place in the Khelo365 ‘Big Bang ₹1 Lakh GTD NLHE’

Ram ‘TheLagLawyer’ Kakkar won ₹32,524 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Warm-Up ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD’

yashos13 won ₹24,270 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Supersonic ₹1 Lakh GTD’

firehawk729 won ₹18,480 for 1st place in the Khelo365 ‘Deep Stack ₹40K GTD NLHE’

Sagar ‘sag245’ Harwani won ₹18,100 for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘Sunday ₹1 Lakh GTD (RE)’

headsupguy2323 won ₹15,257 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Storm ₹1 Lakh GTD’

Read the complete story here

Saurabh Arora Wins 15.75 Lakhs At Poker Dangal’s Dangal Summer Fest

Online poker site, Poker Dangal recently hosted a two-month-long cash-game centric promotion, Dangal Summer Fest. Topping the promotion was Saurabh ‘Newkidintown’ Arora who accumulated 175,000 points playing high stakes cash games. While a new Jeep Compass was up for grabs for the winner, Arora opted to take the ₹15.75 Lakhs cash equivalent instead.

Saurabh Arora

Read the complete story here

WSOP 2019

The 50th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) closed out its record-breaking run on July 16. Running from May 29, the year’s biggest poker festival lived up to the hype and excitement that surrounded the 50th annual series. But as they say, the best is always saved for the last, and this phrase turned true for Team India as after numerous close finishes it was Young Gun Abhinav Iyer who captured the coveted solo gold bracelet on the penultimate day of the series. Bettering Paawan Bansal‘s runner-up finish in The Closer from last year, Iyer trailblazed through the final day, coming out on top with a personal-best score of $565,346 (~₹3.87 Crores). This is also the highest score by an Indian at any poker tournament in recent history!

Abhinav Iyer
Abhinav Iyer

Read the complete story here

Team India could have won two back-to-back solo gold bracelets this past week. Kunal Punjwani had entered the $1.5K NLHE Double Stack with the fourth-largest stack on the final day and was in the groove to run deep, sadly, an unfortunate brutal beat at the hands of Philip Scaletta ended his promising run in seventh place for $74,401 (~₹51 Lakhs). Kalyan Chakravarthy also final tabled the event, finishing eighth for $56,850 (~₹39 Lakhs).

Kunal Punjwani & Kalyan Chakravarthy

Read the complete story here

Bringing this record-breaking series to a close was the $10K Main Event. The marquee event crowned a first-time champion in Germany’s Hossein Ensan who became only the third player in WSOP history to collect a payday of $10 Million or more at the Main Event. PokerGuru Ambassador Kartik Ved was the only Indian challenger who had advanced to Day 6 of the Main Event and ultimately placed 51st for a career-best score of $173,015 (~₹1.18 Crores).

Kartik Ved
Kartik Ved

Read the complete story here

A total of 29 Indian cashes were posted this past week.

Team India Scores (Bracelet Events – Last Week)

EventPlayerFinishPrize Money
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emAbhinav Iyer1st$565,346 - ₹3.87 Crores
Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em MAIN EVENT – World ChampionshipKartik Ved51st$173,015 - ₹1.18 Crores
Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double StackKunal Punjwani7th$74,401 - ₹51 Lakhs
Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double StackKalyan Chakravarthy8th$56,850 - ₹39 Lakhs
Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em MAIN EVENT – World ChampionshipYudhishter Jaswal261st$43,935 - ₹30.03 Lakhs
Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em MAIN EVENT – World ChampionshipAkshay Nasa307th$38,240 - ₹26.14 Lakhs
Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double StackGoonjan Mall19th$17,063 - ₹11.69 Lakhs
Event #89: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’emYasheel Doddanavar54th $10,382 - ₹7.14 Lakhs
Event #85: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-HandedVikram Kumar50th$6,392 - ₹4.38 Lakhs
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emSiddharth Mundada73rd$5,956 - ₹4.08 Lakhs
Event #75: $1000 +$111 Little One for One DropRahul Byrraju95th$5,263 - ₹3.59 Lakhs
Event #75: $1000 +$111 Little One for One DropVivek Rughani139th$4,521 - ₹3.09 Lakhs
Event #75: $1000 +$111 Little One for One DropAshish Ahuja153rd$4,521 - ₹3.09 Lakhs
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emKalyan Chakravarthy98th$4,401 - ₹3.01 Lakhs
Event #75: $1000 +$111 Little One for One DropMadhav Gupta217th$3,916 - ₹2.67 Lakhs
Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double StackHimmat Singh120th$3,654 - ₹2.50 Lakhs
Event #81: $1,500 50th Annual Bracelet Winners Only No-Limit Hold'emNikita Luther13th$3,584 - ₹2.45 Lakhs
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emHimmat Singh176th$3,500 - ₹2.39 Lakhs
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emShashank Jain189th$3,500 - ₹2.39 Lakhs
Event #75: $1000 +$111 Little One for One DropAditya Systla313th$3,014 - ₹2.06 Lakhs
Event #75: $1000 +$111 Little One for One DropAshish Kasaraneni320th$3,014 - ₹2.06 Lakhs
Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double StackKaran Radia209th$2,911 - ₹1.99 Lakhs
Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double StackSachidananda Sivakumar253rd$2,911 - ₹1.99 Lakhs
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emChirag Patel239th$2,744 - ₹1.88 Lakhs
Event #75: $1000 +$111 Little One for One DropSanjay Sharma373rd$2,678 - ₹1.83 Lakhs
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emNishant Sharma275th$2,530 - ₹1.73 Lakhs
Event #78: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha BountyMinissha Lamba64th$2,266 - ₹1.55 Lakhs
Event #78: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha BountyAditya Sushant113th$1,551 - ₹1.06 Lakhs
Event #78: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha BountyKunal Patni132nd$1,469 - ₹1.05 Lakhs

 

WSOP 2019 Winners

Abhinav Iyer was not the only Indian who won a bracelet this past week. Two Indian-origin players, namely, Shankar Pillai (50th Annual Bracelet Winners Only event for $71,580) & Anuj Agarwal ($10K NLHE 6-Handed Championship for $630,747) also took home gold bracelets.

EventWinnerPrize Money
Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World ChampionshipHossein Ensan$10,000,000
Event #77: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-HandedTu Dao$133,189
Event #78: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha BountyMaximilian Klostermeier$177,823
Event #79: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'emIvan Deyra$380,090
Event #80: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit OmahaJerry Odeen$304,793
Event #81: $1,500 50th Annual Bracelet Winners Only No-Limit Hold'emShankar Pillai$71,580
Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double StackTom Koral$530,164
Event #83: $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High RollerKeith Tilston$2,792,406
Event #84: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'emAbhinav Iyer$565,346
Event #85: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-HandedAlan Sternberg$448,392
Event #86: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed ChampionshipAnuj Agarwal$630,747
Event #87: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.Denis Strebkov$206,173
Event #88: $500 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Summer SaverTaylor "Galactar" Paur$149,240
Event #89: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'emCarl Shaw$606,562
Event #90: $50,000 Final Fifty No-Limit Hold'emDanny Tang$1,608,406

Chris Moneymaker & David Oppenheim Inducted in 2019 Poker Hall of Fame

Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim were unanimously voted as the 57th and 58th inductees in the Poker Hall of Fame (PHoF). The duo was voted upon by the 30 living PHoF members, along with a 21-person media panel in a line-up of 10 nominees.

Chris Moneymaker & David Oppenheim

Read the complete story here

 

APT Vietnam 2019

The sixth edition of Asian Poker Tour (APT) in Vietnam ran from July 3-14 at the Pro Poker Club in Vietnam’s Ho Chih Minh City.

While the majority of the poker community in Las Vegas, only a small group of Indians traveled to Vietnam. Like their counterparts present at the WSOP, the boys in Vietnam didn`t disappoint either and put up 14 scores on the board.

Manish Lakhotia was the standout performer from the Indian camp with three final table finishing which included the title of the NLHE Single-Day 1 that he won for VND 143,900,000 (~₹4.24 Lakhs). Lakhotia collected a cumulative ₹10.44 Lakhs at the stop. With 707 APT points, he placed 10th on the APT Player of the Series Leaderboard.

Manish Lakhotia

PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish Munot (Championships Event – 6th for ₹9.48 Lakhs) and Manoj Pentakota (Main Event – 12th for 4.03 Lakhs) were among the other top scorers at the stop.

Ashish Munot & Manoj Pentakota

 

Team India Cashes at APT Vietnam

PlayerEventFinish Prize Money
Ashish MunotVND 6B GTD Championships Event6th VND 319,830,000 - ₹9.48 Lakhs
Manish LakhotiaNLHE Single-Day1st VND 166,510,000 - ₹4.89 Lakhs
Manish LakhotiaMonster Stack #23rdVND 143,900,000 - ₹4.24 Lakhs
Manoj PentakotaVND 8 Billion GTD Main Event12th VND 136,860,000 - ₹4.05 Lakhs
Gaurav SoodVND 9.9M PLO Hi2ndVND 110,000,000 - ₹3.24 Lakhs
Laksh Pal SinghVND 6B GTD Championships Event16thVND 83,160,000 - ₹2.45 Lakhs
Rubin LabrooVND 8 Billion GTD Main Event37thVND 45,840,000 - ₹1.35 Lakhs
Manish LakhotiaShort Deck4thVND 44,600,000 - ₹1.31 Lakhs
Maulik ShuklaVND 9.9M NLHE #25th VND 35,860,000 - ₹1.05 Lakhs
Deep RainaVND 9.9M PLO Hi5thVND 35,200,000 - ₹1.03 Lakhs
Deep RainaVND 6.6M WeLoveSport Deep Stack Turbo5thVND 22,580,000 - ₹66,621
Maulik ShuklaVND 5.5M Deep Stack Hyper Turbo #15thVND 15,680,000 - ₹46,262
Sumit SapraDafabet Head Hunter VND 2M Bounty14thVND 11,110,000 - ₹32,645
Rubin LabrooVND 11M Monster Stack #13rdVND 11,000,000 - ₹32,442

China’s Zhou Jiaping took down the Main Event, and New Zealand’s Oliver Helm shipped the Championships Event.

Nguyen Tien Thanh aka Terry Nguyen won the APT Player of the Series title for topping the APT POS Leaderboard with 1,170 points.

Terry Nguyen wins APT Player of the Series

APT Vietnam Winners

EventPlayerPrize Money
VND 8 Billion GTD Main EventZhou ZiapingVND 1,892,170,000
VND 6 Billion GTD Championships EventOliver Helm VND 1,218,670,000
VND 11 Million Monster Stack #1Eunho KwonVND 308,120,000
VND 54 Million High Rollers #1Hong Kong NguyenVND 27,900,000
VND 9.9 Million Dafabet Head Hunter 2M BountyVu Minh TriVND 153,540,000
VND 7.7 Million PLO Hi Single DayLinh DuongVND 83,900,000
VND 6.6 Million Deep Stack Turbo #1Christopher MateoVND 132,210,000
VND 8.8 Million NLH Single Day #1Manish LakhotiaVND 166,510,000
VND 43 Million High Rollers Single Day 2Hiroshi Nishiyama VND 501,940,000
VND 9.9 Million NLHE #1Dohyeon Yun VND 196,810,000
VND 43 Million High Rollers Single Day #1Nguyen Manh HungVND 455,470,000
VND 107.5 Million Super High RollersJun Woo OhVND 886,520,000
VND 8.8 Million Short DeckLee Seok YoungVND 133,250,000
VND 9.9 Million PLOHiruma ShinnosukeVND 124,320,000
VND 8.8 Million NLH Single Day Event #2Cao Ngoc AnhVND 176,280,000
VND 7.7 Million Queen Cards Super Deep Stack TurboQuang NguyenVND 137,340,000
VND 5.5 Million Deep Stack Hyper Turbo #1Francis John MillerVND 70,010,000
VND 9.9 Million NLHE #2Ng Cheunk FanVND 134,845,000
High Rollers Single Day #3Hong Kong NguyenVND 194,000,000
VND 6.6 Million WeLoveSport.com Deep Stack TurboRichard MarquezVND 90,180,000
VND 11 Million Monster Stack #2Christopher MateoVND 310,490,000
VND 6.6 Million Deep Stack Turbo #2 Kin Yuk YuenVND 90,180,000
VND 5.5 Deep Stack Hyper Turbo #2Tobias NapelVND 78,950,000
High Rollers Single Day #4Terry NguyenVND 357,715,830

 

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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