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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!
And here we are, onto the last month of 2019. The holiday season is going to kick in a few weeks as everyone gets busy with Christmas preparations and their celebration plans for bidding goodbye to the year. Though the action was slow over the past week both in live and international felts, that’s not to say it was a dull week!
After running three back-to-back Millionaire editions in November, Spartan Poker began December with a bang. The site hosted The Millionaire Lite ₹50 Lakhs GTD offering players a chance to become a part of the event’s illustrious history by becoming a Millionaire at a never-before price point of ₹1,650. The event logged in a massive 3,262 entries, a number much higher than the last three Millionaire runs, though it still fell a little over ₹1 Lakh short of the advertised guarantee. It all reached a crescendo on Sunday, December 1, when Day 2 resumed with 292 entries. Following an action-packed six hours, well-known circuit reg Sreekanth ‘n0thing’ Narayan stormed into the final showdown against an equally well-established pro, Vivek ‘Pokerbatman’ Rughani. The hard-fought battle culminated with Narayan clinching the title. Narayan’s brilliant run added a hefty ₹11.12 Lakhs to his bankroll, deservedly making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”
The live tournament action was considerably low-key this past week, but Baazi Poker Tour (BPT) has given us enough reason to cheer up. We already knew that the BPT will be hosting its third edition in January 2020. There’s now a full-blown schedule to plan for. The third edition of the BPT comes packed with a strong online-live formula that begins with BPT Online, which will be hosted on the PokerBaazi platform, from January 2 to 5. After a two-day break, the action continues at the PokerBaazi LIVE poker room, on-board the resplendent Casino Pride 2 in Goa. The live series will run from January 8 to 14. The buy-ins of many events have been slashed, and all the action builds up to the ₹2 Crores GTD Main Event that features a reduced buy-in of ₹35,000.
While the stage is set for IPC and BPT to take the live poker scene in Goa by storm, the international circuit will also witness some nail-biting action as the European Poker Tour (EPT) heads to Prague from December 6 to 17.
The political environment in Goa has started heating up again over the offshore casinos in the state. Big tidal upheavals were causing physical discomfort to casino passengers prompting the State government to give Delta Corp the nod for moving Deltin Caravela to the Veerem side of Mandovi. Ports Minister Michael Lobo later announced that to balance things on Mandovi, two more casino boats would be moved towards the Veerem end of the river. There’s been a huge cry of protest against the move from local legislators who have threatened a “rasta-roko” protest.
In the gaming updates, Dream11’s parent company Sporta Technologies Pvt. Ltd has clinched another major partnership. The company has tied up with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to live-stream NBA matches of the upcoming 2020 Season at its multi-sports app, FanCode.
Meanwhile, the gaming operators were keeping a close eye on the Delhi High Court that conducted hearing of two separate PILs by social activist Avinash Mehrotra and lawyer Deepti Bhagat respectively, on November 28. The court disposed of both these petitions by passing the buck onto the Centre and the Delhi government to take a call on whether domestic and offshore online poker and card sites are hosting games of chance or skill and should be banned.
There were a plethora of big moves in the international gaming sector as well. Online poker giant PokerStars integrated Twitch with its online client. Rival brand partypoker, on the other hand, has come out with a smashing new update to its mobile software that promises to be “best-in-class” replete with new features, intuitive functioning, a new SPINS interface – the works!
Meanwhile, leading poker brand, Poker Central, has announced its foray into Australia with the Australian Poker Open (Jan 25-Feb 1) and Super High Roller Bowl Australia (February 1) stops that will be hosted at the Star Gold Coast in Queensland.
There’s a new hybrid game for gaming enthusiasts to try – Choker. Developed by U.K-based gaming entrepreneur Andrew Finan’s Queenside Games, Choker is where poker meets chess. The game app is already available for download on iOS and Android devices.
GVC Holdings-owned Coral Poker and Ladbrokes will soon be migrating to the partypoker network and Run It Once (RIO) founder Phil Galfond has announced significant changes to the site’s rakeback and rewards system. In Europe, King’s Resort and Casino owner Leon Tsoukernik acquired the Casino Atrium inside the Hilton, Prague, and has already undertaken several big changes before the upcoming EPT Prague that is slated to run from December 6 to 17.
Headlining the international winners was Romania’s Adrian Eugen Constantin, who collected his career-best live score of £100,000 after taking down the 2019 888poker LIVE Festival London was the £1,100 Main Event. Constantin has also won a 2020 WSOP Main Event package worth $12,500.
Over in Taiwan, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Finale Taiwan is well underway at the Chinese Texas Poker Hold ‘em Poker Association since November 28. The showstopper NT$33,000 Main Event is presently down to its eight-handed final table. Leading the charge at the final table is Hong Kong’s Hwang Sang Yeon (2,026,000). There’s a cool NTS 2,138,200 (~₹50.30 Lakhs) reserved for the winner, and the event is expected to declare a champion today!
Bringing November to a blockbuster finale, Spartan Poker ran The Millionaire LITE ₹50 Lakhs GTD from November 29 to December 1. The event featured a lower buy-in of ₹1,650 and logged in a record-breaking 3,262 entries, falling about ₹1 Lakh short of meeting its advertised guarantee. Sunday was when the final 292 players returned for Day 2, and trouncing the fierce competition was MTT specialist Sreekanth ‘n0thing’ Narayan who defeated seasoned pro Vivek ‘Pokerbatman’ Rughani heads-up to become the 40th Millionaire champion. Narayan’s blistering run earned him an impressive ₹11.12 Lakhs making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”
Anant ‘Pro’ Purohit (Destiny 12.0 ₹30 Lakhs GTD for ₹7.80 Lakhs) and PokerGuru Ambassador Laksh Pal ‘LuckyBhai$’ Singh (Sunday SuperStack ₹35 Lakhs GTD for ₹7.05 Lakhs) round out the list of top online winners this week.
The notable scores of the week include-
Player | Prize | Event | Poker Site |
---|---|---|---|
Sreekanth ‘n0thing’ Narayan | ₹11.12 Lakhs | The Millionaire Lite ₹50 Lakhs GTD Day 2 | Spartan Poker |
Anant ‘Pro’ Purohit | ₹7.80 Lakhs | Destiny 12.0 ₹30 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Laksh Pal ‘LuckyBhai$’ Singh | ₹7.05 Lakhs | Sunday SuperStack ₹35 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
supernuts | ₹6.81 Lakhs | Mega Suits ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Nagendra Singh ‘gameank123’ Tomar | ₹5.64 Lakhs | Godfather ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Buddy25 | ₹5.39 Lakhs | The Elite ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Honey ‘ho9ey’ Bijlani | ₹5.38 Lakhs | BSS SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
GODSENT | ₹4.59 Lakhs | The Ballers ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Raghav ‘thatssosick’ Bansal | ₹4.05 Lakhs | The Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
Vivek ‘Mystic Peaks’ Singh | ₹3.82 Lakhs | Sunday Special Progressive KO ₹20 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Sanket ‘blackcod’ Arora | ₹3.80 Lakhs | G.O.A. ₹20 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
Vaibhav ‘Nikka Zaildar’ Sharma | ₹3.76 Lakhs | Ultron ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Raj Kumar ‘Fireman’ Gahlot | ₹3.67 Lakhs | The Joker ₹15 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
gandukepille | ₹3.29 Lakhs | The Endeavour ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Aditya ‘SuperuSer’ Sushant | 2.77 Lakhs | The Millionaire Lite ₹50 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Akash ‘Akash0510’ Gupta | ₹2.74 Lakhs | Mega Stack ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Anuj ‘brockLesnar95’ Yadav | ₹2.46 Lakhs | Highroller ₹12 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Sahil ‘ImHighIshove’ Mahboobani | ₹2.36 Lakhs | Big Slick ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Bharat ‘Thinkfloyd’ Vasan | ₹2.35 Lakhs | The Bout ₹10 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
Kanishka ‘Highness’ Samant | ₹2.20 Lakhs | Fri-YAY ₹10 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
Faiz ‘LFGgggg’ Alam | ₹2.09 Lakhs | Uppercut Progressive KO ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Shashank ‘Goldfish03’ Shekhar | ₹2.05 Lakhs | Hitman ₹7.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Alnoor ‘loThbrOck’ Pujani | ₹2.03 Lakhs | TGIF ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Raag ‘fernz666’ Fernandes | ₹1.96 Lakhs | Goa Fest ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Kabadi7 | ₹1.92 Lakhs | Sunday Special (L) ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
udaymoola | ₹1.78 Lakhs | Maverick ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
QueenNine | ₹1.56 Lakhs | Recharge ₹12 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
GutshotHaiBro | ₹1.38 Lakhs | Sixth Sense₹7.5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Prashant ‘Prashant12’ Kumar | ₹1.35 Lakhs | Thursday MonsterStacks ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Sriharsha ‘G.O.A.T’ Doddapaneni | ₹1.35 Lakhs | Thunder @8PM ₹5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Manish ‘thekid’ Lakhotia | ₹1.27 Lakhs | Daily Hi-Fi ₹6 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Nadeem ‘SpadeHunter’ Basha | ₹1.24 Lakhs | BSS MegaStack ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Yash ‘hasyY@$#116’ Shrivastava | ₹1.21 Lakhs | Monday Hustle ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Chirag ‘chilling’ Sodha | ₹1.13 Lakhs | Electric Big Daddy ₹6 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Arsh ‘BiggggTymeR’ Grover | ₹1.01 Lakhs | Night on Stars ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Deepak ‘3streakbluff’ Singh | ₹96,600 | Tuesday MonsterStack₹3 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
Parikshit ‘Zapdos1234’ Dhall | ₹92,516 | 6-Max Wednesday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD (5 RE) | PokerBaazi |
Faiz ‘AilaGaya’ Alam | ₹77,250 | Friday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD (5RE) | PokerBaazi |
chutny | ₹72,500 | Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Krifard | ₹71,250 | Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Sandeep ‘homelite’ Rajora | ₹71,250 | Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Akshay ‘Once’ Pathak | ₹66,300 | StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
sharkfin | ₹65,594 | Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Ashish ‘SANShISh’ Narwal | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Harsh ‘littleboy’ Raaj | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
Harsh ‘littleboy’ Raaj | ₹65,000 | StackUp @ 8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
space ace | ₹62,381 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
meat123 | ₹60,495 | RPS Big Game 2 ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
beginer | ₹60,434 | Afternoon Hi-Fi ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Rishi ‘BollywoodNight’ Gupta | ₹60,000 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
Krr123 | ₹58,300 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
maniyak177 | ₹56,300 | BSS PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD Half RE | PokerBaazi |
ErrorDetected | ₹50,809 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
mumbaifish | ₹50,752 | Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
picollo1996 | ₹49,686 | The Classic ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Fiyaz | ₹46,000 | Big Bang ₹1 Lakh GTD NLHE (Max 5 Rebuys) | Khelo365 |
pm2404 | ₹44,540 | 6 Max ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
SuitNConnect | ₹44,137 | Progressive KO – 4 Max ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Wanabepro299 | ₹42,713 | Deepstacks₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
1299sanjay | ₹37,070 | RPS Big Game 1 ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
pm2404 | ₹35,429 | Sunday Warm-Up ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
Kingofnoob | ₹33,007 | Battlefield Tuesday ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | Poker Dangal |
Surajkumar ‘limper93’ Swathirajan | ₹33,000 | Warrior Arena ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | Poker Dangal |
ravi1204 | ₹25,800 | Deep Stack ₹60K GTD NLHE (Max 5 Rebuys) | Khelo365 |
Saksham ‘Razorfish’ Sharma | ₹24,000 | Sunday Bonanza ₹1 Lakh GTD | Poker Dangal |
DoubleGutty | ₹24,000 | Monday Texas ₹1 Lakh GTD | Poker Dangal |
Jokermaniac | ₹24,000 | Dangal Friday ₹1 Lakh GTD | Poker Dangal |
Himanshu ‘hdwivedi3’ Dwivedi | ₹16,500 | Wow Wednesday ₹75K GTD | Poker Dangal |
Furthering its partnership with live-streaming platform Twitch, online poker site PokerStars has integrated Twitch with its online client. As part of the change, players can link their PokerStars account with Twitch directly on the online client itself to start streaming their game without the need for any manual setup.
Read the complete report here
Online poker brand partypoker has rolled out the first phase of its planned mobile software update. This is one of the biggest mobile software overhauls by the company and promises best-in-class features like a new portrait layout and intuitive navigation. The update also allows one-handed gameplay, comes with a new SPINS interface, a social currency called Diamonds, and an all-new fun feature called Rabbits.
Read the complete report here
Coral Poker and Ladbrokes, two online poker brands owned by GVC Holdings, are migrating to the brand’s partypoker network. Coral Poker will join the partypoker network by month-end while Ladbrokes is expected to move in the first quarter of 2020.
Read the complete report here
RIO Poker founder Phil Galfond has announced that player feedback has led the site developers to make several significant changes in the site`s rakeback program. The rakeback from Splash The Pot is being lowered from 51% to 30% alongside the introduction of a new rewards program called ‘Legends.’
Read the complete report here
After a hugely successful second edition in October, Baazi Poker Tour (BPT) is planning a grand comeback in January. The third edition of BPT features a strong online-live formula. The site will be launching an all-new BPT Online brand that will on PokerBaazi from January 2 to 5 featuring its own set of events, including the headliner ₹1 Crore GTD Main Event, ₹50 Lakhs GTD High Roller, ₹15 Lakhs GTD Bounty and ₹15 Lakhs GTD PLO. On January 8 the action will move over to the PokerBaazi LIVE poker room onboard Casino Pride 2 in Goa for BPT LIVE. Dominating the live-action will be the Main Event ₹2 Crores GTD that has a reduced buy-in of ₹35,000 this time around.
Read the complete report here
Govt Nod to Move 3 Offshore Casinos to Verem Meets Stiff Opposition
Along with permitting Delta Corp to shift its Deltin Caravela Casino towards the Veerem side of River Mandovi, the Goa government has declared that two more casinos would be shifted to the Veerem side. The announcement has met with stiff opposition from local legislators who have threatened a “rasta-roko” protest against the move.
Read the complete report here
A two-member division bench of Delhi High Court heard the two Public Interest Litigations (PIL) filed by social activist Avinash Mehrotra and lawyer Deepti Bhagat on November 28. Disposing of the petitions, the court has passed a common order directing the Union government and the government of Delhi to consider the PILs as representations. The center will not get to decide whether the Indian and international online card game sites mentioned in these petitions offer games of skill or chance and whether to ban them.
Read the complete report here
Fantasy games giant Dream11’s parent company Sporta Technologies Private Ltd. has entered a partnership with National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of which its multi-sports app FanCode will live-stream NBA matches in India.
Read the complete report here
Marking its entry in Australia, premier poker brand Poker Central has announced the launch of two new tournament stops in the country. The Australian Poker Open will be hosted at the Star Gold Coast in Queensland from January 25 to February 1. The series will comprise of seven events with incremental buy-ins ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.
Following immediately will be Super High Roller Bowl Australia that features a $250,000 buy-in and kicks off on February 2 for a three-day run.
Read the complete report here
U.K-based gaming entrepreneur Andrew Finan’s Queenside Games has launched Choker, a unique, poker-meets-chess game that combines the thrills of both mind sports and is available as an app for iOS and Android devices.
Read the complete report here
High-stakes cash game pro and owner of King’s Resort and Casino Leon Tsoukernik has acquired Casino Atrium located at the Hilton Hotel in Prague.
Read the complete report here
The 2019 888poker LIVE Festival London ran an action-packed schedule of nine events at the Aspers Casino at Westfield Stratford City from November 21 to December 2.
Among the prominent winners at the stop were 888poker ambassadors, Chris Moorman and Sofia Lovgren. Moorman toppled a 39-strong field to win the £2,200 High Roller for £27,000. Lovgren went on to ship the Ladies Event for £900.
The series-headliner was the £1,100 Main Event that logged in 518 entries via three starting flights to generate a prize pool worth £512,820. Romania’s Adrian Eugen Constantin triumphed over the tough field to snag the title and also his personal-best live score of £100,000. 41-year-old Constantin had won his seat in the event through a €33 online satellite on 888poker and has, along with the title, also won a 2020 WSOP Main Event package worth $12,500.
Read the complete report here
The 28th edition of Master Classics of Poker (MCOP) played out at the Holland Casino in Amsterdam from November 22 to December 1. Headlining the action was the €4,300 MCOP Main Event that drew 346 players from two starting flights to generate a guarantee-crushing €1,370,155 prize pool. 23-year-old Dutch native Kevin Paque proved the last player standing and beat his heads-up rival Steve O’Dwyer to win the title and €260,878 (~$287,146) in prize money.
Read the complete report here
Topping a field of 353 contenders that came in through three starting flights, Paul ‘Walnuts’ Bianchi took down the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) $2,500 Championships for $181,874.
Read the complete report here
The Golden Poker Million Cyprus Series played out at the Noah’s Ark Deluxe Hotel and Spa at Bafra, Cyprus, recently. The showstopper of the series was the €800 Main Event €1 Million GTD that drew 1,178 entries across six starting flights. Andorra’s Antonio Saez Zamorano clinched the title after a heads-up chop with Spain’s David Comeron that saw both players take home €164,000 (~$181,637) each.
Read the complete report here
The WSOP Circuit (WSOPC) U.S. recently played out at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. The stop awarded 16 circuit rings in all and topping the 778-entry field, Michael Trivett took down the $1,700 Main Event title for $215,943.
The other prominent event at the stop was the $2,200 High Roller, where Bruce Russell dominated a field of 115 entries and clinched the title along with $63,580 in prize money.
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.