This week in poker offers a round-up of the most noteworthy online scores by Indian MTT players. The prominent news from both the live and online poker venues. Let’s explore the salient features of the last poker week!
Poker Week: India’s Historical Paralympic Victory
India saw an incredible week of athletic triumph. The country’s competitors gave a record-breaking performance at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. India passed the 50-medal mark in Paralympic history with 29 medals—7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze. This fantastic success of Poker Week enthralled the country.
| Medal | Name | Event |
| Gold | Avani Lekhara | Women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 |
| Gold | Kumar Nitesh | Men’s singles SL3 |
| Gold | Sumit Antil | Men’s javelin throw F64 |
| Gold | Harvinder Singh | Individual recurve open |
| Gold | Dharambir Nain | Club throw F51 |
| Gold | Praveen Kumar | High jump T64 |
| Gold | Navdeep Singh | Javelin throw F41 |
Indian Poker Week Highlights at EPT Barcelona
India rejoiced on the Paralympic front. The fraternity felt especially proud on the 20th Anniversary of the game in Barcelona. With the eighth-largest stack among the last 16 players and powering into Day 6 of the €5,300 Main Event, Bengaluru’s Sriharsha Doddapaneni attracted national interest.
Doddapaneni’s career-best €89,550 (~₹83.56 Lakhs) finish equaled the lowest run by an Indian in an EPT Main Event, therefore earning him the title of PokerGuru Star of the Week even although his run came in 12th place.
Stephen Song, 28, became the EPT Main Event champion after surpassing a field of 1,975 players to bring home €1,290,386, his second EPT championship, and the much sought-after PokerStars Spade trophy.
| Player | Event | Prize Amount (Euro) |
| Stephen Song | €5,300 No Limit Hold’em – EPT Main Event | €1,290,386 |
| Sylvain Berthelot | €1,000 No Limit Hold’em – ESPT Main Event | €499,224 |
| Boris Angelov | €10,200 No Limit Hold’em – Mystery Bounty | €110,400 |
| Steve O’Dwyer | €12,300 No Limit Hold’em – PokerStars Cuatro Knockout | €163,720 |
Goonjan Mall Highlights London Poker Week Festival
With his third-biggest live score, a seventh-place finish in the £400,000 GTD Main Event for £12,600 (~₹13.86 Lakhs), New PokerStars India ambassador Goonjan Mall created waves at the London Poker Festival. Matthias Kribben of Germany won the Main Event championship and returned £61,712 following a three-way agreement.
Winning the £500 London Poker Cup and earning £6,000 (~₹6.60 Lakhs), Indo-British poker pro Jitin Dhawan also had an outstanding week.
Big Wins on Natural8 India and Beyond Online Poker
Big series like PokerBaazi’s ₹10+ Crores GTD 1000X Series and Junglee Poker’s ₹5+ Crores GTD Junglee Knockout Series closing up on Sunday kept the online poker industry vibrant. Daniyal Kazi bagged ₹28.27 Lakhs, including a whopping ₹28.05 Lakhs for his fourth-place finish in the Bounty Hunters Main Event 54, keeping Natural8 India’s WSOP Online Series moving. Close behind with ₹23.70 Lakhs after outstanding accomplishments on Natural8 India was Tarun Goyal, the WSOP bracelet champion from India.
| Player | Prize Amount | Event | Poker Site |
| Nikhil Agarwal | ₹15 Lakhs | 1000X#40 Main Event ₹1 Crore GTD | PokerBaazi |
| “sillyguy” | ₹12.18 Lakhs | JKS#38 Main Event ₹1 Crore GTD | Junglee Poker |
| Varun Sareen | ₹10 Lakhs | The MoneyMaker ₹1 Crore GTD | PokerBaazi |
| Randeep Lather | ₹9.73 Lakhs | Big Whale ₹50 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
Future Tournaments and Festivals
- October will be the tremendous 10th-anniversary celebration of Poker Baazi, with guaranteed prizes of ₹150 Crores. While September stays exciting with enhanced guarantees across popular weekly events, the ₹25 Crores GTD G.O.A.T starts on October 1.
- Pocket52 September Tournament Series: With ₹2.50 Crores in guarantees across its marquee events this month, Pocket52 is firing.
- Running from October 22 at Casino Deltin Royale. The DPT Grand Edition Adda 52 has buy-ins ranging from ₹15,000 to ₹1.1 Lakh.
- From September 12 to 25, WPT Australia boasts 23 events, including the AUD $8,000 Championship and the Shane Warne Legacy Trophy.
Legal Notes and Policy Movement Notes
In a historic ruling, the Allahabad High Court considered poker and rummy skilful games. This ruling resulted from the petition of M/S DM Gambling Pvt LTD. Opening the path for a more friendly legal climate for skill-based gambling in India. Regarding taxes, the 54th GST Council meeting was quiet on the 28% GST on online gaming despite a 412% increase in GST receipts from the sector.
Global News on Poker
Globally, poker pro-Phil Laak snapped his 14-year championship drought with a $380,245 victory at the Legends of Poker Series. At the 12th Annual China Poker Games, Cai Wenqing won the CN¥10,500 Championship Main Event, pocketing CN¥3.80 Million ($535,966).
Exciting events throughout the world mean Poker Week have much to look forward in the next weeks. Watch this space for our next report!
