₹55,000 Main Event Day 1a | 2018 WPT India

11-17-2018 00:58 UTC+5:30

Naranjan NJ Leads WPT India Main Event; Bracelet-Winner Aditya Sushant Also Through to Day 2

Will Shillibier

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The second WPT India Main Event attracted a total of 270 players on Day 1a, beating last year's number by 36. However, with two more flights tomorrow, the overall figure of 527 entrants from last year's tournament looks eminently beatable.

Several well-known players entered today, including Adda52 Team Pro Kunal Patni and Celebrity pro Minissha Lamba. They were joined by PokerStars Team Pro Muskan Sethi and Sahil Agarwal.

None of the aforementioned players made it through to Day 2, so will have to make use of either Day 1b - starting at 12 pm tomorrow - or the Day 1c turbo flight starting at 9:30 pm; a new addition for the 2018 Main Event.

One Indian poker star that made it through Day 1 is bracelet-winner Aditya Sushant who became the first Indian-born player to win a bracelet when he took down Event #10: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Tag Team alongside Nipun Java for $75,319.

"It feels like a very long day," he said shortly after bagging up 134,500 in chips. "I managed to chip up early, won a couple of hands and a few big pots, and then tried to hold onto the chips. I really wanted to make Day 2 today so I don't have to play again tomorrow. It means I can have the day off so I'm very relieved to make Day 2 with an above average stack."

When he first sat down, the player to his right Masha Soboleva already had over 100,000 and Sushant said he had to be very careful when entering pots with her.

"She was playing a very unpredictable, aggressive game and it was very hard to play against her. You pretty much were hoping to have a hand when you were up against her. I ran well against her in a couple of big pots and that's where I kind ended up chipping up."

Sushant took down the Kickoff Event earlier this week, the first event on the WPT festival schedule.

"That was a fun one," he told PokerNews. "Winning the first one; obviously winning the Main Event...there would be nothing like it. There's still a long way to go, so let's see what happens.

"The vibe has been great. The numbers seem to be up. Last year we got a great response and this year it seems even better. The place is buzzing and it's full of people. I'm sure the numbers are going to be great."

Leading the remaining 85 players after Day 1a is Naranjan NJ with 284,500 from his starting stack of 30,000. He benefitted from the elimination of Soboleva in the penultimate hand of the night, calling off the bluff of his opponent with a full house leaving Soboleva drawing to a chop that she did not make.

Other big stacks include Pranay Kapoor (231,500), Keran Kakkad (229,500), Vaibhav Shah (216,000) and Tarun Goyaz (206,500).

While Adda52 Team Pro Patni failed to make it through to Day 2, after running queens into kings earlier in the day, fellow Team Pro Amit Jain bagged up 154,000 and will be looking forward to running deep in this event.

Also through to Day 2 is Shuchi Chamaria (102,500) and Raghav Bansal (140,000).

Stay tuned tomorrow for more PokerNews coverage from the WPT India right here in Goa.

Tags: Aditya Sushant Amit Jain Kunal Patni Masha Soboleva Minissha Lamba Muskan Sethi Nipun Java NJ Naranjan Pranay Kapoor Raghav Bansal Sahil Agarwal

11-16-2018 22:30 UTC+5:30

Muskan Sethi on the Future of Indian Poker

Will Shillibier

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Muskan Sethi's earliest poker cash here in Goa, India came back in 2016. Since then she's seen the poker scene grow to have its own WPT stop since 2017.

Earlier this year she was recognised by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, along with 111 other women, for being the first in their respective fields. She was recognised for being India's first female poker pro.

Now she's back for the 2018 instalment and although busting Day 1a, she's enjoying being back among her "poker family" as she calls it.

"All the poker players from all over the country come down for events, especially the WPT. I've been here a lot; it's like a family to me. Before the WPT there were the Deltin Poker Tournaments and the Indian Poker Championships, so there have been a lot of festivals that have happened.

"Everyone looks forward to playing live events, it's such an amazing experience coming out here and catching up with people. You see everyone again, and it's really like a sports day for us!"

With the inaugural WPT attracting 527 entrants, the tournament is already on course to break that record. Sethi says that the players she has been around recognise how prestigious the tournament is.

"Last year it was more like a surprise to everyone [that the WPT was in India]. We weren't sure if this was a one-off or it was going to become part of our poker schedule throughout the year. It's amazing that we can add this to our yearly schedule, and it's almost become like a poker bucket list item for Indian poker players.

"Becoming a WPT Champion is internationally recognised, and really prestigious. Becoming an Indian champion is an even bigger deal, and I promise you that! No matter if you've won lots of tournaments abroad, you want to become the hometown champion here in India!"

Sethi has cashes from the Netherlands, United States, Spain and England to go with her cashes from India, and is used to playing around people from all over the world.

"You play with a real variety of people at different stops," said Sethi. "You can be at a loud table, but usually you are around robots! Over here it's really like catching up, joking around, and it's friendly and that's really good for us. All the people here have the same dream as you, and they all follow the same passion."

The growth of poker as a sport in India is something that Sethi is optimistic about, especially in relation to the country's sporting appetite.

"In India, we really appreciate it when you see that someone has followed their dream in sport, and can make a good living out of it. Over here Indians love the sport, you just have to look at how we follow cricket and how we start looking up to sport stars or whoever our champion is.

"It's the same with poker; people who are just starting look up to our champions. They look up to Aditya Sushant, Aditya Agarwal, Nikita Luther (pictured below), Raghav and Paawan Bansal. They're poker players who are there and have been really working hard for so many years. They are our GOATs [Greatest Of All Time]; they are the GOATs of Indian poker."

The Deltin Royale is a floating casino in Goa, India and Sethi believes that Indian casinos coming onto land might lead to huge growth in the poker sector in the future.

"If that happens, I feel like we're going to become the base of the new poker boom. Poker players from China go to play in Macau and other places because it's illegal to play in China. If India becomes the latest hot spot, and gambling laws become a little easier on the players, then I think that will happen.

"India is such a beautiful country. There is so much to see and explore that people haven't done yet. It's a beautiful country. This place will be the next poker tourist spot."

The poker boom has been helped in part by initiatives such as the Global Poker League and the Poker Sports League, tying into the Indian population's love of sports and it's devotion to team sports, whether that it is in cricket or kabbadi.

"These poker leagues were on national TV; creating more and more qualifiers. People who dreamt about poker were playing. People compared this game to other sports. They found it exciting; they find the money behind it exciting. They can see the skill involved. If you see a strong team of poker players that do well, they know that they can have one bad day but overall you know they're a good team. In general, I think it's going to be a really amazing sport for India."

Like with many countries, the future of poker and its continued growth in a country is tied into the government and its support for it.

"I feel like our government is scared. There just needs to be responsible gambling regulation that can look after the players who are wanting to play. Poker has never left any country; every region it goes to it's only growing. Even in the United States with Black Friday, there are still people playing at all levels.

"I think we can have really big numbers in the future and I truly believe we are headed there. Just a few years from now. The population is there, the awareness is there, so it won't take that much time for us to solve this."

Tags: Aditya Agarwal Aditya Sushant Muskan Sethi Nikita Luther Paawan Bansal

11-16-2018 17:34 UTC+5:30

Bracelet-Winner Sushant in the Field

Will Shillibier

Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

Aditya Sushant made history alongside Nipun Java when they became the first Indian-born bracelet winners in WSOP history last year when they took down Event #10: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Tag Team for $75,319.

He's now jumped in the WPT India Main Event and is seated next to chip leader Masha Soboleva.

On a board with not so much in the pot, Soboleva checked to Sushant who bet 10,000. Soboleva check-raised all in.

"I don't know why I bet 10,000," said Sushant before folding. Soboleva showed and took down the pot with her full house.

Player	Chips	Progress
Masha Soboleva	110,000 10,000	10,000
Aditya Sushant	16,000

Tags: Aditya Sushant Masha Soboleva

11-16-2018 15:32 UTC+5:30

Big Names in the Field Early

Will Shillibier

Level 1 : 100/100, 0 ante

Kunal Patni in action earlier this summer

Kunal Patni finished third in the WPTDeepStacks Berlin Main Event at the start of the year, and he's back in his native India in time for the 2018 WPT stop there. Last year he cashed twice, and will be looking to add on it after a successful year including a string of cashes in the United States over the summer.

Also in the field is Adda52 Celebrity pro Minissha Lamba. Lamba has appeared in several notable Hindi films since making her debut in 2005. She has made several appearances in India’s premier tournaments including India Poker Championship (IPC) & Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT)

Player	Chips	Progress
Minissha Lamba	30,000
Kunal Patni	30,000

Tags: Kunal Patni Minissha Lamba

11-16-2018 12:49 UTC+5:30

Big Field Expected for Second Ever WPT India

Yori Epskamp

Welcome to Day 1a of the Season XVII WPT India Main Event. This is the second ever WPT Main Event held here in India, after Vikash Mantri took home $92,539 after beating a field of 527 this time last year.

"It is amazing, I can't believe it," Mantri told WPT.com after his victory. "Thanks to my friends who kept cheering me up all the time, thank you so much, it's awesome to have you."

Here are the full results from last year's tournament:

Place	Name	Country	Prize in Rupees	Prize in USD
1	Vikash Mantri	India	₹ 6,030,000	$92,539
2	Arjun Arora	India	₹ 3,947,000	$60,572
3	Manish Lakhotia	India	₹ 2,520,000	$38,673
4	Gaurav Chauhan	India	₹ 1,920,000	$29,465
5	Anil Adiani	India	₹ 1,480,000	$22,712
6	Pavan Jain	India	₹ 1,151,000	$17,663
7	Kiran Kumar	India	₹ 932,000	$14,303
8	Sunny Vijaywari	India	₹ 713,000	$10,942

This is the first event PokerNews has ever covered in India, and we are delighted to be reporting to you live abord the Deltin Royale floating casino in Goa.

In addition, PokerNews' dedicated India portal will deliver coverage on all side events as well.

Here is the schedule for this year's Main Event:

Day	Date	Time	Levels
Day 1a	Friday, November 16	3:00 pm	13 x 40 min
Day 1b	Saturday, November 17	12:00 pm	13 x 40 min
Day 1c	Saturday, November 17	9:30 pm	13 x 20 min
Day 2	Sunday, November 18	2:00pm	Until final table
Final Table	Monday, November 19	2:00pm	Until winner

Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for all the action from what promises to be an exciting tournament here in Goa, India.

Level	Small Blind	Big Blind	Ante
1	100	100	-
2	100	200	-
3	100	200	200
4	100	200	200
5	200	300	300
6	200	400	400
7	300	500	500
8	300	600	600
9	400	800	800
10	500	1000	1000
11	600	1200	1200
12	800	1600	1600
13	1000	2000	2000

Players start with 30,000 in chips. Late registration and re-entry (one entry per Day 1) is available until the start of Level 10 (~9:30pm on Day 1a, ~6:20pm on Day 1b and ~00:40 on Day 1c). Breaks are 10 minutes long.