APT Online Series India wraps up; Subhayan Das ships the Main Event; Vinay Rajpal wins Player of the Series; Festival highlights included

The Asian Poker Tour concluded its second edition of the APT Online Series India 2021 with the games hosted on PokerBaazi.com from August 1 to 8. 44 events were claimed and IN₹ 8.07 Lac (~US$ 1,087,820) paid out. Subhayan “arjun100” Das clinched the Main Event, Gaurav “gaug17” Sood won the Championship Event, and Vinay “vinay09” Rajpal was named APT Player of the Series champion. We’ve got those stories below including other festival highlights. 

APT Player of the Series: Vinay “vinay09” Rajpal

At every APT event, be it live or online, the tour awards the player with the most points accrued the Player of the Series title. While there were many players that ran well in the series, with multiple cashes and final table berths, it was Vinay “vinay09” Rajpal who ultimately claimed it. He was awarded the APT POS Trophy, APT POS Ring, and a luxury watch. Rajpal racked up 27 cashes out of 40 games played of which three were victories.

Here’s a list of his wins:
1st – APT #12: Pot Limit Omaha – IN₹ 1.94L (~US$ 2,600)
1st – APT #28: Megastack – IN₹ 98.11K (~US$ 1,317)
1st – APT #34: Knockout – IN₹ 1.05L (~US$ 1,410)

APT Main Event – Subhayan “arjun100” Das  – IN₹ 15.17L (~US$ 20,450)

The series headliner was the APT Main Event IN₹ 1 Crore guaranteed which drew 1,465 entries across four qualifying days. With buy in at  IN₹ 7,700 (~US$ 104) each, it just spilled over the guarantee for a prize pool of IN₹ 1.03 Crore (~US$ 138,800). The final day saw 215 players return with only 147 earning a piece of the pot. After a heads up deal with “ifeelitcoming”, Subhayan “arjun100” Das went on to close it out to claim his share of the deal worth IN₹ 15.17L (~US$ 20,450). This was Das’s first ever APT win and largest known tournament cash which he can proudly boast of with his APT Trophy and APT Championship Ring. Among those running deep was Super High Roller champion Rajat “LungFakeer” Sharma who reached the final table and finished in 8th place. 

Date: August 5 to August 8
Buy in: IN₹ 7,700 (~US$ 104)
Guarantee: IN₹ 1 Crore (~US$ 134,780)
Prize pool: IN₹ 1.03 Crore (~US$ 138,800) 
Entries: 1,465
ITM: 147 places

Final table payouts
1st Subhayan “arjun100” Das  – IN₹ 15.17L*
2nd “ifeelitcoming” – IN₹ 13.45L*
3rd “royalking7424” – IN₹ 8.36L
4th “5pranay” – IN₹ 5.99L
5th Pinguv – IN₹ 4.15L
6th Kaushik “kaushi1989” Tibrewal – IN₹2.95L
7th Sanat “mehro2511” Mehrotra – IN₹ 2.17L
8th Rajat “LungFakeer” Sharma – IN₹ 1.75L
*Heads up deal

Championship Event – Gaurav “gaug17” Sood – IN₹ 12.06L (~US$ 16,200)

Unlike its live version, the Championship Event was a one day short handed 6-Max  tournament. The IN₹ 22,000 (~US$ 300) buy in drew 273 entries (142 uniques, 131 re-entries) to breach the IN₹ 50 Lac guarantee. Many of the country’s top players were in attendance with several earning a cut of the richer IN₹ 54.6L (~US$ 73,580) prize pool. Among them were Ashish “OMG_spew” Munot (4th), Laksh Pal “boomtlt23” Singh (5th), Arsh “Button_Hai_Bro” Grover (9th), and Pulkit “ifoldfullhouses” Goyal (16th). The title came down between well known pros Sumit “boronyx” Sapra and Gaurav “gaug17” Sood. Sood went on to claim it to collect the IN₹ 12.06L (~US$ 16,200) first prize, the APT Championship Trophy, and APT Championship Ring. Out of the four final tables he reached, Sood was only able to close out this event for his first ever APT featured event title. 

Buy in: IN₹ 22,000 (~US$ 300)
Guarantee: IN₹ 50 Lac
Entries: 273 (142 uniques, 131 re-entries)
Prize pool: IN₹ 54.6L (~US$ 73,580)
ITM: 36 places

Final table payouts
1st Gaurav “gaug17” Sood – IN₹ 12.06L
2nd Sumit “boronyx” Sapra – IN₹ 8.46L
3rd “tigeronhunt1995” – IN₹ 5.44L
4th Ashish “OMG_spew” Munot – IN₹ 4.03L
5th Laksh Pal “boomtlt23” Singh – IN₹ 3.02L
6th Danish “pagla” Shaikh – IN₹ 2.42L

Super High Roller – Rajat “LungFakeer” Sharma – IN₹ 20.64L (~US$ 27,800)

The most expensive event offered was the Super High Roller which was another favorite of the big shots. 166 ponied up the IN₹ 55,000 (~US$ 740) buy in for a guarantee exceeding prize pool of IN₹ 83 Lac (~US$ 111,870). WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav “griezmann” Iyer championed this event at the inaugural series back in January however his hunt for a back to back was cut short in 14th place. Taking it the full distance was Rajat “LungFakeer” Sharma for his first ever APT title and trophy. He earned a career high score of IN₹ 20.64L (~US$ 27,800) which was also the largest first place payout of the series. 

Buy in: IN₹ 55,000 (~US$ 740)
Guarantee: IN₹ 80 Lac
Entries: 166 (110 uniques, 56 re-entries)
Prize pool: IN₹ 83 Lac (~US$ 111,870)
ITM: 21 places

Final table payouts
1st Rajat “LungFakeer” Sharma – IN₹ 20.64L
2nd Ankit “Ankitmodi”” Modi – IN₹ 14.47L
3rd Ankur “Stonecold” Sehgal – IN₹ 9.3L
4th “23offsuits” – IN₹ 6.89L
5th Kumar “ender” Vatsal – IN₹ 5.17L
6th Kartik “TheInternetKid” Ved – IN₹ 4.13L

High Roller – Mithun “thepokeraja” Mahesh – IN₹ 16.57L (~US$ 22,300)

The High Roller event came in at half the price of the Super High Roller event with buy in at IN₹ 27.5K (~US$ 370). This was another short handed tournament with only six maximum per table. 150 players turned up and 113 re-entered for a total of 264 entries for an overlay to the IN₹ 75 Lac (~US$ 100,700) guarantee. The race to the top came to a head at the final table where several pros heated up the virtual round. Gaurav “gaug17” Sood was first to go n 6th place, 2012 Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon runner up Abhishek “singhsaab” Goindi finished 3rd, leaving WSOP bracelet winner Aditya “gangajal” Sushant and Mithun “thepokeraja” Mahesh to battle for the title. Despite Sushant’s extensive experience, he was stopped in 2nd place. Mahesh shipped it for IN₹ 16.57L (~US$ 22,300) which was the second largest payout of the series. This was his largest tournament cash of the year and his first ever APT win. He picked up an APT trophy for his achievement. 

Buy in: IN₹ 27.5K (~US$ 370)
Guarantee: IN₹ 75 Lac
Entries: 264 (151 uniques, 113 re-entries)
Prize pool: IN₹ 75 Lac (~US$ 100,700)
ITM: 36 places

Final table payouts
1st Mithun “thepokeraja” Mahesh – IN₹ 16.57L
2nd Aditya “gangajal” Sushant – IN₹ 11.63L
3rd Ankit “d00mtr00p3r” Wadhawan – IN₹ 7.48L
4th Abhishek “singhsaab” Goindi – IN₹ 5.54L
5th Shravan “Fishstars” Chhabria – IN₹ 4.16L
6th Gaurav “gaug17” Sood – IN₹ 3.32L

Mini Main – Paawan “ukissmyace” Bansal  – IN₹ 10.71L (~US$ 14,430)

One well known Indian pro powering through a big field was Paawan “ukisssmyace” Bansal who outlasted the 241 Day 2 runners of the Mini Main. This was a phased event that drew 2,007 entries, the largest turnout of the series. At IN₹ 3,300 (~US$ 44) buy in each, it crushed the guarantee for a richer IN₹ 60.21 Lac (~US$ 81,140) prize pool. Bansal claimed the lion’s share IN₹ 10.71L (~US$ 14,430) for his victory and an APT Trophy. While this win is another tall achievement for Bansal, the money still pales in comparison to his largest score of US$ 378,765, earned at the 2018 WSOP The Closer event where he finished in 2nd place.

Buy in: IN₹ 3,300 (~US$ 44)
Guarantee: IN₹ 50 Lac
Entries: 2,007
Prize pool: IN₹ 60.21 Lac (~US$ 81,140)
ITM: 201 places

Final table payouts

1st Paawan “ukissmyace” Bansal  – IN₹ 10.71L
2nd Amit J “churu” – IN₹ 7.74L
3rd “Ankitkr” – IN₹ 5.98L
4th Vinayak “salmanbhai” Bajaj – IN₹ 4.81L
5th Vishal “Vishzz” Bajaj – IN₹ 3.79L
6th Divanshu “1diot” Khurana – IN₹ 2.94L
7th “Kingsb30” – IN₹ 2.24L
8th “omniknight” – IN₹ 1.61L

Other APT Trophy winners

Sunday Major
Buy in: IN₹ 8,250 (~US$ 111)
Guarantee: IN₹ 40 Lac
Entries: 488 (255 uniques, 233 re-entries)
Prize pool: IN₹ 40L 
ITM: 63 places
Winner: Aman “stardust” – IN₹ 7.77L

Monday Major
Buy in: IN₹ 3,850 (~US$ 52)
Guarantee: IN₹ 20 Lac
Entries: 618 (281 uniques, 337 re-entries)
Prize pool: IN₹ 21.63 Lac 
ITM: 72 places
Winner: Shubham “backchod” Agarwal – IN₹ 4.09L (~US$ 5,500)

PLO High Roller
Buy in: IN₹ 11,000 (~US$ 150)
Guarantee: IN₹ 25 Lac 
Entries: 262 (124 uniques, 138 re-entries)
Prize pool: IN₹ 26.2 Lac
ITM: 27 places
Winner: Vikash “Mantvik” Mantri – IN₹ 6.16L (~US$ 8,300)

PLO-5 High Roller
Buy in: IN₹ 5,500 (~US$ 75)
Guarantee: IN₹ 15 Lac
Entries: 377 (157 uniques, 220 re-entries)
Prize pool: IN₹ 18.85 lac (~US$ 25,400)
ITM: 45 places
Winner: Pankaj “Jmdpanku” Sharma – IN₹ 3.13L (~US$ 4,200)