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Manoj Pentakota is an Indian tournament poker player who stands as one of the country's most formidable contenders across the Asia-Pacific circuit.
Known for his steady presence across Goa, Macau, Vietnam, and Malaysia since the late 2010s, Pentakota etched his name into Indian poker history in May 2026 by capturing one of the year’s most lucrative regional titles in South Korea.
Career Earnings & Biggest Results
According to The Hendon Mob, Manoj Pentakota has accumulated $376,052 in live tournament earnings, ranking 40th on India’s All-Time Money List.
Pentakota became noticed in the domestic circuit after winning the Deltin Poker Tournament High Roller event in Goa in Feb 2017 for INR 3,300,000 ($49,229).
Pentakota's defining career triumph arrived in May 2026 at Poker Dream 22 Jeju at the Shinhwa World Resort.
Navigating an enormous 1,281-entry field in the KRW 1,600,000 Main Event, he put on a dominant final-table display alongside fellow Indian pro Nishant Sharma to take down the championship trophy and a career-best KRW 346,012,437 (~$234,259).
Biography & Background
Pentakota’s tournament career traces back to the Indian live circuit in Goa around 2016, logging deep runs in the India Poker Championship (IPC) and Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT).
He was an early adopter of international travel, venturing to Macau in 2017 to cash in the Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP) Platinum Series and the iconic MPC Red Dragon Main Event.
As Southeast Asia became the central hub for Asian live poker, Pentakota established a regular presence across Vietnam's festival stops—including the Asian Poker Tour (APT), World Poker Tour (WPT), and U Series of Poker (USOP).
His years of circuit consistency culminated in his massive 2026 surge, where he conquered the multi-flight Poker Dream Jeju Main Event, followed by high-profile deep runs at the Gods of Poker (GOP) festival in Manila, RPT Hanoi, and Poker Dream Malaysia.
Play Style & Strategy
Pentakota builds his tournament game on multi-flight endurance and disciplined pot control during early deepstack phases.
In massive field sizes like Poker Dream and the APT, he routinely avoids unnecessary high-variance confrontations early on, preserving chips to leverage his edge once the structures tighten and the blinds escalate.
At final tables, he excels at dynamic stack management and aggressive front-running.
His Poker Dream Jeju victory highlighted his ability to capitalize on chip leads, utilizing timely aggression and card-removal blockers to pressure middle-tier stacks conscious of pay jumps.
