Ritwik Khanna is one of India’s most exciting young poker professionals, a Noida-born former commerce student who shelved plans to become a Chartered Financial Analyst in favour of a career at the felt, and has since become one of the most decorated players on the Indian circuit. With a WPT title, four DPT crowns, and now the 2026 APT Taipei High Roller trophy to his name, Khanna is making a compelling case as the breakout Indian live tournament player of his generation.

Khanna discovered poker in 2016 while completing a B.Com degree at Jai Hind College in Mumbai, having already cleared the first level of the CFA exam. He joined PokerBaazi, where he met mentor Chirag Sodha, and quickly built a reputation as a sharp online MTT grinder and live streamer. By 2021 — the year he was named Mr India — he was one of the most recognisable names in the Indian poker community, with over ₹15 crore in tracked online winnings and a growing fanbase drawn to his streams and content. His Hendon Mob profile records 44 live cashes and $365,196 in earnings — a figure that nearly doubled overnight in Taipei.

Nationality	🇮🇳 Indian	Residence	Noida, India
Live Earnings	$365,196	Best Cash	$168,713
Total Cashes	44	Latest Cash	$168,713 – May 2026
Known For	APT Taipei HR Champion, WPT Goa champion, 4x DPT champion, Mr India 2021

From Online Grinder to Live Force

Khanna’s path to live tournament success ran through India’s online ecosystem. He ground his way through the domestic circuit on platforms like PokerBaazi and Adda52, amassing a win rate that made him one of the top-ranked online MTT players in the country. His live results followed — four Deltin Poker Tournament titles in Goa, a WPT Prime Goa championship in 2023, and consistent deep runs across the WPT and Asian Poker Tour circuits established him as a credible force beyond India’s borders.

That progress came at a personal cost. When India’s state-level ban on online money gaming came into force, Khanna was among the professionals most directly affected — previously earning between ₹75 lakh and ₹1 crore annually from online play alone, on top of brand endorsements. “Moving abroad is the only option,” he told The Print in 2023. The live circuit became not just an ambition but a necessity, and Khanna rose to meet it.

APT Taipei 2026: The Comeback of the Year

Khanna’s biggest result arrived at APT Taipei 2026, in the second largest and second richest High Roller in the tour’s 20-year history — 329 entries, a prize pool of approximately $1.09 million. The heads-up match against defending champion Trung Quan Nguyen became one of the most dramatic finishes of the year on the Asian circuit. Khanna was bluffed off the best hand at a critical moment, reduced to just five big blinds, then overcame a 10-to-1 chip deficit to retake the lead — winning three consecutive all-ins before flopping kings at the pivotal moment to seal a maiden APT title and a career-best $168,713 after an ICM deal.

“This was one of the greatest moments in my life,” Khanna said after the win. “Just sharing it with my family was very special because they’ve been supportive all throughout, even though my dad’s always been like, ‘you’ve got to do our business.'” The victory nearly doubled his lifetime live earnings in a single result and earned him the Rose Gold Lion trophy — one of only three awarded at the entire festival.

Notable Live Results

Year	Event	Finish	Prize
2026	APT Taipei – High Roller (120K TWD)	1st	$168,713
2025	DPT Xpress – ₹15K Express Mini Main	1st	₹3.85 Lakhs
2024	PokerBaazi EPIC – Super Value Event	1st	₹6.03 Lakhs

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