The World Poker Tour has brought tournament poker to some wonderful places in the world over the years, and ther latest instalment, which took place on a boat floating in a river in Goa, is undoubtedly one of the most unusual. Importantly, it means that the Word Poker Tour has now extended its reach into India, tapping into the growing poker enthusiasm that can be found there. The Deltin Royale Casino hosted the action for this event, standing alone as India’s largest offshore gaming and entertainment venue.
Vikash Mantri wins Main Event
527 players showed up for this historic Indian WPT Main Event, with each player paying a buy in of INR55,000 (US$842). This generated a prize pool of US$420,547 for this 4-day event. Of all the players who fought for this prestigious title, Vikash Mantri picked up the most momentum in the late phases, carrying the chiplead into the final table.
As the only player to use the card protectors given to the players at that final table, Mantri later claimed it was his lucky charm, as he carved through the opposition to reach heads-up play. He had to overcome a chip deficit in order take the victory, but despite his difficult starting point, he never faltered, claiming the title and INR6,030,000(US$92,322).
Final Table Results
1st: Vikash Mantri – 6,030,000 (approx. $92,000)
2nd: Arjun Arora – 3,947,000
3rd: Manish Lakhotia – 2,520,000
4th: Gaurav Chuahan – 1,920,000
5th: Anil Adiani – 1,480,000
6th: Pavan Jain – 1,151,000
7th: Kiran Kumar – 932,000
8th: Sunny Vijaywari – 713,000
9th: Ajun Wadhwa – 576,000
Rajnish Kumar claims High Roller title
The High Roller event featured a INR100,000($1,530) buy-in , and attracted 148 participants, which represented a strong turnout for an inaugural WPT series in India. The eventual winner of the event will not have been a great surprise to those who know about top poker players in India, as live high stakes cash game player Rajnish Kumar triumphed over the field. He certainly needed all of his talents at the final table, in which he began as the shortest stack before navigating his way to victory. He picked up 36.38 lakhs (Approx $55,690).
Final Table Results (INR)
1st: Rajnish Kumar – ₹36,38,000 (Approx $55,690)
2nd: Rajesh Rajpopat – ₹24,49,000
3rd: Vinay Sk – ₹14,69,000
4th: Sumi Sapra – ₹11,54,000
5th: Amit Sur – ₹8,75,000
6th: Girish Sampath – ₹7,35,000
7th: Phanindra Akkina – ₹5,95,000
8th: Vaibhav Sharma – ₹5,25,000
9th: Sanjay Taneja – ₹4,54,880
The strong turnouts at WPT India mark an excellent first foray into this part of the world for the now globally recognised WPT brand.
Article by Craig Bradshaw
