The inaugural WPT India is just three days away and the poker world will soon descend upon Deltin Royale in Goa for the biggest and most prestigious series running from 7th to 13th November.
While the series features several amazing tournaments next week, for the most part, the eyes of poker enthusiasts will be on the much-awaited WPT India Main Event, which runs from 10th to 13th November this month and is expected to be the biggest field ever in India’s poker history.
There will be some big names whom you have been following for years. Yes, you will see big stars such as Pete Chen, Bryan Huang, Daniel Weinman and Sam Panzica, Adda52 Team Pro Amit Jain, Vikram Kumar, Aditya Sushant and Sumit Sapra – all strong contenders for WPT India titles.
All players named above should turn into the big attraction during WPT India series. They all have travelled to the world for poker and are widely known for their poker talent and skills. Let us find out what makes them the strong contenders for the WPT titles and cashes during the WPT India series.
Bryan Huang
Bryan Huang from Singapore is one of the most respected poker players on international poker scene with a whopping $1,281,495 in live earnings. He scored his best live cash $ 162,565 by taking down HK$ 95,000 + 5,000 No Limit Hold’em – Main Event at 2016 Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP), Macau. This year in September, he won WPT Korea High Roller for KRW 55,290,000. He is a Hold’em specialist and has made several final-table finishes across several big Hold’em events. And this makes him one of the strong contenders for the coveted WPT India titles ahead.
Daniel Weinman
Daniel Weinman is again a well-respected international poker player with a solid resume which boasts of $2,810,266 as his live earnings. His best live cash $892,433 came early this year when he took down $ 3,300 + 200 No Limit Hold’em WPT Main Event at WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open, Atlantic City. Back in April this year, he went on to win WPT Tournament of Champions for $ 381,500. A hold’em tournament specialist from the United States, he has made several runner-up and final-table finishes. That is why, he is a popular pick to win titles or make deep runs at WPT India.
Sam Panzica
Another popular player to watch out at WPT India is none other than Sam Panzica from the United States whose resume boasts of $3,697,070 in live earnings, 9 titles and 81 cashouts. His best live cash is $1,373,000, which he scored this year in May by taking down WPT Shooting Star Main Event title. Panzica is ready again to conquer bigger tournaments and what a better start than WPT India?
Amit Jain
Adda52 Team Pro Amit Jain is one of the most respected players on Indian poker landscape. Hailing from Mumbai, Amit has $206,581 in total live earnings. He got his best score this year at September 2017 Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Goa by winning DPT 75K High Roller for a whopping $ 38,840. He got plenty of media coverage when he finished 14th for $ 27,714 in $ 1,111 No Limit Hold’em Little One for One Drop at 47th WSOP 2016, Las Vegas. Before this win, he also won a No Limit Hold’em Event at APT Philippines, Manila. Sitting among top four with 600 POY points in WPT India POY Leaderboard, he is one of the top four players battling it out for WPT India POY title.
Vikram Kumar
Known for his cool and friendly nature, Vikram Kumar from Chennai is another respected player from India who sits among top four players contending for WPT India title. Vikram won DPT 15K Bounty event and cashed across several events at September 2017 Deltin Poker Tournament in Goa to score 600 POY points and thus become one of the strong contenders for the coveted WPT India POY title. He is one of the regulars at Deltin Poker Tournament and has made several final tables.
Aditya Sushant
Another well-known player from Chennai is Aditya Sushant who became the first- Indian born player this year to claim WSOP $1,000 Tag Team Event for $150,637 along with his teammate Nipun Java. This victory gave him his career’s best live cash $75,319. He has travelled to various parts of the world and has won several prestigious events. He has made several final table finishes across various events of Deltin Poker Tournaments Goa. Currently, he holds $401,676 in live earnings.
Sumit Spara
Sumit Sapra from New Delhi is no stranger to WPT events. He won PLO Deepstack for $ 5,530 at WPT National Cambodia, Sihanoukville early this year. In June 2017, he finished 30th for $ 7,000 in the $ 500 + 65 WPT500 Main Event at Aria 2017 Poker Classic, Las Vegas. Before this, he final-tabled in DPT High Roller 2017 April edition finishing 9th for $ 4,180. Currently, he holds $105,113 in live earnings.
While the names mentioned above will get plenty of media attention, you cannot overlook Nitin Gupta (600 POY points) Rajnish Kumar ( 600 POY points), Jaydeep Dawer (580 POY points), Akshay Nasa (540 POY points), Kiran Kumar (540 POY points, and Sahil Agarwal ( POY points). They are some of the top contenders for WPT India POY title and might make a splash at the first-ever WPT India series.
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