India’s fastest growing Poker Sports League (PSL) has found a brand ambassador in chess master Viswanathan Anand. The five-time world champion Anand is one of the most respected names in the world of chess and his involvement in poker is expected to bring even more credibility to the game.
It is now understood that the grandmaster Anand will be seen promoting PSL and the game of poker as a mind sport in the country to encourage and inspire more and more people to join the league.
“I have been following poker for a few years now. It is a game of skill and that’s perhaps why chess players take to poker naturally. It’s got me intrigued”, Anand told the Times of India.
“What I have observed though is that poker and chess have some similarities in the thinking process and being a chess player may actually influence your poker playing style,” he added.
Commenting on this significant development, PSL co-founder and Dabur Group promoter Amit Burman said, “Chess and poker are frequently compared as both games are based on strategic thinking and decision making. Both games also involve reading the other player at the table.”
Talking about the same, Pranav Bagai – PSL co-founder said, “We approached five-time world chess champion – Viswanthan Anand who is the biggest name in mind sports in the country. He plays poker and enjoys the game at an amateur level. It’s the biggest move ever – towards changing the negative perception of poker in India.”
Poker Sports League-the brainchild of Amit Burman, Anuj Gupta, and Pranav Bagai, got launched last year and proved a grand success. Driven by the huge response for PSL Season 1, the organisers have announced a bigger season 2 with team owners locking in for 8 years. The Season 2 of PSL will have 12 city-based teams competing for a whopping money of Rs. 3.60 crores. The finale of season 2 of PSL will be held in the second half of 2018 as has been announced by the organisers recently this year.