The MPC 26 Red Dragon, which kicked off one week ago, is now in its final stage with final table set last night. While there were many running deep in this tournament, India’s Apoorva Goel enjoyed all the way a good run and eventually entered the coveted final table. The Delhi-based poker player is sitting 6th with 2,030,000 in chips. The final table is led by Chien Fa Chou from China with 4,070,000 chips and trailing him is Hong Kong’s Alan King Lun Lau with 3,790,000 chips. The final 9 players are a mixed bag of pros and neophytes and all of them will be fighting it hard to grab their first Red Dragon main event title in Macau today.
A Look at Final Table with Chip Counts
Chien Fa Chou – Chinese Taipei – 4,070,000 chips
Alan King Lun Lau – Hong Kong – 3,790,000 chips
Edwin Gerard – USA – 3,515,000 chips
Liang Xu – China – 3,310,000 chips
Jun Liu – China – 3,055,000 chips
Apoorva Goel – India – 2,030,000 chips
Yang Zhang – China – 2,000,000 chips
Bobby Zhang – Australia – 1,540,000 chips
Zhen Wen – China – 1,020,000 chips
As can be seen, the final table is dominated by Chinese players. The chip lead Chien Fa Chou among final 9 also comes from China, though the 2nd player in chips is from Hong Kong. At the final table, now it is only Goel representing India. He has been at several events in Macau and Manila, and even appears in the prestigious WSOP. He shot into fame when he won the APPT 2013 ACOP Six-Max Championship for US$37,153, which he must be looking to surpass at the Red Dragon, as sits 6th with a 2,030,000 stack.
Several Indian players entered MPC 26 Red Dragon, but they all went out. The two other Indians who made in the money finishes were Vidwath Shetty and Sumit Sapra. Both of these players finished in the money stage. Vidwath finished in 123rd for HK$31,650 and Sumit got eliminated in the 129th to take home HK$31,650).
Adda52 Team Pro Nikita Luther and Raghav Bansal Win Teams Event
The performance by Indian players has been all commendable at MPC 26 events. While several players made in the money finishes, the poker lady Nikita Luther and Raghav Bansal raised the ante by winning the HK$4,000 Teams Event for Team India. Nikita has impressed every countryman and fellow poker players by coming on to the top at the live poker felts in Macau. She became the first Indian lady to win at MPC, and at the same time, she became an inspiration for the hundreds of women in the country who are eyeing on poker as a career ahead.
Back in December 2015, Nikita also won 5,000 + 1,250 No Limit Hold’em – Ladies Event of India Poker Championship (IPC) at Deltin Royale in Goa, taking home Rs. 45,000.The same year in August 2015, she also cashed in the 10,000 + 1,500 No Limit Hold’em of the India Poker Championship at the same venue and receivedRs. 190,000 for her efforts.
It has been a good series for Raghav Bansal. He cashed in several events. His biggest in this series cash came when he chopped Event12-HK$50,000 NLH for Rs 92 lacs.