Balakrishna Patur Emerges Victorious in the 2020 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic

Balakrishna Patur shipped the 2020 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 buy-in Main Event. He traversed among a total of 490 entries and walked away with the LAPC Champion title and $10,15,000 in earnings.

Talking about the victory, Patur said, “It is incredible. I cannot express my happiness right now. It was such a long time and a table with such good players. It was anybody’s game and I played well and ran well.” He further added, “Every poker player dreams of getting a WPT. Getting closer to these big, big names that you watch all the time is an awesome feeling.”

Other than the title and the money, Patur also received Card Player’s 1,800 ‘Player of the Year’ (POY) points. This was Patur’s first POY-qualified score of 2020 and he was followed by Matas Cimbolas in second place with $6,00,060 in earnings and 1500 POY Points.

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Three time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Upeksha De Silva was the first player who got eliminated during the final table. He was followed by Ka Kwan Lau who was knocked off after the 30th hand of the day. A preflop cooler led to Scott Hempel’s exit.

Two-time WPT champion Carroll had a few handfuls of big blinds at the time when Hempel was sent to the rail. An intense heads-up play took place between Cimbolas and Patur and the latter became the winner after flexing some serious muscle.

During the final table that took place on 5 March 2020, Patur stood as the chip lead. The final table was expected to crown a champion in less than a month but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final table was eventually rescheduled for 17 May 2021. The rescheduled final table took place in the PokerGO Studio at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The final table consisted of Balakrishna Patur, Matas Cimbolas, James Carroll, Scott Hempel, Ka Kwan Lau, and Upeksha De Silva.

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Manthra Koliyer

Manthra Koliyer is a writer at Gutshot Magazine. She has an affinity for seeing the world through people’s eyes. With a bubbly fun personality, you can always catch her chatting with anyone she comes across. Holding an English Literature degree from Wilson College, Mumbai, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Asian College of Journalism, this pop culture fanatic is ready to take on the world with a pen, paper, and microphone. She also actively works on her personal blog called namasteyconvict.blogspot.com, where for a moment she lets you into her drama-filled world.