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Indian Players Who Clinched A WSOP Bracelet

World Series Of Poker (WSOP) is the most prestigious poker tournament series across the globe. The 2022 WSOP kick-started on 31st May and this one is sure to usher in a lot of excitement. Held at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Nevada, this series is sure to grab many eyeballs, and Indians aren’t far behind. Every year, a bunch of Indian players book tickets to visit Sin City to grind in the WSOP series and soak up in Vegas.

Indian Contingent at the 2021 WSOP 

Last year a good number of Indian players like Aditya Agarwal, Abhishek Goindi, Nikita Luther, Dhaval Mudgal, Abhinav Iyer, Madhav Gupta, Neel Joshi, Shuchi Chamaria, Kartik Ved, Muskan Sethi, Kunal Patni, Shashank Jain, Yudhishter Jaswal, Kalyan Chakravarthy, Ankit Ahuja, Raghav Bansal, Siddharth Karia, Kunal Punjwani and others represented India on the global stage. Aditya Agarwal ran deep and finished 2nd in the Event #76: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty and cashed $286,705. This was also Agarwal’s career-best live cash. All of them grinded, but we could not bring home the coveted gold bracelet.

While the latest edition of WSOP has begun and is running in top gear, we have a blast from the past for our readers. We are looking into the four Indian poker players who have successfully grabbed that shiny gold WSOP bracelet.

Aditya Sushant

It was in 2017 that the first WSOP bracelet came to our country. Chennai-based Aditya Sushant teamed up with Nipun Java and grinded in the tag-team Event #10. The duo shipped the $1,000 Teams Event and history was made. India won its first-ever gold bracelet and Sushant amassed a prize money worth $75,318.

Sushant’s recent stints on the live felts include his win at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Prime Vietnam 2022, where he shipped the Event #15: PLO. Sushant defeated Sameer Agarwal, and walked away with VND 155 Million (approx ₹5.18 Lakh) in prize money after he became the first Indian to win a WPT Prime title. Sushant also made his presence felt at the India Poker Championship (IPC) Megastacks May 2022. The talented pro finished at the runner-up spot in the coveted Main Event for a massive ₹33,50,000. Take a look at his top three finishes:

• 5 June 2017 –  $1,000 NLH – Tag Team (Event #10) – WSOP 2017 – $75,319
• 5 July 2017 –  $1,500 NLH (Event #66) – WSOP 2017 – $44,255
• 9 July 2016 – $10,000 NLH ME Championship (Event #68) – WSOP 2016 – $42,285

Sushant accurately reflects a player who’s grown along with the Indian poker industry. After he brought home the first WSOP bracelet, the number of Indians travelling to Vegas for the series has also grown considerably.

Nikita Luther

Spartan Poker Pro Nikita Luther is India’s first female WSOP bracelet winner. She partnered with Germany’s Giuseppe Pantaleo and shipped Event #55 for $87,902. This is the same event that Sushant had shipped in 2017.

Luther is one of the pillars in the Indian poker circuit and for women players in the fold. The leggy lass is a Delhi-based pro who loves travelling as much as she loves studying the game of poker. In a brief conversation with Gutshot in 2019, when she was on the cover alongside bracelet buddy Sushant, Luther had added that being outdoors surrounded by nature and hiking are two of her favourite things to do while she enjoys her leisure time.

Luther added her charm to the IPC Megastacks May 2022 event as she was spotted grinding in most of the events scheduled. Hendon Mob adds that Luther’s total live earnings stand at $360,271. She is in the 17th position on India’s all-time money list. Take a look at some of Luther’s top finishes:

• 21 June 2019 – $500 + 65 NLH – Zynga Poker WPT500, 2019 ARIA Poker Classic – $109,300
• 27 June 2018 – $1,000 NLH – Tag Team (Event #55) – WSOP 2018 – $87,902
• 26 June 2017 – $500 + 65 WPT500 Main Event – Aria 2017 Poker Classic – $65,000

Abhinav Iyer

He is India’s first solo WSOP bracelet winner and overall, he was the third person to bring it home. Iyer was born in Chennai but has been living in Mumbai for the past several years. Iyer is one of those who you will find more on the road than inside a cozy home. In July 2019, when the poker pro was 26-years-old he shipped Event #84: The Closer – $1,500 NLHE and became India’s first-ever solo bracelet winner. Iyer took a pay cheque of $565,346 (approx ₹3.87 Crore).

As per Hendon Mob, Iyer has $1,111,759 in total live earnings. He ranks fifth in India’s all-time money list. Some of his top finishes are:

• 19 July 2020 – $1,111 Every 1 for COVID Relief (Event #33) – $127,571
• 4 November 2021 –  $10,000 No Limit Hold’em – WSOP ME (Event #67) – $113,800
• 10 January 2021 – APT ₫ 20,000,000 + 2,000,000 No Limit Hold’em – ME – $98,055

Kartik Ved

The $840 Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em of 2020 was clinched by Kartik Ved who thickened his bankroll by $234,433, which included his Bounty amount. Ved is the last Indian who won a WSOP bracelet (online) two years ago. He is a regular on the WSOP felts. This poker dynamo also had a good run in the 2019 WSOP Main Event. Ved busted on the 51st spot and collected a prize money of $173,015 (approx ₹1.18 Crore).

In 2019, Ved was the only player who entered Day 6 of the WSOP Main Event. It is also believed that every international trip Ved makes, he ensures that he comes home with great scores. Ved’s live scores since 2019 have only shot up as he grinded in 32 events overseas and cashed in all of them.

Ved started 2019 with the 108th place finish in €1,500 NLHE WPT Deepstacks at the WPT Barcelona for €3,300 (~₹2.55 Lakh). He followed it up by finishing in fourth spot at the EPT National at EPT Sochi for RUB 3,059,000 (~₹32.75 Lakh). Prior to the Main Event, the poker pro’s biggest score at the 2019 WSOP was in Event #3: BIG 50 – $500 NLH where he busted in the 29th position for $34,279 (~₹23.77 Lakh). Along with this he also cashed in the $1,100 NLHE Main Event at The Wynn Summer Classic, netting $18,503 (~₹12.68 Lakh) for his 16th place finish.

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ALSO READ: Check Out The WSOP 2022 Schedule Here!

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In 2021, Ved grinded in the $ 1,500 No Limit Hold’em – The Closer (Event #83) and pocketed $ 8,550 after busting on the 41st spot. He is currently on the 14th spot in India’s all time money list. Here are some of his top finishes: 

• 16 August 2020 –  $840 Super Turbo Bounty NLH (Event #64) – WSOP Online 2020 at GGPoker – $234,433
• 3 July 2019 –  $10,000 NLH – WSOP Main Event 2019 – $173,015
• 23 August 2020 – $25,000 NLH POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, $10M GTD (Event #70) WSOP Online 2020 at GGPoker – $70,150

Santhosh Suvarna

At the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Santhosh Suvarna demonstrated his prowess beyond high-stakes play by winning the $250,000 Super High Roller event, securing his second WSOP bracelet. Suvarna outlasted a field of 75 entries to claim the largest share of the $18,675,000 prize pool, triumphing over online poker legend Ben Tollerene in a thrilling heads-up match to earn the $5,415,152 first-place prize.

This victory marks India’s first $250K Super High Roller title and the highest single payout (over ₹45+ Crore) achieved by an Indian player. Suvarna is now the only Indian to have won two WSOP gold bracelets. Suvarna first nailed a WSOP bracelet at the WSOP Europe in 2023. He shipped the €50,000 NLH Diamond High Roller for an eye-popping sum of €650,000. This victory was India’s maiden High Roller title at an WSOP Europe event. The Indian pro outlasted a field of 37 top grinders and beat Ren Lin in heads-up.

Suvarna’s Hendon Mob stats are also impressive. His total live earnings stand at over $13 Million and his best live cash came from the WSOP 2024 $250K Super High Roller for over $5.4 Million. His All Time Money List rank is 95th while he tops the India All Time Money. Some of his significant cashes include the below:

• 26th October 2023 – $125,000 + $7,500 No Limit Hold’em – Triton Main Event Monte Carlo (Event #3) – $ 1,772,000
• 10th May 2023 – Triton $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – GG Super Million$ Live (Event #1) – $700,000
• 9th November 2023 – WSOP €49,500 + €500 No Limit Hold’em Diamond High Roller (Bracelet Event #12) – $695,291

 

 

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