It’s been some days now since India’s poker legend Aditya Agarwal won the India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) Jan 2023 Main Event The Crown. The pro player took down the event like a true boss after entering Day 2 of the event with four starting stacks and cashed with each of them. For nailing the crown, he pocketed ₹57,73,214 after striking a heads-up deal with Arsh Grover.
Honestly, Agarwal is that one name from the Indian poker circuit which needs absolutely no introduction. Just the name is enough to create an impact. Well, we all do know ‘Adi’ as he is fondly known as, but how much do we know about him?! Ever since my first interaction with poker as a game and as an industry in India, I have always heard about ‘Intervention’ and the massive respect he has earned.
Of course, I dug deeper to learn more about Agarwal, and I got to know exactly why he was regarded as one of the best in the circuit. As he now has one more title to his name and another beautiful laurel to add to his shelf, why not revisit his glorious career?!
The Kolkata-born player is one of the first poker players in India. He was bitten by the poker bug during his college years while studying at Philadelphia’s Drexel University in 2003. He started following ESPN’s streams of the iconic 2003 World Series Of Poker and there he found his calling. He initially played $5 and $10 Texas Hold ’em games in the dorm. Post Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP 2003 Main Event win, online poker was on a boom. Many deposit bonus schemes were on offer on online poker sites, which sparked Agarwal’s interest in online poker.
His parents supported him in his decision and he started playing poker professionally when he turned 21. He played at the World Serie of Poker (WSOP), and became one of the only Indian players to walk away with a cash along with Vivek Rajkumar. He eventually participated in some of the biggest poker events across the globe like European Poker Tour (EPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), and more.
He was also a member of PokerStars Team Pro, however, he parted ways with them in 2019 after over five years of association. He was the first Indian to join the PokerStars Team.
As mentioned above, he is one of the first players to represent India at the WSOP and cash there. To date, he has 53 cashes at the WSOP. He has cashed at the event almost every year ever since 2007, except in 2011, and then in 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic.
He narrowly missed his WSOP bracelet at at the 2021 edition in Event #76: Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (freezeout). He finished at the runner-up spot and pocketed $286,705, which also happens to be his best WSOP cash to date.
According to Hendon Mob, Agarwal has $1,528,513 in live tournament earnings, with his runner-up finish at WSOP 2021 being his highest cash. He ranks third in India’s All-Time Money List.
He has three notable titles to his name. In February 2012, he shipped the No Limit Holdem event at PokerGuru Tour Season 2 – February Edition in Goa. In May during the same year, he took down the No Limit Hold’em event at Asian Poker Tour (APT) Goa. His next title came in 2019, where he nailed No Limit Hold’em – DPT Colossus 200K Main Event at Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Colossus Super High Roller Series in Goa.
ALSO READ: Aditya ‘Intervention’ Agarwal ships DPT Colossus ME
He has several online titles to his name. During the recently concluded 14th edition of IOPC he shipped two titles, namely Event #69 Friday Prime and the Main Event The Crown.
We hope to see Agarwal crushing the poker felts and continually keep inspiring the young and upcoming poker players to take the road less taken.
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Amarylisa Gonsalves is a Content Writer at Gutshot Magazine. Advancing from a marketing background, she found her calling in writing. She takes delight in exploring genres and is a curious learner. Patient and ambivert, she believes in letting her work speak for itself. Apart from content writing, she finds solace in writing poetry by expressing herself through words. Additionally, she adores indulging in anything that satisfies her creative self, like drawing and DIY crafts.
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