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Goa Lions, one of the 10 teams that participated in Match Indian Poker League (MatchIPL) last season, has refused to participate in the upcoming season 3 of Match IPL being held on 23rd and 24th October. Goa Lions stood 9th among the ten teams that played in Season 2.
MatchIPL is owned by Viaan Industries, headed by the industrialist Raj Kundra, and International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP). Season 3 of MatchIPL will be conducted next week in Mumbai.
Court Case
Goa Lions is owned by Ability Games Pvt. Ltd. The poker franchise alleges that MatchIPL has not honoured its contractual obligations. Therefore, Ability Games has not paid the participation fees of Rs. 50 lac and will not be participating in Season 3 of the poker tournament.
Upon non-payment of the participation fee, MatchIPL sent Goa Lions a termination notice, to oppose which Ability Games approached the Bombay High Court.
The matter was heard by Justice SJ Kathawala, who has appointed Advocate Ranjeev Carvalho to arbitrate the dispute.
The court stayed the termination letter issued by MatchIPL, and has instructed Ability Games to deposit the participation fee of Rs. 50 Lac owed to MatchIPL to the Prothonotary and Senior Master of the Bombay High Court within two weeks from the issue of the order on 15th October, 2018. This fees will be disbursed as per the conclusion drawn by the arbitrator or court.
Reason of Conflict
Ability Games claims that MatchIPL software to conduct the tournament is not ready, as is required by the contract for successful and fair execution of the games. It alleges that MatchIPL plans to conduct the tournament games with physical poker cards. Furthermore, it claims that MatchIPL has not hosted auctions for poker players for the franchise, as committed in the contract.
Raj Kundra has discarded the claims of Ability Games, and has said that the poker software developed by International Federation of Match Poker will be used to conduct the games in MatchIPL Season 3.
As per IFMP’s website, their poker software enables poker in the ‘Match Poker’ format as a skill-based sport. Match Poker usually features pot-limit pre-flop and no-limit post flop.
Even for selecting Pro Players for the match, IFMP is using its Match Poker bot called Albi, against which Indian poker players played to win and represent the 9 franchises in MatchIPL Season 3.
