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Each day in India’s poker circuit seems to deal a better hand to its enthusiasts, and we’re more than happy to play. With the recent launch of PokerStars.in already making waves, their partnership with GPL India’s first season promises to lend some serious action in the coming few months.
Looks Like Someone Put A Ring On It
Talking about PokerStars.in and GPL’s exclusive partnership, GPL CEO Alexandre ‘Alex’ Dreyfus said,
“We are excited to have partnered with the largest poker brand in the world to bring our unique and leading league format in India. We hope to offer a unique experience to the poker communities and help to build creative content promoting this skill game and sport.
With our motto ‘Compete Globally, Play Locally’, GPL India and the six cities we selected for this first season will definitely spice up the ecosystem. We took our time to understand the competitive landscape. This is not a sprint, but a marathon, and working with PokerStars in India guarantees us a long-term vision.”
So What’s The Deal?
Well, the ecosystem is going to get spiced-up indeed and we all know that there’s nothing better than a kickass poker tournament to shake things up. Starting June 25, the free-to-enter online qualifiers will run for six weeks (from June to August) exclusively on PokerStars.in, with each week based on GPL India's six regional teams, each with team managers -
Mumbai Jetsetters (Kavin Shah),
Chennai Sharks (Vikram Kumar),
Ahmedabad Alphas (Abhishek Rathod),
Kolkata Creators (Aditya Agarwal),
Delhi Diehards (Muskan Sethi),
Bengaluru Hackers (Vidwath Shetty).
Each team will have five players and two of the five will be selected through these online qualifiers. Of course, there are going to be a few fiery hoops to jump through first and by the looks of it, amateurs and professionals of India’s poker scene should be ready for the time of their life.
Here’s How You Participate (i.e. possibly end up hella rich)
The six teams will compete over a four-week period and play 6-Max and Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Poker games through the PokerStars platform and in GPL’s India Studio. The top ten finishers in each first round will qualify for the week’s Team Final. After the online qualification period, a sum total of 60 people will then go on to participate in the GPL India Bootcamp, to be held on September 8, 2018, in Delhi.
Here, they will undergo quickfire interviews to explain why they should join their respective teams as finalists. The judging panel for this interview will be a mixture of PokerStars India pro’s, GPL India managers and local celebrities. The finalists will then be randomly assigned to play in a Sit-and-Go with each table representing a regional GPL team. Each player’s starting stack will depend on how they scored in the panel interview, with the lowest starting stack being 1k and the largest 5k.
All six team rosters will be finalized by 9 September. From there teams will compete for the title of GPL India Champions in November 2018, which will be streamed online.
We Hear You Bahama Mama!
The best part, of course, is that there’s more than enough incentive to participate. For starters, winners each receive a Platinum Pass of roughly Rs. 20 lakhs, to compete in the Rs. 17 lakhs (approx) buy-in PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship, due to take place in the Bahamas in January. With a prize pool of over Rs. 65 Crores, including a six-night accommodation, this sounds like there’s a great hand waiting to be dealt!
Visit here to learn more about GPL Qualifiers starting 25 June.
GPL India Online Qualifiers Schedule
June 25, 2018 – July 1, 2018 – Kolkata Creators Week – Online Qualifiers each day with Final Qualifier on July 1, 2018 : Team Manager – Aditya Agarwal
July 2, 2018 – July 8, 2018 – Pune Alphas Week - Online Qualifiers each day with Final Qualifier on July 8, 2018 : Team Manager – Abhishek Rathod
July 9, 2018 – July 15, 2018 – Chennai Sharks Week - Online Qualifiers each day with Final Qualifier on July 15, 2018 : Team Manager – Vikram Kumar
July 16, 2018 – July 22, 2018 – Delhi Diehards Week - Online Qualifiers each day with Final Qualifier on July 22, 2018 : Team Manager – Muskan Sethi
July 23, 2018 – July 29, 2018 – Mumbai Jetsetters Week - Online Qualifiers each day with Final Qualifier on July 29, 2018 : Team Manager – Kavin Shah
July 30, 2018 – August 5, 2018 – Bengaluru Hackers Week - Online Qualifiers each day with Final Qualifier on August 5, 2018 : Team Manager - Vidwath Shetty
Are you excited for the GPL? Sound off in the comments section below!
