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1 Crore in prize money with free entry - PUBG Mobile India Series created a wave across the country among young mobile gamers. Concluding on 10th March, Team Soul lifted the trophy with 30 Lacs in prize money.
This tournament infused an exciting sense of competition among gamers in the country. Indians had only been hearing of such big prize sums in real cash games or overseas console gaming events. This was the first time that young Indian gamers got an opportunity to grind out on their mobile apps and take a shot at winning this big.
Talking about gaming in India, we can't miss the rising landscape of online poker. However, the mindset of Indian gamers towards this game has been slightly different.
When you hear the word - Poker, what exactly comes to your mind?
A. Cards
B. Money
C. Casino
D. James Bond
You can add more words to the list. In recent years, Poker as a game has evolved and found many other meanings among the young individuals of India. Similar to any individual sports or strategy game, poker enthusiasts in India have found a sense of pride and achievement in winning at poker tables. The thrill of beating a pool of opponents from across the country and finishing in the top spots of an online poker tournament for big paychecks is driving thousands of Indians every night to the online poker apps.
The growing popularity of this game can majorly be attributed to the big fat prize pools being guaranteed across tournaments run by some of the top poker companies in India. These tournaments draw thousands of poker players who grind it out for 5-8 hours on online apps and taking home lacs of prize money.
Adda52, PokerRaj, backed by industrialist Raj Kundra, Spartan Poker, Amaya Inc owned PokerStars India & Pokerbaazi are the poker sites in India which host weekly tournaments & some weekend specials.
Irrespective of the prize money, something which has been missing from the poker circuit of India is a national championship event in a true sense. Capturing the opportunity in a fiercely competitive landscape, Adda52 announced the National Poker Championship which looks like an attempt to take this game to masses in this county. Similar to any national sporting event, there are state-level qualifiers running which has enabled thousands of poker talents in the country to show their skill & reach the championship stage.
To keep things interesting, this event is offering 1 Crore in prize money with Free Entry via State Qualifiers. Players who miss out on free qualifiers can contest in paid entry satellites. The qualifiers & satellites are underway at the time of writing while the championship event will be played online on adda52.com from 4th to 7th April.
It's impossible to draw parallels between the National Poker Championship and PUBG Mobile India Series due to a difference in scale of popularity of both the games. However, the approach to take these games a to growing community of gamers in the country seems similar. Be it PUBG or Poker, the large scale tournaments with life changing prize money up for grabs assures the bright future for gamers in India.
