fundoopoker.com

17/03/2012

Date:

01-05 March, 2012

Venue:

Casino Royale, Goa

1. 5k Freezeout - Winner: Danish Shaikh
2. 10k Weekend Kickoff Freezeout - Winner: Sunil Singh
3. 25k Big Game Freezeout - Winner: Kanishka Samant
4. 12k Headhunter - Winner: Sameer Rattonsey

 

1st – 4th March, 2012

The India Poker Championship kicked off its March edition on the 1st of March, 2012 at the Royale Card Room aboard Casino Royale in Panjim, Goa.  This time around, the IPC went back to its previous structure with 3 freezeout events and 1 bounty tournament.

Danish Shaikh

The first event of the weekend was the INR 5,000 Freezeout which had a field of 51 players. This tournament saw first timer Bhavesh Mandalia come to the final table as 2nd chip leader after winning an online freeroll ticket. He finished the event in 3rd place, after losing to eventual winner Danish Shaikh. Shaikh entered headsup against another tournament regular Aditya Sushant, who had won the IPC 10k Weekend Kickoff in February.  Shaikh had a 2:1 chip lead going into headsup play. I the final hand, Sushant moved all in with Ad2d and got called by Shaikh’s Ah8c. The board 7c 7h 9h Jh 3h gave Shaikh a rivered nut flush and he took down the pot and the title, receiving a payout of INR 91,000.

Sunil Singh

The INR 10,000 Weekend Kickoff was on the bill for Friday night. 40 hopefuls entered the fray pushing the prize pool up to INR 360,000. Jasven Saigal showed his impeccable form by making another deep run. He entered the final table as chip leader and finished 3rd overall. It was Kanishka Samant versus February IPC 6.5k Double Bubble Winner Sunil Singh in headsup play. In the final hand, Singh fired a bet of 10000 on a turned board of Qc 3d 2h 4h, which was called by Samant to see the river 9d. Singh bet 25000 and was re-raised all in by Samant. Singh made the call and flipped over Qh9c which made a rivered two pair. Samant was in shock as he threw his QsJc into the muck. Singh had the bigger stack and after that hand had all the chips in play. Along with the title, he pocketed a sum of INR 144,000 for outlasting the other players.

Jasven Saigal, Sunil Singh & Kanishka Samant (left to right)

 The big draw for the weekend was the INR 25,000 Big Game, which had a 51 players vying for a piece of the INR 1,147,500 prize pool. After 2 action packed days of play, it was Kanishka Samant who bested the competition and won the tournament. He added a sum of INR 436,000 to his bankroll and also found himself a cool new card protector in the form of the IPC Winner’s Medallion.

Kanishka Samant

 Samant has been in good form and has multiple final table finishes to show for it. However, this is his first win and he can now finally claim to have arrived on the scene. Before the final hand was dealt at the IPC 25k Big Game, Samant had a monster chip lead, having over 93% of the total chips in play against his opponent Jay Shewakramani. Both players limped to see a flop of 4d 5d Td and checked to see the 9d on the turn. Samant was holding Qd3s and had made his flush. Unfortunately for Shewakramani, his hand of 9s8d had also made a flush. He put his tiny stack into the middle and of course Samant made the call. The river 6s meant that the hand was over, and with that Kanishka Samant became the Big Game Champion at the India Poker Championship.

Rounding off the weekend was the INR 12,000 Headhunter. The entries and re-entries bumped the prize pool up to INR 333,000 and there was also a bounty of INR 2,000 for every player knocked out.  Sameer Rattonsey entered the final table in 2nd chip position, behind chip leader Kavish Kukreja.  Like a man on a mission, Rattonsey took out 4 players in a span of about 5 hands to take down the title. In the final hand, he was heads up against Rajiv Patel and had a chip lead of about 3.5:1. Patel moved all in with Kc8s and was called by Rattonsey and his As4h. The board 9s 7c Js Ah 2s gave Rattonsey a turned top pair and the best hand. He received a payday of INR 150,000, while adding yet another IPC Winner’s Medallion to his collection.

Sameer Rattonsey

The next IPC is set to take place between 2nd – 5th August, 2012 at Casino Royale, Goa. For more information, log on to www.indiapokerchampionship.com or email info@indiapokerchampionship.com or call the IPC Crew on +91-9920803125.