World Poker Tour (WPT), one of the world’s biggest poker brands, continues to expand its reach in emerging markets of Asia. As part of its recent expansion, the brand has announced a special WPT Global Teams Event, which features 16 teams from across the globe. Each team will have 4 players, with 1 team per country. The first – ever teams event will take place from 19th September to 21st September at Paradise City Casino in Incheon, South Korea as part of the WPT Korea festival.
The upcoming WPT Global Teams Event features an entry fee of USD $5,000 per team. The teams will compete against one another across six events in variations of No-limit Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha events. Each team member will get equal playing time rather than one or two players dominating all the action. Based on an innovative concept, this unique teams event has been created by WPT Live Events Specialist – Danny McDonagh, who seems to be very excited about it.
“I am really excited with the teams and players who have confirmed and my hope is that the WPT Global Teams Event will build in prominence and be a major drawcard on the WPT calendar here in Asia in the future”, said McDonagh
As mentioned, a total of 16 teams can take part in the upcoming WPT Global Teams Event at WPT Korea (18-24 September). 13 teams have already been confirmed, namely India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, USA, UK, Vietnam, China, Korea, and Japan.
Team India For WPT Global Teams Event
Team India has been confirmed just recently. It will be led by Adda52 Team Pro and India’s first female WSOP bracelet winner – Nikita Luther. She will be joined by Poker Sports League (PSL) Season 2 winning mentor Dhaval Mudgal and Adda52 Team Pros Kunal Patni and Amit Jain.
Nikita Luther
Nikita, who is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Poker Sports League (PSL), is currently one of the top performing poker players from India. She holds $201,530 in live earnings. She secured her best live cash very recently after winning the WSOP 2018 Tag Teams Event for $ 87,902. This grand win gave her the first WSOP bracelet. She also became India’s first female to win a WSOP bracelet.
Dhaval Mudgal
Dhaval, the mentor of PSL Season 2 winning team – Goan Nuts, is one of the most experienced poker players in Team India with an impressive $223,128 in total live earnings. He notched up his best score in 2015 when he finished 4th for $43,245 in HK$ 20,000 NLH at MPC 23 – APPT Macau.
Kunal Patni
One of the most consistent pros from India, Kunal has several big scores in live and online poker events. He holds an impressive poker resume with $409,355 in live earnings. This year has been amazing for him as he got several big scores, including his runner-up finish at January 2018 WPT Berlin Main Event where he finished runner-up to notch up his best live score of $115,819. He looks in great form now and has finished runner-up just recently in APPT Manila Shot Clock Event.
Amit Jain
Moving to Amit, he is again one of the most experienced players in Team India with $208,600 in total live earnings. While he has notched up tones of scores on live and online felts, his best live score came in September 2017 when he won DPT 75K High Roller for a hefty INR 24,94,800 ($ 38,840).
So, featuring the in-form Nikita and experienced players in Dhaval, Kunal, and Amit, Team India looks very balanced and the expectations are quite high. This 4-player team will be fighting it out with 15 other teams from across the globe, which will feature some of the best international players.
What Team India Members Have To Say About Captain Nikita & WPT Global Teams Event?
Sharing his excitement, Dhaval said, “I’m very excited to get a chance to represent India on the poker circuit. We seldom get to fly the flag! The teams event is full of some of Asia’s best who have become close friends over the years and I expect some stiff competition but we will crush! Niki is a very close friend of mine and so is the rest of Team India and we are already working on strategy.”
Expressing his excitement about the upcoming event and having Nikita as the captain, Kunal Patni said, “Very excited to be a part of this unique format. It’s inspired by PSL but we will end up representing our country and there isn’t any bigger pride than representing one’s own country. It’s like a dream come true and I am really looking forward to it. We will obviously go for gold. Nikita is in great form right now and she is aggressive and hates losing. It’s great to have her as the captain for team India”.
Expressing his feelings and plans, Amit Jain said, “It’s a pleasure and a dream to represent team India and we will be giving our 100% into it. We are already working on the strategy bit and will be having an online and live boot camp prior to the event to discuss and strategize according to the structure.
Talking about Team India for WPT Teams Event and its captain Nikita, Jain said, “It is a team filled with talent and results speak for them. I have very high expectations from the team. It is great to have Nikita Luther as the captain. She deserves every bit of it. She is one of the most hardworking poker players in the community and is a real inspiration. I look forward to learning from her and working together”.
Prizepool & Schedule For WPT Global Teams Event
Assuming that the event prize pool reaches US$70,000, it will be distributed in the following way:
- US$14,000 to the points leader after event 5
- 3rd place will take home US$11,200
- 2nd will collect US$16,800
- The champions will win a grand prize of US$28,000.
- WPT Korea Main Event entry ticket for each team member in the winning team.
Featuring a total of 6 events, the WPT Global Teams Event kicks off on 19th September with 9-Max No Limit Holdem events followed by Heads-Up NLH and Heads-Up PLO events. The 20th September will see Pot Limit Omaha, Tag Team NLH and 6-Max NLH events. Finally, the event will conclude with 9-max Turbo NLH and Tag Team Final NLH events on 21st September, Friday.
Here is the detailed schedule:
| Day | Date | Event # | Time | Tournament Name | Tournaments | Format | Start Bank |
| Wednesday | 19-Sep | 1 | 12:00 PM | No Limit Holdem | 4 | 9 Max | 10,000 |
| Wednesday | 19-Sep | 2.1 | 5:00 PM | Heads Up NLH | 3 | Heads Up | 10,000 |
| Wednesday | 19-Sep | 2.2 | 5:00 PM | Heads Up PLO | 1 | Heads Up | 10,000 |
| Thursday | 20-Sep | 3.1 | 12:00 PM | Pot Limit Omaha | 2 | 9 Max | 10,000 |
| Thursday | 20-Sep | 3.2 | 12:00 PM | Tag Teams NLH | 1 (2 players) | 9 Max | 10,000 |
| Thursday | 20-Sep | 4 | 6:00 PM | 6 Max NLH | 4 | 6 Max | 10,000 |
| Friday | 21-Sep | 5 | 12:00 PM | Turbo NLH | 4 | 9 Max | 10,000 |
| Friday | 21-Sep | 6 | 5:00 PM | Tag Team Final NLH | 1 (4 players) | 1 table | Qualifying stack |