Finally the wait is over! The 2nd edition of the DPT Colossus kicks off tomorrow at the luxurious Deltin Royale in Goa and once again players from across the country can expect high-octane action to enthrall them. While the poker series features several exciting tournaments such as 50K Warm-Up and 25K Bounty Event, the eyes of poker enthusiasts will be on the 1 Crore guaranteed Main Event, which takes place from 3rd to 5th May and promises life-changing prizes for the players.
There will be some big names whom you have been following for years. You will see poker’s sharpest minds like Raghav Bansal, Aditya Sushant, Adda52 Team Pros Kunal Patni, Nikita Luther & Minissha Lamba, along with defending DPT Colossus 50K Warm-Up champion Vivek Rughani, defending DPT Colossus SHR champion Sriharsha Doddapaneni and Meherzad Munsaf.
While it is hard to predict anything, all the players named above should make a big impression. They all have travelled to the world for poker and are widely known for their talent and skills. So, let us now find out what makes them strong contenders for the DPT Colossus SHR titles and cashes.
#1 Raghav Bansal
Certainly one of the most formidable players at this year’s DPT Colossus will be Raghav Bansal. Currently ranked 4th in ‘India All Time Money List’, he is regarded as one of the best players in the country. He will enter the tournament series with a whopping $977,233 in total live earnings.
Bansal has been cashing live events for more than 4 years now and has many notable scores under his belt. He bagged his best live cash of a whopping $335,910 in 2017 when he finished runner-up in the HK$ 103,000 NLH High Roller at PokerStars Championship in Macau. The same year, he, along with Adda52 Team Pro Nikita Luther, won the Macau Poker Cup 26 Teams Event for HK$ 48,124.
As for DPT, Bansal has been regular at the event and has already won a title, which came in 2016 when he won the INR 100K DPT Main Event for INR 30,60,000. The Delhi pro also showed his poker skills in last year’s DPT Colossus Super High Roller where he had finished 5th place for INR 8,00,000.
Widely regarded as one of poker’s sharpest minds, Bansal has won than anyone else in this list of ‘players to watch out for at the 2019 DPT Colossus’. In 2018 alone, he notched up 15 cashes, which included several FT finishes across prestigious tournaments in India and abroad. He is one of the most tenacious players in the circuit though, he had just one cash at the DPT Colossus last year but he expects to be his breakout this year. So, look for him to bounce back and win big at this DPT.
A quick look at Raghav’s WPT India & DPT Cashes:
- WPT India 2018 High Roller – 9th for INR 3,75,320
- WPT India 2018 Big Bounty – 20th for INR 38,500
- DPT 2018 Colossus Super High Roller – 5th for INR 8,00,000
- DPT August 2016 High Roller Event – 5th for INR 6,65,000
- DPT January 2016 100K Main Event – 1st for INR 30,60,000
# 2 Aditya Sushant
A strong competitor to Bansal and others attending DPT Colossus will be Aditya Sushant. With a WSOP bracelet, a dozen of titles and tons of scores in tournaments in India and abroad, he has been on a massive heater. Playing poker for more than 8 years, Sushant is one of the most skilled and respected players in India and abroad. Currently holding 5th place in ‘India All Time Money List’, he will enter this edition of the DPT Colossus with a whopping $624,333 in live tournaments earnings.
The Chennai pro has the ability to take on the best players in India as well as abroad and then come out victorious. He has been in great form lately. Most recently, he won the Weekly Wednesday at The Star Casino in Sydney, plus he made several deep runs across various international tournaments. He already holds a DPT PLO title and will be looking to add another score to his impressive resume.
An ace player with tons of experience and great skills, Sushant has the momentum behind him and this makes him one of the favourites for the Colossus title. Here is a look at his WPT India & DPT scores:
- WPT India 2018 Main Event – 33rd for INR 1,73,000
- WPT India 2018 20k Kickoff – 1st for INR 9,35,000
- DPT July 2018 Main Event – 47th for INR 70,000
- DPT Feb 2018 Main Event – 5th for INR 6,21,300
- DPT Sept 2017 PLO Event – 4th for INR 1,09,000
- DPT April 2017 PLO Event – 1st for INR 4,76,950
- DPT April High Roller – 2nd for INR 22,94,000
- DPT Nov 2016 High Roller – 4th for INR 6,07,000
#3 Kunal Patni
Adda52 Team Pro Patni is again a well-respected player with a solid resume that boasts of $426,434 in is live earnings. Currently ranked 7th in ‘India All Time Money List’, he scored his best live score in 2018 when he finished 2nd for $ 115,819 in the WPTDeepStacks Berlin Main Event. He has been playing poker for over 5 years. His first win came in 2014 when he won the HK$ 2,500 NLH Rebuy Championship event at the APPT 2014 Asia Championship of Poker in Macau for HK$ 176,200.
Patni has been working hard on his game and it is showing in his results. Last year was big year for the player as he notched a total of 19 cashes, including his 2nd place finish in the WPTDeepStacks Berlin Main Event, 5th place in the Pokerfloor Cup at WPT European Championship, Berlin, 2nd place in the DPT Colossus 25K Bounty and again a 2nd place in APPT Manila 6-Handed Shot Clock for $ 18,064, which was followed by a 3rd place finish in the WPT India 20K Kickoff for INR 3,89,700.
Patni has got a good start to the year 2019. He finished 2nd in the APT Kickoff Vietnam Deep Stack Turbo 2 (Event #19) for $ 2,474 and then followed that score with a 13th place finish in the APT Kickoff Vietnam Deep Stack Hyper Turbo 2 (Event #20). Here is a look at his WPT India & DPT scores:
- DPT Colossus 2018 25k Bounty – 2nd for INR 1,54,400
- WPT India 2017 Ship IT – 5th for INR 26,000
- WPT India Super Stack – 11th for INR 1,25,000
- DPT July 2017 Main Event – 20th for INR 77,900
- DPT February 2017 PLO – 4th for INR 2,05,000
- DPT February Bounty – 19th for INR 20,123
- DPT November 2016 PLO – 1ST for INR 2,52,300
- Dpt November 216 Bounty – 6th for INR 88,000
- DPT January 2016 25K Deep Stack – 9th for INR 87,500
Given his record at DPT events, he is one of the strongest contenders for the DPT Colossus title. Look for him to continue his good form this year with strong performances at the DPT Colossus.
#4 Nikita Luther
One of the most formidable female players at this year’s Colossus will be Adda52 Team Pro Nikita Luther. The Delhi girl will enter the tournament series with a whopping $218,554 in live earnings.
Luther is simply the best among female players at the moment. She has been in great form lately. In February this year, she won the DPT 15K Deep Dive for INR 6,80,000 in top prize and finished 26th in the DPT Main Event for INR 77,000. And you know what, she is the only female from India to have won a WSOP bracelet and it came when she, along with Giuseppe Pantaleo,won the 2018 WSOP Tag Team Event for $87,902, her best score. What distinguishes Luther is her uncanny style of playing.
Luther has won 4 poker titles so far: IPC Ladies Event 2015 – 1st for 45,000, 2017 MPC 26 Teams Event – 1st for HK$ 48,124, DPT Feb 2018 15K Deep Dive – 1st for INR 6,80,000 and WSOP Tag Team for $87,902. Here is a look at her DPT Scores:
- DPT Feb 2018 Main Event – 26th for INR 77,000
- DPT Feb 2018 15K Deep Dive – 1st for INR 6,80,000
- DPT Sept 2017 15k Bounty – 2nd for INR 2,27,600
- DPT Sept 2017 Ladies Event – 2nd for INR 40,000
Luther is possibly the most skilled female player, producing some dazzling show and has proven her class in various major events in India and abroad. The stage is set for her. Will she set it on fire?
# 5 Vivek Rughani
A strong competitor who will be trying to conquer the live circuit is Vivek Rughani. He will enter this year’s DPT Colossus with $160,441 in live earnings. Currently ranked 25th in ‘India All Time Money List’, he has made several FT finishes in India and internationally. Last year, he ended as one of the best Indian finishers at the 2018 WSOP Main Event, finishing 88th for $77,695, his best live score.
He has been regular at the DPT events and his journey has been impressive so far. He won DPT Colossus 50K Warm-Up just last year and will be back to defend his title this year and to play the DPT Colossus 1 Crore guaranteed Main Event. Some of his notable DTP scores include the followings:
- DPT Colossus 2018 50K Warm-Up- 1st for INR 9,05,800
- DPT September 2017 PLO Event – 7th for INR 39,000
- DPT July 2017 Main Event – 11th for INR 98,700
- DPT PLO April 2017 – 10th for INR 28,000
- DPT November 2016 High Roller – 2nd for INR 10,76,000
- DPT August 2016 15K Bounty – 5th for INR1,20,000
- DPT August 2016 High Roller – 11th for INR 2,05,000
# 6 Sriharsha Doddapaneni
He is the rising star of Indian poker. Playing live poker for just more than a year, he has collected a whopping $103,402 in live earnings. He has been very active player in India and internationally, making deep runs across various prestigious events. Recently, he had finished 9th in an event at the 2018 Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila for a hefty ₱ 553,000 ($10,409). He bagged his best score last year when he won the DPT Colossus Super High Roller Main Event for INR 28,70,000 ($42,902). His second best cash had come when he won Adda52 Big Millions 2.0 at the Deltin Royale, Goa.
Last year it was a great experience for him playing the DPT Colossus and so he will be back at the festival to defend his title as well as play other events on the schedule of DPT Colossus 2019.
# 7 Minissha Lamba
The Adda52 Celebrity Pro has the uncanny ability to come up with her best performances in big tournaments. The poker lady came close to winning twice in the last year’s DPT Colossus. She finished runner-up in the DPT Colossus 50K Warm-up and then followed that with a 2nd runner-up finish in the DPT Colossus Super High Roller event. She has been regular at the poker events in Goa for the last few years. She won the 2017 DPT Ladies Event and finished runner-up in the 2018 WPT India High Roller Event to claim her best live score of INR 23,63,000. Today, she is regarded as one of the most skilled female players in India with $71K + in live earnings. The Bollywood actress has made several deep runs though, she has not been able to win a big DPT title as yet. This is her golden opportunity.
# 8 Meherzad Munsaf
He is a veteran player and was one of the players to play the first poker table in India when the game was starting out. A rock solid player, he has made several FT finishes in India and Internationally. Over the years, he has gained a lot of respect in the domestic as well as the international circuit with his humble and helpful nature and is a great advisor to many. He runs one of the biggest real estate foundations in the Middle East and his ethics and principles define his rock solidness to the game.
Munsaf has yet to win a DPT title. However, he has been in great form lately and has made several final tables, finishing 9th in the APT Kickoff Vietnam Head Hunter Event in January 2019 and then scoring an 8th place finish in the DPT February Main Event for INR 2,95,000. He had a great time playing DPT Colossus last year. The player made deep runs in two big events, finishing 6th in the DPT Colossus 50K Warm-up for INR 2,42,000 and then following that score with a runner-up finish in the DPT Colossus Super High Roller Main Event for a hefty INR 19,16,000, his best live score till date.
