Rajeev Kanjani Wins the IPFL; Shravan Chhabria Becomes the Most Valuable Player (MVP)

The Indian Poker Community participated in the first season of the Indian Poker Fantasy League and it was a fun filled experience for many while 8 team owners earned money in the end. Topping the charts is Rajeev M Kanjani whose team Badmash Doggie’s fetched 1476.15 points to win the top prize of $2,400. Shravan Chhabria scored the maximum points in the tournaments to become the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of this season.

Rajeev’s team beat 82 other teams playing the fantasy draft to reach the top of the point table. Maria Kirloskar placed 2^nd on the table with her team Dr4gon’s Dynamos fetching 1263.11 points. She bagged $1,500 while Samoh Smash team of Sangeeth Mohan stood 3^rd fetching him $900. The top 3 team owners got special rewards from Thrill Poker in form of goodies and online poker bankrolls.

Shravan Chhabria outperformed 47 other players listed in the IPFL to clinch the title of the Most Valuable Player (MVP). Shravan won a complimentary Goa trip, courtesy OPN India for his outstanding performance throughout the tournament.

OPN spoke to both Rajeev and Shravan about their accomplishments in the IPFL. Rajeev Kanjani shared his thoughts on team selection for the IPFL and the future prospects of the fantasy draft for poker in India.

Q. Congratulations on winning the IPFL! Tell us about your team selection and thoughts behind picking up those players who fueled you to the top of the points table.

Rajeev – I play poker with instincts. I chose my players with instincts and of course I had full faith in their abilities. The younger lot knows a lot – they grind – and most of the choices I have made are true grinders (Not to demean them in anyway).

Q. Which played did you banked upon most at the time of team formation and who did the best for you at the end?

Rajeev – I banked on Abhishek Panda and he did the magic as I expected.

Q. You are one of the organizing members of IPC. Did you feel this fantasy draft added an extra zing to the event?

Rajeev – Yes, it did. It was an excellent concept. There was a great buzz amongst team owners and the competition was getting intense – But, like always I crushed all of them.

Q. Being in the business of poker, where do you see this “fantasy draft for poker” going in India?

Rajeev – It can go big, if worked on it a bit more officially. I am sure they will improve, and I am sure other operators will get on this as well.

Shravan Chhabria, the MVP of Indian Poker Fantasy League spoke to OPN about his IPFL experience. Here are some excerpts of the conversation:

Q. Congratulations on becoming the Most Valued Player (MVP) of the IPFL. Share your thoughts on this fantasy draft for poker in India.

Shravan – Thank you very much! Well a big shout to Sumit Sapra and Dhaval Mudgal to come up with such a great idea and to execute it quite professionally. As u can see it created an amazing buzz as soon as it was announced with more than 80 odd teams. It’s only going to get BIGGER and it creates an awesome environment while your team players are playing, so there is a lot railing and anti-railing going on 😉

Q. You as a team owner placed 6th in the points table. Tell us about your team selection and their performance.

Shravan – This was really tough as you get a stipulated budget to fit in 6 players, I actually made 6-7 combination of teams, and was confused till the last day as you have to consider many aspects. But, overall I was very happy with my team’s performance having a mix of experience and young blood. My team captain Rohit Bhalla and Vidhwat Shetty had a great run. I would like thank my entire team for their efforts.

Q. Has this fantasy league added an extra zing to the tournament poker?

Shravan – Well, it most definitely has added an extra zing and BLING!!! This could get out of control J I would like to thank all the organizing bodies and media channels involved in making it a great success.