Poker is the biggest game of skills played for fun as well as to make good money. Though it is still in its infancy, this game of skill is fast catching nerves with Indian masses. Indian players are already making headlines in global poker news. We bring the list of 10 best poker players whose POY score makes them stars for the year 2018. As per *POY 2018 ranking, the first position is held by Nipun Java with 1,732.33 points. He is then followed by other big names such as Aditya Agarwal, Raghav Bansal, Kunal Patni, Paawan Bansal, Vivek Rughani, Kalyan Chakravarthy Cheekuri, Aditya Shusant, Sumit Sapra, and Tarun Ravi, at the 10th position.
Nipun Java (1,732.33 points)
He is the highest-placed Indian poker player with 1,732.33 POY score. He has great winning records and is a popular face in Indian poker. Java’s recent big win was last year at $1000 Tag Team No Limit Hold’em WSOP tournament where he teamed up with Aditya Sushant and won India’s first WSOP gold bracelet. His live best cash is $270,509. Java participated and cashed in several national and international tournaments including 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open NLH DeepStack Event #1 where he finished 1st and took home $230,848.
Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal (1679.75 points)
Apart from his online MTT figures, Aditya Agrawal made headlines this year in March by cashing out at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau where he finished 2nd and took home HK$1,900,000. Other than live tournaments, he likes playing online cash games and tourneys. His live best cash is $242,211.
Raghav Bansal (1,614.09 points)
Raghav Bansal is a popular name in poker with 1,614.09 POY points. He won major tournaments in different parts of the world including his biggest win in the No Limit Hold’em – PokerStars Championship High Roller #42 at PokerStars Championship Macau where he finished 2nd position for $ 335,910. He also won No Limit Hold’em Main Event for Rs 3,060,000 at Deltin Poker Tournament held at Deltin Royale in 2016. In July this year, he finished 21st at 49th WSOP NLH – Millionaire Maker Event#21 and earned $40,898.
Kunal Patni, (1447.60 points)
Kunal Patni is one of the biggest Indian cashers from Mumbai. The Adda52 Pro is a well-known face among poker fans from India and his biggest cash includes €96,140, which he earned by finishing at 2nd place at No Limit Hold’em WPT DeepStacks Berlin this year. He has marked himself as one of the best online poker players by winning several events. His total live best cash is $115,819. In August this year, he finished 2nd at Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila and received ₱ 960,000.
Paawan Bansal (1,251.75 points)
The live best cash of Paawan Bansal is $378,765 and his POY score is 1,251.75 points. This Meerut based player shot into fame last year when he finished 2nd at NLH Knockout Event #9 at Macau Poker Cup 27 and earned HK$71,624. In the same series, he participated in NLH Event #5 and finished at the 1st position and grabbed the big prize money of HK$75,000. In July 2018, he participated and finished 2nd at 49th WSOP NLH -The Closer Event #75 and won $378,765.
Vivek Rughani (1,089,75 points)
Rughani is an Ahmedabad-based poker player who regularly participates in various online and offline poker tournaments such as Deltin Poker Tournament, APT, APPT, and WSOP. He finished 2nd in 2016 DPT NLH High roller and took home Rs. 1,076,000. In April this year, at DPT Colossus Super High Roller Series in Goa, he participated in Event #2 NLH – Warm UP and reached the 1st position. He finished at 88th position in 49th WSOP 2018 NLH – Main Event Championship (Event#65) and won $77,695.
Kalyan Chakravarthy Cheekuri (1,068.08 points)
This Hyderabad based player has total live best cash of $147,233. In July, He finished 1st at DeepStack Championship Poker Series NLH MonsterStack #99 and won $147,233. His other biggest achievements include NLH DeepStack Event#22 at Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau where he finished 7th and earned HK$103,700. In the same series, he finished 16th in the NLH PokerStars Asia Open Event #14 that gave him prize money of HK$25,900. In February, He participated in Doupai Cup NLH Main Event and finished at the 2nd position and won HK$599,600.
Aditya Sushant (929.40 points)
He is one of the most prominent poker faces of India. He participated in 49th WSOP 2018 NLH – Little One for One Drop (Event #68) in July where he reached the 11th position and received $37,530. In the same series, he finished 9th at NLH Online Championship (Event #61) and got $20,969 prize money. In April, He finished 5th at 2018 Macau Millions NLH Main Event (Event#7) and earned HK$276,000. In June 2017, he finished 1st in NLH Tag Team (Event #10) of WSOP and took home the prize money worth $75,319. His live best cash is $44,255.
Sumit Sapra (681.87 points)
With his live best cash $17,708, he is another popular name on Indian poker scene. Sapra recently won HK$84,000 in No Limit Hold’em -Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau. He also participated and finished 2nd in WPT No Limit Hold’em-High Roller in 2017. He is from Delhi and currently residing in the United Kingdom.
Tarun Ravi (592.68 points)
The live best cash of Tarun Ravi is $21,050. He participated in NLH Hustler Championship Tournament in January and finished 5th for $21,050. He participated in several high profiles international poker tournament series i.e. WSOP, LA Poker Open, The Commerce Poker Series, WPT Legends of Poker, etc.
*Data from Global Poker Index.