Mumbai: As the country’s National Poker Series kicks off with its third edition, the tournament will witness stiff competition as last year’s gold medallist – Saransh Garg from Jabalpur – looks to stamp his authority while 35-year-old Karan Malhotra from Agra, a mathematics teacher by profession, believes his extensive knowledge of numbers will give him an edge over the others.
With thousands of players participating from all regions of the country and a revamped prize pool of Rs 25 crores, the 28-year-old from Jabalpur has played in over a thousand tournaments, honing his skills to establish his presence on the poker felts in the country. With nearly 20 wins and over 260 cash-outs, Garg is keen to improve his winning streak. However, Agra’s Malhotra will be looking to act as a deterrent to Garg’s ambitions as he intends to leverage his international experience of putting India on the global map.
Garg has managed to balance his time to pursue his passion for Poker with his eyes set on glory each time he competes. As a student of the game, Garg is determined to accumulate more medals for his trophy cabinet at NPS 2023, as he explained, “Excellence in academics and with a competitive spirit, I intend to bring in my learnings to the game of Poker as well. Following the theory of mastering a habit, even a sport, through practicing for more than 10,000 hours is something I have closely followed to improve my game. The NPS tournament is particularly meaningful to me because it was the first time I earned a medal for winning a tournament, and it serves as a reminder of how this platform has shaped many upcoming poker players in the country."
The mathematics teacher exuded confidence before stepping into the Poker felts, as he said, “I am quite confident about my chances of winning as my knowledge of arithmetic will provide me with an extra edge over other opponents. This time, I return to NPS as an experienced player even amidst stiff competition, but I have my vision set on gunning for glory.”
While these two intend to battle it out, PokerBaazi’s support for women has been instrumental to help players like Gunisha Sinha from Gurgaon, among others, to represent the growing pool of women players in Poker and make a mark on this year’s NPS.
With a total of 324 medals up for grabs at this year’s National Poker Series India 2023, some of these players will focus on proving their mettle at one of the most reputed national Poker tournaments in the country.
