MUMBAI, August 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
India's first-ever long-run Poker League, the Global Poker League (GPL) India that kicked off its inaugural season on June 25 with online qualifiers for its six, region-based teams - Kolkata Creators, Pune Alphas, Chennai Sharks, Delhi Diehards, Mumbai Jetsetters and Bengaluru Hackers - has kept domestic poker on the edge of its seat this summer.
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After six long weeks of online qualifiers on GPL India's skill partner site, PokerStars.IN, where the participants battled it out for a chance to play alongside their favorite mentors, sixty players have secured their seats for the next stage of the league - the GPL India Bootcamp scheduled for September 8 in New Delhi.
"I'm extremely excited to see GPL India shaping up so well. Can't believe it's been 6 weeks already and the online qualifiers on PokerStars India have come to an end," said CEO of PokerStars India, Ankur Dewani.
There were more than 7,500 entries in the online qualifiers that began on June 25th with the qualifiers for the Kolkata Creators team led by team PokerStars India Pro Aditya Agarwal. The Bengaluru Hackers, headed by Vidwath Shetty, rounded up its 10 online finalists on August 5, completing the final qualification stage.
"These numbers are incredible and just goes to show what this opportunity means to budding poker players. This was our main ideology behind the partnership with GPL India. You can go from playing for free to potentially winning crores in a matter of months; all it takes is sheer dedication, determination, willingness to learn, and of course, skill," Dewani added.
The action will soon move to the live felts in the Bootcamp where the sixty hopefuls - 10 from each team - will pit their wits and poker skills at this highly competitive stage of the tournament, and in front of a panel of seasoned pros and celebrities, followed by turbo poker tournaments.
"We're now moving into the second phase of GPL India, which is the bootcamp and draft day, after which we will have our final 6 teams. It's going to get pretty intense from here on in," said Dewani.
It's not just a ticket to their GPL India teams for which the contenders will be competing. The Bootcamp also represents a stepping stone to poker stardom - these players will be socialising with their mentors and will come face-to-face with many popular poker celebrities as well as grabbing moments of televised fame and getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step onto the domestic poker circuit.
The grand prize is five Platinum Passes to an all-expenses paid trip to the PokerStars Players NLHE Championships (PSPC) taking place in the Bahamas from January 6-10, 2019.
"The fact that one of these teams is going to win a ₹20 Lakh package each and get to participate in one of the biggest tournaments in the world - the PokerStars Players Championship for a chance at winning a piece of the ₹65 crores guaranteed prize pool - is massive."
"I can't think of any other sport where you get such life changing opportunities. For now, I'm making friendly bets with friends and pros on who will make it to the final teams. There's a lot of talent out there and it's going to be really tough for the mentors," Dewani said.
Echoing the sentiment, Max Rabinovitch, GPL India Project Head, said, "We're ecstatic to have seen thousands of eager qualifiers turn out for GPL India's qualification process run exclusively on PokerStars India. We look forward to locking in the 12 best candidates to join the GPL in its first season in India, and to bring the region a real taste of the human element, drama and excitement which comes with poker - a game we're dedicated to help India discover as a skill-based, team focused competition."
The PSPC is the best value tournament across the world and after Sumit Sapra captured one Platinum Pass by winning the APPT Korea Main Event held in April, all eyes are now on Season 1 of GPL India that will see all five members of the winning team securing tickets to the Bahamas and the PSPC.
About GPL
The Global Player League is a competitive gaming, poker and esports league with 30 teams all over the world. The GPL began life as the Global Poker League, promoting poker as a skilled game and sport. In 2017, it was transformed into the Global Player League, with a new focus on sportifying a multitude of new and emerging titles within the competitive gaming ecosystem today. The Global Player League is a trading name of Mediarex Group, a global sports and entertainment organisation, founded in Malta in 2012. Global Poker Index, Global Poker League, Global Player League, 'We Sportify Poker', and 'The Cube', are registered trademarks of Mediarex Group in the U.S. and other territories.
Media Contact:
Arpit Jain
[email protected]
+91-7737315747
GPL India Events Co-ordinator
GPL India
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