India's first ever professional poker tournament league 'Poker Sports league' announced the final teams and owners for the inaugural edition on Thursday. This tournament is the brainchild of Amit Burman, Anuj Gupta and Pranav Bagai. In the first edition, Poker Sports league (PSl) will consist of 12 teams out of which 7 teams were announced in December.
Joining the owners who had bought teams last year are Aditya Munjal, Hero Cycles Group; Jitendra Gupta, Co-founder, Citrus payment; Manish Vij, Founder & CEO at Smile Group; Mithun Sacheti, Co-Founder at Caratlane; Rishabh Jhunjhunwala, Director at Bhilwara Group.
All the selected teams and players will compete against each other in a grand finale in Goa from May 24 — May 28. The 12 teams will consist of a total of 108 players who will play for the prize money of `3.36 crore. Each team will consist of 9 players (1 mentor/captain, 2 pro players, 2 from free live qualifiers, 2 from free online qualifiers, 2 wild card entries).
Poker enthusiasts from across India can qualify to be a part of one of the 12 teams — by showcasing their skill in free offline (live) and/or online qualifiers. The live qualifier schedule for February has already been announced for Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The schedule for live qualifiers in Goa, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai will be announced shortly.
Poker Sports league finale will be the first event in India that will have an RFID table that makes the player's hole cards visible to the audience. During the finals, this will be the "feature table" that will be live streamed from May 24th — 28th through digital channels.
The final names of the 12 teams are — Bengaluru Jokers, Chennai Bulls, Delhi Panthers, Goan Nuts, Gujarat Acers, Haryana Hunters, Hyderabad Kings, Kolkata Royals, Mumbai Anchors, Pune Sharks, Punjab Bluffers, and Rajasthan Tilters. There would be a mentor that will captain them to help develop team strategies and hone their skills during the game.
Speaking about the potential of the league, Pranav Bagai, CEO and Co-Founder, Poker Sports league said, "We are super excited with the response that we have received for the first season of Poker Sports league. Our main mission is to sportify poker as a powerful platform to hone and showcase mind, grit and decision making skills."