Weekly Update: March 10 – 16
The National Poker Series India 2025, the country’s largest-ever Poker tournament series, has entered its final week, bringing 56 more exciting tournaments. On the state medal tally, Maharashtra leads with 85 medals, while Delhi is not far behind, securing 67 medals so far.

As the NPS India 2025 reaches its thrilling finale, Advait Rajguru aka ‘ExploitativeGTO,’ remains firmly in control at the top of the Player of the Year 2025 leaderboard with 998 points.

Once again “The POY Top Gun” – the young Poker coach from Bengaluru has had an action-packed week, earning his third Gold medal in this edition (seventh overall) on March 11. He also made it to the final table of the NPS Highroller but finished in 7th place. Rajguru has cashed in 29 of the 38 events he’s participated in, including two final tables, continuing his dominance as the top contender for POY.

Rajguru’s Highlights for the Week:

  • Gold in the NPS India Marathon for 4.02 LAC on March 11
  • 7th place in the NPS India Highroller for 5.55 LAC on March 15

Other highlights:

  • 3rd in 2025’s overall earnings with 70.63 LAC since January 1
  • 4th on the NPS India Series leaderboard with 24.71K points
  • 3 Gold medals in NPS India 2025
  • 37.63 LAC in NPS India 2025 cashes from 101 of 140 events, with a 72% cashout rate


Ritwik Khanna ‘Ritwikkhanna,’ from Uttar Pradesh, has emerged as the “Mega Crusher of the Week. With a POY score of 972, Khanna cashed in 22 of the 37 tournaments he played and took home 28 LAC, including a Silver medal in the NPS India Highroller for 25.03 LAC.

PokerBaazi Team Pro Zarvan Tumboli, or ‘Momsaid5Bet,’ from Mumbai, is this week’s “Poker Supernova.” Ranked 13th on the POY leaderboard with 993 points, Tumboli who featured prominently in The Circuit, cashed 23 out of 38 events and reached one final table, earning over 7.42 LAC. His consistency propelled him up 143 ranks to secure his current spot.

Tumboli’s Highlights:

  • 4th in NPS India Monday Medley for 3.56 LAC.
  • 28th in NPS India NPS Highroller for 1.65 LAC.


Finally, our “Ace Shot of the Week” is Hardik Paharia ‘edgy,’ from Bengaluru. Paharia made waves in the NPS India Highroller on March 15, claiming his first-ever tournament title and his first NPS India Gold for a staggering 40.08 LAC.

A former IITian and current Product Manager working for a B2B Software company, Paharia primarily plays PLO-6 cash games and has now made a memorable mark in tournament poker.

Take a Look at the POY Top 3 Rankings:

Rank Player Name Tournaments Played ITM Finishes Weekly Winnings POY Score
1 ExploitativeGTO Advait Rajguru 38 29 13.61 LAC 998
2 Fishlover001 Anish Vijay 38 26 5.10 LAC 997
3 nexus010 Ashit Sharma 33 22 7.04 LAC 997

The following seven factors play a role in determining your POY Score:

  • Return on Investment (ROI): Your profits relative to buy-ins, adjusted for the log value of your average buy-in.
  • In the Money (ITM): The number of times you finish in the money, multiplied by the log value of your average buy-in.
  • Tournaments Played: The total number of tournaments you play in 2025.
  • Winnings: Total prize money won in tournaments throughout the year.
  • Final Tables: Number of times you make the final table, multiplied by the square root of participants in those tournaments.
  • 1st Rank: Number of tournament victories, multiplied by the square root of participants.
  • Biggest Score: Your highest single tournament score of the year.

(Disclaimer: Rankings are accurate as of midnight, March 16th)

The excitement of NPS India 2025 continues to fuel new winners and emerging POY contenders on the leaderboard. Stay tuned for more thrilling updates!

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