Weekly Update: March 17 – 23
The 2025 National Poker Series India is reaching its thrilling finale, with just two tournaments left—the NPS India Golden Rush and the NPS India Main Event—before we crown the champions. As the excitement builds, the Player of the Year 2025 Leaderboard reflects the intense competition throughout the series, with several past NPS India winners climbing the ranks.

Advait Rajguru ‘ExploitativeGTO’ from Bengaluru, continues to hold strong as The POY Top Gun. Despite a relatively average week, where he earned 6.15 LAC from cashing in 34 out of 48 events, Rajguru’s dominant performances earlier in March have helped him maintain his top position.

His week’s highlights include:

  • 4th in NPS India Slamdunk for 64.5K.
  • 45th in NPS India Mini Main Event for 2 LAC.

Ashit Sharma, ‘nexux010’, and Anish Vijay, ‘Fishlover001’, remain strong contenders, though they’ve swapped positions this week. Sharma has moved up to #2, while Vijay slips to #3.

Our Mega Crusher of the Week is Debayan Das ‘dbz19’. A distinguished player who has previously won The MoneyMaker, as well as India Poker Masters and WPT India Online titles, Das reached a career high on Monday. Navigating a staggering 10,310-strong entry field in the NPS India Mini Main Event, he almost reached the top. With the final three players striking a 3-way deal, Das bagged his career’s first NPS India medal – a Silver as the second-place finisher, along with his career’s best score of 35.49 LAC. His weekly winnings of 36.64 LAC make him the week’s top scorer!

His week’s highlights include:

  • Silver in NPS India Mini Main Event for 35.49 LAC.
  • 13th in NPS India Monday Medley for 75.2K.

Mumbai’s Vishal Bajaj made a dramatic leap up the leaderboard, rising 168 spots to #4 with the POY Score of 995 (+52), emerging as the week’s Poker Supernova.

Bajaj participated in 37 tournaments, cashing in 26, and accumulating winnings of 18.67 LAC.

His week’s highlights include:

  • Gold in NPS India Monday Medley for 8.46 LAC.
  • 4th in NPS India Big Knockout for 4.68 LAC.

The week’s single biggest score was grabbed by Bihar’s Amit Kumar Jha ‘philivey007’, who finished third in the NPS India Mini Main Event, earning a Bronze and 35.92 LAC – both career high milestones for him! Jha’s life-changing run makes him our Ace Shot of the Week!

Take a Look at the POY Top 3 Rankings:

Rank Player Name Tournaments Played ITM Finishes Weekly Winnings POY Score
1 ExploitativeGTO Advait Rajguru 48 34 6.15 LAC 998
2 nexus010 Ashit Sharma 44 29 10.27 LAC 997
3 Fishlover001 Anish Vijay 48 34 9.30 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 23rd)

Today is the finale of NPS India 2025 and with two of the series’ biggest tournaments to play out, Monday promises electrifying action. Stay tuned to see who wins, and takes a prominent spot on the POY 2025 Leaderboard!

Poker Interviews