POY Weekly Update: April 14 – 21
Week#3 of April was historical and unforgettable as the first-ever National Poker Champion (NPC) showdown crowned a worthy winner – Gujarat’s Mohit Bohra. The showdown took place in Goa, and Bohra outperformed 11 other top contenders representing their states, walking away with a life-changing 1 CR!

While all eyes were riveted to the NPC, tournament Poker was equally intense and the 2025 Player of the Year (POY) race bore witness to several jaw-dropping performances. The tables were ablaze as players across the country battled it out. While several regular players reiterated their skills, some of them charted an impressive climb up the ranks.

One player remains all-pervasively dominant – Karnataka’s Advait Rajguru ‘Exploitative GTO’ who is firmly entrenched on the throne as The POY Top Gun.

After a short cooldown period post National Poker Series India 2025, Rajguru made a thunderous show. He clocked 20 tournaments through the week, cashing in 10 of them and final tabling one—”The Big Show”—where he secured a 5th place finish for 1.41 LAC, earning over 2.41 LAC through the week. Just the right volume to keep him on the top!

His week’s highlight:

  • 5th in The Big Show for 1.41 LAC on April 14.

Elsewhere on the leaderboard, the race remains tight with Aman Parakh ‘KarmaPoker’, Mayank Taluja ‘Starbhai’, Ashit Sharma ‘nexus010’, and Prahlad Nilange ‘Clutchg0d’ all tied closely at 997 and 996 points.

But the week wasn’t just about consistency—it was about calculated aggression and big paydays too. Delhi’s Vinay Rajpal, aka ‘vinay09’, took down the title of Mega Crusher of the Week in style.

Rajpal was sharp and selective in his approach – he entered only eight events but cashed in four of them, reaching three final tables, taking his weekly total to a whopping 8.22 LAC.

His week’s highlights:

  • 2nd in The Quest for 4.32 LAC on April 18.
  • Won Big PLO-5 for 2.1 LAC on April 17.

Also making waves this week was Delhi’s Aayush Arya ‘Learnnwin’, who grabbed the spotlight as the Ace Shot of the Week.

Arya showed off his signature blend of patience and firepower, shipping “The Big Show” for a staggering second week in a row. The win added 5.23 LAC to his name, bringing his weekly total to 5.91 LAC from 7 cashes. He now sits at Rank 42 with 995 POY points.

His week’s highlights:

  • Won The Big Show for 5.23 LAC on April 14.
  • 10th in Summit Lite for 25.2K on April 18.

And then came the surge of Dhinesh Kumar ‘dhineshrocky007’, who becomes our latest Poker Supernova. The Tamil Nadu grinder had a breakout week, climbing an incredible 142 spots on the leaderboard to break into Rank 47. With 14 events played and 7 cashes, he banked 4.31 LAC in total—an exceptional return that took him to 988 POY points and a place among the top contenders.

His week’s highlights:

  • Won WTF for 2.01 LAC on April 18.
  • 3rd in The Endeavour Lite for 1.27 LAC on April 16.

Take a Look at the POY Top 5 Rankings:

Rank Player Name Tournaments Played ITM Finishes Weekly Winnings POY Score
1 ExploitativeGTO
Advait Rajguru		 20 10 2.41 LAC 998
2 KarmaPoker
Aman Parakh		 2 1 11.5K 997
3 Starbhai
Mayank Taluja		 37 29 61.5K 997
4 nexus010
Ashit Sharma		 11 2 16.9K 997
5 Clutchg0d
Prahlad Nilange		 49 37 1.86 LAC 996

The following seven factors determine 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.

As the action heats up and the summer grind deepens, expect more twists, upsets, and meteoric rises. Stay locked in—the month-long The MoneyMaker is coming up to bring more excitement in May. We’ll be here with all the highs, lows, and everything in between!

(Disclaimer: Rankings are accurate as of midnight)

Player of the Year