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The Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT)—India’s longest-running and now only live poker series—is back in its floating haven at Casino Deltin Royale in Goa! The much-anticipated seventh edition of DPT Xpress, a series that started as a more budget-friendly series, has morphed into a full-blown poker festival. Ten exciting tournaments, including an Adda52 freeroll, are running from February 5 to 10, guaranteeing a week of thrilling poker action in India’s poker hub!
The series is fast gaining momentum as three champions have already been crowned in the first three days! Angad Kaura drew first blood, seizing his maiden tournament victory in the online-live hybrid ₹5,750 DPT Rush. He conquered a 104-survivor field (from 876 total entries on Adda52), earning a career-best ₹8.68 Lakhs. Ranjeet Negi, a seasoned campaigner both online and live, took second place and ₹6.50 Lakhs.
Then came Abhishek Sharma. The aviation trainer and self-proclaimed semi-pro soared to victory in Event #2: ₹16,500 Xpress Mystery Bounty. The 42-year-old from Delhi conquered a 165-entry field in this two-day thriller, grabbing his second live title and a personal-best ₹6.56 Lakhs. Tejas Narendra Gada finished runner-up, taking home ₹4.18 Lakhs.
Day 3 saw a familiar face back on top. Fitness model and poker star Ritwik Khanna continued his reign on Goa’s live poker circuit, seizing his fourth career live title—and first DPT Xpress trophy—in Event #4: ₹15,000 Express Mini Main for ₹3.85 Lakhs! Khanna crushed a 124-entry field over two days, finally defeating Vishrant Goyal heads-up. Goyal had to settle for ₹2.85 Lakhs as the runner-up—and here’s a crazy twist: these two have history! Khanna had previously beaten Goyal in the DPT Grand ₹40K Mega Stack Hyper Turbo Championship in October, making this a real déjà vu showdown!
With three champions already crowned, Day 3 of the series has four major events in play:
Let’s dive into more of these winners (although information on the tournament play is scarce) who have set the DPT Xpress 2025 ablaze with their incredible performances, starting with Angad Kaura’s big win.
Angad Kaura Lands First Live Title in ₹5,750 DPT Rush, Bags ₹8.68 Lakhs!
Angad Kaura launched the DPT Xpress with a bang, taking down the first title of the series in Event #1: ₹5,750 DPT Rush. He pocketed ₹8.68 Lakhs, along with his first-ever live tournament win and that shiny DPT Xpress trophy!
Kaura’s victory wasn’t just another win; it was a real breakthrough. This hybrid event, mixing online and live play, presented a unique challenge. He battled through a tough crowd of 104 players who had battled their way online via Adda52.com. The event itself pulled in 867 entries across six starting flights from January 23 to 26, though it missed its ₹50 Lakhs guarantee by a significant ₹6.65 Lakhs.
This is a huge milestone for Kaura. It’s only his second live cash on record, almost eight years after his first back in February 2017, when he finished 21st in the DPT ₹10K NLHE Bounty for ₹16,098.
With this victory, Kaura’s live earnings have jumped to over ₹8.80 Lakhs. He’s no stranger to online poker success, though. A dedicated Adda52 grinder since March 2018, he’s already conquered flagship online events like The Mint and the Wipeout.
Kaura’s final hurdle was Ranjeet Negi, a seasoned player with a solid track record in both live and online poker. They clashed in a tense heads-up battle before Kaura sealed the deal. Negi took home ₹6.50 Lakhs for second place, his second-largest live cash to date. Since his first live cash in November 2018, Negi has been a consistent presence at the tables, especially in Goa!
The DPT Rush final table was stacked with regulars, featuring some serious players like Sanjay Khanna (3rd for ₹4.57 Lakhs), Kartik Aysola (4th for ₹3.32 Lakhs), JaiKiran Kumar (5th for ₹2.41 Lakhs), Saurabh Ramola (6th for ₹1.75 Lakhs), Raman Dixit (7th for ₹1.27 Lakhs), and Kritarth Pant (8th for ₹92,412).
Final Table Results (INR)
Abhishek Sharma Scores a Bounty Bonanza at DPT Xpress! ₹6.56 Lakhs and Second DPT Title!
The DPT Xpress 2025 kept the excitement rolling on Day 2 with another electrifying win! Aviation trainer and poker enthusiast Abhishek Sharma soared to his second-ever live title, taking down Event #2: ₹16,500 Xpress Mystery Bounty for a personal-best ₹6.56 Lakhs – with ₹3.95 Lakhs of that coming from bounties!
Facing a 165-entry field in this two-day battle, the 42-year-old from Delhi outplayed everyone, adding a second DPT Xpress trophy to his collection. Sharma’s impressive run saw him outlast Tejas Narendra Gada, who finished as the runner-up, taking home ₹4.18 Lakhs, including ₹2.25 Lakhs in bounties.
Sharma has been a dedicated live poker player for six years, drawn to the thrill of live MTTs. His journey to this milestone began in March 2020, when he claimed his first live title in the DPT Xpress ₹10K DeepStack Turbo.
His previous best live score came in December 2023, when he finished runner-up in the APF Hanoi VN₫5.5 Million NLHE – Superstack Turbo, cashing for $6,927 (~₹5.75 Lakhs). This latest win pushes his tracked live tournament earnings past the ₹25 Lakhs mark, according to his The Hendon Mob record.
Even with this big win, Sharma didn’t have time for a long celebration—he immediately joined the next event on the schedule. When asked for a quick comment, he offered a short but powerful message: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
The ₹16,500 buy-in Xpress Mystery Bounty generated a ₹23.93 Lakhs prize pool, with nearly half—₹11.96 Lakhs—allocated to bounties. The top 21 finishers earned payouts, making it a high-action event where every knockout mattered!
The final table was a battleground for some well-known circuit grinders. Notable names who made deep runs included Gopal Bajaj (3rd for ₹4.70 Lakhs), Rishabh Gupta (4th for ₹1.57 Lakhs), Chirag Sodha (5th for ₹79,048), Saurabh Rohila (6th for ₹1.09 Lakhs), Mandar Madaye (7th for ₹43,472), and Akshay Limay (8th for ₹32,239).
Final Table Results (INR) (Including Bounties)
Ritwik Khanna Reigns Supreme Again at DPT! ₹3.85 Lakhs and a Fourth Live Title!
Day 3 of the DPT Xpress delivered another thrilling chapter, with Ritwik Khanna taking centre stage! The fitness model-turned-poker crusher continued his reign of dominance on Goa’s live poker circuit, seizing his fourth career live title and his first-ever DPT Xpress trophy in Event #4: ₹15,000 Express Mini Main for ₹3.85 Lakhs.
Khanna, a known force at Casino Deltin Royale, navigated a 124-entry field over two intense days, ultimately outlasting Vishrant Goyal in the final heads-up showdown. Goyal, who had to settle for ₹2.85 Lakhs as the runner-up, has a history with Khanna—in a twist of fate, he faced a déjà vu defeat, having lost to Khanna in the DPT Grand ₹40K Mega Stack Hyper Turbo Championship in October 2024.
Khanna’s rise in poker has been nothing short of spectacular. In an exclusive conversation, he revealed how he discovered the game just 2.5 years ago and went from knowing nothing about poker to becoming one of the top live MTT crushers in Goa.
“I didn’t know much about poker before. Then I saw MS Dhoni’s ad for PokerStars India, and I realized there’s skill involved. That’s when I started playing. I initially began with cash games, but after a month, I shifted to tournaments—and that’s where it all began!”
His first breakthrough came in 2023 when he won a major WPT event with just half a big blind left! That sparked a streak of victories —all at Casino Deltin Royale, making him a familiar name in the Goa poker scene.
But what truly sets Khanna apart is his flawless final table record:
“My final table conversion rate is 100%! Every FT I’ve made, I’ve won—and that’s the best part of my poker journey so far!”
Beyond poker, Khanna’s journey has been a rollercoaster ride. A top academic achiever, he originally pursued a career as a Company Secretary (CS) before switching gears into modeling, eventually winning the Mr. India title. From there, his passion for poker took over, and he’s been on an unstoppable rise ever since!
“Above all, I owe everything to my mom and dad for being this supportive. Their belief in me keeps me going!”
With Delta Corp COO Manoj Jain hinting at an even grander vessel with more capacity and an unparalleled poker experience at this venue by the end of the year, it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing Khanna’s name on many more leaderboards in the future!
The ₹15,000 buy-in Express Mini Main Event generated a ₹16.64 Lakhs prize pool, with the top 17 finishers making the money. The minimum cash was ₹32,355, ensuring a decent payout for everyone who made it past the bubble.
The final table was reg-heavy, featuring Umang Agrawal (3rd for ₹2.11 Lakhs), Aditya Sharma (4th for ₹1.56 Lakhs), Pranay Pramod Mungekar (5th for ₹1.15 Lakhs), Jagumantri Sunil Kumar Patnaik (6th for ₹85,432), Adwait Pol (7th for ₹63,233), Ankit Agarwal (8th for ₹46,802), and Devendra Arunkumar Singh (9th for ₹41,383).
Other players who cashed in the event were Arshdeep Singh (10th for ₹36,592), Sameer Agarwal (11th for ₹36,592), Prabhjot Singh Johar (12th for ₹36,592), Harpreet Singh Gurditta (13th for ₹36,592), Kshitij Madhur Kucheria (14th for ₹32,355), Nitish Mehndiratta (15th for ₹32,355), Raman Dixit (16th for ₹32,355), and Rahul Pratap Khuteta (17th for ₹32,355).
Final Table Results (INR)
Content & Images Courtesy: Adda52 Live
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