Weekly Update: March 3 – 9
Ever since the biggest-ever National Poker Series India has hit the shores on February 23, tournament fever has gripped the nation like never before. Intense battles, stark climbs and crushing defeat – all these are part of the history players are scripting for themselves and the series. As the “Olympics of Indian Poker” rages on, the Player of the Year 2025 has turned hotter than never before.

Extending his lead on the rankings is the February’s top-ranked player, Advait Rajguru ‘ExploitativeGTO’. The Bengaluru, Karnataka resident remains sturdy on Rank #1 with POY points of 998.

Rajguru entered the week fresh from a rousing victory in NPS India Megadive on March 1 and has kept the cashes flowing in. No medals won over the week, but he is not ready to give up on his dominance, steady as the The POY Top Gun!

Cashing out 33 of 48 tournaments played, he earned over 5.97 LAC this week.

His top scores in March till now include:

  • Gold in NPS India Megadive for 6.17 LAC
  • 15th in NPS India Big Knockout for 1.33 LAC
  • 12th in NPS India Monday Medley for 96K

Other players featuring on the POY Top #10 include:

  • Anish Vijay ‘Fishlover001’ – at #2 with Score of 997
  • Ashit Sharma ‘nexus010’ – at #4 with 996
  • Mayank Taluja ‘starbhai – at #5 with 995
  • Aayush Arya ‘Learnnwin’ – at #6 with 995
  • Shagun Jain ‘sogani22’ – at #7 with 995
  • Aditya Singh ‘konstantin’ – at #8 with 995
  • Ashish Munot ‘OMG_spew’ – at #9 with 994
  • Saransh Garg ‘saransh004’ – at #10 with 994

Our MEGA CRUSHER OF THE WEEK is Anish Vijay ‘Fishlover001’ from Rajasthan.

Vijay, a two-time champion of The MoneyMaker, stepped up his game, clinching two medals in a single night and finishing as the week’s top scorer with an impressive 28.43 LAC in winnings! He stands tall on Rank #2 and a POY Score of 997, having cashed 34 of 45 events played including 2 final tables, all for weekly winnings of 28.43 LAC!

His highlights include:

  • Bronze in NPS India Mega Rush for 18.92 LAC
  • Gold in NPS India Slamdunk for 5.75 LAC
  • 5th in NPS India Big Knockout for 3.97 LAC
  • POY Rank: 2 | POY POINTS: 997

Who but Shagun Jain, Jaipur’s Poker phenom, a two-time winner of The Game Changer can orchestrate such a rapid rise! Jain is our Poker Supernova for his stellar performance that includes 33 cashes from 48 events played, including 3 final tables and weekly winnings of 21.23 LAC.

Hot on the heels of 2 medal wins in February, Jain won another 2 medals this week, bringing his NPS India 2025 tally to 4 & his career NPS India medal tally to 13!

He climbed 283 positions to Rank #7 with a POY Score of 995 (+96).

  • Bronze in NPS India Monday Medley for 5.03 LAC
  • Gold in NPS India (7-Max) Friday Freestyle for 11.92 LAC

Finally, Ha Rinu ‘Pagalhumain’ from Lower Subansiri, Arunachal Pradesh is our Ace Shot of the Week.

Just 4 events played, 1 cash but making it count!

Rinu delivered an explosive performance in the NPS India Mega Rush on March 6! She finished runner-up but walked away with the best score in the tournament courtesy a 3-way deal. Ha Rinu also bagged her first-ever NPS India medal – a Silver & a mind-blowing 27.13 LAC – the single-biggest score of the week!

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.

(Disclaimer: Rankings are accurate as of midnight, March 9th)

The NPS India 2025 excitement continues propelling new winners and fresh POY contenders on the leaderboard. Stay tuned as we bring you exciting updates!

Player of the Year