New Delhi, 1st October 2019: India's premier poker competition, Poker Sports League, today announced the launch of its third season which will be held from November 2019 - March 2020. The announcement was made by Promoter and Founder - Poker Sports League, Mr. Amit Burman, and CEO and Co-founder - Mr. Pranav Bagai, with a prize pool of more than INR 4 crores.
The brainchild of Mr. Amit Burman, Poker Sports League is a culmination of a series of skill testing and nerve-wracking poker Qualifiers in the lead up to a scintillating Finale which crowns the ultimate team in poker. The Poker Sports League was launched in 2016 as India’s first-ever poker league with the vision of providing poker enthusiasts from around the world the opportunity of free participation focusing on skill and technique. The league has caught the attention of thousands of poker players with its unique team-based format wherein participants compete in the Qualifiers/Online Auditions, and the successful players are then drafted into teams which compete for the ultimate prize at the Finale. Poker Sports League is also the only team-based poker competition played in the world which gives amateur players the opportunity to play along and learn from world-class professionals.
The first two seasons of the league provided unprecedented numbers in terms of prize-pool, prize money to players and livestream viewership across all poker competitions around the world. Owing to the tremendous response received, the third season will also see Promoter and Founder, Mr. Burman invest over two million dollars to further scale up the league.
Speaking about the third season of the Poker Sports League, Promoter and Founder, Mr. Amit Burman said, "The Poker Sports League is a pioneer in the world of poker where current and potential poker players from across the globe come together on a unified platform, and have the chance to actually enjoy the beauty of a mind-skill sport. Owing to the tremendous response and popularity of the first two seasons, we are delighted to launch the third season of the Poker Sports League which will see much larger spends on our part compared to previous editions. With a total prize pool of over INR 4 crores, both amateur and professional poker players will have the opportunity to showcase their skills to win big, and at the same time, learn to play responsibly with the introduction of a first-of-its-kind coaching system which will guide the players."
Completely risk-free and with the chance to win big, the Online Qualifiers, also known as Online Auditions, will be powered by Adda52 and will take place from November 2019 - February 2020. The Qualifiers will also be held offline across four major cities in India - New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata.
After the culmination of the qualifiers, there will be a selection ceremony where the owners of the ten teams, will choose twelve players each from various drafts. Each team will consist of seven amateur players, three professional players and two wildcards, out of which, a Mentor/Playing Captain will be leading them at the Finale, which shall take place in March 2020 in Kolkata.
CEO and Co-founder of Poker Sports League, Mr. Pranav Bagai also spoke on the occasion, "With the launch of the third season of the Poker Sports League, we aim to bring a bigger and better platform for poker players. With an increase in the number of members per team, we want to provide amateur players with the opportunity to learn, enjoy and succeed with the use of their mind and skills. The league has received a great response, not just from India, but from people across the globe, and it gives me great joy that we are also going to be the only company in India to produce poker shows in our state-of-the-art production studios in Goa. These shows will help the participating players as well as amateurs sitting at home, with the opportunity & access to learn poker from some of the best talent."
Poker Sports League is also excited to have Indian chess grandmaster and five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand on board as the Brand Ambassador. One of India's greatest minds, who is known to have started a revolution in chess across the country, Anand has joined hands with the league in order to promote the game of poker in India, and encourage players to put to use their sharp mind skills.
Unlike other poker tournaments, Poker Sports League is also an open platform for all poker stakeholders and operators.