The Indians are passionate people. They know what they love, and they love what they know. Just look at their passion towards another great game in cricket. It’s a religion in India, and Sachin Tendulkar is their God.
Well, we might be starting to see the dawning of a new age in the Asian poker world. The game is starting to develop some strong roots in India, and the scary thing is, if this religion takes hold, there are over 1.2 billion reasons why it could be the home of the next poker boom.
There have been several events recently held in Goa and the Indians are starting to perform strongly in major Macau events. Take for example Sangeeth Mohan’s final table bubble at the APPT Macau late last year, or Abishek Goindi’s runner-up finish at the Macau Poker Cup in February. The signs are definitely there. PokerStars are even running qualifiers to the Casino Royale Cup – to be held from June 21-24 on a cruise ship that is India’s largest floating casino. Imagine how many entrants they will get for that event if one of the Indians is victorious here at the APPT Cebu?
We already took a closer look at overnight chip leader Amir Varma’s play earlier in the day. Whatever he’s doing, it seems to be working, as he’s the first player to crack the one million chip mark for a clear chip advantage right now. Next best is Sameer Rattonsey as the Indians are currently sitting one-two in this event and looking pretty confident.
With countrymen Abishek Goindi cheering from the rail, and Indian cult hero Sangeeth Mohan watching intently while playing in the side event on a nearby table, there is plenty of support here for Team India. They could be dancing in the streets in Mumbai come Monday night.
With just ten players to go, we’re currently playing two five-handed tables, looking to bust one more player before we call it a day. No one is really short, with Antoine Amourette aggressively pushing his short stack to stay alive while Sungsik Bae recently lost a pot to slip to the bottom rung of the ladder.
Who will break the deadlock?
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