Meet Nikesh Chawla, a rising poker talent from Pune, who got introduced to poker by one of his friends and started playing the game on Zynga Poker back in school days. He played the game recreationally for about three years before finally taking it up professionally after the COVID-19. Since then, he has never looked back and continues to rise and shine in the world of poker.
Nikesh Chawla started cashing online events in 2022 before transitioning to live poker arena, where he has quickly made his mark. His first live poker cash came just last year in May 2024 when he final-tabled the Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) High Roller Event (#3) in Goa, finishing seventh and pocketing ₹5,70,541. Later that year, he earned his first career-high score of $7,600 for a deep finish in the WPT Championship (Event #22) in Cambodia, proving his strategic prowess to navigate in the international poker events.
Most recently, Nikesh Chawla made headlines for winning Event #43: $2,000 Turbo High Roller at the WPT Championship Cambodia 2025, claiming $58,080 (₹50,37,328) and his first-ever live poker title. The final heads-up was an all-Indian showdown, with Chawla striking a deal with Asish Ghosh, who banked $57,171 (₹49.54 Lakhs). This career-defining victory pushed his total live earnings beyond $80,000, thus solidifying his status as one of India’s rising forces on the international poker felts.
While Nikesh Chawla’s live poker resume continues to grow, he remains a formidable force in online space where he has already notched up over 8 online titles and several significant scores, including a career-best score of ₹13,47,627, which he earned for a remarkable runner-up finish in PokerBaazi’s 75 Lakh GTD Masters #23 Mini Highroller event in 2023.
PokerProNews Exclusive Interview With Nikesh Chawla
Nikesh Chawla’s rise in both online and live poker has been impressive. Recently, we got in touch with this rising star to discuss his exciting journey, his transition from online to live poker, recent WPT Cambodia Turbo High Roller victory, his experiences of playing in India versus Cambodia, online poker achievements, future plans and a lot more. Watch the above interview video to check out our insightful conversation with him and dive in his poker journey.
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