Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Xpress series is one of the most celebrated poker series in the Indian poker circuit. As the name suggests, DPT Xpress is known for its fast-paced, competitive format. It is also known to attract a diverse pool of talented players.
Recently, the organisers announced a brand new edition of DPT Xpress. Powered by Adda52, the upcoming DPT Xpress July 2024 edition is scheduled to take place between July 24th to July 29th 2024. The premier live poker series will be hosted at the lavish Deltin Royale casino in Goa.
ALSO Check: Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Xpress July 2024 Schedule Released!
The inaugural edition of DPT Xpress was held in September 2018. Following the success of the first season, the second season of DPT Xpress was held in March 2019. The same year, the series was held once again in June 2019.
Just when DPT Xpress was scheduled to make a return in March 2020, the pandemic struck and the world went into a strict lockdown. As a result, the event was cancelled. Nevertheless, after a hiatus of two years, DPT Xpress made a rocking return in March 2021.
As poker players and enthusiasts gear up for the upcoming edition of the poker series, let’s take a trip down memory lane and highlight the achievements of the champions who have etched their names in the history of DPT Xpress.
These champions have not only showcased their exceptional skill and strategy but have also played a crucial role in promoting the status of poker in India. Let’s revisit the remarkable journeys and achievements of the DPT Xpress champions over the years.
1-DPT Xpress September 2018
The inaugural DPT Xpress edition was held from September 27-30 2018. It began with a 5K buy-in Burn N Turn event held on 27th September. This event attracted 122 entries who battled it out. Ultimately, it was Jharkhand’s Vivek Anand Baskey who etched his name as the first DPT Xpress champion and walked away with ₹1.55 Lakh in top prize.
The second event at the inaugural DPT Xpress was the 10K Bounty. This one was a fast-paced event having a 5K+5K buy-in structure, wherein 5K went into the prize pool while the remaining 5K went into the bounty prize. Gurgaon’s Prashant Malik emerged as the winner outdoing an entry field of 48 entries. He pocketed ₹90K for his win.
The biggest highlight of the series was the ₹15K buy-in Main Event. A local pro Bhola Sharma became the first ever DPT Xpress Main Event winner after beating Pema Ladakhi to walk away with ₹3.40 Lakhs. The event had a total of 67 entries, which included 53 unique entries and 14 re-entries.
The inaugural series concluded with the Teams event. The players were given a choice where they could choose from various formats i.e. Teams event, Heads-up, or a Satellite event for WPT India ME. The players finally decided on the ₹5K + ₹5K buy-in Teams Event, thus forming nine 2-player teams each. Team Gurgaon Blasters consisting of ₹10K Bounty winner Prashant Malik and Deepak Raina, claimed victory and the first-place prize money of ₹60,000.
2-DPT Xpress March 2019
The second edition returned in March 2019 and was held for four days between 14th to 17th March 2019. The series opener was the 5K Burn N Turn event which saw 130 entries register. Outshining the field and pronouncing victory was Debashis Bal who walked away with a handsome paycheque of ₹1.60 Lakh.
The second event was the 10K Bounty event, which was won by Sandip Jhawar. The fast-paced event had 47 entries compared to the previous turnout of 48 entries for the event. Sandip Jhawar emerged victorious from the field claiming his first-ever live title and ₹85,000 in prize money.
Then came the highlighted Main Event of the series. It witnessed stiff competition from the 64 entries who had their eyes on the title. Finally, it was Shimla’s Ankit Jajodia who captured his first-ever live title and bagged ₹3.25 Lakh.
The series concluded with the ‘10K Tag Team event which crowned its winner in less than 12 hours of gameplay. The team of Aayush Aggarwal and Rishab Dalmia claimed the top spot from among the 17 teams and pocketed ₹81,300 for their win.
3-DPT Xpress June 2019
DPT Xpress June 2019 marked the second series that year. Besides, what made it special was the change in venue. The series shifted from Deltin Royale to Deltin JAQK for DPT Xpress June 2019. It was held between 6th to 9th June 2019.
The series kicked off with the 5K Burn N Turn. This time the event attracted a recorded 303 entries. Aditya Sardana claimed his first live title at this event and took home his career-best score of ₹3.65 Lakh.
Next was the biggest event on the DPT Xpress Goa June 2019 schedule, the 15K Main Event. This was a record-breaking event with an entry field of 205 entries. After grinding for two days, the event found its winner in online poker player Anant Purohit, who took home a massive ₹7,40,000.
The 10K Bounty Event held on 8th June 2019 also turned out to be a record-breaking one. It attracted a total of 173 entries. The top spot at this event was claimed by Pawan Jaiswal for ₹2,40,000.
The last and final event on the schedule was the 20k Tag Team Event. This time around, the Tag Team event had a total of 25 teams of which the top 4 finished in the money. The team of Pratibh Saluja and Adarsh took down the event and cashed ₹1.10 Lakh.
4- DPT Xpress February 2020
The fourth edition, hosted in February 2020, also witnessed healthy participation. Although the 15K Main Event did not surpass the previous turnout record, it still drew a commendable field of 192 entries. Deepak Raina emerged victorious, claiming his second DPT and a prize of ₹ 7 Lakhs.
Anish Juwarkar (bested 197 entries to win 5K Burn N Turn for ₹ 1,08,700), Tanmai Relwani (won 10k Bounty for ₹ 2,08,000 – including 7 Bounties), and Abhishek Sharma (Won 10K DeepStack Turbo for ₹ 2,07,000) featured among the other winners at the fourth edition of the DPT Xpress.
5-DPT Xpress March 2021
After a two-year-long hiatus, DPT Xpress returned between 11th and 14th March 2021 at the luxurious Deltin Royale casino in Goa.
It started off with the 5K Burn N Turn event which registered a record 333 entries, which was a massive jump from the previous edition’s 197 entries. Navigating his way through the field, Jaipur-based Shrey Baj emerged as the last man standing. He claimed his career-first live title and the ultimate prize of ₹3.35 Lakh.
The second event of the series was the 10K Bounty. The fast-paced event drew 239 entries into the field. After hours of intense battles, it was Sandeep Ramesh against Ashit Sharma in the heads-up. Finally, Sandeep Ramesh triumphed, walking away with the title and the top prize of ₹2.75 Lakh.
Then came the biggest event of the series – the 15K Main Event, held from 13th to 14th March 2021. Its two starting flights recorded a field of a massive 421 entries. After two days of grinding Ramesh Rao Thotapalli outlasted the field to emerge victorious grabbing his first-ever DPT Xpress title and the lion’s share of ₹12.04 Lakh from the huge ₹58.05 Lakh prize pool. Notably, this also marked the single largest payout to be ever awarded at a DPT Xpress series.
The last tourney at the DPT Xpress March 2021 edition was the 10K Deepstack Turbo. With the addition of the re-entry format, this event saw a total of 171 entries (60 re-entries) participating and chipping into a prize pool of ₹16.67 Lakh. The top 21 places enjoyed a share of the prize pool. that was eventually distributed among the top 21 places with a min-cash worth INR 21K.
Gautham Raju took home the biggest share of ₹4.30 Lakh after taking down the title. He beat Akash Singhal in the heads-up to claim the winning trophy.
Interestingly, the upcoming DPT Xpress 2024 marks the series’ return after a hiatus of more than three long years. Thus, the excitement among the players is at an all-time high to grind at the series once again.
Given that the last few years have witnessed a massive influx of new and upcoming players and the industry evolved, the upcoming edition is sure to crush all previous records. It will be interesting to see which players write their names in history by clinching titles at DPT Xpress June 2024.
Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates on the upcoming DPT Xpress edition starting on 24 July, 2024
