The 17th edition of Poker Dream, held at Genting Highlands in Malaysia, has officially concluded. The series ran from April 10th to 21st, attracting more than 11k entries across 60 events and awarding nearly $5.7 million in total prize pool.
Poker Dream 17 attracted players from various parts of the world, with the majority of players coming from Malaysia, China, India, and Singapore. The crown jewel of the series — the Main Event — saw Singapore’s Dingxiang Ong emerge victorious, etching his name into Poker Dream history.
Notably, it was yet another successful outing for Team India, with Indian pros delivering impressive performances, including three-time Poker Dream Champion Nishant Sharma and Akshay Nasa.
Here’s a recap of the biggest winners from the series, along with Team India’s standout achievements.
Dingxiang Ong and Chun Keat Liu Claim Massive Victories
Singapore’s Dingxiang Ong secured the biggest top prize of the series — a whopping $174,758 — by taking down the Poker Dream 17 Main Event. The coveted tournament featured a $1 million USD guarantee, which was crushed after drawing 1,974 entries, building a prize pool of $1.4 million.
In the end, Ong outlasted the massive field to lift the trophy. Runner-up Zuyou earned a staggering $171,110, courtesy of an ICM deal heads-up, making it the second-largest payout of the series.
Meanwhile, Chun Keat Liu took down the Super High Roller event, earning $165,550. Liu overcame an elite 118-entry field and defeated Australia’s David Yuan Jan Wang heads-up to seal the title.
The MYR 30K buy-in event generated a prize pool of MYR 2,906,458 (~$658,230), with payouts for the top 17 finishers. Jan Wang earned a solid $111,980 for his runner-up finish.
Team India’s Performance At Poker Dream 17 Malaysia
Three-time Poker Dream Main Event champion Nishant Sharma concluded the series on a high note, delivering several deep runs, collecting more than INR 81 Lakhs overall.
The three-time Poker Dream Main Event, Sharma placed 65th in the Main Event, earning $2,580. While his quest for a fourth Main Event title fell short, he emerged as the most successful Indian player of the series.
He ran deep in Event #54: Mystery Bounty High Roller, finishing 3rd. However, he pulled the largest bounty of the tournament, pushing his total payout to $69,570, while winner Minh Ken Thoo received $44,160. Sharma also placed 5th in Event #43: High Roller, pocketing $22,420.
Close behind was Siddharth Jolly, who ended Poker Dream 17 Malaysia as the second-highest Indian earner. Fresh off his second career live title at Poker Dream 15 Malaysia earlier this year, Jolly continued his momentum, cashing four events throughout the series and collecting MYR 178,400 (INR 34.96 Lakhs). His biggest score came in Event #8: Mystery Big Bounty where finished runner-up for MYR 153,800.
Another big story was that of Akshay Nasa, the 2019 APT Ho Chi Minh Main Event Champion, who secured a Poker Dream trophy by winning Event #53: Monster Stack, taking home $23,735.
Several other Indian players also impressed:
- Karan Sitlani finished 4th in Event #25: Mystery Bounty, earning $13,065.
- Abhishek Sharma finished 6th in Event #59: Mini Main Event for $3,895.
There were other Indian players who also made it into the money but fell short of making an impactful finish, including Jatin Sablani, Ankit Jain, Siddharth Arya Jolly, Nikesh Chawla, Deepak Bothra, Alok Birewar, and Ankit Bhardwaj.
Team India’s Scorecard At the Poker Dream 17
| Tournament Name | Rank | Player Name | Prize (MYR) | Prize (USD) |
| Event #2: Malaysia Open | 54 | Karan Sitlani | 4,800 | $1,104.00 |
| Event #2: Malaysia Open | 82 | Simones Samsundar | 3,400 | $782.00 |
| Event #2: Malaysia Open | 90 | Siddharth Jolly | 3,400 | $782.00 |
| Event #2: Malaysia Open | 189 | Jatin Sablani | 2,100 | $483.00 |
| Event #3: Short Deck Ante Only | 3 | Jatin Sablani | 5,100 | $1,173.00 |
| Event #6: Mystery Bounty – Turbo | 15 | Abbasali Saleem Hararwala | 1,200 | $276.00 |
| Event #6: Mystery Bounty – Turbo | 19 | Birangat Singh Gambhir | 1,000 | $230.00 |
| Event #8: Mystery Big Bounty | 2 | Siddharth Jolly | 153,800 | $35,374.00 |
| Event #8: Mystery Big Bounty | 56 | Jatin Sablani | 1,400 | $322.00 |
| Event #8: Mystery Big Bounty | 61 | Karan Sitlani | 1,400 | $322.00 |
| Event #12: Deepstack | 27 | Anmol Mehta | 3,900 | $897.00 |
| Event #20: Mystery Bounty – Turbo | 4 | Simones Samsundar | 3,200 | $736.00 |
| Event #21: Main Event | 19 | Alok Birewar | 37,300 | $8,579.00 |
| Event #21: Main Event | 22 | Deepak Bothra | 31,900 | $7,337.00 |
| Event #21: Main Event | 65 | Nishant Sharma | 11,400 | $2,622.00 |
| Event #21: Main Event | 82 | Nikesh Chawla | 10,000 | $2,300.00 |
| Event #21: Main Event | 111 | Siddharth Jolly | 9,000 | $2,070.00 |
| Event #21: Main Event | 114 | Jatin Sablani | 9,000 | $2,070.00 |
| Event #25: Mystery Bounty | 4 | Karan Sitlani | 57,700 | $13,271.00 |
| Event #25: Mystery Bounty | 10 | Siddharth Jolly | 12,200 | $2,806.00 |
| Event #25: Mystery Bounty | 38 | Nikesh Chawla | 6,800 | $1,564.00 |
| Event #26: Mystery Bounty – Turbo | 6 | Harsh Dev Jhirmiria | 3,600 | $828.00 |
| Event #37: Mystery Bounty – Turbo | 8 | Abbasali Saleem Hararwala | 2,000 | $460.00 |
| Event #38: Mystery Bounty – Turbo | 15 | Ankit Jain | 1,000 | $230.00 |
| Event #40: Mystery Bounty – Turbo | 12 | Ankit Bhardwaj | 1,100 | $253.00 |
| Event #43: High Roller | 5 | Nishant Sharma | 99,000 | $22,770.00 |
| Event #53: Monster Stack | 1 | Akshay Nasa | 104,800 | $24,104.00 |
| Event #53: Monster Stack | 11 | Jatin Sablani | 8,900 | $2,047.00 |
| Event #53: Monster Stack | 13 | Ankit Jain | 7,900 | $1,817.00 |
| Event #54: Mystery Bounty High Roller | 3 | Nishant Sharma | 307,200 | $70,656.00 |
| Event #59: Mini Main Event | 6 | Abhishek Sharma | 17,200 | $3,956.00 |
| Event #59: Mini Main Event | 13 | Ankit Bhardwaj | 5,600 | $1,288.00 |
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