GPL Further Expands Presence With Launch Of Indian Edition

Global Poker League (GPL) has announced the launch of the Indian edition of its innovative poker tournament.

The India version is the second regional edition to be launched after GPL China.

The original GPL was launched in 2016 featuring a brand new poker format that sought to ‘sportify’ poker and increase the appeal of the game to younger players by injecting more excitement.

In a statement Alex Dreyfus founder and CEO of parent company Mediarex Sports and Entertainment said,

GPL India will take all the lessons learned in GPL’s 1st season, as well as GPL China’s current successful rollout, to create the most legitimate – and perhaps more importantly most appealing – poker competition witnessed in India until now. This is a spectacle built to benefit the country’s poker enthusiasts and draw in fans as well.

Noting that the structure for the tournament will be similar to the Chinese edition, Dreyfus said that along with poker pros who figure in the country’s GPI rankings, amateur players will also be given a chance to win a seat on the teams. GPL India joins two other leagues that have been already launched in the country – the Indian Poker League (IPL) and Poker Sports League (PSL). Although gambling is banned in India apart from three states, poker has been gaining in popularity with several poker clubs and online poker websites running
successfully.

GPL India will have six teams, representing some of India’s biggest cities that are also poker friendly namely the Delhi Diehards, Bengaluru Hackers, Chennai Sharks, Mumbai Jetsetters, Ahmedabad Alphas and Kolkata Creators with each comprising six players and a manager. No dates have been revealed as yet for the formal launch.

The winning team of GPL India’s first season will receive an invite to compete against select GPL teams in the GPL’s World Championships. GPL China which is expected to kick off on September 9 is in the process of finalizing team compositions. There are a dozen teams competing in GPL China, representing key regions of the country. Eight of them have announced their team rosters while the remaining four are yet to reveal their team compositions.

The selection process followed in GPL China is different from that used in the original GPL. Team members have been picked using local qualifier tournaments rather than a draft. Similarly none of the teams have included celebrity players, a strategy used by the original
GPL to attract interest in the tournament.