GPL India announced that PokerStars India will be their game partner for the two month long-run poker league. The online qualification for the first season of GPL India will be open from May to August on PokerStars India, where enthusiasts can compete for the chance to join one of GPL India’s first-year teams.
The GPL India’s six city-based teams will compete over a four week long regular season. Two players from each city: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Delhi, will qualify directly via PokerStars India, with the remaining three team members chosen by the team managers from a pool of qualifying Global Poker Index (GPI) ranked players during GPL India’s Draft Day which is tentatively set for early to mid September 2018.
GPL India teams will each be comprised of five players and led by one of GPL India’s superstar managers: Chennai Sharks manager, Vikram Kumar; #1 GPI-ranked female player in India and Delhi Diehards manager, Muskan Sethi; Pokerbaazi pro, poker coach and Alphas manager, Abhishek Rathod; Mumbai Jetsetters manager, Kavinn Shah; Kolkata Creators manager, Aditya Agarwal and Bengaluru Hackers manager, Vidwath Shetty.
The top four scoring teams will move on to the GPL India finals to play for the title and five platinum passes – each valued around two million and the PokerStars Championship in the Bahamas in January 2019, where one can win additional 650 million prize money.
GPL India’s regular season will begin right after the draftees are announced, with all six teams competing against one another in the Six-Max and Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Poker variants online and live in GPL’s India Studio to decide weekly winners, based on their skills. The GPL India Finals are set to happen in November. It is a live-streamed, two day finale for the game of skill that will see the league’s top four scoring teams compete to decide who will be GPL India’s first National Champions.
In December 2017, Mediarex confirmed a multi-year strategic partnership with Kwan Entertainment, to bring the Global Player League to India, in a move that would give poker enthusiasts an avenue to experience and potentially participate in the GPL’s innovative take on the modern e-sports league concept.