An Indian poker player who learned the game online in just four months has come third in the inaugural Asian Poker Classic, India’s first professional poker tournament.

Pranav Bathija, of Mumbai, said of his achievement: “This win will do great things for poker in Asia… If I can learn poker in just four months and place third in an international poker tournament, then I’ve proven that it is very possible to be a successful poker player in India.”

Bathija learned the game by playing for free at online poker site www.MaharajaClub.net . After learning the basics, Maharajah Club identified Pranav as a new player worth sponsoring for Asian Poker Classic. Bathija played against 143 other poker players from around the world to take his share of the tournament’s $1,000,000 (44,490,085 Indian Rupees) prize pool after three days of play at the Intercontinental Grand Resort in Goa.

“This is a serious tournament. I’m so happy to prove myself and to prove that Indians can compete in this sport on an international level.”

MaharajahClub.net sponsored 12 Indian players from its website to compete in the Asian Poker Classic. Of the 12, three finished in the top 20 with Shiv Puri, also from India, winning APC Event 1.

“We are proud to support Indian poker players by giving them the opportunity to compete in a live poker tournament in their home country. So often Indian poker players have to travel to halfway around the world to compete in a live poker tournament, bringing this great sport to India has given many more Indian poker players a chance to compete and win in a professional poker tournament that competes in prize money with the best tournaments in Las Vegas or Monte Carlo,” said MaharajahClub.net CEO Sachin Pawa.

Denmark’s Carl Hostrup won overall, with a Northern Europe one-two as Samual Lehtonen scooped second place.

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