Asia
Prashanth ‘Iveyleague’ Sekar Emerges as the Champion in India’s Biggest Online Poker Tournament
The 2 Cr GTD event featured a staggering INR 60 lac payday for the winner
PokerBaazi, India’s leading and trusted online Poker platform, organised ‘Game Changer’ , India’s first INR 2 Cr GTD tournament last week. Poker players from all across the nation competed against each other across 4 days, each looking to etch their name in the history books. Among the 3777 entrants, it was eventually 29-year-old Prashanth ‘Iveyleague’ Sekar who won the event, becoming India’s first Game Changer Champion.
With a buy-in of INR 11,000, the tournament crushed the 2 Cr GTD in the first 2 days and the final prize pool amounted to a scintillating INR 3,77,70,000/-.
Bangalore-based Sekar was ecstatic about this win, and stated, “It is unbelievable that I won India’s biggest Poker tournament organized by PokerBaazi. When the Game Changer was announced, I was sure to participate and knew that it would be a dream come true to win this one. After winning it, no words can do justice to how I feel!”
The Founder and CEO of PokerBaazi, Mr. Navkiran Singh congratulated the winner and said, “I am proud to say that Prashanth Sekar (Iveyleague) helped PokerBaazi create history by winning Game Changer. I wish him luck for all his future tournaments. Game Changer has been a testament to the skill and ingenuity and has lived up to the vision of its creators in every way possible.”
PokerBaazi also organizes the 1 Cr tournament ‘MoneyMaker’, which is held once in every four months. It received an overwhelming response from players who embraced the concept and continually crushed the guaranteed prize pool by the staggering number of entries.
About PokerBaazi:
PokerBaazi is the brain-child of a young, energetic and dynamic team of five co-founders who are passionate poker players. It provides the best gaming experience to Indian players which sometimes rivals the International counterparts. Gaming with PokerBaazi is seamless with hassle-free withdrawals.
Asia
Indonesian Govt to Form Task Force to Tackle Online Gambling
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has chaired a limited meeting which discussed the efforts taken to eradicate online gambling in the country on Thursday 18 April, at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Budi Arie Setiadi, in his press statement after the limited meeting, said that the Government will form a task force to counter online gambling.
“It has been decided that within a week, we will formulate measures to form an integrated task force in order to eradicate online gambling,” Budi said.
Minister for Communication and Information Technology mentioned that forming a cross-ministries/institutions task force is aimed to handle online gambling more thoroughly, collaboratively and efficiently.
“Gambling is an illegal act based on regulations. So, we need to impose measures effectively to settle it,” Budi stated, adding that his ministry will focus on handling online gambling websites and contents, while the law enforcement officers will enforce the law.
“Our authority is only to take down the websites, while the Financial Services Authority (OJK) blocks their financial accounts, and then followed by law enforcement officers, police officers, and the public prosecution service officers,” he remarked.
Similarly, OJK’s Chairperson of Commissioner Board Mahendra Siregar also highlighted the importance of holistic measures in eradicating online gambling in Indonesia.
“Some online gambling activities are not conducted in Indonesia, some are cross-borders, some do not use bank accounts, some needs to be tracked and traced through bank accounts, including transfers and so on. So, the next layers must also be addressed, and that way it leaves no empty rooms,” Mahendra explained.
Mahendra said that according to the institution’s authority, from the end of 2023 to March 2024, OJK has blocked around 5000 bank accounts that indicate its relation to online gambling.
“So far, we have cooperated closely with Communications and Information Technology Ministry. So, if we receive a list of bank accounts suspected to be used or are being used in online gambling activities, we immediately block them, and it has reached up to 5000 bank accounts,” Mahendra mentioned.
Asia
Team ATK Oshun excels at 2024 Online Championships held on 13 April 2024
Mind Sports South Africa’s (MSSA) 2024 Online Championships held on 13 April 2024 showed sterling results.
The championship was yet another chance for many esports athletes to qualify for MSSA’s National Team Trials to be held on 25 May 2024 at which the team will be selected to officially represent South Africa at the African Qualifiers which lead up to IESF’s 16th World Esports Championships to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October and November 2024..
All Registered Players who have finished in the top three places, or the top 20% – whichever is greater, are entitled to enter trials.
However, it must be remembered that all players must have a valid passport to participate in the National Team Trials.
It was indeed exciting to watch just how much all the female teams have improved.
Team ATK Oshun (ATK Club Sport) being a female team astounded all with their skill and sportsmanship. The team demolished all ATK Club Sport opposition to ultimately won the premier event overall and qualify for the National Team trials to be held on 25 May 2025.
IESF’s 15th World Championships will be played to the following titles:
- Counter-Strike 2
- Counter-Strike 2 – Female division
- DotA 2
- eFootball
- Mobile Legends, Bang Bang
- Mobile Legends, Bang Bang – Female division
- PUBGM
The high standard of play saw 37 Registered Players from six provinces being awarded Provincial Colours. Only Limpopo, Free State, and Northern Cape did not have Registered Players who did not earn provincial colours.
Title | Name of player/team | Club | Provincial Colours awarded |
Clash Royale – Premier | Johan Coetzee | Middies | Mpumalanga |
Clash Royale – High School | Aryan Maharaj | PR0NHS | |
Counter Strike: 2 | ATK Oshun | ||
Kaylee Ludick | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Jessica Eleez Greeff | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Christin Brazier | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Megan van der Westhuizen | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Kayhla Rose Calder | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
DotA – Premier | ZAG DOTA 1 | ||
Suhail Khan | ZAG Academy | Gauteng | |
Travis John Waters | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Mark Kilian Lehle | ZAG Academy | Gauteng | |
Mohammad Dhooma | ZAG Academy | Eastern Cape | |
Nicholas Dammert | ZAG Academy | Gauteng | |
eFootball – Premier | Aslam Parker | PES Society | Gauteng |
FIFA 24 – High School | Daiyaan Hendricks | PES Society | Western Cape |
Mobile Legends – Premier
|
Mavericks | ||
Matthew Tatalias | Mavericks | Gauteng | |
Damian Bransby | Mavericks | Western Cape | |
Preshan Pillay | Mavericks | Gauteng | |
Mohammad Azhar Ansari | Mavericks | KwaZulu Natal | |
Taygan Gabriel | Mavericks | KwaZulu Natal | |
Luke Green | Mavericks | Western Cape | |
Mobile Legends – Premier – Female
|
AHG | ||
Je’nielle Cavanagh | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Inez Pringle | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Salma Parker | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Ra’isha Prout | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Fatimah Prout | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Mia Anthony | PES Society | Western Cape | |
PUBGM
|
Team uEnvy | ||
Richard Henry | ZAG Academy | Eastern Cape | |
La-eeq Arendse | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Kyle Dudley | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Clayton Leak | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Rocket League – Premier – 1 v 1 – Premier | Nathan Strange | Hoërskool Klerksdorp | |
Rocket League – Premier – 1 v 1 – High School | Luther Peens | Hoërskool Klerksdorp | |
Street Fightter V – Premier | Marnus van der Merwe | Hoërskool Klerksdorp | North West |
Tekken 8 | Stasch Cloeta | Team PlayBell | Western Cape |
Valorant – Premier
|
TuksValorant | ||
Tapiwanashe Keith Matema | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Kyle Halvorsen | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Jaden Connor Swarts | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Ronald James Tyler Wheeldon | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Alejandro Luca Sartini-Kruger | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Armand Pierre van der Colf | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Sportsmanship Award | Je’nielle Cavanagh | PES Society |
Asia
PAGCor Welcomes Lawyer Wilma Eisma as New President and Chief Operating Officer
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor) today welcomed its new President and Chief Operating Officer, lawyer Wilma Eisma, who took her oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin in Malacanang this morning.
“We are happy to welcome Atty. Wilma Eisma as PAGCor’s new President and Chief Operating Officer,” PAGCor Chairman Alejandro Tengco said. “We know she will be a great asset and her vast experience in both the government and private sectors will surely be put to good use here.”
Tengco said he witnessed Eisma’s oath-taking in Malacanang this morning. She then immediately joined her first PAGCor board meeting in the afternoon as the agency’s first ever woman President and Chief Operating Officer.
A lawyer by profession, Eisma earned her law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines before joining the state gaming firm.
Prior to that, she also served as the first woman Administrator and Chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Her private sector stints include leadership roles in PMFTC Incorporated, the Philippine affiliate of Philip Morris International.
She also held key positions at the Department of Trade and Industry where she worked at the Office of the Secretary and in the Office of the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, among others.
Eisma succeeded Atty Juanito Sanosa Jr who resigned as PAGCor President and Chief Operating Officer last January.
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