The International Federation of Poker (IFP) will launch the Match Indian Poker League (Match IPL) in partnership with Viaan Industries Ltd owned by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her entrepreneur husband Raj Kundra.
The Match Indian Poker League (Match IPL) will see city-based teams compete in the world’s first professional match poker league, a press statement reads. The teams will be owned by “leading figures in Indian business and entertainment,” players of which will be selected based on their skill-based ranking and performance against advanced poker bots using the Match Poker app which will launch in August.
The league will initially comprise eight teams representing the cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Kolkatta and Mumbai.
The Match IPL, set for launch in September, will be played over a weekend to determine the most skilled Match Poker team. This event will also serve to identify six players who will represent an Indian National team.
Match Poker is the skill-based poker variant in which players compete for points and not for stakes. Cards are dealt digitally and the game is played on smartphones and tablets, which the IPL believes eliminates the randomness of the cards and amplifies the skill.
“We are delighted to be working with Viaan Industries and with Shilpa and Raj who have had the vision to recognise the potential of Match Poker and the business instincts to create an exciting and entertaining, sporting framework which will attract massive interest among players, sponsors and commercial backers in one of the world’s fastest growing markets,” IFP President Patrick Nally, said.