Best Indian Poker Players Making Global Waves in 2026

For years, Indian poker meant home games, online leagues and a handful of players flying the flag at the WSOP. That has changed. In 2026, two Indian players won World Series of Poker bracelets in the same summer. One of them became the first Indian to win three. And India’s all-time money leader is now past $23 million in live tournament earnings, almost three times the next name on the list.

This guide covers the best Indian poker players right now: who they are, what they’ve won, how they built their results, and what their paths can teach you.

Indian Poker Players at a Glance (October 2026)

Sources: Santhosh Suvarna, Vivek Rajkumar, Ankit Ahuja, Nishant Sharma, Kunal Patni. Totals change after every cash, so we check them monthly.

1. Santhosh Suvarna: India’s Undisputed No. 1

Ask anyone who the best Indian poker player is and you’ll get the same answer. Santhosh Suvarna, from Bengaluru, isn’t just ahead of the pack. He’s in a different league.

His Three WSOP Bracelets

Source: PokerNews analysis of Suvarna’s hat-trick

His 2026 summer didn’t stop at the bracelet. Eleven days later, he finished 2nd in the $50,000 PLO event for $912,420. That’s a reminder that he’s a threat in Omaha too, not just Hold’em.

He’s also a regular on the Triton Super High Roller circuit. In 2026 he finished 10th in a $50K event at Triton Montenegro. In 2025 he had five cashes at Triton Jeju, all of them six figures except one.

What makes him different: Suvarna rose fast. Most of his $23.6 million has come since 2023. He started on the Triton circuit, kept beating fields of elite players, and then took his high-stakes cash game experience into the biggest buy-ins in the world. PokerNews describes him as fearless at the table. His record backs that up: no other Indian player regularly plays 50K–250K buy-ins, and he wins them.

2. Nishant Sharma: The Grinder Who Broke Through

If Suvarna is the high roller, Nishant Sharma is the working pro’s success story. And his last 12 months have been the best of his career.

• November 2025: won the APT Championship Main Event in Taipei for $1,181,559. It was a $10,000 buy-in with 671 entries and a prize pool above $6.2 million (Card Player).
• July 2026: won his first WSOP bracelet, in the $800 Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em, beating 2,036 entries for $196,659 (PokerNews).

PokerNews reports that Sharma is the eighth player from India to win a WSOP bracelet. He also played the whole 2026 series, with cashes in the Millionaire Maker, the Mini Main Event and several 1,500–3,000 events. That kind of volume is what separates a professional from a tourist.

Before these two wins, his best result was 34th in the 2018 WSOP Main Event for $230,475. It took him seven years to beat that score, and then he did it twice in eight months. That’s how poker careers usually work: long stretches of grinding, then results arrive in bunches.

3. Vivek Rajkumar: The Original Trailblazer

Before Suvarna, the top of India’s money list belonged to Vivek Rajkumar. He’s still second, with $8.08 million in live earnings.

His key results:

• 2008: won the WPT Borgata Poker Open for $1,424,500.
• 2011: finished 2nd at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic for $908,730.
• 2019: came 5th in the £1,050,000 Triton Million for Charity in London, winning £3,000,000.

Rajkumar is based in the US and hasn’t recorded a live cash since that 2019 Triton score. Even so, his WPT title in 2008 showed a generation of Indian players that they could win on poker’s biggest stages.

4. Ankit Ahuja: India’s Europe Specialist

Most Indian pros focus on Asian festivals. Ankit Ahuja built his $3.98 million mostly in Europe. His biggest win was the €1,100 Eureka Main Event at EPT Cyprus in 2023, worth $362,365. He has also gone deep in EPT Barcelona events and several WSOP mid-stakes events, including 9th in the 2025 $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship.

In 2026, his best result so far is 8th in the €2,700 High Roller at EPT Paris (€57,240). He also cashed in the EPT Barcelona Main Event and at WSOP Circuit Paris. He’s #3 on India’s all-time list, according to SoMuchPoker.

5. Kunal Patni: Asia’s Most Consistent Indian

Kunal Patni doesn’t chase huge headline scores. He cashes constantly. In 2025 he made 28 cashes, second-most among Indian players on SoMuchPoker’s rankings. His best result is 5th in the 2025 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $224,833.

In 2026 he cashed six times at the WSOP. The best of those was 48th in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker for $33,000. His live earnings now stand at $2.32 million.

6. Nikita Luther: A Bracelet and a Breakthrough

Nikita Luther became the first Indian woman to win a WSOP bracelet. She did it in the 2018 $1,000 Tag Team event, partnering Italy’s Giuseppe Pantaleo. She has also:

• finished 2nd in a 1,932-entry field at the 2019 Aria Poker Classic;
• reached the money in the WSOP Main Event, with a best finish of 96th in 2023.

Source: Wikipedia. The page carries a reliability warning, so we’ve only included results that match other public results databases.

Rising Indian Players to Watch

These names come from the top 10 of SoMuchPoker’s 2025 Indian rankings, and all of them are building strong records in Asia:

Look at where these results came from: Cambodia, Jeju, Malaysia, Manila and Taipei. Indian players have made Asian festivals their home circuit, where the travel is short, buy-ins are affordable and the fields are large. Jeju’s KPC Poker Series and the Asian tours are now regular stops for Indian pros.

Why Indian Players Are Winning More Now

1. Online Volume at Home

India’s online poker scene gives young players thousands of hands a month before they ever play live. Many of today’s live winners first built their skills on Indian platforms. Our guide to the best poker sites in India covers where that scene stands today.

2. Asia as a Training Ground

In 2025, the top 10 Indian players collectively played 74 festivals. Most were in Asia, where Indian players get regular tough competition without needing to live in Las Vegas.

3. One Role Model Changes Everything

Suvarna’s $5.4 million bracelet in 2024 did for Indian poker what a breakthrough result does for any sport: it made the very top feel reachable. Two years later, India had two bracelet winners in a single WSOP.

What Recreational Players Can Learn From Them

• Volume beats luck. Sharma waited seven years to top his 2018 Main Event score. Patni cashed 28 times in one year. Big results come to players who keep showing up.
• Pick your circuit. Ahuja made Europe his home, while Mahadeva and Cheruku focus on Asia. Choose the events that fit your budget and travel.
• Bankroll first. Even Sharma only plays a full WSOP schedule because he has the bankroll to survive the losing stretches. Before you plan a festival trip, run your numbers through our poker bankroll calculator.
• Study the big events. Our WSOP guide, Triton Poker Series page and European Poker Tour guide explain how each tour works, from buy-ins to schedules.

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