Poker Sports League in talks with Disney+ Hotstar, Jio TV and MX Player for streaming rights 1 min read. Updated: 20 Nov 2020, 11:42 PM IST Saumya Tewari. Partypoker (formerly stylized PartyPoker) is an online poker card room. Launched in 2001 by PartyGaming, the site has had up to 80,000 players logged-in and was the largest online card room until 2006.

India has proved to be one of the world’s most promising online poker markets, attracting various business entities that are keen on tapping into the game’s increasing popularity in the country.

The latest companies to show interest in India’s booming online poker industry are key streaming platforms which are currently in talks with the Poker Sports League (PSL) for the streaming rights of its upcoming online tournament.

PSL will kick off its third season on January 16, but the tournament will be now be held at the virtual felts after success of their their first ever Virtual Poker League. The original plan was to hold a five-day on-ground event, but as the global health crisis continues, organizers have decided to hold an online tournament involving multiple matches that will run over two months.

PSL’s past two seasons were broadcast on DSPORTS, Discovery Communications India’s first sports channel. But with digital platforms becoming a huge hit these days, organizers are considering a potential collaboration with a streaming service in a bid to reach young audiences who spend most of their time watching content via their smartphones or computers, rather than the television.

Amit Burman, the chairman of Dabur India Ltd and is also the co-founder of Mind Sports League which organizes PSL, said they are currently negotiating with various streaming platforms, including Disney+ Hotstar, Voot, Zee5, Jio TV and MX Player, to choose a streaming partner for the tournament’s third season.

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Video streaming platforms were able to contribute 4-5 million paying subscribers to the overall OTT (over-the-top) industry over the past few months, according to the latest figures from data and market measurement firm Nielsen, and TV monitoring agency BARC.

PSL First in India to Livestream Poker Event

Burman said they’ve already tested their production capabilities when they hosted an online charity event in October, becoming the first ever company in the country to livestream a poker tournament. While the tasks involved weren’t easy, they managed to pull it off, attracting many viewers, including non-poker players.

The online qualifying events for PSL Season 3 concluded on November 22, and now each team has a month to practice and prepare and will take part in a bootcamp which will take place in early January. A total of eight teams will compete for Rs 1.8 Crore in total prize pool. The past season recorded 20,000 registrations, and drew over 4 million views on Facebook alone.

PSL Season 3‘s official streaming partner will be announced soon.

Backed and endorsed by the chess Grand Master Viswanathan Anand, the world's first franchise-based poker league is back in a new avatar as Poker Sports League - Virtual Season 3 (PSL-V).

With a unique, online-based format, PSL aims to establish poker as a mind sport by putting on display - a combination of skill, mathematics, decision making and grit which are required in the right mix to emerge as a poker champion.

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The season 3 of the league was to initially be played between 6 teams, however, with the growing potential of online gaming in India and a great response from the recently concluded online qualifiers, Mind Sports League (owners of PSL) has now extended a chance to poker enthusiasts across other cities, to partner with PSL for two more teams.

Keeping in line with the spirit of live poker, the virtual format will now see a total of 8 teams, with 10 players each, compete against each other for a prize pool/payout of over INR 2 crores.

Delighted to make the announcement, Mr. Amit Burman, Promoter - Poker Sports League said, 'With the commendable response we received for the exhibition tournament Virtual Poker League and the online qualifiers of PSL V, we are positive for an increased participation and elated to onboard two more team owners.'

Following the advent of PSL V, Mind Sports (owners of PSL) has signed a contract with 6 team owners for 10 seasons for the next 5 years with one live and one virtual season/league. Speaking about the season 3 of the PSL and welcoming the 6 teams on board, Mr. Pranav Bagai, CEO and Co-Founder, Poker Sports League said, 'I am thrilled to bring forth the six teams namely Delhi Czars, Deccan Aces, Goan Nuts, Gujarat Falcons, Mumbai Anchors, and Kolkata Kings and welcome them to the PSL family. Furthermore, owing to the overwhelming response received from the recently concluded online qualifiers and the Virtual Poker League we are excited to add two more teams and looking for the right partner to be our next team owner.'

Poker Sports League Wiki Fandom

The league will have a total of 30 events (poker games) where each participant will get a chance to play a maximum of 6 out of these 30 games. With INR 15,00,000 as the prize pool for each team, every qualifier will receive a match fee of INR 10,000 per match. The mentor, wild cards and pros will get INR 20,000 per match.