"I thank the Asian Poker Classic team for the great tournament, hospitality, and for the opportunity to visit such a beautiful place in such a beautiful country.
I will remember this forever and I look forward to returning next year to defend my title!" said Carl. Samuel Lehtonen from Sweden took second place, but the morst compelling story was that of India's third place finisher Pranav Bathija, from Mumbai. He learned to play poker at the tournament's sponsor site MaharajaClub.
net only four months ago, yet managed to best five international players, and take a third place finish in this $1,000,000 prize pool event.
"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. 2007 will show that Indian players can compete in the game on an international level," said Bathija "India has taken its place among the poker nations. We are proud of the success of this year's Asian Poker Classic and hope that it provides the platform for future growth and development of the game in India," according to Imran Hassan, Director of Operations for the Asian Poker Classic.
