A spotlight on Surinder Sunar: Poker’s most successful British Asian

Surinder Sunar has been a prominent figure in the world of poker for the best part of three decades, enjoying a distinguished career featuring success at both tournament play and cash games. The India-born Sunar moved to the UK at a young age and rapidly became a stalwart on the British poker scene after turning pro.

Sunar’s poker journey gained widespread recognition in the late 1990s and early 2000s – a perfectly-timed moment for Sunar to land some of his biggest wins around the time of the live and online poker ‘booms’. Sunar’s calm and composed demeanour at the tables, coupled with a strategic approach to the game, contributed to his reputation as one of the UK’s most formidable poker opponents.

Sunar: A World Poker Tour winner

One of the defining moments in Sunar’s career came in 2004, when he secured a victory on the prestigious World Poker Tour circuit. Sunar won the €10,000-entry Grand Prix de Paris, taking home a cool €679,860 in prize money, outlasting a field of 205 fellow poker professionals, including Lithuanian Antanas Guoga AKA Tony G. Overcoming hundreds of poker pros is a skill that distinguishes top-tier tournament players from the rest. Sunar’s ultra-calm disposition was celebrated in poker circles after shrugging off the trash talk of Tony G at the final table.

Entry into these big-ticket poker tournaments was more expensive then than it is today too. Sunar and co. would’ve had no choice but to buy into the Grand Prix de Paris using their own bankrolls. Whereas today’s poker players have a wealth of qualification options, including the chance to satellite into these events via online poker rooms. In fact, some of the best poker offers from the leading online poker sites to new players includes tournament tickets. These tickets provide direct entry into games such as satellites for high-profile live and online events.

What is Sunar up these days?

Sunar has also enjoyed immense success at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Sunar has no less than 11 final tables to his name but, as yet, a coveted WSOP bracelet has eluded him. There was a feeling that Sunar’s days at the poker tables were numbered in recent years, with talk of retirement on the horizon. However, after a four-year hiatus, Sunar returned to the felt in 2023 at The Monster event as part of the Irish Poker Tour in Dublin. The following month, Sunar also featured in the WPT Prime event in Bratislava, Slovakia, finishing 29th.

Beyond the felt, Sunar’s impact on the poker community extends to his role as a general ambassador for the game. His presence at major events, coupled with his willingness to engage with fans and fellow players, means he’s a highly respected figure in the poker world and an inspiration to all British Asian poker players looking to follow in his footsteps.

At the time of writing, Sunar is 18th on the all-time money list of English poker players. He’s racked up live career earnings of $4.68 million, although the Dhianpur-born ace is almost certain to have earnt more than this when cash game earnings are included.