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• Bratislava Player of the Series Revealed!

Bratislava Player of the Series Revealed!

The journey that began one week ago is already over and a new Player of the Series has risen! It was about time really, as Ville Hakala has been chasing this title for the last three Festival Series, but was thwarted twice in a row, having to settle for being the bridesmaid. But this time he’s the bride and a handsome dowry was paid for the privilege, as Ville played in an astonishing 29 of the 32 ranking tournaments.

To say it went down to the wire would be an understatement, as four of the top five turned out for the last day of the series and put on a great show of determining who the winner of the race would be. 

Fifth placed Fedor Stadtrucker, who had already won the best name at the Series competition, opted for the Open Face Chinese Pineapple as his weapon of choice, but he busted early on, ending his tilt for the Player of the Series title. 

Ville-Matti Keränen in 4th place had already absconded from the battle a day earlier and did not return on Monday, leaving it to the rest of the pack to fight it out. 

Miles Rees loaded up for the Big O and fired a couple of bullets, but also busted early, ending his late charge for the title. He ended up in 4th place overall, with 148.5 pts, just missing out on a place on the podium.

Top Two Fight it Out in Big O

That left overnight leader Krystian Nalepka and Ville Hakala as the last two standing and one of them would walk away with the title and a €1,600 package to the next Festival Series event, which will be a return to Bratislava at the end of February. By the time it got down to eight players, with just six spots in the prize money, these top two contenders were still in the Big O. 

Ville max late reg’d the OFC as a back up, as if Krystian made the money, even a win for Ville would leave him short, but participation points in the OFC would just get him over the line. If Krystian cashed in 5th or better, Ville would have needed to make the money in the OFC as well as winning the Big O to overturn the Pole. 

The drama evolved when Nalepka busted in 8th place in the Big O, but Ville still had work to do. He also needed to make the money to secure victory and did just that, taking fourth place, to win the Player of the Series title by less than a point, not needing the 5 participation points from the OFC. The Finn busted in the OFC quite quickly to end up with a grand total of 156.25 pts, just 5.75 pts ahead of Nalepka’s 150.5 pts.

Almost a Fairytale Ending for Bambi

Bambi, a player who uses a nickname due to a fear of being caught in the headlines, ironically also made the front page of this story. He won the Big O and overtook several rivals to claim 3rd place on the podium of the final leaderboard. Bambi defeated another leaderboard contender, Paddy Schmidt, heads-up in the final Omaha event of the series, to finish with the third biggest POS total of 149.5, just 1 point adrift of Krystian Nalepka in 2nd place.

Schmidt, who also made the money in the Main Event ended up in 8th place overall on 119.75pt, just 4 points behind Jarno Salonen in 6th on 123.75pts. Despite missing the last two days of the Festival in Bratislava, Ville-Matti Keranen managed to cling on to 6th place on the final leaderboard, with 129.25 pts.

No Repeat Win for Franke

Franke would have had to multi-table the OFC and the Big O and go deep in both to have had a chance to defend the title he won in Malta, but opted not to, sticking to just his preferred format, OFC. He missed the money by a couple of spots, earning just 5 participation points on the final day, to end up in 10th position with 111.25 points. 

Medal Ceremony

Now, let’s take a closer look at the routes that the top three took to get to the top of the leaderboard, in reverse order

Bronze Medal - Bambi

Bambi only began to graze in the poker meadows of Banco Casino on Wednesday, the second day of the Festival in Bratislava. But he soon made his way onto the leaderboard, after making it onto the final table of the first event he played, the €125 Half N Half.  By Friday Bambi had firmly established himself in the top ten and continued to post good results for the rest of the series. 

He boosted his score on the final day by winning the Big O, which only had 37 entries. If it had been a slightly bigger field (over 50 entries) a multiplier of 1.5 would have been applied, which would have been enough for Bambi to frolic to victory in the Player of the Series race. Instead, he remains nothing but an orphaned deer, taking the theoretical bronze medal and over €10,000 in prize money back to his forest.

• Played: 13
• Cashes: 7
• Prize Money: €10,578

Event	Finishing Position	Prizes	Points
Event 51 - Big O	1st	€2,828	27.5
Event 1 - Chicago European Championship	5th	€900	23.75
Event 27 - Sviten Special	6th	€1,425	23.5
Event 12 - Half N Half	7th	€425	20.75
Event 18 - OFC Pineapple	10th	€750	17.5
Event 3 - Mixed Games Main Event - T.O.R.S.E.S.	14th	€1,000	14
Event 10 - NLH Main Event	25th	€3,250	10
6 Other Events	Not ITM	€0	12.5
Bambi Totals		€10,578	149.5

Silver Medal - Krystian Nalepka

Although he narrowly missed out on taking down the title, many will see Krystian Nalepka as the most consistent performer of the series. Nalepka played in less than a third of the events than Hakala did, but ended up just six points short of winning the Player of the Series race.  The Pole cashed in six of the eight he played in, booking two runner-up spots and two third place finishes. 

Had he finished just three places higher in the Big O, or just played a handful more events, he would have emerged as the Player of the Series. He ended up with no trophies, but over €17,000 in prize money. 

• Played: 8
• Cashes: 6
• Prize Money: €17,207

Event	Finishing Position	Prizes	Points
Event 16 - WTB Late Night Madness	2nd	€1,765	31.25
Event 49 - Sunday PLO5 Turbo PKO	2nd	€1,567	31.25
Event 39 - NLH 15K GTD	3rd	€1,950	28.25
Event 29 - NLH High Roller	3rd	€5,750	23
Event 2 - The Hendon Mob Championship	11th	€1,675	20.5
Event 10 - NLH Main Event	17th	€4,500	12.5
2 Other Events	Not ITM	€0	3.75
Krystian Nalepka Total		€17,207	150.5

Gold Medal - Ville Hakala

Having lost out to compatriot Kare Hallamaa in Rozvadov and being pipped by Franke in Malta, Ville Hakala will be pleased to have finally ended his quest to become the Bratislava Player of the Series. The Finn entered 29 of the 32 ranking events, cashing in six, for a combined total of €2,990 in prize money. He made four final tables along the way, with his best result coming in the Bomb Pot Madness, in which he took 5th for 23.75 leaderboard points.

There is indeed more to this story than meets the eye, as for the first time, a betting market on the Player of the Series was opened up, by Epicbet. Ville was one of the most heavily backed runners in the market and is rumoured to have had a fair sized bet on himself. He's certainly cashed for a lot more than the €2,990 he officially banked at Banco. And regardless of what it cost in buy-ins, Ville now has lifetime bragging rights, he will always be the 2025 Festival in Bratislava Player of the Series!

He's had a remarkable journey this year. With two runner up finishes and now a win, Ville Hakala is now, without a shadow of doubt, also the 2025 Festival Series Player of the Year!

• Played: 29
• Cashes: 6
• Prize Money: €2,990

Event	Finishing Position	Prizes	Points
Event 23 - Bomb Pot Madness	5th	€675	23.75
Event 7 - PLO Razz PKO	6th	€200	22.25
Event 34 - Friday NLH Late Night Madness	8th	€350	19.25
Event 51 - Big O	4th	€895	18.5
Event 27 - Sviten Special	14th	€750	11.5
Event 49 - Sunday PLO5 Turbo PKO	16th	€120	7.25
23 Other Events	Not ITM	€0	53.75
Ville Hakala Total		€2,990	156.25

The Top Three - Leaderboard Journeys

The graph below shows where each of the top three were on the leaderboard, as The Festival in Bratislava unfolded. They all spent most of the week inside the top ten.

Final Leaderboard Top 100

Position	Player	Total Points	Events Played
1	Ville Hakala	156.25	29
2	Krystian Nalepka	150.5	8
3	Bambi	149.5	13
4	Miles Rees	148.5	12
5	Fedor Stadtrucker	133.75	16
6	Ville-Matti Keränen	129.25	7
7	Jarmo Salonen	123.75	15
8	Paddy Schmidt	119.75	16
9	Asterios Kokompelis	117.25	9
10	Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk	111.25	16
11	Graham Clarkson	107.5	9
12	Thomas Lechner	97.5	17
12	Ylva "Jevakim" Thorsrud	97.5	12
14	Vitalii Shcherba	96.25	5
15	Marc Gork	94.25	14
16	Giorgi Mevlupishvili	88	9
17	Risto Ponnio	86.75	12
18	Philipp Krieger	85.5	12
19	Sebastian Kotowicz	85.25	2
20	Leo Hourtoulle	84.25	5
21	Matteo Crapanzano	84	6
22	Riku Koivurinne	81.75	12
23	Julius Kettunen	81.5	9
24	Marco Herman	79.5	6
25	Jonas Jurksaitis	78.75	6
25	Scott "Pokerbrahs" Kenyon	78.75	11
25	Tomasz Sumek	78.75	4
28	Kyros Kyrou	77.25	8
29	Asgejr Lund	76.75	12
30	Magnus Nilsen	74.5	5
31	Rolf Bechstrom	71.5	11
32	Jari Hurri	69.25	11
33	Kristin Flataker	68.5	8
34	Svein Eidsaeter	68.25	10
35	Ole Karlsen	66.5	7
36	Simon Keating	66	6
37	Johnny Johansen	65	7
38	Ove Nilsson	64.75	12
39	Garth Stanton	64.25	4
40	Hayk Manasyan	64	3
41	Nicholas Okane	63	6
42	Jani Kattilakoski	62.75	5
43	Christopher Heidelbacher	62	7
44	Steffen Gjelseth	61.75	6
45	Wouter Schuurbiers	61.5	10
46	Per Bergstroem	61.25	9
47	Jeraint "JJ" Hazan	60.75	8
48	Urmas Lepik	60.25	10
49	Andrej Tekel	60	2
49	Dwayne Sluis	60	7
51	Jari Maehoenen	59.75	6
51	Mladen Stojanovic	59.75	9
53	Ulf Nord	59.5	8
54	Joost Melkert	58.75	10
55	Tomasz Walkowiak	58.5	4
56	Filip Pilic	58.25	5
57	Eva "Chic" Jiretorn	58	5
58	Karl Gialanze	57.75	8
59	Karl Rosen	57.5	6
59	Ondrej Chlapek	57.5	2
61	Joel Fritz	56.25	7
62	Maximilian Meier	55.25	5
63	Jon Kyte	55	2
63	Kenji Hamamoto	55	8
63	Lars Johansson	55	7
63	Nils Doverklint	55	10
63	Teemu Leppaelahti	55	5
63	Ulf Ekendahl	55	9
63	Verneri Hakkinen	55	7
70	Ofer Sisso	54.75	7
71	Imre Leibold	54.5	4
71	Pawel Keller	54.5	5
73	David Urban	53.75	3
73	Jaroslav Stulhofer	53.75	5
75	Simon Wilenius	53	5
76	Sergii Baranov	52.5	2
77	Doncologne	50.25	15
78	Serguei Palomera	50	7
79	Lars Hole	49.5	7
80	Kennz Mirheden	49.25	5
81	Lee Huntingdon	48.75	6
81	Sebastian Rebhan	48.75	4
81	Svante Loennroth	48.75	6
84	Barrie Dear	48.5	13
85	Halvor Lindrupsen	48.25	10
86	John Lausch	47.25	4
87	Siamak Tahmoresnia	47	3
88	James Rooney	46.75	7
88	Marnix Reijers	46.75	6
90	Aaron Thiel	46.25	4
90	Pawel Matloka	46.25	4
90	Yuri Overhand	46.25	5
93	Hans Andersson	46	6
94	Jakub Jirchar	45	6
95	Mykhailo Mikhalov	43.75	5
95	Tony Danielsen	43.75	4
97	Arjen Witteveen	43.5	4
97	Mattia Ruebenstrunk	43.5	3
99	Knut Olsen	43	6
100	Antoine Profit	42.75	5
100	Patrik Chrast	42.75	7
100	Robert Manner	42.75	8