What time is it? It’s that time again! Time for the next edition of the Festival’s prestigious Player of the Series race to begin. It’s set to be the most exciting race yet at The Festival, due partly to the betting market on Epicbet, which has now closed, as the action is already underway (It will not be updated in-running, or at least that’s the plan).
The excitement is of course also due to the high level of competitiveness that’s expected this week, with former champions Scott Kenyon and Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk in attendance. Many others, such as Ville Hakala, Paddy Schmitt and even Antoine Degiorgio are also expected to challenge for the title, which is sure to have an evolving storyline as the week progresses. As always, the prize for the eventual winner is a €1,600 package to the next Festival event, details of which have yet to be announced, but are expected to be revealed shortly.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
The best projects are evolving ones and this is very true for the Player of the Series race. There have been some minor tweaks to the rules this time, concerning the way in which the points are calculated.
Unified Participation Points for Events €550+
Participation points for all events with buy-ins of €550 and above will now be 5. At previous editions the points for the Main Events (NLH and Mixed Games) were doubled, but this will no longer be applied. High Roller participation was previously worth 11 points, but is now reduced to 5.
Points Will No Longer Be Rounded Up
For previous editions of the Festival Series Player of the Series Race, points have been rounded up to the next whole number for each event. This was however a little unfair as players in some finishing positions benefitted, while others didn’t, as some final points scores were already on whole numbers. Points will no longer be rounded-up (or down) for each event, but will be presented as they are, with decimal points afterwards, if required.
Deals and Savers
Although this has not been stipulated for previous editions, it’s has been applied and how deals affect points allocation has now been officially incorporated into the rules. In the case of a deal, points awarded to all those involved in the deal will be equivalent to the lowest placed player.
E.g. If there is a deal with three players involved, all three are awarded 18.00 bonus points.
Savers do not affect this, so if there is a small deal to give something to the player or players who would have been out on the bubble, points will not be frozen. However, those players benefiting from the saver will not be awarded bonus points. You can negotiate your way into the money, but not the points.
Full rules of The Festival Player of the Series Race can be read here.
Plan Your Route to the Player of the Series Title
So you want to be the 2025 Player of the Series at The Festival in Bratislava? If so, you’ll need to figure out your path to the title, make a plan for which events you intend to play to put yourself in contention.
The first thing you need to consider is your bankroll, to determine if you’re going for low buy-in volume or a more measured approach by selecting fewer big buy-in events? The reduction of participation points for high roller events makes the lower buy-in route a more achievable option this time, with results being prioritized over ability to buy-in to the high ticket events.
Secondly, are you targeting the Hold’em events or the non-Hold’em ones? Of course, some players play both and there’s plenty of each to get stuck into. While most previous winners of the award have taken the mixed games route, this year’s very balanced Bratislava schedule gives an equal shot to players in both camps.
It’s now time to take your seat, buckle up and put your best game face on, cos it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
Qualifying Events
The events that count towards the Player of the Series race have been filtered out of the schedule and are listed below, in the order in which they conclude.
| Date Event Completes | Event # | Event Name | Buy-In | Participation Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 18th | 7 | PL RAZZ PKO | €125 | 1.25 |
| Tuesday 18th | 8 | NHL Tuesday Knockout | €125 | 1.25 |
| Wednesday 19th | 12 | Half N Half | €125 | 1.25 |
| Wednesday 19th | 15 | H.O.R.S.E | €125 | 1.25 |
| Wednesday 19th | 16 | Win The Button Late Night Madness | €125 | 1.25 |
| Thursday 20th | 18 | Open Face Chinese | €250 | 2.5 |
| Thursday 20th | 3 | Mixed Games Main Event - T.O.R.S.E.S | €550 | 5 |
| Thursday 20th | 20 | PLO HR | €1,100 | 5 |
| Thursday 20th | 23 | Bomb Pot Madness | €125 | 1.25 |
| Thursday 20th | 25 | NLH PKO Late Night Madness | €125 | 1.25 |
| Friday 21st | 27 | Sviten Special | €250 | 2.5 |
| Friday 21st | 28 | NL Crazy Pineapple | €125 | 1.25 |
| Friday 21st | 2 | The Hendon Mob Championship | €250 | 2.5 |
| Friday 21st | 29 | NLH High Roller | €1,100 | 5 |
| Friday 21st | 31 | PLO 4/5/6 Cards | €250 | 2.5 |
| Friday 21st | 34 | Friday NLH Turbo Late Night Madness | €125 | 1.25 |
| Saturday 22nd | 1 | Chicago European Championship | €125 | 1.25 |
| Saturday 22nd | 36 | 8-Game Mix | €250 | 2.5 |
| Saturday 22nd | 38 | PLO Masters | €250 | 2.5 |
| Saturday 22nd | 39 | NLH 15K GTD | €125 | 1.25 |
| Saturday 22nd | 33 | Bratislava Deepstack | €250 | 2.5 |
| Saturday 22nd | 41 | PL 2-7 Double Draw | €125 | 1.25 |
| Saturday 22nd | 43 | Saturday NLH Turbo Late Night Madness | €125 | 1.25 |
| Sunday 23rd | 45 | NLH Mystery Bounty | €250 | 2.5 |
| Sunday 23rd | 46 | Sportsbook Tournament | €125 | 1.25 |
| Sunday 23rd | 47 | PLO Freezeout | €250 | 2.5 |
| Sunday 23rd | 48 | Sunday NLH Turbo | €125 | 1.25 |
| Sunday 23rd | 49 | Sunday PLO5 Turbo PKO | €125 | 1.25 |
| Monday 24th | 51 | Big O | €250 | 2.5 |
| Monday 24th | 10 | NLH Main Event | €550 | 5 |
| Monday 24th | 52 | OFC Pineapple High Roller | €1,100 | 5 |
Scores will be calculated at the end of each day of play and the leaderboard of the top 25/50 will be updated daily, every morning before play begins. Only completed events will be counted in leaderboard updates, points for players who have progressed to Day 2 of multi-day events will not be included in daily updates, only being included once those events have been completed.
