We’re almost at the halfway point of The Festival in Malta and it’s neck and neck in the Player of the Series race. Swiss player Martin Schamaun has joined the UK's Benjamin Sweetman at the top of the leaderboard on 81 points. They are just one point clear of none other than Mr Festival Series himself, Martin von Zweigbergk, better known to most as Franke, of course.
Both Schamaun and Sweetman played and cashed in Tuesday’s 8-Game, with the overnight leader finishing one place higher than his Swiss rival. However, Schamaun went on to play in the PLO HR, did not cash, but earned himself 11 participation points. This enabled him to close the gap and move up from 3rd place to joint 1st.
The most significant leaderboard climber of the day was Franke. He moves up to 3rd place, just behind the leading pair, thanks to cashes in the HendonMob Championship (36th) and the Blackjack, in which he was 3rd. He has now played in seven tournaments in total, picking up lots of participation points along the way. Likely to play in almost everything he can, Franke is definitely one to watch during the latter stages of the week.
The Finnish duo of Hakala & Hallamaa both also remain strongly in contention. Hallamaa’s 6th place in TheHendonMob Championship has boosted his score up to 69 points and is not far behind Hakala, who secured another final table, taking 3rd place in the 8-Game. Hakala is now on 78pts and in 4th place overall, not far behind the top three.
While Monday was a triumphant one for Barrie Dear, Tuesday was more of an ‘oh dear’ day for the Mixed Games Main Event champion. He played in several tournaments, firing more than one bullet in some, but failed to cash in any. Despite slipping down the leaderboard from 2nd to 5th, the participation points he received have boosted his total up to 70 points, so far.
Most of yesterday’s event winners have also broken into the top 25 on the leaderboard. Congratulations to Egi Adriaans, whose HendonMob win brings him up to 57 points and books him a berth in the Top 10. The 8-Game winner Sander Van Wesemael sits just outside the top ten, in joint 12th place along with Oliver Kubalek, both on 48pts. Jonas Rosqvist, the Pineapple PKO winner is in 14th place with 46 points, while PLO High Roller victor Simeon Tsonev is tied for 24th place on 36pts, along with Scott Kenyon.
Player of the Series Top 25
| Position | Player | Points | Events Played* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Sweetman | 81 | 3 |
| 1 | Martin Schamaun | 81 | 4 |
| 3 | Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk | 80 | 7 |
| 4 | Ville Hakala | 78 | 6 |
| 5 | Barrie Dear | 70 | 6 |
| 6 | Kare Hallamaa | 69 | 6 |
| 7 | Quinten Spyckerelle | 65 | 4 |
| 8 | Frank Visser | 64 | 4 |
| 9 | Egi Adriaans | 57 | 3 |
| 10 | Lars Johansson | 53 | 4 |
| 11 | Peder Behr | 51 | 4 |
| 12 | Oliver Kubalek | 48 | 3 |
| 12 | Sander Van Wesemael | 48 | 4 |
| 14 | Attila Erdei | 46 | 2 |
| 14 | Jonas Rosqvist | 46 | 2 |
| 14 | Salvatore Incardona | 46 | 5 |
| 17 | William Mawer | 41 | 3 |
| 18 | Matteo Crapanzano | 40 | 4 |
| 19 | Antoine Degiorgio | 39 | 4 |
| 19 | Robert Lim | 39 | 1 |
| 21 | Benedict Kaiser | 38 | 3 |
| 21 | Mika Hautakangas | 38 | 4 |
| 21 | Yurii Rassamakin | 38 | 3 |
| 24 | Karl Gialanze | 36 | 2 |
| 24 | Scott Kenyon | 36 | 5 |
| 24 | Simeon Tsonev | 36 | 1 |
Read More: Full details on how the leaderboard points are awarded for the Festival in Malta
There are three events finishing on Thursday, the Razz, the NLH High Roller and the PLO 4/5/6 Cards. Will the top two still be tied after these events conclude? Or will one of the other protagonists rise up and take the beacon forward? Follow all the Day 4 action on the Festival blog to find out!
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