The race for the Festival in Malta Player of the Series is now more than half-way through, with 13 of the 22 qualifying events having been completed. Earlier today it was reported that Barrie Dear and Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk were out in front, tied on 107 points, with the Finnish duo of Ville Hakala (100pts) and defending POS Kare Hallamaa (98pts) breathing down their necks.
However, after a recount and a double checking of the work done by an AI to calculate the scores, it was found that the wrong participation points were applied to the NLH High Roller. These have now been recalculated and the end result is that in fact Franke is out in front on his own, on 115 points, six ahead of Ville Hakala on 109. There are also a some minor changes to the current standings of other players. See the table below for the full corrected top 25.
Barrie Dear had slipped back from pole position to 5th place after a lacklustre Wednesday, but returned to his usual form on Thursday, cashing twice. He took 5th place in the Razz and 13th in the PLO 4/5/6 Card event. This helped move him back up to third place, 2 points behind Ville. Franke also min-cashed in the Razz in 7th place, but played both other tournaments on Thursday, picking up participation points in the process.
Kara Hallamaa continued his fine form, cashing in 4th place in the Razz, while Ville Hakala took 10th in the PLO 4/5/6 Card. Hakala also entered the NLH High Roller, failed to cash, but leapfrogs his compatriot on the leaderboard thanks to the extra participation points and moves into second place overall on 109 points..
Benjamin Sweetman failed to make any further cashes, only adding 5 points to his total, while Martin Schamaun has given up his chance of being the Player of the Series, reportedly having already left Malta. They currently occupy the 5th and 7th places on the leaderboard, but are somewhat adrift of the top four.
Peder Behr moves up to joint 5th place with Sweetman, on 86 points, thanks to his 4th place in the NLH High Roller. He is 13 points ahead of 8th place Frank Visser, who min-cashed the PLO 4/5/6. Wouter Schuurbiers debuts in the top 10 today in 9th place on 70 pts, thanks to his victory in the Razz. Scott Kenyon, who took 3rd place in the Razz rounds out the top 10, with 68 pts to his name, tied with The Hendon Mob Champion Egi Adriaans.
Player of the Series Top 25
| Position | Player | Points | Events Played* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk | 115 | 10 |
| 2 | Ville Hakala | 109 | 9 |
| 3 | Barrie Dear | 107 | 8 |
| 4 | Kare Hallamaa | 98 | 8 |
| 5 | Benjamin Sweetman | 86 | 5 |
| 5 | Peder Behr | 86 | 5 |
| 7 | Martin Schamaun | 81 | 4 |
| 8 | Frank Visser | 73 | 6 |
| 9 | Wouter Schuurbiers | 70 | 6 |
| 10 | Egi Adriaans | 68 | 4 |
| 10 | Scott Kenyon | 68 | 7 |
| 12 | Quinten Spyckerelle | 65 | 4 |
| 13 | Lars Johansson | 56 | 5 |
| 14 | Andreas Holmsten | 51 | 2 |
| 14 | Eva Jiretorn | 51 | 4 |
| 16 | Oliver Kubalek | 50 | 4 |
| 17 | Benedict Kaiser | 49 | 5 |
| 18 | Peter Kepplinger | 48 | 6 |
| 18 | Salvatore Incardona | 48 | 6 |
| 18 | Sander Van Wesemael | 48 | 4 |
| 21 | Kalle Kulju | 47 | 4 |
| 22 | Attila Erdei | 46 | 2 |
| 22 | Fabio De Francesco | 46 | 3 |
| 22 | Jonas Rosqvist | 46 | 2 |
| 22 | Ville-Matti Keränen | 46 | 6 |
Read More: Full details on how the leaderboard points are awarded for the Festival in Malta
There are only two events that count towards the leaderboard completing on Friday 19th September, the Open Face Chinese and this evening's Big O. The top two are almost certain to play in both of these and many others in the top ten on the leaderboard are expected to take part. These two events could play a significant role in determining the outcome of the Player of the Series race. Follow the action throughout the day on the live blog and The Festival's social channels.
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