Tsenov Chops 2-7 Double Draw to take lead in Player of Series Race
With five of the seven days of The Festival in Bratislava now in the can, the race for the Player of the Series race has begun to get more serious. Having secured his first victory of the week, Lachezar Tsenov has jumped from 10th place into the lead, with 117.5 points, just half a point ahead of Barrie Dear.
Tsenov, who chopped the €250 2-7 Double Draw on Friday is the second Bulgarian to top the leaderboard this week. He followed the footsteps of compatriot Ivo Petkov, who held the lead after Day 2 and Day 3, but has now slipped back to 7th, with 96.25 points.
However, in terms of Player of the Series points, Tsenov was not the star performer of the day. That accolade went to Edinburgh resident Barrie “Wee Jimmy” Dear, who also final tabled the 2-7 as well as cashing in 8th place in the €250 PLO 4/5/6 Cards event. Barrie’s daily total of 52.5 points helped him climb from 13th place to 2nd on the leaderboard on 117 points, eight adrift of Tsenov.
Scott “pokerbrahs” Kenyon retains third place, moving up to 109.75 points thanks to an 11th place finish in the 8-Game Mix, his 5th cash of the week, setting the gold standard once again for consistency. Phenomenal work Scott!
Belgian challenger Wouter Schuurbiers climbs two places to 4th after securing his 4th cash of the week via a min-cash in the €250 PLO 4/5/6 and is now on 107.25 points and still well placed to kick-on, with the finish line now clearly on the horizon.
Sandeep Nene, who had held a slender lead after Thursday is now in 5th place on exactly 100 points. He failed to notch up any further 4th place finishes, but picked up three sets of participation points, playing all the non-Hold’em events on Friday’s schedule.
6th placed Igor Narajczyk and 8th placed Jens Voertmann also failed to record any further cashes on Friday, however Komil Khamidov, who led the race after Day 1 has shot back into contention with a second place finish in the €125 NLH Turbo Madness to add to his Razz PKO victory. He sits in 9th place with 87.75 points. Jari Kaerkkaeinen from Finland completes the top 10, thanks to a 4th place finish in the €125 NLH Turbo Madness.
Player of the Series Top 20 After Day 5
| Rank | Player | Points | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lachezar Tsenov | 117.5 |  |
| 2 | Barrie Dear | 117 |  |
| 3 | Scott Kenyon | 109.75 | |
| 4 | Wouter Schuurbiers | 107.25 |  |
| 5 | Sandeep Nene | 100 |  |
| 6 | Igor Narajczyk | 99 |  |
| 7 | Ivo Petkov | 96.25 | |
| 8 | Jens Voertmann | 94.25 |  |
| 9 | Komil Khamidov | 87.75 | |
| 10 | Jari Kaerkkaeinen | 86.75 |  |
| 11 | Jari-Pekka Rattya | 86 | |
| 12 | Marco Herman | 83.75 | |
| 13 | Jaroslav Stulhofer | 82.75 | |
| 14 | Aaron Thiel | 81 | |
| 15 | Yevhenii Ivanov | 79.5 |  |
| 16 | Johnny Johansen | 78.5 |  |
| 16 | Reinhard Faltejsek | 78.5 |  |
| 18 | Mickael Lacaze | 77.25 |  |
| 19 | Nicolas Bokowski | 72.5 | |
| 20 | Gilles Lamy | 72.25 | |
Main Event Impact
At first glance it looks like a mixed games mobster will prevail, but there are four players within striking distance who have already made it into Day 2 of the Main Event. 11th placed Jari-Pekka Rattya and 12th placed Marco Herman have both progressed to Day 2, with stacks of 253k and 300k respectively asd has Mixed Games Main Event champion Thor Morstoel has also made it through, with a more modest pile of 150k. He lies in 27th place on 61.25 points and will need to win the Main Event to stand a chance in the Player of the Series race and even that might not be enough.
Meanwhile, three of the top ten players Tsenov, Schuurbiers and Nene have entered the final flight of the Main Event and progression to Day 2 for any of them would significantly boost their chances of taking down the title.
With two days to go, we will soon be approaching squeaky bum time, but who will hold it together as all start pedalling harder to the metal? It could go down to the wire!
Saturday’s Player of the Series Qualifying Events
Five Player of the Series events will conclude on Saturday
- Event 43 - €250 Mystery Bounty
- Event 44 - €125 Sportsbook Tournament
- Event 35 - €250 Big O
- Event 47 - €125 NLH Turbo Madness
- Event 48 - €125 PLO5 Turbo PKO Madness
The story will unfold as the day progresses, stay tuned to the Festival Series blog to find out what happens. Further news and results from Thursday’s events, including the story of Andreas Paliogiannis’s Hendon Mob victory can be read in Patrick Cole’s excellent recap of Friday's action, with photos from the exceptional Mairo Toom.
Top 20 Detailed Breakdown
