High demand for seats at Destination Poker

Paf hosted the Destination Poker live tournament in Mariehamn, Åland from 1–3 November. 70 players took part in the main tournament with a prize pool of €35,000. A winner from Finland was crowned on Saturday night at 11 o'clock.

“It was a great tournament. I loved the atmosphere and how Paf organised the event. You clearly have a lot of people coming back to the tournament, which tells that quality is very good”, says Max Lampenius, winner of the tournament.

When the tournament reached heads-up, the two finalists discussed how to split the prize pool and the ICM model* was used to adjust the prize money. Originally, the first prize was €10,150 and the second prize €6,300, but the finalists decided to play for €1,000 and the tournament trophy, with the remainder according to the ICM model.

Flag hunters

There was a lot of interest in this year's Destination Poker and a number of extra seats were made available for the main tournament.

“There was a lot of pressure for seats in this year's tournament and the qualifiers were filled in record time. As a result, we decided to open up an additional ten seats. 70 people with a maximum of 70 friends and a dozen spontaneous guests from the Åland poker community means that we have reached the limit of what we can arrange while maintaining quality”, says Ola Brandborn, Head of Poker at Paf.

Three side tournaments and cash games were also held during the weekend. Among the participants were players from Canada and Germany who travelled to Åland to 'hunt flags', a poker term for collecting tournament credits from different countries. Every time a player reaches the prize money in a tournament held in a new country, a flag is added to their profile in the international poker database Hendon Mob.

“For many poker players, these flags are a personal goal and a way to showcase their experience playing in tournaments around the world. The fact that Destination Poker is now attracting players from several different countries says a lot about the tournament's reputation," says Linda Jansson, Customer Relations Manager.

Spanish dealers

Paf's poker tournaments have had a dedicated team of Spanish dealers for several years. Israel Serrano Fralie, who heads up the team, says that he himself has worked as a poker dealer at Paf's tournaments for over eight years. The trip to Åland has become a cherished tradition, despite travelling for 17-hours in order to get there.

“Many of the team members look forward to returning. The journey is long, but the friendly and respectful treatment from the players makes Paf's poker tournaments a special experience for our dealers," says Israel Serrano Fraile, Head of the Dealers.

*The Independent Chip Model (ICM) is a mathematical model that estimates a player's total value in a tournament that has not yet finished.

Results - Paf Destination Poker 2024

1. Max Lampenius – €8 950
2. Leevi Kangasluoma – €7 500
3. Niklas Borg – €4 550
4. Veeti Valasti – €3 500
5. Karita Koppinen – €2 800
6. Juuso Elsinen – €2 450
7. Robin Johansson – €2 100
8. Rickard Klyver – €1 750
9. Joakim Rödin – €1 400