The conclusion of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour is only a few weeks away. Genting Casino Stratford, London, will host the fifth and final event. As per usual, the tournament schedule is very diverse. Staple tournaments such as the £150 Mini Main Event and the £500 Main Event are, obviously, making their appearances once again. The PLO Masters is also still part of the festival, and just like in Birmingham, poker.pro will host three self-branded Mixed Games tournaments.
Presumably, all players are thrilled to be treated to such a tournament smorgasbord. Perhaps those at the top of the tour’s leaderboard race are extra grateful, though, as more tournaments equal more opportunities to earn crucial points. It’s a real hornet’s nest at the top of the rankings, and considering how many points are up for grabs in London, anything can happen.
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint
One thing that has become very clear during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour is that it’s a tour designed for the players. A prime example of this is the intense online qualification campaign that has been ongoing for the entire year. For just mere cents, roughly 1,000 players have secured seats and/or packages to the various stops that have been played all over the UK.
Another fragrant ingredient that has spiced up the culinary PartyPoker soup is the leaderboard. During all five live events in 2026, players earn leaderboard points by finishing in the money in any tournament. The better one’s finishing position, the more points. The formula for calculating how many points a player will get is as follows:
Those who are in the top 15 after London will all receive some kind of prize. At a minimum, a player will be entitled to a £150 Mini Main Event ticket. Up top is a juicy £5,000 package that includes five £500 Main Event tickets and £2,500 in cash (which will be credited to the winner’s website account). The winners will be able to put the tickets to good use in 2026, seeing as PartyPoker recently revealed their first stops for next year.
As previously mentioned, the race at the top is very even before London, and it’ll be a real fight for the £5,000 package. God knows there are many skillful players in the top 15 as of right now:
| Position | Player | Points | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Georgiev | 386,27 | £5,000 Party Poker Tour Package |
| 2 | Deniz Orhan | 336,81 | £3,000 PartyPoker Tour Package |
| 3 | Matthew Staples | 292 | £2,000 PartyPoker Tour Package |
| 4 | Jaime Staples | 287,47 | £1,000 PartyPoker Tour Package |
| 5 | Tai Hoang | 140,85 | £500 Main Event Ticker |
| 6 | Robert Douras | 221,92 | £500 Main Event Ticker |
| 7 | Armandas Aurila | 206,96 | £500 Main Event Ticker |
| 8 | Ion Oprea | 196,3 | 2x £150 Mini Main Event Tickets |
| 9 | Raheel Bhatti | 175,16 | 2x £150 Mini Main Event Tickets |
| 10 | Christopher Nicolaou | 174,73 | 2x £150 Mini Main Event Tickets |
| 11 | Rebecca Hardisty | 172,58 | 2x £150 Mini Main Event Tickets |
| 12 | Getnet Kassa | 166,29 | £150 Mini Main Event Ticket |
| 13 | Ronnie Marland | 162,2 | £150 Mini Main Event Ticket |
| 14 | William Kassouf | 161,89 | £150 Mini Main Event Ticket |
| 15 | Fabio Sperling | 158,25 | £150 Mini Main Event Ticket |
It isn’t a big surprise to see PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Alexander Georgiev currently at the top of the rankings. The Bulgarian kicked off his campaign with a runner-up finish in one of the side events during the tour’s first stop (which actually also was played in Genting Casino Stratford, back in April, when it was still Aspers Casino). A few months later, he finished fourth in the £500 Main Event during the Manchester stop; not only did he get many leaderboard points for this feat, but he also scored his biggest-to-date live cash on The Hendon Mob. Georgiev then took a solid lead in the race after winning two side events during the Glasgow stop, and during the very recent Birmingham event, he claimed a third PartyPoker trophy after winning the £60 poker.pro PL Sviten Special.
Chasing Goergiev’s tail is one of London’s finest, Deniz Orhan. Orhan didn’t have any outstanding results in London back in April, but he won the Manchester Main Event and got a nice boost to the top of the rankings. His hot streak continued in Glasgow a few months later with one trophy, along with a sixth- and a fifth-place finish. His best achievement in Birmingham was a fifth-place finish in the £85 PLO Master Saturday Party Madness PLO Bounty, and going into London, he’s trailing Georgiev by 50 points.
The two PartyPoker Team Pros, Matt Staples (third, 292 points) and Jaime Staples (287,47 points), are occupying the following two places on the leaderboard. Jaime took a thirteenth-place finish in the Mini Main Event in London to get his first points. He acquired some more after finishing fourth in the £250 Mystery Bounty in Manchester. The big boost in points came when he finished seventh in the Glasgow Main Event.
Matt got his initial points when he finished eighth in London’s Main Event. He didn’t have any big results in Manchester and missed the Glasgow event entirely, but a good week in Birmingham saw him surpass his brother on the leaderboard. A twelfth-place finish in the Main Event, a sixth-place finish in the £100 Last Chance Turbo, and a win in the £250 Mystery Bounty earned Matt crucial points that saw him soar into the top three.
The last player in the top five, Tai Hoang, stands out from the bunch. Birmingham was the first PartyPoker event he participated in, and it’s safe to say he had a decent week. He finished second in the Mini Main Event, won the Main Event, and sprinkled some extra points on top after finishing fifth in the £100 Last Change Turbo. Hoang is the player with the most total live earnings out of the five, according to The Hendon Mob; if he decides to go to London, he could definitely threaten the four players in front of him.
- Read more: 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham: Sweet Redemption as Tai Hoang Claims £500 Main Event Title
London is where it all started, and London is where it all will finish. Time will tell if anyone in the Fantastic Five will be able to secure the leaderboard win. Or, perhaps, someone outside of the top five will come in from left field and steal the show? One deep run can change everything, and all those who have a realistic chance of finishing number one surely will bring their A-game to the English capital. It’s going to be an intriguing conclusion, and I, for one, will follow the race from the edge of my seat.
