Nicolas Bokowski Crowned EMPC Player of the Series as Tallinn Festival Wraps Up

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Nov 05, 2026 4 min read

Germany's Nicolas Bokowski has been crowned the 2026 European Mixed Poker Championship (EMPC) Player of the Series after a consistent week at Olybet Poker's Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn saw him finish ahead of England's Seun Oluwole and fellow German Philipp Krieger.

Bokowski collected five cashes across the 12-event festival, including a victory in the €300 Nordic Special Mix and a runner-up finish in the €1,500 S.O.R.B.E.T. High Roller, to finish with 809.5 points. Oluwole took second with 702 points, while Krieger's victory in the final event of the series saw him jump 16 places to finish third.

The festival attracted 856 entries across 12 events, generating €371,070 in prize pools. There were plenty of familiar faces among the winners, including Finland's Tapani Pulkkinen, who claimed the €800 8-Game Main Event title and the festival's largest first-place prize of €22,250.

Bokowski's Consistency Pays Off

Bokowski got his hands on his first mixed-game trophy early in the festival, defeating Slovenia's Blaz Zerjav heads-up in the €300 Nordic Special Mix to collect €6,150.

Zerjav was no stranger to success at the EMPC, having won both the Main Event and Player of the Series titles in 2025. However, he couldn't add another trophy to his collection, with Bokowski denying him a repeat victory.

The German then came close to securing a second title in the €1,500 S.O.R.B.E.T. High Roller, where he battled Patrick Stacey heads-up for three and a half hours. Stacey eventually prevailed to collect €20,230, while Bokowski added €12,830 to his winnings.

Those two results, alongside a third-place finish in the opening €300 Big Bet Mix and two further cashes, were enough to put Bokowski comfortably clear of the chasing pack.

Oluwole was his closest challenger, reaching three final tables during the festival. The Englishman finished fourth in the €200 S.O.R.B.E.T., second in Senkel's Paradise Pick'em and third in the Main Event, banking €10,930 for the latter result.

Krieger, meanwhile, saved his best result for last. The self-confessed recreational player defeated Estonia's Heiti Riisberg heads-up in the €200 Omaha Dealer's Choice to win €3,004. It was his fifth cash of the festival and moved him from 19th to third in the final standings.

EMPC Player of the Series Leaderboard

Pulkkinen Wins €22,250 in EMPC Main Event

While Bokowski took the overall honours, the festival's biggest individual prize went to Finland's Tapani Pulkkinen, who came out on top in the €800 8-Game Main Event.

The tournament attracted 146 entries, creating a €97,090 prize pool. Pulkkinen entered the final table second in chips behind Wantao Tang, but went on to defeat Denmark's Christian Elgstrøm heads-up to secure the title.

"It's great. It's crazy," Pulkkinen said following his victory. His approach to navigating the eight-game format was fairly straightforward.

"I was just trying to do what I think seems smart, and run good."

Before the final table, Pulkkinen had identified Pot-Limit Omaha as his strongest game, explaining that it was where he planned to accumulate chips. Fittingly, the tournament's final hand was dealt in PLO.

Elgstrøm received €15,070 as runner-up, while Oluwole rounded out the podium with €10,930.

Defending champion Žerjav was also in the field but couldn't repeat his 2025 success. He was eliminated by Oluwole in 22nd place, just three positions short of the money.

2026 EMPC Main Event Final Table Results

Pulkkinen was also full of praise for the festival and the growing appeal of mixed-game poker.

"Yeah, for sure. I had a ton of fun," he said when asked about the future of mixed games. "It's a great atmosphere here, so definitely I could see a lot of people enjoying this."

2026 EPMC Winners

The 12-event festival featured buy-ins ranging from €200 to €1,500, with players competing across a variety of mixed-game formats.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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• Tags EMPC OlyBet Olybet Poker Alexander Aaneland Andres Korn Blaz Zerjav Christian Elgstrøm Christophe Stammet Eirik Kristiansen Erik Sønste­by Heiti Riisberg Ilkka Heikkila Jerry Ödeen Marius Toverud Nicolas Bokowski Patrick Stacey Philipp Krieger Raymond For