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Road to Helsinki – WOC 2026: Finland
30 July 2026Written by World Othello Federation
Finland: The Host Nation That Refuses to Just Show Up
With Nordic Championship titles, EGP victories, a two-time female world champion, and a team silver medal in Paris, Finland arrives in Helsinki with far more than home advantage — and a Tampere qualifying field that would terrify anyone.
🗓 📍 Finnish Championships · Tampere · 1 August 2026
For many countries, hosting the World Othello Championship would be occasion enough. For Finland, it is simply extra motivation. This weekend, on 1 August, the city of Tampere hosts the Finnish Othello Championships — the single tournament that decides who will represent Finland on home soil in Helsinki this November.
"In Finland you earn your place — the top three finishers, the best youth player and the best female player qualify directly from one tournament, on one day."
There is no multi-leg qualifying circuit, no selection committee. The format is refreshingly direct: finish in the top three, be the highest-placed youth player, or be the top female finisher — and you are in. Five spots, one tournament, everything decided in Tampere.
A Room Full of Champions
This year's Finnish Championships will be unlike any in recent memory. Every Finnish national champion since 2005 is confirmed to be competing in Tampere — meaning the field is not just strong, it is a living hall of fame. More than two decades of title-holders, each with WOC experience and the hunger that comes with playing for a home crowd, will be fighting for just five qualification spots.
Finnish National Champions in the Field · 2005–2025
"Every Finnish Othello champion from the past two decades has confirmed their place in Tampere. Five WOC spots. Twenty years of champions. One brutal day of Othello."
Meet the Top Contenders
The Tampere field reads like a who's-who of Finnish Othello. Here are the names to know:
Olli Makkonen
Ranked #2 in Finland
8× Finnish National Champion — the most titles of any active Finnish player. WOC veteran of Stockholm (2003), Mito (2016) and Paris (2022). Nordic Champion 2004. Finland's second highest-rated player and the undisputed flag-bearer of Finnish Othello for over two decades.
8× National Champion
Mehran Farzanmehr
Ranked #1 in Finland · Finland's fastest rising star
Runner-up at the 2025 Finnish Championship. Shared 7th place at WOC 2023 Rome on his world championship debut — in a 98-player field. Won Division 3 and the Debutant award at EOC 2023 Helsinki. His rise to #1 ranked player in Finland is the story of the moment.
Rising Star
Katie Pihlajapuro
2× Women's World Othello Champion (2013 & 2022). First woman ever to win a European Grand Prix (Ghent, 2013). Reached 4th place at WOC 2022 Paris in the open category. Women's finalist also in 2006, 2023 and 2025.
World Champion
Lari Pihlajapuro
Ranked #3 in Finland · Defending Champion
Finnish Champion 2009, 2019, 2023 & 2025. Shared 6th overall at WOC 2022 Paris. 7× WOC appearances since Stockholm 2003. 3× Nordic Champion. EGP Stockholm 2024 winner.
Defending Champion
Janne Peiponen
Ranked #4 in Finland
Competing since 2004. Shared 6th overall at WOC 2022 Paris. WOC appearances in Athens (2007), Mito (2016) and Paris (2022). Nordic Champion 2014. One of the most consistent Nordic players of the past two decades.
Consistency
Patrik Hirvonen
Finnish veteran · Long-time top board
A fixture at the top of Finnish Othello for over 20 years and a regular first-board player for Finland in international team matches. Shared 8th place at WOC 2005 Reykjavik — still one of the finest individual WOC results by any Finnish man. Consistently dangerous at every national championship he has entered.
Black Horse
Markku Pöysti
Finnish veteran
A long-standing presence at the very top of Finnish Othello. Pöysti has been in the mix at Finnish Championships for decades — experienced, tenacious, and never to be written off.
Long time veteran
Harri Haglund
One of the most decorated players in Finnish Othello history. 3× Finnish National Champion — 1982, 1983 and 1986 — making him a champion from over 40 years ago who is still competing today. His presence in Tampere spans four decades of Finnish Othello, from the very early days of the sport in Finland through to the home WOC. A living piece of the country's Othello heritage.
3× Finnish Champion
The Lönnqvist Family
Fredrik · Tom · Christer
Three members of the same family representing Finland — a unique and fitting subplot for a home WOC. Tom Lönnqvist is the family's Finnish champion, having claimed the national title in the past. Fredrik Lönnqvist is considered the strongest of the three today, a long-standing fixture on the Finnish circuit. Christer Lönnqvist rounds out a trio that adds a rare family dimension to what is already a remarkable field.
Family Trio
The Finnish Game
Do not let the understated qualifying format fool you. Finnish Othello punches well above its weight on the international stage. The national roster holds multiple Nordic Championship wins, European Grand Prix victories, and — in Katie Pihlajapuro — a two-time Women's World Champion who also reached the open top four at WOC 2022, a feat almost unmatched in the women's game.
Finland at the World Othello Championships
Finnish top WOC finishes across history
| Year · Venue | Player | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 · Paris | Katie Pihlajapuro | 4th | Women's World Champion · open semi-finalist |
| 2022 · Paris | Janne Peiponen | =6th | 9 pts · shared 6th in 88-player field |
| 2022 · Paris | Lari Pihlajapuro | =6th | 9 pts · shared 6th in 88-player field |
| 2023 · Rome | Mehran Farzanmehr | =7th | 9 pts · shared 7th in 98-player field · WOC debut |
| 2005 · Reykjavik | Patrik Hirvonen | =8th | 8 pts · one of Finland's first recorded WOC top-10 |
| 2006 · Mito | Katie Pihlajapuro | =5th | Shared 5th |
| 2016 · Mito | Olli Makkonen | =12th | 8 pts · shared 12th in 84-player field |
| 2003 · Stockholm | Lari Pihlajapuro | =9th | shared 9th. WOC debut |
| 2013 · Stockholm | Katie Pihlajapuro | =9th | shared 9th. Women's World Champion |
🥈
Team Silver — WOC Paris 2022
Finland went into the final round trailing Japan by just 0.5 points. After 13 gruelling rounds they finished on 27.5 team points — silver by the narrowest of margins. Three Finns in the top 6 individually made it Finland's greatest ever team WOC performance.
What to Watch For
The Tampere tournament will be a genuine test of nerves. With only five spots available and a field that includes a double world champion, an eight-time national champion, and more than two decades' worth of title-holders all chasing the same tickets, every single round matters. The youth and women's classifications add further drama — a strong result in either category can secure a WOC place even without cracking the overall top three.
One name to watch closely is Mehran Farzanmehr — now ranked #1 in Finland — who finished second at the 2025 championship and reached the WOC top 10 on debut in Rome. And keep an eye on the Lönnqvist family: Fredrik, Tom and Christer all competing together at a home WOC qualifier is a story in itself. The question in Tampere is whether the new generation can break through, or whether the old guard, steeped in experience and hungry for a home WOC, will hold the line.
Finland at a Glance
Qualifying tournament Finnish Championships, Tampere — 1 August 2026
Qualification spots Top 3 finishers + best youth + best female
Field strength All Finnish champions since 2005 confirmed
Top-rated in Finland Mehran Farzanmehr — 2286 · #65 world
Most national titles Olli Makkonen — 8× Finnish Champion
Women's World titles Katie Pihlajapuro — 2× (2013 & 2022)
Best WOC open finish Katie Pihlajapuro — 4th overall, Paris 2022
Team result, Paris WOC 2nd place — decided in the final round
WOC 2026 venue Helsinki, Finland — 25–28 November 2026
When the dust settles in Tampere, Finland's team for Helsinki will be set. And with home crowds behind them for the first time in the championship's history, the pressure — and the opportunity — will be unlike anything Finnish Othello has experienced before.
Follow the Finnish Championships live at flipthedisc ↗ · WOC 2026 information at worldothello ↗
Read the earlier WOC 2026 - Road to Helsinki articles, featuring Sweden and Japan.