InstaForex Company News

[IFX Yvonne]

Let’s sum up interim stages of four InstaForex contests

The contest administration is ready to announce names of lucky winners at interim stages of four InstaForex contests.

Eventually, the winners at four InstaForex contests have been determined. We are happy to introduce the best of the best in the following contests: One Million Option, InstaForex Sniper, FX-1 Rally by InstaForex, and Real Scalping InstaForex. The company congratulates the victors on the superb results and wishes other participants to find their names in the nearest contest digest.


One Million Option
The extremely popular InstaForex contest always assembles a large number of participants who compete for the title of the best options trader in a fierce battle. In the latest stage, trader Ihar Anatolevich Kulak secured the victory. Please be aware that the next stage is just around the corner. It will be held from July 3, 2017 to July 7, 2017.

Real Scalping[/URL]
Short-term trading is a rather complicated and meticulous strategy of speculations. Hardly anyone can display scrupulous attention, focus on goals, and fast decision-making in this type of trading. Such traits are absolutely essential to succeed in the scalping strategy. Miroslav Bandura managed to expose these qualities and boast brilliant scalping skills. So he was fairly awarded the main prize at this stage. Our sincere congratulations to the winner! We invite other traders who failed to win this time to take part in the next step. Are you keen to face the challenge? Please register for the nearest competition that will run from July 3, 2017 to July 28, 2017.

InstaForex Sniper
To hit precisely a bull's-eye is the key to success in the InstaForex Sniper contest. Perhaps, it is the easiest to understand and the most popular tournament in the range of InstaForex contests. Every week, it attracts more and more participants. This time, competing with other fine snipers Vladimir Brazhnikov notched up a victory by his accurate shots. Let's cheer up the best sniper and wish good luck to less successful contestants! The next step is scheduled for July 3-7, 2017. Test your marksmanship right now!

FX-1 Rally
Trader from India Arwin Halim was the best to cope with the distance in the recent stage of FX-1 Rally. Our winner was able to display the best trading and racing skills. We congratulate Arwin Halim on the great performance! May he confirm the reputation of the best racing driver in further stages of FX-1 Rally! If you are also longing for a tough battle and ready to feel the thrill of a race, welcome to the starting line of the next tour of FX-1 Rally. You can register for the contest and participate in the nearest race which will be held from 00:00 July 7, 2017 to 23:59 July 7, 2017.

Learn more about contests
Photos and comments of the finalists

[puvanb]

SCAM ALERT. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!

Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

[IFX Yvonne]

. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!

Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

Hi PuvanB!  You have already got a response from the Dealer Department about your concern , and I couldn't add anything about it.

[IFX Yvonne]

Winners of four InstaForex contests deserve our applause

The time is ripe to unveil winners of the latest series of InstaForex contests. We are ready to announce the names of victors in the following contests: One Million Option, InstaForex Sniper, FX-1 Rally by InstaForex, and Lucky Trader. The company is happy to congratulate our heroes on great results and wishes other participants to find their names in the nearest contest digest.


One Million Option
One Million Option is enjoying enormous popularity in the range of InstaForex contests. Every stage gathers a large number of participants who are eager to enter a fierce competition and fight for the title of the best options trader. In the latest stage, Daniil Kostrikin notched up a decisive victory. Do you know that the next stage is just around the corner? It will be held from July 24, 2017 to July 28, 2017.

InstaForex Sniper
InstaForex Sniper is tailor-made for the most accurate and fastest traders. The latest stage of InstaForex Sniper revealed that Andrey Dralyuk achieved the highest score. Please be aware that the next step of the InstaForex Sniper is scheduled for July 24-28, 2017.

Lucky Trader[/URL]
Patience, balanced judgement, and focus on goals are the key to success in the two-week marathon called Lucky Trader. If you can trade perfectly for two weeks in a row like trader from Armenia Harutyun Ivanovich Hakhverdyan, you will be able to seize a chance. Who knows? You could win the next interim tournament. Feel free to register for the nearest competition that will run from July 24, 2017 to August 6, 2017.

FX-1 Rally from InstaForex
Trader from Indonesia Aliv Kusuma Wardana was the best to cope with the distance in the recent stage of FX-1 Rally. He was able to display the best trading and racing skills. We congratulate the winner on the great performance and wish him to confirm the reputation of the best racing driver in further stages of FX-1 Rally! If you are also longing for a tough battle and ready to feel the thrill of a race, welcome to the starting line of the next FX-1 Rally which will take place from 00:00 July 21, 2017 to 23:59 July 21, 2017.

Learn more about contests
Photos and comments of the finalists

[puvanb]

. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!

Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

Hi PuvanB!  You have already got a response from the Dealer Department about your concern , and I couldn't add anything about it.

The response i got was, "this issue is already addressed by our chief dealer". End of the story.

My stand still stands with Instaforex is SCAM. BIG BOLD ALERT. I will remove my post if you refund my money back. End of the story. This will continue as long as it takes. The fact that you also know about this and yet nothing has been done just shows the integrity of Instaforex towards its investors.

[puvanb]

SCAM ALERT. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!

Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

[IFX Yvonne]

. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!
Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

Hi Puvanb, We kindly urge you to please stop accusing us. You have already got a response from the Dealer Department about your concern. If you have any questions, please contact them again.

[puvanb]

Dear Yvonne,

Accusation you say? Instaforex is not professional at all. Those are not accusation. it is a fact that Instaforex stole my money. USD9,000. This will continue. I wil keep reminding fellow bitcoiners never to trust your exchange.

SCAM ALERT. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!

Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!
Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

Hi Puvanb, We kindly urge you to please stop accusing us. You have already got a response from the Dealer Department about your concern. If you have any questions, please contact them again.

[puvanb]

oh yes, please tell to your boss this,

New potential customer from bitcointalk = 0,
which equals to lose of potential revenue.

[IFX Yvonne]

Winners of four InstaForex contests announced

The time has come to announce winners of the recent steps of the InstaForex contests. Today we are ready to name victors of the following trading competitions: One Million Option, InstaForex Sniper, Lucky Trader, and FX-1 Rally. InstaForex warmly congratulates the winners and wishes luck to other contestants in future contest stages.

FX-1 Rally from InstaForex
Amr ahmed abdelrahman demonstrated the best racing and trading skills in the latest stage of the FX-1 Rally contest. We congratulate the winner on the excellent performance and wish luck in the next steps of the contest. If you want to take part in the thrilling race too, welcome to the start of FX-1 Rally! You can register for the nearest rally that will begin at 00:00 on August 4, 2017 and come to an end at 23:59 on August 4, 2017.

One Million Option
One Million Option is a much-loved InstaForex contest gathering lots of participants who fiercely compete for the title of the best options trader. In the recent step, Abdul Wahab showed the best result.

The next stage of the One Million Option InstaForex contest will be held very soon - from August 7, 2017 to August 11, 2017.

Lucky Trader[/URL]
Confidence, prudence, and orientation towards success are the keys to winning the Lucky Trader marathon. If you manage to trade smoothly for two weeks, you will be able to win the Lucky Trader contest, just like Nikolay Ivanovich Tray did it. The next stage of the Lucky Trader contest will kick off on August 7, 2017 and run until August 18, 2017.

InstaForex Sniper
The fastest and most accurate traders take part in the InstaForex Sniper contest. According to the results of the recent step, Ghenis Alikovich Zalimbaev was the best. The next contest stage will start on August 7, 2017 and end on August 11, 2017.

Learn more about contests
Photos and comments of the finalists

[puvanb]

SCAM ALERT. SAVE YOUR BITCOINS FROM INSTAFOREX!!!



Dont waste your time with Instaforex. They will only steal your money. Somehow they know how to offset your margin. when you want to save your position by placing an opposite trade, their server will be busy and you will not be able to do anything but just watch your account die. I have first hand experience losing USD9000. when I talked to yvonne, she is useless and cant do anything about it. their super customer service will ignore your case and you will need to follow up countless times. they will never admit its their mistake.

my best advice to my fellow crypto currency traders, you can even believe all the crypto trading brokers but never Instaforex. You will be only asking for trouble. Forex company exploiting woman for promotion. Becareful.

Winners of four InstaForex contests announced

The time has come to announce winners of the recent steps of the InstaForex contests. Today we are ready to name victors of the following trading competitions: One Million Option, InstaForex Sniper, Lucky Trader, and FX-1 Rally. InstaForex warmly congratulates the winners and wishes luck to other contestants in future contest stages.

FX-1 Rally from InstaForex
Amr ahmed abdelrahman demonstrated the best racing and trading skills in the latest stage of the FX-1 Rally contest. We congratulate the winner on the excellent performance and wish luck in the next steps of the contest. If you want to take part in the thrilling race too, welcome to the start of FX-1 Rally! You can register for the nearest rally that will begin at 00:00 on August 4, 2017 and come to an end at 23:59 on August 4, 2017.

One Million Option
One Million Option is a much-loved InstaForex contest gathering lots of participants who fiercely compete for the title of the best options trader. In the recent step, Abdul Wahab showed the best result.

The next stage of the One Million Option InstaForex contest will be held very soon - from August 7, 2017 to August 11, 2017.

Lucky Trader[/URL]
Confidence, prudence, and orientation towards success are the keys to winning the Lucky Trader marathon. If you manage to trade smoothly for two weeks, you will be able to win the Lucky Trader contest, just like Nikolay Ivanovich Tray did it. The next stage of the Lucky Trader contest will kick off on August 7, 2017 and run until August 18, 2017.

InstaForex Sniper
The fastest and most accurate traders take part in the InstaForex Sniper contest. According to the results of the recent step, Ghenis Alikovich Zalimbaev was the best. The next contest stage will start on August 7, 2017 and end on August 11, 2017.

Learn more about contests
Photos and comments of the finalists

[puvanb]

1 year Anniversary soon of your theft!

Guys,

Do not trust Instaforex with your money or bitcoins. It is not safe! Read the below if you need more verification.

I have a very bad experience with Instaforex where they have cheated me USD9,000.00 few months ago. This is not a fear mongering message but rather a very painful lesson learnt from the hard way.

Below are the message sent to the Instaforex Representative in this forum not very long ago.

!!! WARNING: This user is a newbie. If you are expecting a message from a more veteran member, then this is an imposter !!!
Hi Yvonne,

I would like to bring an issue to your attention. I have 2 accounts with Instaforex; 3644429 and 3644432, which both got margin called due to an issue with your servers. I will go through this case in detail below so you can understand and i would like to be reasonable to you before i go public in here in bitcointalk and other social media sites. This is not a joke but a case with full evidence and acknowledged by your chief dealer and failed to refund my account.

Both my accounts were loaded with USD4000 each excluding the Instaforex bonus of USD1200 and i had profit in the account of USD500. Therefore my total balance in each account was USD5700 in account number 3644429 and 3644432. These are more than 3 months old account. Proof of account balance as per below:

Proof of Account Balance 3644429

Proof of Account Balance 3644432

Now to the issue, on the 30th of August, i had multiple buy positions in the EURUSD pair in both accounts. Looking at the chart and to save my positions and account balance, i tried placing a sell order for the amount of USD100 in both accounts. Unfortunately your servers freeze. I tried placing orders multiple of times, but for each time, the screen freeze for few minutes with the message "Order has been placed in que" and then rejecting my order placement. I am attaching the trading log from Instaforex server (Please see the screenshot below - Order screen freeze) This happenened multiple times (Please see the screenshot below - multiple orders reject). This has never happenend before to me. I am using Instaforex for more than 3 months so i know this is your server issue. I requested help from Instaforex support and they asked me to send a claim to Dealer's department. 

Order screen freeze
 

Multiple orders reject

This is the best part. I sent an email to the dealer on the 1st of September and i was told this issue will be solved within 10 working days.

The communication was lousy. I had to keep on sending email for update and the dealer department replies to me every 4-5 days. After 3 weeks, after my continuous emails to the dealers, i received an email. This issue was acknowledged by your dealer department. Which means, they acknowledge that this is an Instaforex issue and they asked me to use a regular account since i was using a cent account. I dont see any explanation on trade limit for account opening for cent accounts in Instaforex. Although it is quite funny because i have seen bigger opening lot size during trade before. However please see the Chief dealer reply below:

Chief Dealer Reply #1

Now that they have acknowledged the issue, i asked for my refund status, this is what the reply i got from them.

Chief Dealer Reply #2

Here is my question to you and to the whole Instaforex team. What does trading exactly means to you? I cannot place an order in trading to hedge my other positions to save my account and that is called a new order? So Instaforex prefers the traders not to do anything to save the account and let them lose their money? This in my opinion is SCAM. You want the traders to lose money? Is that what Forex Trading means to you? I couldn't save my account because i couldn't place a USD100 position which would have helped me save my positions for few days since it was at low (EURUSD pair). These are not small amount. It is a total of USD9000 of my money.

So here is the thing. I want to know what you are going to do about this. I will give you few days to come with a solution. If i don't see a reply and action (money refunded into my account USD5700 in each account) in the next 3 days, i will post this message in public in the bitcointalk threads. I will also post this in every other social media for everyone to view Instaforex's Integrity as a broker. I chose to use Instaforex due to the reason of easy withdrawal using local IB.

So the ball is in your court now. I hope we do not need to escalate this issue any further in my opinion. I am still trying to be a reasonable person here.

Kind regards.

As you can see from the above, i was not able to place a hedge position to safe my trading positions. When i sent an email to Instaforex, they were not even interested in replying you. Instead you have to send emails after emails to ask for the status. And the best part is, you cannot safe your positions at the critical time when you need to place an opposition positions. Instaforex is not genuine.

Even after Yvonne asked me to sent an email to them, they just told me the case is solved and has been replied. My USD9,000 gone just like that. So let me ask you this question, would you trust Instaforex with your bitcoins which is why they are here in this forum. They want your bitcoins and trust me, you will not be able to withdraw or "something suspicious" will happen to your trading account.

My advise to you is to withdraw your funds and bitcoins if you have any over there as soon as possible and trade with other TRUSTWORTHY Exchangers.

Regards

[IFX Yvonne]

7,000,000 people choose us!

For us, the main event of this month was the moment when the seven-millionth client joined our company! The InstaForex family is growing, which encourages optimism and inspires us for future accomplishments.



This great number proves that our work is done for a good reason. It is the all-time record for us, but it does not mean that we are satisfied with what has already been achieved. We will continue to work hard on improving the services provided by our company. Whatever the circumstances, you can rely on us.

The trust of such a large number of traders is an explicit acknowledgment that the company chose its course of development correctly.

Thank you for choosing us!

InstaForex is your reliable partner and guide in the world of financial success!

[puvanb]

7,000,000 people choose us!

For us, the main event of this month was the moment when the seven-millionth client joined our company! The InstaForex family is growing, which encourages optimism and inspires us for future accomplishments.



This great number proves that our work is done for a good reason. It is the all-time record for us, but it does not mean that we are satisfied with what has already been achieved. We will continue to work hard on improving the services provided by our company. Whatever the circumstances, you can rely on us.

The trust of such a large number of traders is an explicit acknowledgment that the company chose its course of development correctly.

Thank you for choosing us!

InstaForex is your reliable partner and guide in the world of financial success!

I dont trust those numbers at all. most likely they are multiple accounts of same people. how many active accounts do you actually have? Besides if you do really have that many people, why are you even here to promote your company. Doesn't sound right.  Anyways it will never sound right and i am here for warn the other investors not to transfer their valuable bitcoin into your exchange. Nope. You are guys are not even exchange. More like wolves.

[IFX Yvonne]

I dont trust those numbers at all. most likely they are multiple accounts of same people. how many active accounts do you actually have? Besides if you do really have that many people, why are you even here to promote your company. Doesn't sound right.  Anyways it will never sound right and i am here for warn the other investors not to transfer their valuable bitcoin into your exchange. Nope. You are guys are not even exchange. More like wolves.

Dear Sir,

The number of clients mentioned on our company news is authentic. All of them are active traders, and due to our reliable trading system, some of our clients chose to open multiple trading accounts with us. You are right, we are here to promote our services like other companies do.

[puvanb]

I dont trust those numbers at all. most likely they are multiple accounts of same people. how many active accounts do you actually have? Besides if you do really have that many people, why are you even here to promote your company. Doesn't sound right.  Anyways it will never sound right and i am here for warn the other investors not to transfer their valuable bitcoin into your exchange. Nope. You are guys are not even exchange. More like wolves.

Dear Sir,

The number of clients mentioned on our company news is authentic. All of them are active traders, and due to our reliable trading system, some of our clients chose to open multiple trading accounts with us. You are right, we are here to promote our services like other companies do.

It has been almost 1 year on August 31 since my case was submitted to Instaforex. I lost USD 9000 + USD 12000 due this problem. You guys robbed my money. So no way that I will leave this thread of yours. How can your system error become my problem. Unless my money is returned in full, there will be no end to this. So keep posting, and I will reply them in my way.

[IFX Yvonne]

It has been almost 1 year on August 31 since my case was submitted to Instaforex. I lost USD 9000 + USD 12000 due this problem. You guys robbed my money. So no way that I will leave this thread of yours. How can your system error become my problem. Unless my money is returned in full, there will be no end to this. So keep posting, and I will reply them in my way.

Dear Sir,

You have already got a response from the Dealer Department about your concern , and I couldn't add anything about it. Should you have any questions, please contact them again.

[puvanb]

It has been almost 1 year on August 31 since my case was submitted to Instaforex. I lost USD 9000 + USD 12000 due this problem. You guys robbed my money. So no way that I will leave this thread of yours. How can your system error become my problem. Unless my money is returned in full, there will be no end to this. So keep posting, and I will reply them in my way.

Dear Sir,

You have already got a response from the Dealer Department about your concern , and I couldn't add anything about it. Should you have any questions, please contact them again.

Not gonna happen. You guys cheated my money. your dealer is a fool and a scammer probably that is the instruction given by your company to him. To cheat the users. Funny how you guys manipulate data. Unless I am refunded in full, I will not going to be silent. let everyone here see how scammy your company is.

[IFX Yvonne]

InstaForex Loprais Team participated in Silk Way Rally 2017

Silk Way Rally 2017 ran from 7 to 22 of July. The participants of the rally started in Moscow and overcame the route of 9,599 kilometers in length.

Among members of InstaForex Loprais Team there was Ales Loprais who won a number of prizes in this rally and became the pilot in command. Milan Holan acted as a co-pilot and Khalid Alkendi from the UAE performed a role of a navigator. He has 14-year experience in racing on deserts.



The racing team was striving for victory in a cabin of the evolutionary TATRA Queen 69 ReBorn van. The new car has been substantially upgraded from the previous version. In this endurance competition, the team conquered overflown roads, vast steppes, and hot deserts. Tough conditions and technical failures forces the team get off the track in the Chinese city of Hami after it had successfully passed 9 stages of the race.



The sportsmen are grateful to those who took part in the race and would like to thank clients of InstaForex who supported the team for the duration of the race.

[IFX Yvonne]

Results of five InstaForex contests summed up

Today we will name the winners of the following contests: One Million Option, InstaForex Sniper, Lucky Trader, FX-1 Rally, and Real Scalping.

FX-1 Rally from InstaForex
TRI PUJI HARTANTO showed the best performance in the latest stage of the FX-1 Rally contest. The trader from Indonesia demonstrated great trading and racing skills. Congratulations to the winner and good luck in further steps! If you want to feel the thrilling spirit of the race, welcome to the start of another step of the FX-1 Rally contest. You can register for the nearest rally that will take place from 00:00 September 1, 2017 to 23:59 September 1, 2017.

One Million Option
One Million Option being one of the most well-liked contests gathers a lot of participants who fight hard for the title of the best option trader. The most outstanding result was shown by Kehinde Adetola Osonaike from Nigeria. The next stage of the contest will take place from August 28, 2017 to September 1, 2017.

Lucky Trader[/URL]
If you manage to trade perfectly during two weeks, you will be able to win the Lucky Trader contest, just like Anna Gazizovna Mambetova did it. The trader showed excellent skills and the best result among hundreds of other contestants. We congratulate the winner with the victory and wish her luck in next competitions. The next stage of the Lucky Trader contest will be held from September 4, 2017 to September 15, 2017.

InstaForex Sniper
The sharpest and fastest traders compete in the InstaForex Sniper context. By the results of the recent step, Stanislav Grigorievich Kozlov became the winner. The next step will be held from August 28, 2017 to September 1, 2017.

Real Scalping
Short-term trading is a difficult activity requiring high attention and accuracy. Not everyone is attentive, focused and quick enough to make a right decision for this type of trading, but these qualities are needed to succeed in scalping. This time, Faraj Milad Alhadar took the first place in the Real Scalping contest. InstaForex congratulates the winner and invites other participants to test their luck once again. Everyone willing to challenge their skills may register in the next step that will start on September 4, 2017 and end on September 29, 2017.

Learn more about contests
Photos and comments of the finalists