diff --git a/src/app/api/matches/upload/route.ts b/src/app/api/matches/upload/route.ts
index a44cf75..fb066bd 100644
--- a/src/app/api/matches/upload/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/matches/upload/route.ts
@@ -194,17 +194,20 @@ export async function POST(request: Request) {
 }
 
 async function findOrCreatePlayer(name: string) {
-  // Try to find existing player with exact name match
+  // Normalize the name for deduplication: trim whitespace and convert to lowercase
+  const normalizedName = name.trim().toLowerCase();
+  
+  // Try to find existing player with matching normalized name
   let player = await prisma.player.findFirst({
-    where: { name },
+    where: { normalizedName },
   });
 
   if (!player) {
-    // Create a new player with a unique name
-    const uniqueName = `${name}-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).substring(2, 8)}`;
+    // Create a new player with the original name and normalized name
     player = await prisma.player.create({
       data: {
-        name: uniqueName,
+        name: name.trim(),
+        normalizedName,
         rating: 1000,
         currentElo: 1000,
       },