The XL Blizzard concluded its exciting 34-tournament lineup on Sunday after running for 11 days, highlighted by the Main Event with a buy-in of $1,050 and a guarantee of $1,000,000. The standout winner was Argentina’s “Pepepepepe.”, who bagged $183,867 and made history by becoming one of the rare few to hold both the XL Inferno and Blizzard championships. Details about his achievement can be found below.
Though the regular events have concluded, two additional special tournaments associated with the XL Blizzard are on the horizon. The first is the 'Bubble of Bubbles' tournament, which will feature only those players who narrowly missed out on cashing in an XL Blizzard event. This exciting competition is scheduled for Tuesday, January 30 at 14:00.
In this exclusive tournament, both the champion and the bubble player will receive a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package. Additionally, the...nd-4thwill get a $160 tournament ticket, and 5th-9tha $55 tournament ticket.
Simultaneously, the Champion of Champions event will take place on Tuesday, January 30, starting at 13:00. This competition invites the top 50 point earners from the XL Blizzard leaderboard. The winner will snag a $12,000 WSOP Vegas package, while the second-place finisher will receive a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package along with a $1,050 tournament ticket.
Moreover, the third-place contender will be awarded a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package, while those finishing fourth and fifth will receive a $1,050 tournament ticket. Players ranked sixth to tenth will earn a $600 tournament ticket, and everyone else will get a $55 tournament ticket.
The XL Blizzard also launched a new promotion that rewarded substantial cash prizes to players who emerged victorious in multiple events, including a grand prize of $1,000,000 for anyone who could win five events. Unfortunately, no player managed to repeat as a champion during the XL Blizzard series.
Here’s a brief summary of the key events from the XL Blizzard leading up to the final day:
Day 1 – Jans “Graftekkel” Arends from the Netherlands took home more than $17K by winning the Opening Event. Other titleholders included “bygavuga” and “scellone94.”
Day 2 – The dynamic duo of “Jamasutra” and “Pasha813” achieved 'Twin Wins' in Events #4 and #5 respectively.
Day 3 – Event #6, known as Crazy 8, saw Norway’s “Rekrutt1” win over $10K, while past XL Eclipse champions “NeveGiveUp” and “msksevart” both secured XL Blizzard titles.
Day 4 – In Event #9, the $120,000 Mega Deep, “23NoraB” avenged a previous second place finish from the XL Inferno Mega Deep. Additionally, three 888poker Ambassadors made significant progress in the Whale, while Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt faced elimination not once, but twice, from the chance to claim an XL Blizzard title.
Day 5 – “DeltaSpider” became the fourth Russian to achieve an XL Blizzard title, while “yarik1903” brought home the second title for Ukraine.
Day 6 – “Tonkaaaa” made it to the final table of the $250K High Roller event, but it was “SteveyBG” who took the title; it was a remarkable day for “OINKOinkOink.”
Day 7 – “CR1TCHZ” earned his second title of the series, while Malta’s “PazzoRJ” and the UK’s “JohnJones34” also celebrated victories.
Day 8 – Kuwait’s “sayqmyqname” secured the Quarterback title, “bujalabujala” represented Lithuania with a win, and Super XL Champion “petrofv5501” also scored a victory.
Day 9 – “ LucySagara70” contributed a second title for the Netherlands, while “grigorq77” was victorious in the Mini Knockout event.
Day 10 – “KellerA” made cash in three events and reached two final tables, achieving two wins for Sweden, while “yrkkk” celebrated a victory for Lithuania.
Argentina’s “Pepepepepe.”, an XL Inferno Champion Claims XL Blizzard Main Event Victory for $183,867!
Undoubtedly, the most significant moment of the day—and indeed, the entire XL Blizzard event—was the $1,050 buy-in for Event #32: the $1,000,000 GTD Main Event. This tournament exceeded its guarantee by $2K, attracting 730 participants who made 272 rebuys.
Several prominent players entered the competition but fell short of receiving any cash, including Robin “Inho” Ylitalo, Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt, Adrian “ADRI_ATM” Mateos, Ole “olekonjole” Schemion, Steven “Kale333” Van Zadelhoff, Artem “veeea” Vezhenkov, and Jans “Graftekkel” Arends, the winner of the Opening Event.
In a similar vein, several 888poker Ambassadors took part but missed out on the money, including Chris “888Moorman” Moorman, Martin “MJacobson888” Jacobson, Sofia “sofialovgren” Lövgren, and Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche.
Nitsche faced elimination during Level 15, all-in before the flop holding Q♣J♥, and was unable to win a race against 7♥7♦ after the board showed 6♣10♣3♥6♥K♣. Likewise, fellow 888poker Ambassador Parker “888tonkaaaa” Talbot fell just two spots short of the payout when he lost a flip holding A♦J♣ against an opponent’s 8♥8♠.
The “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament seat from the Main Event was awarded to Charlie “chazcombes” Combes from the UK, who was eliminated in 100th place when his A♥Q♥ ran into pocket kings. Although he managed to connect with a pair on the Q♦6♠J♥ flop, he was unable to secure his spot after a 3♦ turn and 6♣ river.thAmong the 99 players who made the money were “SalsaFiesta” (99th place, earning $3,106.20), 2016 Super XL Main Event champion “Gr33nApples” (31st place, earning $4,308), WSOP bracelet winner Chris “NigDawG” Brammer (21st place, earning $5,010), and Andreas “KURDEdersim” Samuelsson (16th place).
After a thrilling 12 hours and 41 minutes of play, Argentina’s “Pepepepepe.” emerged victorious against Lithuania’s “Vienas2” to become the XL Blizzard Main Event champion, collecting a grand prize of $183,867. The runner-up, on the other hand, received a handsome consolation amount of $131,262.thfor $2,304.60), Nicolas “PKaiser” Fierro (90thfor $2,505), “InJeBakkes” (63rdfor $3,106.20), Simon \"Isildur1337x\" Mattsson (56thPer PokerNews live coverage, the heads-up battle spanned roughly 15 minutes until “Vienas2” pushed all-in holding 4♥4♦ and was unable to fend off the A♦K♣ of “Pepepepepe.” as the board showed K♠10♦2♦2♣3♠.st“Pepepepepe.” is continuing his winning streak from 2017! In May’s XL Inferno Event #45: $15,000 Swordfish, he came out on top among 822 players to seize a $4,091 first-place payout.stShortly thereafter in the XL Inferno Event #135: $15,000 Swordfish, he and “GunnersYa91” engaged in a heads-up agreement after navigating a field of 745 players. The Argentine had to settle for second, receiving $3,002.thfor $7,014), “Kamphu94” (5thfor $52,104), and “wellyxx” (3rdfor $99,198).
On July 7 of the previous year, he won the $7,000 Breeze for $1,610, and followed that up with a triumph in the $60,000 Sunday Challenge, netting $11,400.
“TooMuchRake” Finally Secures XL Title in Mega Deep
The $215 buy-in for Event #31: $150,000 Mega Deep significantly exceeded its guaranteed amount, attracting 680 participants and resulting in 331 rebuys. This created a substantial prize pool of $202,200, divided among the top 88 finishers. Finishing in 89th place and qualifying for the 'Bubble of Bubbles' was “varonislv” from Latvia.
Some notable finishers who made it to payout positions included Russia’s “Ao1ing” (84th, earning $525.72), and 888poker Ambassador and 2014 World Series of Main Event champion Martin “MJacobson888” Jacobson (82nd).
Following a performance that saw 2016 Super XL High Roller champion “Eat1ngAndWIN” finish in third place, “Binkasaurus” and “TooMuchRake” went head-to-head for the championship. Just over 12 hours into competition, “Binkasaurus” emerged victorious, claiming the top prize of $37,811.40.
In September, “TooMuchRake” came close to securing an XL title on two occasions: he finished fifth for $1,500 in the XL Eclipse Event #102: $25,000 Sunday Tornado, and four days later placed third in the XL Eclipse Event #148: $15,000 Swordfish, collecting $1,585.
Canada’s “jobrazeau” Takes Home the Final Event of the XL BlizzardthThe concluding tournament of the XL Blizzard series was Event #34: the $30 buy-in $50,000 Micro Main. This event saw an impressive 1,931 players, with an additional 701 rebuys made. As a result, the prize pool reached $72,390, distributed among the top 252 players. The player in 253rd place, “kalololo1” from Germany, earned the last entry into the 'Bubble of Bubbles' tournament.
Several players received payouts but could not make it to the final table, including “HammertimeAA” (finishing in 187th place, among others).thThe final table featured a diverse group of players from various countries, with the exception of two Canadians. One of these, “Nordynordbrg,” took fourth place, earning $4,668.51, and after Brazil’s “grdpoker1” finished in third for $6,217.44, one Canadian advanced to heads-up play. Poker After a battle lasting 10 hours and 41 minutes, Canada’s “jobrazeau” emerged victorious against Germany’s “dnvz23,” a champion from the 2016 Super XL Series, ultimately winning the event and taking home a first-place prize of $11,436.04.ndfor $525.72), Jerry “Perrymejsen” Ödeen (46thfor $808.80), XL Eclipse champ “germaxii” (25thfor $1,112.10), Bernardo “bsdias” Dias (12thfor $2,426.40), “Sr.Penes” (7thfor $4,549.50), and “Jagar_888” (4thfor $15,165).
We are excited to introduce you to 888poker’s FORTUNE TRAIL , a fantastic opportunity to win up to $250,000!
Embark on an adventure down the Fortune Trail, where significant cash prizes await!
Complete Golden Step Challenges – Each completed challenge allows you to progress along the trail, uncovering new challenges with every step! Plus, each step you take awards you with tournament tickets or bonus prizes of up to $10.
Hit Treasure Chest Milestones – Land on a Treasure Chest? Complete the designated challenge and unlock it for an extra reward of up to $5,000 in cash. rd Trek all the way to the Ultimate Destination – Finish your final challenge on the Fortune Trail to claim your grand prize, with potential cash awards of up to $250,000.
Chad Holloway is a WSOP Bracelet winner from 2013 who has previously held roles at PokerNews as a managing editor and live reporter.thfor $72.39), “OPH1UCHUS” (135thfor $101.33), “Ao1ing” (72ndfor $151.99), Troy “S.Janowski” Qunneville (64thfor $151.99), “summuNNN” (29thfor $224.37), “freakshove2” (12thfor $600.75), and “joaof6” (10thfor $600.75).
Argentina’s “Pepepepepe.”, a champion from XL Inferno, has won the XL Blizzard Main Event, earning $183,867!
“TooMuchRake” Finally Achieves an XL Title in Mega Deep.
What to Watch for on 888poker
Canada’s “jobrazeau” secures victory in the final event of the XL Blizzard.
888poker-EGR-logo-Mobile-Header-2021-white
Here’s how :
888poker-EGR-logo-Mobile-Header-2022-white
Virtual Global Digital Services Limited and VDSL (International) Limited are licensed by the Gibraltar Licensing Authority and are strictly regulated by
the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner.
