As we reach Day 4 of the XL Blizzard, which spans 11 days and culminates on January 28, this day marked a high point with five tournaments taking place, including a super satellite to the Main Event. Up to this point, 13 out of the planned 34 events have been completed, with champions emerging from Russia, the Netherlands, Malta, Germany, Norway, and Finland.
The XL Blizzard boasts a whopping prize pool of over $2.8 million, featuring events with buy-ins ranging from as low as $5 to as high as $2,100. This year's program includes thrilling competitions such as a $2,100 buy-in High Roller event with a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000, and the Main Event on January 28, which has a $1,050 buy-in and promises $1,000,000 in guaranteed winnings.
New exciting promotions have been introduced, including substantial cash rewards for players who triumph in multiple tournaments (with a grand prize of $1,000,000 for winning five events), a unique ‘Bubble of Bubbles’ tournament (where players qualify if they bubble out of any tournament), and the much-anticipated return of the Champion of Champions event.
The Champion of Champions event makes a comeback during the XL Blizzard series, offering one fortunate 888poker participant a WSOP Vegas package valued at $12,000. By participating in any XL Blizzard event, players accumulate leaderboard points, and the top 50 players will earn a ticket to the Champion of Champions tournament scheduled for January 30 at 18:00 GMT.
Take a look at the latest updates from the leaderboard:
Here’s a brief summary of the highlights from the XL Blizzard up to this point:
Day 1 – Dutch player Jans “Graftekkel” Arends triumphed in the Opening Event, taking home over $17,000. The titles in the same day were claimed by “bygavuga” and “scellone94.”
Day 2 – Competitors “Jamasutra” and “Pasha813” each notched impressive victories, winning in Events #4 and #5 respectively.
Day 3 – Norway's “Rekrutt1” secured a win in Event #6: Crazy 8 with a reward of over $10,000, while former champions “NeveGiveUp” and “msksevart” also came through with wins in the XL Blizzard.
For more in-depth information about the XL Blizzard, be sure to check here.
“23NoraB” Finds Redemption in Mega Deep
The Mega Deep event is a staple of the Sunday tournament offerings throughout the year, and this XL Blizzard was certainly no different. The Event #9 Mega Deep, with a $215 buy-in and $120,000 guarantee, attracted 565 players who collectively rebought 209 times, resulting in a total prize pool of $154,800.
While the top 72 participants took home winnings, Lithuania’s “Iamtrying” just barely missed out, finishing in 73rd place. Even without a financial payout, they earned a spot in the “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament. Among those who did earn prizes was XL Eclipse champion “Namlleh” (finishing 50th).rdAfter a grueling 12-hour and 9-minute battle, “23NoraB” emerged victorious in heads-up play against Greece's “Raise_Once,” clinching the first-place prize of $29,257.20. This win served as redemption for “23NoraB,” who had previously been the runner-up out of 902 contestants in May's XL Inferno, earning $23,452.thfor $557.28), Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt (32ndfor $1,006.20), Anton “anteen” Bertilsson (17thfor $1,269.36), “KimberSlice” (9thfor $2,074.32), and “NVladislav78” (3rdfor $15,789.60).
“RKOoutofNWHR” Adds Another Blizzard Title to Their Achievements
In the $160 buy-in Event #10: $200,000 Tune Up, an impressive 1,027 players rebought a total of 352 times, leading to a cumulative prize pool of $206,850. This sum was distributed among the top 135 players, leaving the 136th finisher “lucasfalves9” with just an entry into the “Bubble of Bubbles.”
Notable payouts included Robin “Inho” Ylitalo (who came in 99th, earning $434.38) and 888poker ambassador Roman “Romeopro33” Romanovsky (who placed 73rd).thAfter an approximately 13-hour session, two German competitors reached an agreement. “Stiffler29” took home $28,181.38 for second place, while “RKOoutofNWHR” snagged first place with a prize of $35,590.88. “RKOoutofNWHR” had also won an earlier event in May, emerging victorious from a field of 508 entries to take home $4,800 in the XL Inferno’s Event #55: $15,000 Breeze.
Head-to-Head Deal Made by the Final Two in Event #11 Featuring 4,830 Participants thfor $434.38), Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche (98thEvent #11, with a $12 buy-in and a $40,000 Mini Tune Up, attracted 3,539 players, who accounted for 1,291 rebuys, culminating in a prize pool of $52,647. The 601st place finisher, Malta’s “Agusr_Seni,” secured a seat in the upcoming “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament.rdfor $475.75), Anton “anteen” Bertilsson (27thfor $910.14), Nicholas “PKaiser” Fierro (19thfor $910.14), XL Blizzard Event #4 champ “Pasha813” (10thfor $1,965.07), and Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt (3rdfor $19,857.60).
A remarkable 600 competitors walked away with cash, including “Safuan10” (who finished in 85th place with an earnings of $526.47), and Felipe “FmoraesP” Moraes Pereira (who finished in 3rd).
After 11 hours and 34 minutes, Lithuania’s “dolaBET” and Germany’s “geniuspoker” reached a deal, with former taking home $6,127.10 and the latter earning $6,775.36 along with the title. Last March, “geniuspoker” had triumphed over a field of 151 players to win $447.60 in a $2,000 GTD 2nd Chance event.
The most substantial buy-in tournament thus far in the XL Blizzard was Event #12: the $200,000 Whale, which drew 139 entrants and had 58 rebuys. Notably, Fabrizio “DrMiKee” Gonzalez ended up as the bubble player in 19th place, earning an entry into the “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament.stAmong those who cashed out but didn't make it to the final table were “AriGold17” (who came in 16th for $4,300) and two ambassadors from 888poker, including Chris “888Moorman” Moorman (who placed 11th).
The final table included four players from Sweden, among them “Madeon1994” (who finished in 8th for $10,000) and 888poker ambassador Martin “MJacobson888” Jacobson (who finished 4th for $32,000) and narrowly missed winning a second XL Blizzard title on Sunday.thfor $89.49), Ronan “888Ferraro” Andreu (52ndfor $110.55), “InnerPRO” (23rdfor $152.67), “boarbag” (8thAfter just over 10 hours of play, UK player “CrystalMad” took the top prize of $46,000. It marked a significant win for the champion, who had previously finished as runner-up in a Special Edition Whale event a few years ago, earning $38,284 from a 476-player field.rdfor $4,053.81).
“Avgustys” Secures an XL Title for Ukraine
Deep Runs for Team 888 in the $200K Whale
Event #13, the $55 buy-in $20,000 Late Tune Up, attracted a total of 516 players and recorded 163 rebuy entries, generating a prize pool of $33,950. The prize money was distributed among the top 72 players, leaving Argentina’s “_zufurduo_” who finished in 73rd place without a payout, but they still received entry into the “Bubble of Bubbles.”thThose who made it into the money included “Fukuruku” (who claimed 46th position). After 7 hours and 41 minutes of play, Ukraine’s “Avgustys” triumphed over Belarus’ “GoFighTer” in heads-up action, claiming a first-place prize of $6,416.55. This victory marked a significant leap for “Avgustys,” who had last won a modest $118.16 in the $500 Turbo Goldfish event back in May.
The upcoming week will start with two additional XL Blizzard tournaments, both set to kick off at 19:00.thfor $4,100), Guntis “luffEEE” Aleskins (13thThe first one is the $55 buy-in XL Blizzard Event #14, which boasts a $40,000 R&A format, followed by Event #15, the $10,000 Mini R&A that invites players to enter for just $5.thfor $4,500) and Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche (10thfor $4,500).
Looking ahead to Tuesday, it promises to be an exciting high roller day! Kicking off at 19:00 is the $2,100 buy-in Event #16: $250,000 High Roller, coinciding with a $215 buy-in Event #17: $100,000 Mini High Roller. Later in the evening at 21:00, the $160 buy-in Event #18: $30,000 Late Night High Roller will close out the day.thfor $6,000), Aapo “APOARSLAN” Arslan (6thChad Holloway is a recipient of a WSOP Bracelet from 2013 and has previously served as both a managing editor and live reporter for PokerNews.thfor $18,000), and Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt (2nd888poker-EGR-logo-Mobile-Header-2021-white
888poker-EGR-logo-Mobile-Header-2022-white
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They provide online gaming services adhering to Gibraltar laws (Remote Gaming License Numbers 112 and 113) and make no claims regarding the legality of these services in other regions.rdFor players registering from Canada, our services are offered by VDSL (International) Limited.
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What’s Happening on Monday?
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