There are very few poker tournament titles that have evaded Niklas Astedt's grasp. You can add an 888poker XL Winter series victory to that list after Astedt, playing under his 888poker moniker "tutten7," triumphed in the $2,100 buy-in High Roller event over the weekend.
888poker may have a reputation for being recreational player friendly but there is also plenty of high stakes action at the site, and demand for it, too. Forty-one unique players purchased ten re-entries between them, meaning the total attendance was 51, and the prize pool a guarantee-busting $102,000.
Finland's "Inflaatio" was the unfortunate soul that popped the all-important money bubble. The Finn fell in seventh and was the last player to return home empty-handed.
Mexico's "420SilentBob" busted in sixth for a $5,610 addition to their bankroll, before "SpielerKind" of Ukraine saw their tournament end abruptly in fifth place, a finish worth $7,650. Fourth place and $10,200 went to Lithuania's "sk8erisz," and heads-up was set when "ruthy33" crashed out in third for $15,300.
Astedt found himself in a one-on-one battle with "beebsterizer" for the lion's share of the prize pool. Astedt rarely loses when he is heads-up, and this was not to be one of those rare occasions. The Swedish online poker legend brushed his final opponent aside and claimed the $37,740 top prize, resigning the runner-up to a $25,500 consolation score.
$100,000 Super High Roller 6-Max
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Niklas "tutten7" Astedt | Sweden | $37,740 |
2 | beebsterizer | Canada | $25,500 |
3 | ruthy33 | United Kingdom | $15,300 |
4 | sk8erisz | Lithuania | $10,200 |
5 | SpielerKind | Ukraine | $7,650 |
6 | 420SilentBob | Mexico | $5,610 |
German One-Two in the $35,000 Gtd High Roller
888poker's other XL Winter series High Roller this weekend saw 50 entries of $1,050 create a $50,000 prize pool. The compact field meant only the top five finishers received some prize money for their efforts, with prizes ranging from $4,000 to $20,000.
Romania's "bucuresteam" was the first in-the-money bustee. The Romanian collected the $4,000 fifth-place prize money only days after taking down the $30,000 Mystery Bounty Turbo for $7,254. Another XL Winter series champion busted in fourth. "Reggie_Degen" won the $20,000 PKO 6-Max for $5,920, and collected $5,000 in this event.
888poker regular "feerofeero" was eliminated in third for $7,500, before "pactamah23" defeated their fellow German "kellerassel0" heads-up to capture the $20,000 top prize. Second place came with a still welcomed $13,500.
$35,000 High Roller 8-Max
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | pactamah23 | Germany | $20,000 |
2 | kellerassel0 | Germany | $13,500 |
3 | feerofeero | Ukraine | $7,500 |
4 | Reggie_Degen | Canada | $5,000 |
5 | bucurestean | Romania | $4,000 |
Full 888poker XL Winter Results So Far
Event | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#01 $50,000 Mystery Bounty Mini Opening | $55 | 1,135 | $56,750 | VERYPOTATO | Lithuania | $5,337* |
#02 $120,000 Mystery Bounty Opener | $109 | 1,174 | $120,000 | ovidiu_maciu | Romania | $12,758* |
#03 $50,000 Mystery Bounty HR Opener | $525 | 97 | $50,000 | Raise1In | Lithuania | $18,875* |
#04 $20,000 PKO 8-Max | $109 | 276 | $27,600 | CoCoMic | Romania | $4,347* |
#05 $5,000 PKO 8-Max Mini | $1 | 564 | $5,640 | Notfor | Germany | $885* |
#06 $30,000 Mystery Bounty Turbo Deep | $320 | 102 | $30,600 | bucurestean | Romania | $7,254* |
#07 $12,000 Mystery Bounty Turbo Deep Mini | $33 | 421 | $12,630 | FullMoonSky | Lithuania | $1,613* |
#08 $15,000 6-Max | $109 | 190 | $19,000 | Ydavidy77 | Sweden | $4,940 |
#09 $7,500 6-Max Mini | $33 | 272 | $8,160 | fscheifer1 | Brazil | $1,876 |
#10 $20,000 Mystery Bounty | $55 | 489 | $24,450 | 01100 | Thailand | $3,114* |
#11 $5,000 Mystery Bounty Mini | $5.50 | 1,304 | $6,530 | Danija888 | Austria | $721* |
#12 $35,000 High Roller | $1,050 | 30 | $35,000 | WalnutPix | Canada | $14,000 |
#13 $20,000 Mystery Bounty Mini 8-Max | $11 | 1,957 | $20,000 | brunocasadei | Brazil | $1,534* |
#14 $45,000 Mystery Bounty HR 8-Max | $525 | 83 | $45,000 | skacas | Lithuania | $13,612* |
#15 $20,000 PKO | $109 | 272 | $27,200 | Knudi1979 | Germany | $5,420* |
#16 $5,000 PKO Mini | $11 | 610 | $6,100 | wackworm376 | Germany | $1,009* |
#17 $200,000 Mystery Bounty 8-Max | $160 | 1,380 | $207,000 | TheMoeQasem | $20,585* | |
#18 $30,000 Mystery Bounty | $320 | 93 | $30,000 | sNap36484 | $7,521* | |
#19 $12,000 Mystery Bounty Mini | $33 | 455 | $13,650 | KryderURSS | $2,152* | |
#20 $15,000 Super KO 8-Max | $109 | 176 | $17,600 | AlexGC89 | Romania | $2,364* |
#21 $7,500 Super KO 8-Max Mini | $33 | 299 | $8,970 | STFPS | Romania | $1,073* |
#22 $20,000 PKO 6-Max | $320 | 79 | $23,700 | Reggie_Degen | Canada | $5,920* |
#23 $7,500 PKO 6-Max Mini | $33 | 337 | $10,110 | XisdeGR | Brazil | $2,124* |
#24 $35,000 High Roller 8-Max | $1,050 | 50 | $50,000 | pactamah23 | Germany | $20,000 |
#25 $50,000 Mystery Bounty 8-Max | $55 | 1,143 | $57,150 | Vandangoz | Brazil | $6,786* |
#26 $100,000 Super High Roller 6-Max | $2,100 | 51 | $102,000 | tutten7 | Sweden | $37,740 |
#27 $25,000 Mystery Bounty 8-Max Mini | $22 | 1,068 | $25,000 | vladon81 | $2,551* |
*includes bounty payments
$500,000 Guaranteed Main Event Day 2 is Today!
Time is rapidly running out if you want to become the 888poker XL Winter Series Main Event champion. Only four flights remain, all taking place on January 30. Head to 888poker at 2:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. GMT and see if you can play your way into Day 2, which shuffles up and deals at 8:00 p.m.
The Main Event needs 2,127 entries to hit the $500,000 guarantee because the buy-in is $235+$15. However, before the final quartet of Day 1s, only 1,431 entries have been processed; could there be a substantial overlay heading your way?