The 888poker KO Games series concluded on the evening of May 9 with the crowning of the $300,000 guaranteed Main Event champion. Canada’s "Luckyguy62" is that champion after they came out on top of a 1,658 strong field to secure the lion’s share of the $331,600 prize pool.
All the final table action was streamed on the 888poker Twitch channel under the watchful eye of commentators Nick Wealthall and David Tuchman, who were joined by special guest and 888poker ambassador Chris Eubank Jr.
Eubank Jr gave plenty of insight into his boxing career and his love of poker throughout the stream, so it is well worth checking out via the embedded video below.
KO Games #43 - $300,000 Main Event PKO
| Place | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luckyguy62 | Canada | $20,702 | $19,813 | $40,515 |
| 2 | vyccc | United Kingdom | $6,008 | $19,813 | $25,821 |
| 3 | R3li_able | Lithuania | $6,580 | $12,285 | $18,886 |
| 4 | raisebot | Luxembourg | $250 | $9,102 | $9,352 |
| 5 | VL1fish3BV | Romania | $1,995 | $6,731 | $8,726 |
| 6 | Nick "eastyyy22" Eastwood | United Kingdom | $1,731 | $5,023 | $6,755 |
| 7 | Sazid14 | Bagladesh | $3,163 | $3,747 | $6,910 |
| 8 | Jan.14 | Kazakhstan | $2,862 | $2,851 | $5,714 |
| 9 | popsnpoker | Canada | $759 | $2,171 | $2,931 |
It did not take long for the final table to lose its first player because the very first hand saw "popsnpoker" bow out in ninth place. Popsnpoker opened to 1,000,000 from the button with the blinds at 80,000/160,000/20,000a, essentially putting themselves all-in because they only had 1,216,774 behind. "Jan.14" three-bet all-in from the big blind, and popsnpoker called. It was ace-seven for popsnpoker versus pocket deuces.
Eighth place went to Jan.14, who you may recall finished third in the recent SuperStorm event for $97,000. They lost a large pot when their pocket sevens lost to the fives of "Sazid14" when the latter flopped a set. He then called a 20.2 big blind effective shove from "R3li_able" from the small blind with king-nine and ultimately lost to the shover’s queen-six after a queen landed on the river.
The final table lost another player soon after Jan.14 busted when Sazid14 made an ill-timed bluff into the nuts. Sazid opened to five-times the big blind with ace-king from early position, and Luckyguy62 called from the big blind with seven-six of clubs. Luckyguy62 checked the four-three-five flop and Sazid jammed for 31 big blinds despite the pot only being 11.4 big blinds! Luckyguy62 snap-called and his straight held. Game over for Sazid14.
Then came the elimination of the 888poker Stream Team Nick "eastyyy22" Eastwood. He had been nursing a short stack for a while and was looking for a spot to commit his stack. Such a spot occurred when R3li_able min-raised from middle position and Luckyguy62 called on the button. Eastwood moved all-in from the big blind for 4.1 big blinds, and R3li_able, which folded out Luckyguy62. Eastwood showed ace-nine and was in a world of pain against the dominating ace-jack. The ace-nine never caught up and Eastwood was gone.
"VL1fish3BV" saw their tournament end in a fifth place finish after a blind versus blind battle with R3li_able. The latter raised to three-times the big blind with ace-jack before quickly calling when VL1fish3BV three-bet all-in for 21.1 big blinds with ace-nine. Neither player improved and the final table lost another player.
The final four became three with the untimely demise of "raisebot." They min-raised with ace-nine from under the gun and Luckyguy62 called in the big blind with queen-six of spades. Raisebot flopped a nine but the flop was all spades so he was in major trouble. Luckyguy62 checked, raisebot fired a small bet and then jammed over the top when Luckyguy62 check-raised. No miracle run-out happened and raisebot fell by the wayside.
Heads-up was set when R3li_able crashed and burned in third place. They were down to only 2.2 big blinds after paying the big blind, and called all-in with jack-eight when "vyccc" set them all-in. That jack-eight was against king-queen of spades. R3li_able flopped an eight but vyccc caught a queen on the turn.
Luckyfish62 went into the one-on-one battle holding a two-to-one chip lead and he never relinquished that lead. The final hand saw the last 10 big blinds in vyccc’s stack go into the middle with ace-ten of clubs, and Luckyguy62 call with pocket sevens. It was off to the races but it was a very short race because Luckyguy62 turned a seven to lock the hand up. Vyccc walked away with a $25,821 runner-up prize while Luckyguy62 became the KO Games Main Event champion and took home $40,515.
