The 2019 XL Blizzard on 888poker was a huge success. Over 34 events we catered to 38,515 entrants and awarded $1,903,474 in prize money. There were 33 different winners – Canada’s “69Gronk87” captured two titles (more on that below) – from more than a dozen different countries.
Of all the nationalities, no-one did better than Canadian players, who captured eight titles, while Romania came in second with five. Other countries to capture XL Blizzard titles were Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, Malta, Latvia, and Vietnam.
Scroll to the bottom of this article for a full list of 2019 XL Blizzard winners.
In the meantime, here’s a look at some of the biggest stories from series.
888poker Ambassadors Thrive
One of the biggest stories of the 2019 XL Blizzard was the success of the 888poker Ambassador team. Leading the pack was Chris “888Moorman” Moorman, who topped a 744-entry field to win Event #10: $100,000 Tune-Up for $21,092.40.
That was the second-largest top prize awarded during the series behind only the XL Blizzard Main Event. The win padded his lead atop online poker’s all-time money list with more than $15.8 million in lifetime earnings.
On his way to victory Moorman had to contend with fellow Ambassador Ana “AnaMarquez” Marquez, who had a stellar series. She wound up finishing in seventh place for $4,627 in the event Moorman won but also had several other deep runs.
It started in Event #1: $100,000 Opening Event when she finished ninth out of 954 entrants for $1,300, and then in Event #4: $30,000 PKO she placed 17th out of 489 entries for $130.60 plus $301.57 in bounties. Toss in some smaller cashes, and it turned out to be quite the series for the Spanish pro.
Finally, while it wasn’t technically an XL Blizzard event, the weekly $1,050 Satellite into the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event took place on the final day of the series. 888poker Ambassador Martin “MJacobson888” Jacobson was one of two players to win a coveted prize package valued at $12,600.
It includes six nights (July 4-10, 2019) at the luxurious Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas, a $10,000 WSOP Main Event buy-in, $1,000 for travel and expenses, and an invite to a welcome party at the Vdara Hotel.
Jacobson will be looking to replicate his success from 2014 WSOP Main Event, which is when he topped a field of 6,683 players to win poker’s “Big One,” a gold bracelet, and a smooth $10 million first-place prize.
“69Gronk87” Becomes a Two-Time Champ
With only 34 tournaments in the series and tens of thousands of competitors, it was unlikely anyone would win multiple events. Someone did though. In Event #9: $100,000 Mega Deep, 391 players rebought 142 times to create a $106,800 prize pool. Canada’s “69Gronk87” prevailed to win a $20,494.92 first-place prize.
Eight events later, the $55 buy-in Event #17: $30,000 Mini High Roller attracted 501 players who rebought 198 times, which resulted in a 699-entry field and a $34,950 prize pool. Amazingly, “69Gronk87” took it down for $6,640.61 and to become a two-time XL Blizzard champ.
That meant he won 25% of the XL titles won by the Canadian contingent!
Malta’s ".RUIT.HORA." Wins XL Blizzard Main Event
The XL Blizzard Main Event featured a $500,000 guarantee, and with 1,783 players ponying up the $250 buy-in, and 531 rebuys on top of it, a $543,790 prize pool was created.
That was paid out to the top 207 players including “GoFighTer” (49th - $1,413.85), “Farrugia_1” (34th - $1,794.50), Fabricio “DrMiKee” Gonzalez (29th - $1,794.50), 2018 XL Blizzard Opening Event champ Jans “Graftekkel” Arends (17th - $2,447.05), “polomichi18” (8th - $10,332.01), and “MisterN411” (3rd - $50,028.68).
The deciding hand was actually the penultimate one of the tournament. After more than 15.5 hours of play, "DeuceofDuc0" raised the button to 3.6 million holding the nine-five of spades and Malta’s ".RUIT.HORA." called with the seven-four of diamonds. The latter flopped bottom pair of sevens and check-called a bet of 3.6 million.
He then check-called one of 12.1 million on the deuce of hearts turn before checking for the third time on the queen of clubs river. "DeuceofDuc0" moved all-in on the bluff and ".RUIT.HORA." managed to find the call to double up. He finished off his opponent in the very next hand to win the title.
For more on the 2019 XL Blizzard Main Event, including hands leading up to a victor, check out the PokerNews Live Blog here.
“Timstar.nl” Turns $16.50 into More Than $3,200
One of the great things about the XL Blizzard was a large selection of lower buy-ins, which gave players the opportunity for a great return on investment. That happened in the $16.50 buy-in Event #20: $20,000 Mini PKO, which surpassed its guarantee by attracting 1,076 players who rebought 431 times. The 1,507-entry field created a $22,606 prize pool that was split in half between the regular and bounty prize pools.
After 8 hours and 24 minutes, Russia’s “Timstar.nl” defeated Germany’s “7obi490” in heads-up play to win the title, a $2,035.18 top prize, and the $1,200.90 progressive knockout bounty. Combined, he won $3,236.08 – a 196 x return on his investment.
Yaniv “Zluka2010” Peretz Final Tables Two Events on Same Day
On the penultimate day of the XL Blizzard, Latvia’s Yaniv “Zluka2010” Peretz made two final tables. The first came in the $109 buy-in Event #28: $30,000 6-Max, which ended with a 319-entry field. The title came down to Latvia’s Yaniv “Zluka2010” Peretz and Germany’s “polomichi18,” and after 7 hours and 29 minutes in the tournament the former came out on top to win the title and $7,656 first-place prize.
Then, in the $55 buy-in Event #30: $15,000 Late 6-Max – which had 244 players rebuy 79 times – he finished in eighth place for $460.27. Two final tables and a win in a day is no easy feat, which is why Peretz graces this XL Blizzard highlight article.
XL Blizzard to Vegas Freeroll
Don’t forget that this Sunday the $30,000 XL to Vegas Freeroll will take place. Everyone who played at least five XL Blizzard events received a ticket to the tournament. The freeroll will award a $12,600 World Series of Poker Main Event package to the winner, with those finishing in 2-4 place bagging a $2,700 WSOP Crazy 888s side event package.
Plus, there will be a $9,300 prize pool paid out. Note: Swedish players are excluded from the promotion.
Among those already registered for the tournament are “popsnpoker,” “alexos888,” “DragonKomodo,” “Nordynordbrg,” “V.BlomFan60,” “slkshoota,” and “Katy_Lango.”
We’ll be sure to include a recap of the freeroll in our 888Weekly Deal after all of Sunday’s tournaments on 888poker.
2019 XL Blizzard Winners
Event #1: $100,000 Opening Event - 954 entries - "plomoor" (Russia) ... $16,458.50
Event #2: $20,000 Mini Opening Event - 1,705 entries - "IlovePickles " (Romania) ... $4,348.20
Event #3: $20,000 Late Opening Event - 501 entries - "shcirr" (Latvia) ... $4,807.16
Event #4: $30,000 PKO - 653 entries - "Potovics" $3,101.95+$2,633.05 in bounties
Event #5: $20,000 Mini PKO - 1,206 entries - "Liquidus38" (Russia) ... $2,171.19+$1,372.72 in bounties
Event #6: $30,000 Crazy 8 - 365 entries - "dujoe123" (Canada) ... $5,850
Event #7: $10,000 Mini Crazy 8 - 1,562 entries - "flipsticks" (UK) ... $2,317.48
Event #8: $10,000 Late Crazy 8 - 335 entries - "DiCarpi0" (Romania) ... $2,501.11
Event #9: $100,000 Mega Deep - 534 entries - "69Gronk87" (Canada) ... $20,494.92
Event #10: $100,000 Tune Up - 744 entries - Chris "888Moorman" Moorman (UK) ... $21,092.40
Event #11: $50,000 Mini Tune Up - 3,933 entries - "eduardokhaan" (Romania) ... $8,792.61
Event #12: $10,000 Micro Tune Up - 2,973 entries - "Tommykorberg" (Sweden) ... $2,312.33
Event #13: $20,000 Late Tune Up - 541 entries - "todacage" (Malta) ... $5,190.96
Event #14: $30,000 R&A Event - 567 entries - "Yoshiaki97" (Canada) ... $6,135
Event #15: $10,000 Mini R&A - 2,110 entries - "chouinard8" (Canada) ... $1,548.45
Event #16: $100,000 High Roller - 281 entries - "bybababy" (Canada) ... $19,558.56
Event #17: $30,000 Mini High Roller - 699 entries - "69Gronk87" (Canada) ... $6,640.61
Event #18: $20,000 Late High Roller - 252 entries - "Panzerfish" (Russia) ... $5,418
Event #19: $50,000 PKO - 551 entries - "ContaSagrada" ... $5,286.91 +$5,097.78 in bounties
Event #20: $20,000 Mini PKO - 1,507 entries - "Timstar.nl" (Russia) ... $2,035.18 +$1,200.90 in bounties
Event #21: $10,000 Late PKO - 559 entries - "Naik10" (Brazil) ... $1,593.40 +$1,630.53 in bounties
Event #22: $75,000 PKO 8-Max – 332 entries - "ZANOCI" (Belarus) ... $8,464.50+$4,527.69 in bounties
Event #23: $20,000 Mini PKO 8-Max - 1,244 entries - "mathi8ce" (Norway) ... $2,301.82+$1,455.24 in bounties
Event #24: $20,000 Late PKO 8-Max - 456 entries - "Win.338" (Canada) ... $2,194.50+$2,119.02 in bounties
Event #25: $30,000 DeepStack - 618 entries - "concepteco" (Romania ) ... $4,360.66
Event #26: $20,000 Mini DeepStack - 1,705 entries - "cretzzuu93" (Romania) ... $4,348.20
Event #27: $10,000 Late DeepStack - 531 entries - "1loverivers" (Germany) ... $2,842
Event #28: $30,000 6-Max - 319 entries - "Zluka2010" (Latvia) ... $7,656
Event #29: $20,000 Mini 6-Max - 1,409 entries - "Unde_" (Canada) ... $3,593.51
Event #30: $15,000 Late 6-Max - 323 entries - "zanzibar58" (Vietnam) ... $3,714.56
Event #31: $100,000 Mega Deep - 679 entries - "Madeon1994" (Sweden) ... $25,802
Event #32: $500,000 Main Event - 2,368 entries - ".RUIT.HORA." (Malta) ... $91,847.27
Event #33: $50,000 Mini Main Event - 2,471 entries - "Ney_Anderson" (Brazil) ... $10,791.89
Event #34: $15,000 Micro Main Event - 3,528 entries - "ExValue1" (Ukraine) ... $2,461.15
