Day 4 of the XL Blizzard, an 11-day series that will run through January 28, was a big one with five events and a super satellite into the Main Event. Thus far, 13 events from the 34-tournament schedule are in the books, and there have been three winners from Russia, and one each from the Netherlands, Malta, Germany, Norway, and Finland.
The XL Blizzard, which will award more than $2.8 million, offers events as low as $5 and as high as $2,100. There are several exciting events on this year’s schedule including a $2,100 buy-in, $250,000 GTD High Roller, and $1,050 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD Main Event on Jan. 28.
We’re also offering new promotions such as awarding big cash prizes to anyone who wins multiple events ($1,000,000 if you can win five of them), a “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament (gain entry if/when you bubble a tournament), and the return of the Champion of Champions event.
The Champion of Champions returns for the XL Blizzard series and one lucky 888poker player will win a $12,000 WSOP Vegas package. Each time you play in an XL Blizzard event, you earn leaderboard points. The top 50 players on the leaderboard receive a ticket to the Champion of Champions tournament to be held at 18:00 GMT on January 30.
Here’s a look at the current leaderboard:
Aalso, here’s a quick breakdown on what’s happened in the XL Blizzard thus far:
Day 1 – The Netherlands’ Jans “Graftekkel” Arends won the Opening Event for more than $17K. “bygavuga” and “scellone94” capture titles.
Day 2 – “Jamasutra” and “Pasha813” notch “Twin Wins” in Events #4 & #5 Respectively.
Day 3 – Norway’s “Rekrutt1” won Event #6: Crazy 8 for more than $10K; former XL Eclipse winners “NeveGiveUp” and “msksevart” both claimed XL Blizzard titles.
Get all the details on the XL Blizzard here.
“23NoraB” Finds Redemption in Mega Deep
The Mega Deep is a highlight on the Sunday schedule throughout the year, and the XL Blizzard was no exception. The $215 buy-in Event #9: $120,000 Mega Deep attracted 565 players who rebought 209 times, which helped surpass the guarantee by creating a $154,800 prize pool.
The top 72 got paid, but Lithuania’s “Iamtrying” just missed out by finishing in 73rd place. While he left with no money, he did lock up a seat in the “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament. Some players who did get paid were XL Eclipse champ “Namlleh” (50th for $557.28), Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt (32nd for $1,006.20), Anton “anteen” Bertilsson (17th for $1,269.36), “KimberSlice” (9th for $2,074.32), and “NVladislav78” (3rd for $15,789.60).
After 12 hours and 9 minutes, “23NoraB” defeated Greece’s “Raise_Once” in heads-up play to take down the $29,257.20 first-place prize. It was redemption for “23NoraB,” who back in May’s XL Inferno finished runner-up out of 902 player in Event #4: $150,000 Mega Deep for $23,452.
“RKOoutofNWHR” Latest to Add Blizzard Title to XL Résumé
The $160 buy-in Event #10: $200,000 Tune Up saw 1,027 players rebuy 352 times to create a $206,850 prize pool. That was distributed to the top 135 players, meaning 136th-place finisher “lucasfalves9” was the one to win his way into the “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament.
Some players to make money were Robin “Inho” Ylitalo (99th for $434.38), Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche (98th for $434.38), XL Eclipse High Roller champ Roman “Romeopro33” Romanovsky (73rd for $475.75), Anton “anteen” Bertilsson (27th for $910.14), Nicholas “PKaiser” Fierro (19th for $910.14), XL Blizzard Event #4 champ “Pasha813” (10th for $1,965.07), and Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt (3rd for $19,857.60).
After nearly 13 hours, two German players struck a deal. “Stiffler29” finished second for $28,181.38 and “RKOoutofNWHR” took first for $35,590.88. Back in May, “RKOoutofNWHR” topped a field of 508 entries to win the XL Inferno Event #55: $15,000 Breeze for $4,800.
Final Two in 4,830-Entry Field Strike a Heads-Up Deal in Event #11
The $12 buy-in Event #11: $40,000 Mini Tune Up drew 3,539 players who rebought 1,291 times, which created a $52,647 prize pool. Finishing in 601st place and earning a seat into the “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament was Malta’s “Agusr_Seni.”
A whopping 600 players got paid including “Safuan10” (85th for $89.49), Ronan “888Ferraro” Andreu (52nd for $110.55), “InnerPRO” (23rd for $152.67), “boarbag” (8th for $526.47), and Felipe “FmoraesP” Moraes Pereira (3rd for $4,053.81).
After 11 hours and 34 minutes, Lithuania’s “dolaBET” and Germany’s “geniuspoker” struck a deal where the former locked up $6,127.10 and the latter $6,775.36 and the title. Last March, “geniuspoker” prevailed over a field of 151 players to win the $2,000 GTD 2nd Chance for $447.60.
Deep Runs for Team 888 in the $200K Whale
The biggest buy-in tournament of the XL Blizzard thus far was $1,050 Event #12: $200,000 Whale, which drew 139 players who accounted for 58 rebuys. Fabrizio “DrMiKee” Gonzalez was the bubble boy in 19th place, which meant he earned a spot in the “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament.
Among those to finish in the money but fall short of the final table were “AriGold17” (16th for $4,100), Guntis “luffEEE” Aleskins (13th for $4,300), and two 888poker Ambassadors in Chris “888Moorman” Moorman (11th for $4,500) and Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche (10th for $4,500).
The final table catered to four Swedes including “Madeon1994” (8th for $6,000), Aapo “APOARSLAN” Arslan (6th for $10,000), 888poker Ambassador and 2014 World Series of Poker champ Martin “MJacobson888” Jacobson (4th for $18,000), and Niklas “tutten7” Åstedt (2nd for $32,000), who came close to capturing a XL Blizzard title for the second time on Sunday.
After just over 10 hours, it was the UK’s “CrystalMad” who came out on top to win $46,000. It was a Whale redemption for the champ, who a few years ago finished runner-up in a field of 476 entries in a Special Edition $250K Whale, good for $38,284.
“Avgustys” Captures XL Title for Ukraine
The $55 buy-in Event #13: $20,000 Late Tune Up attracted 516 players who rebought 163 times to create a $33,950 prize pool. That was paid out to the top 72 players, meaning Argentina’s “_zufurduo_”, who busted in 73rd place, missed out on a payday. However, he did receive an entry into the “Bubble of Bubbles” tournament.
As for those who finished in the money, they included “Fukuruku” (46th for $135.80), “Jovellii” (20th for $203.70), “marek35555” (10th for $407.40), “MAMOHT_T” (6th for $1,442.87), and “jorec” (3rd for $3,462.90).
After 7 hours and 41 minutes, the Ukraine’s “Avgustys” bested Belarus’ “GoFighTer” in heads-up play to win a $6,416.55 first-place prize. It was a big step up from “Avgustys’” last win, which came back in May in the $500 Turbo Goldfish, good for a much more modest $118.16.
What’s Happening on Monday?
The new week will kick off with two more XL Blizzard tournaments, both starting at 19:00.
The first is $55 buy-in XL Blizzard Event #14: $40,000 R&A Event, and the other Event #15: $10,000 Mini R&A, which costs just $5 to enter.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, that’s our high roller day! The $2,100 buy-in Event #16: $250,000 High Roller will get underway at 19:00, while at the same time the $215 buy-in Event #17: $100,000 Mini High Roller will play out. Then at 21:00, the $160 buy-in Event #18: $30,000 Late Night High Roller will round out the schedule.
