The 888poker 2016 Super XL Series broke records earlier this week with the $160 buy-in Opening Event. Now the Series is rapidly approaching the keystone $1,050 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed Main Event on Sunday, January 31. Until then, there are dozens of events playing out that will award a share of more than $2,000,000 in guaranteed prize pools.

On Tuesday night, the $1,500 High Roller – the most expensive Super XL tournament to date – attracted 326 players and created a $467,810 prize pool. That shattered the $300,000 guarantee, which had already been upped from $200,000 the year before.

The tournament paid 45 spots, but after nine hours and 22 minutes of play, it was Russia's "SamSaymon” who defeated Romania's "aSeHigh88" to emerge victoriously and capture the $90,521.23 first-place prize. Meanwhile, it was a big day for Poland's "_rudinhos_", who not only finished third in that event for $51,459.10, but went on to win the Turbo variant, which you'll read about below.

High Roller Results:

1st SamSaymon Russia $90,521.23
2st aSeHigh88 Romania $67,832.45
3st _rudinhos_ Poland $51,459.10
4st fishondope Colombia $38,594.32
5st fishondope UK $26,665.17
6st kraftatze Germany $20,583.64
7st Zdamian Poland $20,583.64
8st LargeCoffee UK $11,227.44
9st Ishmaei Costa Rica $8,186.67

The Mini and Turbo High Rollers

Meanwhile, the $215 buy-in Mini High Roller – because, remember each event in the Super XL Series offers a Main, Mini and Turbo version of each tournament -- more than doubled its $60,000 guarantee as 658 players created a $131,600 prize pool.

That was distributed to the top 90 finishers, and after eight hours and 32 minutes of play the UK's "OneTime_" defeated Argentina's "MaestroShao" to take home the $24,675 top prize.

Likewise, the $160 buy-in Turbo High Roller, which was slapped with a $25,000 guarantee, blew away expectations by attracting a field of 437 and creating a prize pool of $65,550, which was paid to the top 63. The aforementioned "_rudinhos_" won the event for $12,454.50 after defeating Canada's "MyLilPwny" heads up to cap of the speedy three-hour-and-43-minute affair.

Other Super XL Event Results

Here are some other highlights from the 2016 Super XL Series:

  • Event #6 $109 Omaha Hi Pot Limit drew 170 runners and created a $17,000 prize pool. After seven and a half hours of play, Canada's "professorm93” captured the title and a $4,080 first-place prize.
  • Event #7, the $12 buy-in mini version of the Omaha Hi Pot Limit, drew 449 players who surpassed the $3,000 guarantee by creating a $4,894.10 prize pool. The UK's "hu55tler888” took top honours and a $978.82 first-place prize.
  • Event #8 $55 Snap Multi Chance drew 281 players who accounted for 154 rebuys, creating a $21,750 prize pool. Of the 36 players paid, the UK's "icallyamet” walked away with the most money, earning $4,447.87 for his win.
  • Meanwhile, Event #9, which was the mini version, drew 1,063 players who accounted for 891 rebuys, more than doubling the posted guarantee by creating a $8,890.70 prize pool. Russia's "Woooups" emerged victorious in that event to win $1,367.54 after making a deal at the final table.
  • Event #10 $30 Snap Omaha Multi Chance draw 80 players who generated 51 rebuys to create a $3,668 prize pool. After just two hours of play, the Netherlands' “tupacalips" took down the $945.34 top prize as part of a deal.
  • Hungary's "s4f3tyc4r" topped a field of 481 players to win Event #16 Turbo 8-Max for $2,359.49 as part of a deal, and after three hours and 24 minutes of play. That event featured a $5,000 guarantee, which was demolished as a $13,227.50 prize pool was distributed to the top 64 players.

Players are Happy with More to Come

The 2016 Super XL Series has resonated with players in a big way, which is encouraging as 888poker made a concerted effort to reach out to the community to get their input on tournament structures, schedule, and more.

"You guys have done a great job with this series," user 'HOLDiT' said on TwoPlusTwo. "888 XL >>>WCOOP/SCOOP."

"Fantastic," 'OurSurveySays' boasted about the aforementioned $1,500 High Roller. "Great event - close to perfect."

Don’t miss your chance to mix it up in this year's Super XL series. Satellites are running now for as little as $0.01.

Chad Holloway is a 2013 WSOP Bracelet winner who has previously worked for PokerNews as a managing editor and live reporter