God of the Arena PKO Series Dishes Out $1,374,388 in Prize Money!

On Sunday, the latest “God of the Arena Progressive Knockout (PKO) Series” wrapped up on 888poker. The series was comprised of 33 tournaments offering nearly $1.1 million in guaranteed prize pools, and in the end, it catered to 36,659 entries and awarded $1,374,388 in prize money.

Winners hailed from countries that included Romania, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Sweden, UK, Vietnam, Brazil, Austria, Finland, Estonia, Costa Rica, Belarus, and Turkmenistan.

PKO Tournaments Popular as Ever!

As evidenced by the successful series, progressive knockout (PKO) tournaments have become extremely popular. For those that need a reminder, PKO tournaments differ from regular bounty tournaments as they don’t offer a fixed bounty for each knockout; instead, a player’s bounty increases as they progress through the event.

Every time a player knocks out another player, he or she receives a portion (usually either 20% of 50%) of the eliminated player’s bounty, while the other portion is added to the price on their own head. In other words, your own bounty grows every time you eliminate a player. Even still, it’s lucrative to try and score knockouts early in a PKO tournament.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest stories and highlights from the latest God of the Arena Progressive Knockout (PKO) Series.

Brazil’s “petty1997” Wins PKO Main Event

The series culminated with the $109 buy-in, $200K GTD Main Event, a tournament that saw 1,809 players rebuy 726 times. The 2,535-entry field resulted in a $253,500 prize pool that was paid out to the top 27 players.

Some familiar names to make deep runs were “cuadrado12” (15^th for $823.87 + $725.01 in bounties), “Kaloryfer147” (18^th for $570.37 + $740.62 in bounties), “Mr.DJP” (34^th for $418.27 + $343.75 in bounties), “ZDamian” (38^th for $354.90 + $805.46 in bounties), and “IlovePickles” (58^th for $304.20 plus $384.38 in bounties).

After 12 hours and 32 minutes, it was Brazil’s “petty1997” beating Belarus’ “ALLCasH90” in heads-up play to win the tournament for $21,408.61 plus the hefty $9,036.53 KO bounty.

PKO Main Event Final Table Results

1^st – petty1997 (Brazil) … $21,408.61 + $9,036.53 KO

2^nd – ALLCasH90 (Belarus) … $15,235.35 + $4,497.59 KO

3^rd – NSP14 (Russia) … $11,661 + $2,875.75 KO

4^th – TOPTeg (Ukraine) … $8,238.75 + $989.65 KO

5^th – marioo1985 (UK) … $6,020.62 + $1,341.98 KO

6^th – fabiorenatos (Brazil) … $4,816.50 + $437.11 KO

7^th – guydeet39 (Canada) … $3,612.37 + $1,196.09 KO

8^th – jamesc127 (UK) … $2,408.25 + $862.49 KO

9^th – dovester123 (Canada) … $1,368.90 + $626.56 KO

In other Main Event action, the $33 buy-in Event #32: $50,000 Mini Main Event attracted 2,116 entries and offered up a $63,480 prize pool After nine and a half hours of play, Austria’s “pro100plr” prevailed to capture the $5,361.67 top prize as well as the $1,253.47 KO bounty.

Finally, the $5.50 buy-in Event #33: $15,000 Micro Main Event drew 4,225 entries and created a $21,125 prize pool. Germany’s “Nicolai_91” came out on top to the tune of $1,575.78 plus a $547.22 KO bounty.

“D3n1sk4PP” Wins Pair of PKO Events

Just one player managed to capture more than a single title during the latest PKO series – Russia’s “D3n1sk4PP.”

He kicked things off on the first day of the series by topping a 1,423-entry field to win the $109 buy-in Event #2: $150,000 Tune Up for a $14,193.41top prize and the $8,281.67 PKO bounty.

Several days later, he jumped in the $109 buy-in Event #18: $40,000 9-Max and navigated a 506-entry field to lay claim to a second title, which came with a $4,895.55 top prize and $5,660.87 PKO bounty.

All told, the Russia won $33,031.50 between his pair of victories!

“Ildar0365” Represents for Turkmenistan

When it comes to online poker, Turkmenistan is not a country that comes to mind. The Central Asian county is bordered by the Caspian Sea and largely comprised of the Karakum Desert. It’s not exactly a hotbed for poker. In fact, we can’t ever recall a player from Turkmenistan ever capturing a major title in an 888poker online series.

That all changed when “Ildar0365” topped an 817-entry field to win the $33 buy-in Event #20: $15,000 Late 9-Max, good for a $2,315.32 top prize and $1,742.87 PKO bounty.

Event #20: $15,000 Late 9-Max Final Table Results

1^st – Ildar0365 (Turkmenistan) … $3,215.32 prize + $1,742.87 KO

2^nd – KirusRUS (Russia) … $1,678.93 prize + $737.53 KO

3^rd – Eiendur1 (Sweden) … $1,237.75 prize + $584.49 KO

4^th – guizones27 (Brazil) … $931.38 prize + $149.07

5^th – badlucktou (Russia) … $654.41 prize + $322.04 KO

6^th – Lamnarai (N/A) … $520.83 prize + $136.41 KO

7^th – osteoporoza (UK) … $398.28 prize + $157.51 KO

8^th – javierloto15 (Argentina) … $275.73 prize + $411.10 KO

9^th – AnySusan (Belarus) … $183.82 prize + $112.50 KO

The Daily Kickoffs Defy Expectations

Each day of the series began with a “Daily Kickoff” event at 15:15. Those events cost $44 to enter and offer a $15K GTD. All of those tournaments easily cruised by the guarantee and between the eight “Daily Kickoff” events that were held, 4,698 entrants competed and $187,920 in prize money was awarded.

Among those to capture titles were Romania’s “nolomithhh.” Sweden’s “junijuniorz,” Russia’s “Oddy772,” Ukraine’s “luckypanch75,” Estonia’s “Koletiz,” Belarus’ “LaGushatnik,” and two players from the UK, “Woodstocker” and “Validefa31.”

God of the Arena PKO Series Winners

Here’s a look at all those who captured titles over the course of the latest God of the Arena Progressive Knockout (PKO) Series along with the number of entries, prize pool, winner and their prize with the final PKO bounty.