The Final Hand

On Sunday, 888poker's 2016 Super XL Series – a 38-event series that will offer a staggering $2,000,000 in guaranteed prize pools up for grabs from January 24-31 – kicked off with a $160 buy-in Opening Event, which featured a $250,000 guaranteed prize pool (up $50,000 from the year prior).

It seems the extra cash was appealing as players turned out in droves. To put it in perspective, the 2015 edition set an 888 record for most players in a $100+ buy-in tournament with 1,559 players, which bested the previous record of 1,501 from 2013. Now, there's a new record as the 2016 Opening Event attracted a staggering 1,675 players who accounted for 699 rebuys. That smashed the guarantee by creating a whopping $356,100 prize pool.

A good chunk of that - $60,145.29 to be exact – went to Brazil's "thesecretvms," who defeated Ireland's "susanboyle1" in heads-up play to wrap up the tournament at 13 hours and 38 minutes.

In the final hand of the tournament, with the blinds at 650,000/1,300,000, "thesecretvms" raised holding the Kh-5c and "susanboyle1" called with the 3h-4h. The 5s-Ac-6c flop saw "susanboyle1" check-call a bet, and then both players checked the 3s turn. When the 6d appeared on the river, "susanboyle1" checked, "thesecretvms" bet, and "susanboyle1" check-raised all in. "thesecretvms" called with sixes and fives, which bested the sixes and threes of "susanboyle1."

Final Table Results

1st thesecretvms (Brazil) $60,145.29
2st susanboyle1 (Ireland) $42,803.22
3st munnfrunsa (Iceland) $32,761.20
4st fiestafiesta (Mexico) $23,146.50
5st CosminRo14 (Romania) $16,914.75
6st psyhoagro… (Ukraine) $13,531.80
7st r1chking (UK) $10,148.85
8st Carslaw67 (Canada) $6,765.90
9st PheresAA (Brazil) $3,845.88

As if that tournament wasn't exciting enough, the $12 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed Mini Opening Event – because remember each event in the Super XL Series offers a Main, Mini and Turbo version of each tournament – drew an incredible 4,821 players (2,081 rebuys), which generated a $75,231 prize pool and set an 888 record for amount of players in a tournament with a buy-in of over $10.

Additionally, both the Turbo and Super Turbo versions of the Opening Event surpassed expectations by doubling and tripling their guarantees respectively.

Complementing the Opening Event were some special edition guaranteed prize pools to 888poker's regular Sunday schedule. As a result, the Sunday majors resulted in their highest prize pools since this time last year. Here are some highlights:

  • The $600 buy-in Whale attracted 483 players and created a $272,895 prize pool;
  • The Mega Deep had 850 entries paying $215 each to create a $170,000 prize pool;
  • The $90 buy-in Sunday Challenge drew 896 players and generated a $118,292 prize pool; and
  • The Sunday Monsoon had 1,121 players paying $50 each to competed for a $56,050 prize pool.

On Tuesday, it'll be another big day on 888poker as the $1,500 High Roller, which features a $300,000 guarantee, will kick off. As for the $1,050 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed Main Event that will take place on Sunday, January 31. Satellites with buy-ins starting at as low as 1¢ are running now, and there will also be a $215 mega satellite on the last days of the series.

Here's a look at the remaining Super XL Series schedule:

Date Time Event Buy-in
(Sun) 24.01 completed Super XL 1 - $250,000 Opening Event Multi Chance $160
  completed Super XL 2 - $50,000 Mini Opening Event Multi Chance $12
  completed Super XL 3 - $200,000 Whale $600
  completed Mega satellite to Main Event - 25 seats GTD $215
  completed Super XL 4 - $15,000 Turbo Opening Event Multi Chance $55
  completed Super XL 5 - $5,000 Super Turbo Opening Event Multi Chance $75
(Mon) 25.01 completed Super XL 6 - $15,000 Omaha Event $109
  completed Super XL 7 - $3,000 Mini Omaha Event $12
  completed Super XL 8 - $15,000 Turbo Snap Event Multi chance $55
  completed Super XL 9 - $5,000 Mini Turbo Snap Event Multi chance $5
  completed Super XL 10 - $2,000 Turbo Snap Omaha $30
(Tue) 26.01 19:00 Super XL 11 - $300,000 High Roller Event $1,500
  19:00 Super XL 12 - $60,000 Mini High Roller Event $215
  21:00 Super XL 13 - $25,000 Turbo High Roller Event $160
(Wed) 27.01 19:00 Super XL 14 - $25,000 8-Max Event $109
  19:00 Super XL 15 - $3,000 Mini 8-Max Event $12
  21:00 Super XL 16 - $5,000 Turbo 8-Max Event $30
(Thu) 28.01 00:00 Super XL 17 - $10,000 Americas Event $160
  00:00 Super XL 18 - $2,000 Mini Americas Event $12
  02:00 Super XL 19 - $5,000 Turbo Americas Event $55
  18:00 Super XL 20 - $20,000 R&A EVENT $55
  18:00 Super XL 21 - $5,000 Mini R&A EVENT $5
  19:00 Super XL 22 - $50,000 Quarterback Event $215
  19:00 Super XL 23 - $10,000 Mini Quarterback Event $30
  21:00 Super XL 24 - $15,000 Turbo Quarterback Event $109
(Fri) 29.01 19:00 Super XL 25 - $25,000 Knockout Event $150
  19:00 Super XL 26 - $7,500 Mini Knockout Event $35
  21:00 Super XL 27 - $10,000 Turbo Knockout Event $75
(Sat) 30.01 11:00 Super XL 28 - $10,000 Outback Event $109
  11:00 Super XL 29 - $2,000 Mini Outback $12
  13:00 Super XL 30 - $5,000 Turbo Outback Event $55
(Sat) 30.01 19:00 Super XL 31 - $40,000 6 Max Event $160
  19:00 Super XL 32 - $10,000 Mini 6 Max Event $30
  21:00 Super XL 33 - $10,000 Turbo 6 Max Event $55
(Sun) 31.01 16:05 Mega satellite to ME - 50 seats GTD $215
  19:00 Super XL 34 - $1,000,000 MAIN EVENT $1,050
  19:00 Super XL 35 - $150,000 Mini Main Event $160
  19:30 Super XL 36 - $15,000 Micro MAIN EVENT $5
  21:00 Super XL 37 - $20,000 Turbo Main Event $109
  22:00 Super XL 38 - $10,000 Super Turbo Main Event $75
Chad Holloway is a 2013 WSOP Bracelet winner who has previously worked for PokerNews as a managing editor and live reporter