Hot on the heels of our hugely successful Super XL Series, we’re making things even bigger and better with the introduction of our 2017 XL Championships – three separate series that will run over the next year. The first, the $7,500,000 XL Inferno Championships, will feature an unprecedented 197 events and run from Sunday, May 7 through Sunday, May 21.

In September, the sky will be the limit with the XL Eclipse Championship, and on January 18 there will be no time to chill as we’ll be hosting our XL Blizzard Championship.

What’s Changed and What’s on the Schedule?

The XL Championships are the next evolution of tournament series on 888poker. We’re building upon the success of the Super XL Series, which includes extending the XL Inferno Championships to 14 days of non-stop action – instead of the previous 12-days series -- with a range of buy-ins suitable for all our players.

In addition, We are pushing the stakes higher than ever, with $7,500,000 up for grabs in the XL Inferno Championships which is 50% more than any previous Super XL Series.

The XL Inferno Championships will kick off on Sunday, May 7 with Event #1: $109 XL Inferno $30,000 Sunday Lightning, and later that day the $160 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed Opening Event will take place. There will also be a Mini, Turbo, and Super Turbo versions of the Opening Event as well as other central events on the calendar.

Here are some other highlights on the XL Inferno Championships schedule:

9-May Tuesday 19:00 Event #36: $2,100 XL Inferno $500,000 High Roller
9-May Tuesday 19:00 Event #37: $215 XL Inferno $150,000 Mini High Roller
9-May Tuesday 19:00 Event #40: $160 XL Inferno $65,000 Turbo High Roller
       
13-May Saturday 19:00 Event #86: $88 XL Inferno $88,000 Crazy 8
13-May Saturday 19:00 Event #87: $8.80 XL Inferno $20,000 Mini Crazy 8
13-May Saturday 21:00 Event #90: $55 XL Inferno $15,000 Turbo Crazy 8
       
16-May Tuesday 19:00 Event #126 $5,200 XL Inferno $400K Super High Roller Chip-In
16-May Tuesday 19:00 Event #127 $215 XL Inferno $100K Mini SHR Chip-In
16-May Tuesday 21:00 Event #130 $55 XL Inferno $10,000 Turbo Chip-In
       
21-May Sunday 19:00 Event #189 $1,050 XL Inferno $1,500,000 Million Main Event
21-May Sunday 19:00 Event #190 $160 XL Inferno $250,000 Mini Main Event
21-May Sunday 19:30 Event #191 $30 XL Inferno $50,000 Micro Mini Main Event
21-May Sunday 21:00 Event #196 $109 XL Inferno $30,000 Turbo Main Event
21-May Sunday 22:00 Event #197 $75 XL Inferno $15,000 Super Turbo Main Event

For a full look at the XL Inferno Championships schedule, click here.

Chip In for Global Poverty

For three exclusive tournaments in the XL Inferno Championships – the $5,200 Super High Roller, $109 Mini, and $55 Turbo – we’ll be chipping in while you cash out. That means we’ll be donating all fees from designated “Chip-In” events to REG’s (Raising for Effective Giving) “Global Poverty Charity Portfolio.”

REG is a meta-charity and community for professionals interested in having a positive impact on the world by donating a fraction of their earnings to the most effective charities. While the charity began at the behest of top pros live Liv Boeree, Igor Kurganov, and Philipp Gruissem – just to name a few – it has now grown beyond the poker community and become a worldwide phenomenon.

So, what charities will you be helping by playing the XL Inferno Championships?

For their global poverty charity portfolio, REG has chosen the Against Malaria Foundation, the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and GiveDirectly.

“These three charities have a broad body of evidence supporting their effectiveness and have consistently ranked among charity evaluator GiveWell’s top giving opportunities,” REG says in their global poverty charity portfolio. “These charities also cover three of the most effective and most studied global poverty interventions: distribution of insecticide-treated malaria nets, assistance for deworming treatments for schistosomiasis, and direct cash transfers to low-income households.”

This is a great way for players to contribute to a worthy cause without impacting the prize pool. For more information, visit reg-charity.org.

Champion of Champions Event Returns

In January’s XL Series, we introduced the Champion of Champions Event, which saw the top 18 players on the series leaderboard participate in a prestigious freeroll. Well, we’re doing away with the leaderboard, and the winners from each event will automatically be registered for the XL Inferno Champion of Champions.

The winner of the Champion of Champions will win a World Series of Poker Main Event package, while the runner-up and third-place finisher will be awarded a Crazy 8s WSOP Side Event package + $1,050 ME Qualifier ticket and Crazy 8s WSOP Side Event package respectively.

The fourth and fifth-place finishers will earn a $600 tournament ticket, while those finishing 6th-40th will be awarded a $55 tournament ticket.

Don’t Miss Out on the $7,500,000 XL Inferno Championships

The XL Inferno Championships is not to be missed, and you can qualify via our XL Inferno online satellite for as little as 1¢ - or even for FREE if you take part in our XL Inferno Promotion.

If you’re a first-time depositor, you can get three XL Qualifier tournament tickets simply by depositing $10 or more using the code: INFERNO10.

Here’s a look at our XL Qualifier schedule:

XL Inferno Main Event - Qualifier
When: Every day at 18:05 GMT
Prize: Top 3 players will win a $1,050 seat to the Main Event.

XL Inferno Mini Opening Event - Qualifier
When: Every day at 22:35 GMT
Prize: Top 30 players will win a $12 seat to the Mini Opening Event.


For more information, check out 888poker’s XL Inferno Championships hub here.

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