Last Sunday, the inaugural XL Spring Series kicked off on 888poker. The festival will run through this Sunday, June 6, is comprised of 25 events.
Buy-ins range from $5.50-$250, offering more than $1 million in combined guaranteed prize pools.
As of Wednesday night, the series passed its halfway point as 13 events have crowned winners. Through the first half of the series, a combined 10,088 entrants have competed and $319,115 in prize money has been awarded.
- Brazilian players have captured four titles, while players from the UK are hot on their heels with three wins.
- Meanwhile, Canada and Ukraine have two titles apiece, while other winners hail from Belarus and Russia.
Strong Performance by Brazil on R&A Day
On Monday, which was Memorial Day in the United States, a trio of Rebuy & add-on (R&A) tournaments were held. In the $33 buy-in Event #5: $20,000 R&A, Brazil’s “jpsalgadocr0” topped a 560-entry field to claim a $3,981.70 first-place prize.
In the $5.50 buy-in Event #6: $8,000 Mini R&A, 647 players rebought 436 times to create a 1,063-entry field. Brazil’s “D.AQUINO92” came out on top and turned his five-dollar buy-in into a $1,306.40 payday.
Brazilian players nearly completed the clean sweep in Event #7: $8,000 Late R&A, a tournament that had 300 players rebuy 232 times.
Unfortunately, Brazil’s “BrunoZika1” came up one spot short finishing in second place for $1,172 to the UK’s “Invented21st”, who won a $1,621.60 top prize.
Canada’s “leblond1996” Wins XL Spring High Roller
On Tuesday, the $320 buy-in Event #8: $50,000 High Roller squeaked by its guarantee as 123 players rebought 45 times to generate a $50,500 prize pool.
One player to compete was 888poker Ambassador Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche, who failed to make the money after losing a flip with his ace-king failing to overcome pocket tens.
The top 24 finishers got paid. And after “plush0292” was eliminated as the bubble boy, the in-the-money bustouts included the following players –
- “Ove_Pipcorn” (23rd - $715.68)
- 888poker Ambassador Vivian “Vivi.888.” Saliba (20th - $715.68)
- “MarkBurtoni” (14th - $750.96)
- Final table bubble boy “algsxr” (10th - $781.20)
The final table was streamed on 888pokerTV with David Tuchman and Nick Wealthall on the call. The action, kicked off with a bang when “leblond1996” scored a double elimination!
He flopped a full house holding pocket jacks against the pocket tens of “andrew_flash” and kings of “ankapupu”.
With three players remaining, “leblond1996” once again used pocket jacks to win a big pot. He made a strong river call on a king-high board after streamer Adam “IT5PAYDAY” Neal trued to execute a bluff with nine-ten.
- Neal took home $6,048 for his third-place finish.
“leblond1996” began heads-up play against “saudades123” holding a 3:1 chip lead. It didn’t take long for things to come to a head. It happened when “saudades123” got their stack of under 20 big blinds all-in preflop with the K♥10♥.
“leblond1996” had him at risk with the A♦5♠. The board ran out 5♦2♣J♣5♣3♠ and “leblond1996” improved to trip fives to seal the deal.
High Roller Final Table Results
1st – “leblond1996” (Canada) … $11,718
2nd – “saudades123” (N/A) … $8,392
3rd – Adam “IT5PAYDAY” Neal (United Kingdom) … $6,048
4th – “Broten” (Belarus) … $4,329
5th – “POK_33_TATOO” (Romania) … $3,044
6th – “supari69” (Canada) … $2,192
7th – “FoldestJaEh” (N/A) … $1,593
8th – “ankapupu” (Finland) … $1,164
9th – “andrew_flash” (Germany) … $852
Two other High Roller tournaments took place on Tuesday. The first was the $55 buy-in Event #9: $25,000 Mini High Roller, which attracted400 players who rebought 138 times.
- Canada’s “Pat14” prevailed over the 538-entry field to win a $4,920 first-place prize.
The other tournament was the $109 buy-in Event #10: $20,000 Late High Roller, which saw 134 players rebuy 51 times to create a 185-entry field.
- Belarus’ “Smartestcat” emerged as the last player standing to claim a $4,650 top prize.
Bounty Hunters Battle in Wednesday PKOs
On Wednesday, a trio of Progressive Knockout (PKO) tournaments were held. First up was the $109 buy-in Event #11: $30,000 PKO, which cruised by its guarantee as 288 players rebought 88 times to create a $37,600 prize pool.
The top 48 finishers got a piece of the regular prize pool including the following players –
- “cherrywine” (19th for $139.12 + $225 in bounties)
- “algsxr” (12th for $223.72 + $450.01 in bounties)
- 888poker Ambassador Vivian “888.” Saliba (7th for $560.24 + $413.67 in bounties)
The final two players, a pair of Brazilians, locked up $3,282.48 in prize money but were battling for the nearly-equal $3,270.84 PKO bounty.
After 7 hours and 45 minutes, it was “GoldHand2077” beating out his fellow countryman “mywifesT7i” to win the title for a total payday of $6,553.32.
Next up was the $16.50 buy-in Event #12: $15,000 Mini PKO, which drew an 1,159-entry field and offered up a $17,385 prize pool.
- After nearly 10 hours of play, it was Russia’s “ZDmitryS” coming out on top to the tune of $2,389.12.
Finally, the $33 buy-in Event #13: $10,000 Late PKO saw Ukraine’s “Nzol888” top a 418-entry field to win the tournament. He took home $1,042.97 plus a $1,089.57 PKO bounty for a combined payout of $2,132.54.
What’s Coming Up
The XL Spring Series runs through Sunday, June 6, and there are plenty of great events on the schedule. That includes the $250 buy-in Event #23: $500,000 Main Event at 5 p.m. GMT on Sunday, June 6.
Click here for a look at the full schedule.
XL Spring Winners Thus Far
Date |
Buy-in / Tournament |
Entries |
Prize Pool |
Winner/ Country |
Prize |
Sunday, May 30 |
$55 Event #1: $50,000 Opening Event |
1,353 |
$67,650 |
Christopher "MAKKAPAKKK" Johnson (UK) |
$9,884 |
Sunday, May 30 |
$16.50 Event #2: $25,000 Mini Opening |
1,520 |
$25,000 |
“Sultanhcik” (Ukraine) |
$3,652.50 |
Sunday, May 30 |
$5.50 Event #3: $10,000 Micro Opening |
1,735 |
$10,000 |
“lourimar” (Brazil) |
$1,221.16 |
Sunday, May 30 |
$33 Event #4: $15,000 Late Opening |
481 |
$15,000 |
“godfatheR2AA” (UK) |
$2,743.50 |
Monday, May 31 |
$33 Event #5: $20,000 R&A Event |
560 |
$20,640 |
“jpsalgadocr0” (Brazil) |
$3,981.70 |
Monday, May 31 |
$5.50 Event #6: $8,000 Mini R&A |
1,063 |
$8,000 |
“D.AQUINO92 (Brazil) |
$1,306.40 |
Monday, May 31 |
$11 Event #7: $8,000 Late R&A |
532 |
$8,000 |
“Invented21st” (UK) |
$1,621.60 |
Tuesday, June 1 |
$320 Event #8: 50,000 High Roller |
168 |
$50,400 |
“leblond1996” (Canada) |
$11,718 |
Tuesday, June 1 |
$55 Event #9: $25,000 Mini High Roller |
538 |
$26,900 |
“Pat14” (Canada) |
$4,920.01 |
Tuesday, June 1 |
$109 Event #10: $20,000 Late High Roller |
185 |
$20,000 |
“Smartestcat” (Belarus) |
$4,650 |
Wednesday, June 2 |
$109 Event #11: $30,000 PKO |
376 |
$37,600 |
“GoldHand2077” (Brazil) |
$6,553.32 |
Wednesday, June 2 |
$16.50 Event #12: $15,000 Mini PKO |
1,159 |
$17,385 |
“ZDmitryS” (Russia) |
$2,389.12 |
Wednesday, June 2 |
$33 Event #13: $10,000 Late PKO |
418 |
$12,540 |
“Nzol888” (Ukraine) |
$2,132.54 |