The XL Spring Series kicked off on May 22 and wrapped up on June 7. The 37-event series was jampacked with affordable buy-in tournaments and catered to a combined 20,017 entrants while awarding $1,538,695 in prize money!

  • Brazilian players did the best by claiming five titles.
  • Germany was right behind with four victories.
  • Canada, Argentina, Montenegro, and Lithuania all won three titles apiece.
  • Players from Ukraine, Malta, Moldova, and the United Kingdom all got two.
  • Single titles went to the likes of Romania, New Zealand, Azerbaijan, Andorra, Sweden, and Denmark.

Below is a look at some of the big winners and stories from the 2022 XL Spring Series on 888poker.

Andorra’s Instinctym Victorious in XL Spring $500K ME

Andorra’s Instinctym Victorious in XL Spring $500K Main Event

The highlight of the series was the $250 buy-in, $500K GTD Multiflight Main Event, which hosted Day 1s throughout the series. It attracted a combined 1,978 players who rebought 195 times.

The 2,173-entry field resulted in a $510,655 prize pool, with 329 players making it to Day 2.

After “minat2211” bubbled in 241st place, the top 240 finishers made the money including the following players –

  • “EZ.PZ” (217th place for $765.98)
  • “GOGOslowroll” (180th place for $817.04)
  • 888poker Ambassador Vivian “Vivi.888.” Saliba (164th place for $817.04)
  • “Ilovepickles” (123rd place for $868.11)
  • “Limitfisher” (76th place for $1,072.37)
  • “mylly8” (50th place for $1,225.57)
  • “Hodor83” (31st place for $1,531.96)
  • “RipCheader” (17th place for $2,961.79)
  • Final table bubble “viinig” (10th place for $5,208.68).

The final table of nine players took a day-break before returning for the finale. At the time “Instinctym” was the chip leader, albeit with the average stack being just 16 big blinds.

As such, it didn’t take long, 90 minutes in fact, for a winner to emerge on the Twitch 888pokerTV channel live stream.

Instinctym” used their chip advantage to make it to heads-up play against Montenegro’s “alanchi”. The two opted to strike a deal and then played it out for the title.

In the first half after the deal, “alanchi” jammed with the 4♥3♥ and “Instinctym” called with the K♦7♣. The board ran out 7♠K♠2♠7♥Q♥ and the latter doubled into a massive lead.

XL Spring ME - Heads-Up FT

In the very next hand, “alanchi” got their last two bigs in with the 9♣2♦ and was up against the 10♣8♥ of “Instinctym”.

The 8♦Q♣K♣J♥7♣ runout was no help to “alanchi” and they had to settle for second place and $56,387 in prize money.

XL Spring $500,000 Main Event Final Table Results

1st – “Instinctym” (Andorra) … $65,608

2nd – “alanchi” (Montenegro) … $56,387

3rd – “iNFOsHOVE” (Sweden) … $37,839

4th – “Why_a_King” (Sweden) … $28,034

5th – “KostenBerguz” (Ukraine) … $20,732

6th – “overbet13” (Malta) … $15,472

7th – “makinchinho” (Belarus) … $11,591

8th – “youlet” (United Kingdom) … $8,783

9th – “Tcheleee” (Brazil) … $6,689

Brazil’s Bet4funAA Wins High Roller (Big Shot 525)

Brazil’s Bet4funAA Wins High Roller (Big Shot 525)

On Saturday, June 4, the United Kingdom’s Feargus “EZ.PZ” Murphy topped a 311-entry field to win the $109 buy-in Event #33: $30,000 Knockout for $5,028.20.

The following day, he nearly claimed a second title but came up one spot short in the $525 buy-in Event #36: $50,000 High Roller, a tournament that saw 81 players rebuy 33 times.

The 114-entry field resulted in a $57,000 prize pool that was paid out to the top 15 finishers including the following –

  • “VincentMX” (14th place for $1,282.50)
  • “Jan.14” (12th place for $1,339.50)
  • “Destroyer300” (9th place for $1,453.50)
  • “kiskutya23” (8th place for $1,681.50)
  • “BetBetFck” (4th place for $4,873.50)
  • “paulinhoo00” (3rd place for $6,697.50)

Murphy wound up squaring off against Brazil’s “Bet4funAA” in heads-up play. It took 6 hours and 18 minutes y for things to come to a head as reported on PokerNews:

“Murphy started heads-up as the short stack and managed to fight back to close to even but had to settle for 2nd place in the 2022 888poker XL Spring Series $525 High Roller. Murphey got short again after running into a flush by winner ‘Bet4funAA’.

“A few hands later Murphey ran into a rivered straight for a big pot to leave him with less than 60,000 chips, and the rest went in a few hands later.”

XL Spring HR - Heads-Up FT

The win by “Bet4funAA” marked the fifth title of the series for a player from Brazil.

XL Spring Series Event #36: $50,000 High Roller Final Table Results

1st – “Bet4funAA” (Brazil) … $15,703.50

2nd – Feargus “EZ.PZ” Murphy (United Kingdom) … $10,260

3rd – “paulinhoo00” (Brazil) … $6,697.50

4th – “BetBetFck” (Ukraine) … $4,873.50

5th – “carloshmz” (Brazil) … $3,591

6th – “Andreip32” (United Kingdom) … $2,736

7th – “Hvalavam” (Montenegro) … $2,137.50

8th – “kiskutya23” (N/A) … $1,681.50

9th – “Destroyer300” (Lithuania) … $1,453.50

Argentina’s leon_dies10 Becomes First Two-Time Winner

Argentina’s leon_dies10 Becomes First Two-Time Winner

On Thursday, June 2, the $55 buy-in Event #28: $20,000 Mini PKO 6-Max attracted 333 players who rebought 84 times, generating a $20,850 prize pool. The prize was split between the regular and bounty pools with the top 42 finishers getting a piece of the former.

Among those to cash were the following players –

  • “AcidAscorbic” (35th place for $62.55 plus $192.19 in bounties)
  • “billycadu14” (27th place for $72.97 plus $18.75 in bounties)
  • “CerealGorila” (13th place for $109.46 plus $371.10 in bounties)
  • “TimeToFold” (7th place for $260.62 plus $122.66 in bounties)
  • “lavittoria88” (3rd place for $1,198.87 plus $457.43 in bounties)

The final two players – Argentina’s “leon_dies10” and the United Kingdom’s “Alboz83” – each locked up $1,892.13 in prize money by virtue of making it to heads-up play.

But awaiting the winner was a $2,159.65 PKO bounty. After 6 hours and 35 minutes of play, the Argentinean prevailed to claim a total payday of $4,051.92.

It marked the second title of the series for “leon_dies10”. He previously topped a 307-player field to win the $55 buy-in Event #6: $10,000 Mini Freezeout back on Tuesday, May 24 for $2,961.17.

XL Spring Series Event #28: $20,000 Mini PKO 6-Max Final Table Results

1st – “leon_dies10” (Argentina) … $4,051.92

2nd – “Alboz83” (United Kingdom) … $2,477.65

3rd – “lavittoria88” (N/A) … $1,656.30

4th – “Snake131” (United Kingdom) … $1,096.89

5th – “callembluff” (Ireland) … $973.94

6th – “Yzw42_” (Romania) … $688.11

In other Thursday news, Moldova’s “NecroJack” topped a 124-entry field to win the $215 buy-in Event #27: $25,000 PKO 6-Max for $5,832.12

Canada’s “DanielZgranu” navigated a 615-entry field to win the $22 buy-in Event #29: $10,000 Late PKO 6-Max.

New 888poker Ambassador Ian “Simpioni” Simpson Finishes Runner-Up in Event #21: $50,000 PKO

New 888poker Ambassador Ian “Simpioni” Simpson Finishes Runner-Up in Event #21: $50,000 PKO

On Tuesday, May 31, the $320 buy-in Event #21: $50,000 PKO saw 137 players rebuy 38 times to squeak by the guarantee. The $52,500 prize money was split between the regular and bounty pools.

The top 24 finishers got a piece of the former including the following –

  • “Tighterinho” (22nd place for $372.75 plus $375 in bounties)
  • “popsnpoker” (17th place for $378 plus $150 in bounties)
  • “billycadu14” (15th place for $391.12 plus $393.75 in bounties)
  • “AdrianoK222” (7th place for $829.50 plus $600 in bounties)
  • “RonaldSleasy” (3rd place for $3,150 plus $1,584.38 in bounties)

The final two players – new 888poker Ambassador Ian “Simpioni” Simpson and Lithuania’s “MoKr93” – locked up $5,236.87 by virtue of making it to heads-up play.

But they battled it out for the $7,146.07 PKO bounty. After 7 hours and 14 minutes of play, the latter came out on top to claim the title and a total payday of $12,383.

XL Spring Series Event #21: $50,000 PKO Final Table Results

1st – “MoKr93” (Lithuania) … $12,383

2nd – Ian “Simpioni” Simpson (United Kingdom) … $8,323.59

3rd – “RonaldSleasy” (United Kingdom) … $4,734.38

4th – “AllanSheik” (Brazil) … $2,625.18

5th – “algsxr” (Canada) … $2,279.25

6th – “Reggie_Degen” (Canada) … $1,807.50

7th – “AdrianoK222” (England) … $1,429.50

8th – “Sly_81” (Germany) … $934.50

9th – “pajaro.com” (Mexico) … $837.37

In other news from the last day of May, Sweden’s “kalix30” topped a 508-entry field to win the $55 buy-in Event #22: $20,000 Mini PKO for $4,557.41

Denmark’s “simoneblondi” bested 207 runners to win the $109 buy-in Event #23: $20,000 Late PKO for $4,040.99.

2022 XL Spring Series Winners

Date

Tournament

Buy-In

Total Entries

Prize Pool

Winner

Country

Prize

Sunday,

May 22

Event #1: $120,000

Opening Event

$109

1,205

$120,500

Sxmon

Germany

$17,605.05

Monday,

May 23

Event #2: $25,000

PKO 6-Max

$88

453

$36,240

popsnpoker

Canada

$5,515.95

Monday,

May 23

Event #3: $15,000

Mini PKO 6-Max

$44

434

$17,360

MaxOn123

Ukraine

$3,238.49

Monday,

May 23

Event #4: $10,000

Late PKO 6-Max

$22

472

$10,000

ItsOkay

Malta

$1,739.82

Tuesday,

 May 24

Event #5: $25,000

Freezeout

$215

170

$34,000

cretzzuu93

Romania

$7,622.80

Tuesday,

May 24

Event #6: $10,000

Mini Freezeout

$55

307

$15,350

leon_dies10

Argentina

$2,961.17

Tuesday,

May 24

Event #7: $10,000

Late Freezeout

$109

140

$14,000

pivnoypuzec

Montenegro

$3,255

Wednesday,

May 25

Event #8: $30,000

PKO

$109

508

$50,800

DEADyshka

Montenegro

$9,293.59

Wednesday,

May 25

Event #9: $12,000

Mini PKO

$16.50

914

$13,710

YeaPizza

New Zealand

$1,571.26

Wednesday,

May 25

Event #10: $10,000

Late PKO

$33

466

$13,980

GodSama

Lithuania

$2,182.41

Thursday,

May 26

Event #11: $30,000

PKO 8-Max

$160

326

$48,900

R3li_able

Lithuania

$8,401.89

Thursday,

May 26

Event #12: $20,000

Mini PKO 8-Max

$55

574

$28,700

Mucuxito

Azerbaijan

$4,167.21

Thursday,

May 26

Event #13: $15,000

Late PKO 8-Max

$22

762

$15,240

11011983vb

Ukraine

$2,410.60

Friday,

May 27

Event #14: $25,000

DeepStack

$55

495

$25,000

Aragorn92

Germany

$4,243.13

Friday,

May 27

Event #15: $12,000

Mini DeepStack

$16.50

832

$12,480

ryguy2345

Canada

$2,038.46

Friday,

May 27

Event #16: $10,000

Late DeepStack

$33

317

$10,000

EvilJens2.0

Germany

$2,027

Sunday,

May 29

Event #17: $120,000

Tune Up

$109

1155

$120,000

BeGamble888

Argentina

$18,576

Monday,

May 30

Event #18: $25,000

8-Max

$88

417

$33,360

LikeaZ0mbY

N/A

$6,421.96

Monday,

May 30

Event #19: $15,000

Mini 8-Max

$44

417

$16,680

Its0kay

Malta

$3,252.68

Monday,

May 30

Event #20: $10,000

Late 8-Max

$22

560

$11,200

jamesc127

United Kingdom

$2,128

Tuesday,

May 31

Event #21: $50,000

PKO

$320

175

$52,500

MoKr93

Lithuania

$12,383

Tuesday,

May 31

Event #22: $20,000

Mini PKO

$55

508

$25,400

kalix30

Sweden

$4,557.41

Tuesday,

May 31

Event #23: $20,000

Late PKO

$109

207

$20,700

simoneblondi

Denmark

$4,040.99

Wednesday,

June 1

Event #24: $30,000

PKO 8-Max

$109

331

$33,100

Franky4Four

Germany

$7,071.31

Wednesday,

June 1

Event #25: $12,000

Mini PKO 8-Max

$16.50

922

$13,830

MisterJackBR

Brazil

$2,001.80

Wednesday,

June 1

Event #26: $10,000

Late PKO 8-Max

$33

389

$11,670

gerbereneu66

Brazil

$2,388.68

Thursday,

June 2

Event #27: $25,000

PKO 6-Max

$215

124

$25,000

NecroJack

Moldova

$5,832.12

Thursday,

June 2

Event #28: $20,000

Mini PKO 6-Max

$55

417

$20,850

leon_dies10

Argentina

$4,051.92

Thursday,

June 2

Event #29: $10,000

Late PKO 6-Max

$22

615

$12,300

DanielZgranu

Canada

$2,159.71

Friday,

June 3

Event #30: $25,000

DeepStack

$55

529

$26,450

kazan4ik

Ukraine

$4,837.86

Friday,

June 3

Event #31: $12,000

Mini DeepStack

$16.50

856

$12,840

herbertros

Brazil

$1,957.09

Friday,

June 3

Event #32: $10,000

Late DeepStack

$33

360

$10,800

Not_bad

Montenegro

$2,071.68

Saturday,

June 4

Event #33: $30,000

Knockout

$109

311

$31,100

Feargus "EZ.PZ"

Murphy

United Kingdom

$5,028.20

Saturday,

June 4

Event #34: $12,000

Mini Knockout

$16.50

778

$12,000

alexfenixBR.

Brazil

$1,599.50

Saturday,

June 4

Event #35: $15,000

Late Knockout

$55

284

$15,000

railerita

Moldova

$2,458.58

Sunday,

June 5

Event #36: $50,000

High Roller

$525

114

$57,000

Bet4funAA

Brazil

$15,703.50

Sunday,

June 5

Event #37: $500,000

Main Event

$250

2173

$510,655

Instinctym

Andorra

$65,608

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