On Sunday, the highly-anticipated XL Eclipse kicked off with the first 16 tournaments on a 197-event schedule. The online series, which will run for two weeks through Sunday, September 24, will feature $8,000,000 in guarantees and culminate with a $1,050 buy-in, $1,500,000 GTD Main Event.
So far, 16 players have qualified for the Champion of Champions Event on September 26 at 18:00 GMT. The top three players in that tournament, which is only open to XL Eclipse winners, will win live event prize packages, which includes the winner receiving a $13,000 package to the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe at King’s Rozvadov.
Among Sunday’s online tournaments were the $160 Opening Event, $1,050 Whale, and $215 Mega Deep. You can read more about those tournaments and all Day 1 XL Eclipse events below.
“ImTriggered” Takes Down Opening Event $58,270
The first day of the XL Eclipse kicked off with a $160 buy-in, $300,000 GTD Opening Event, which surpassed its guarantee by attracting 1,700 entries (600 rebuys) and creating a $345,000 prize pool.
The field was chock full of recognizable names including 888poker Ambassadors Parker “888tonkaaaa” Talbot, Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche, Xuan “888Xuan” Liu, and Chris “888Moorman” Moorman. Of those, only Nitsche managed to cash, ultimately finishing in 46th place for $897.
After Lithuania’s “707089” bubbled the tournament in 208th place, the top 207 players were in the money. Among those to cash were Anton “anteen” Bertilsson (14th - $2,242.50), Troy “S.Janowski” Quenneville (72nd - $759), Nicolas “PKaiser” Fierro (84th - $690), and “popsnpoker” (188th - $379.50).
One big name at the final table was “GetLuckyAK,” who you may recall won last September’s Super XL Main Event for $261,214 after a three-way deal with Sami Kelopuro and Nitsche, who took home $210,810 and $206,400 respectively. Unfortunately for “GetLuckyAK,” he wouldn’t capture another title and had to instead settle for eight place and $6,555 in prize money.
Instead, after 13 hours and 44 minutes, it was “ImTriggered” who finished as the winner, good for $58,270.50. “ImTriggered” began heads-up play with a 4-1 chip lead against Finland’s “Tsipras,” and while it certainly wasn’t easy going, he eventually finished off his opponent to claim the day’s most prestigious title.
Obviously, it was a big day for “ImTriggered,” who not only won the Opening Event, but final tabled The Whale, which you’ll read more about below.
Final Table Results
1st – “ImTriggered” $58,270.50
2nd – “Tsipras” (Finland) $41,469
3rd – “89Diamonds” (UK) $31,740
4th – “I_R_BABOON” (Netherlands) $22,425
5th – “LucySagara70” (Netherlands) $16,387.50
6th – “Binkasaurus” (UK) $13,110
7th – “HinduKrush” (UK) $9,832.50
8th – “GetLuckyAK” (Canada) $6,555
9th – “Ignatiik” (Ukraine) $3,726
Additionally, in the $75 buy-in Event #16: $10,000 Super Turbo Opening Event, it took “NEONTIGER” just 128 minutes to top a field of 115 entries (28 rebuys) to win $2,609.75.
Parker “888tonkaaaa” Talbot Wins XL Eclipse Tornado
The $109 buy-in Event #12: $30,000 Sunday Tornado drew 206 entries (76 rebuy) and saw not one, but two 888poker Ambassadors make the final table. Both Xuan “888Xuan” Liu and Parker “888tonkaaaa” Talbot (Canada) were there, and in the end the latter closed it out to claim a $6,450 first-place prize and a coveted XL Eclipse title.
"I think day 1 of XL was a huge hit" said Talbot. "I'm biased of course as I shipped event #12 for 6.5k. This tournament was pretty nice day saver for me. I think I still managed to lose $$$ on the day (1k whale) but overall it was a beauty ship with some nice hands 13 hours into the stream/session. I'm really really looking forward to play more XL Eclipse events, other Sundays and some of the high roller events in particular."
Meanwhile, Liu finished in fifth place for $1,800, while other notables to cash included “Ender112” (23rd - $300), “cuadrado12” (15th - $450), and “lapechuga4” (12th - $525).
Final Table Results
1st - Parker “888tonkaaaa” Talbot (Canada) $6,450
2nd – “neverfoldQ5” (Germany) $4,650
3rd – “_zufurduo_” (Argentina) $3,525
4th – “PeyNixon” (UK) $2,625
5th – Xuan “888Xuan” Liu (Canada) $1,800
6th – “AhCacao” (UK) $1,500
7th – “unclesala” (Switzerland) $1,200
8th – “JohnFoot” (UK) $900
9th – “HappyMonkey9” (UK) $600
“CllsDntMttr” Wins Whale for $64,826.50
Event #10: $250,000 Whale, the biggest buy-in of the day at $1,050 a pop, attracted 218 entries (99 rebuys), which surpassed its guarantee by creating a $317,000 prize pool. After 11 hours and 10 minutes, Germany’s “CllsDntMttr” bested “KimberSlice” in heads-up play to win $64,826.50.
Back on July 9, “CllsDntMttr” topped a field of 409 players to win the $80,000 Mega Deep for $15,697. That means he’s won two of 888poker’s most prestigious online titles in a two-month period.
Others to finish in the top 36 and make the money were 888poker Ambassador Dominik “888Dominik” Nitsche (16th - $3,487), Johannes “TrollKonst8” Korsar (17th - $3,487), Christopher “NigDawG” Brammer (28th - $2,377.50), and XL Inferno High Roller champ “spud_gun888” (34th - $2,377.50).
Final Table Results
1st - “CllsDntMttr” (Germany) $64,826.50
2nd – “KimberSlice” (Costa Rica) $47,550
3rd – “Biack88” (Russia) $35,821
4th – “KLAUS_H” (Finland) $26,945
5th – “ImTriggered” (Thailand) $18,386
6th – “IRLsucks” (Sweden) $14,265
7th – “RoyabIuhs” (Netherlands) $11,095
9th – “SalsaFiesta” (Sweden) $6,023
Niklas “tutten7” Astedt Wins Mega Deep for $28,050
Event #4: $150,000 Mega Deep attracted 732 entries runners, and after 11 hours and 16 minutes of play, Sweden’s Niklas “tutten7” Astedt emerged victorious to win $28,050. Less than two weeks ago, Astedt won the $30,000 Quarterback for $6,912, and at the beginning of August took down the $12,000 Crocodile for $4,162.50.
In addition, it marked the second final table of the day for the UK’s “JohnFoot.” Earlier, he placed eighth in the Tornado for $900, and here he finished runner-up for a much bigger prize of $20,250.
Final Table Results
1st – Niklas “tutten7” Astedt (Sweden) $28,050
2nd – “JohnFoot” (UK) $20,250
3rd – “nomoney4ever” (Croatia) $15,000
4th – “McNugget123” (Canada) $11,250
5th – “csmresita” (Romania) $7,500
6th – “carbondating” (Malaysia) $5,250
7th – “r4ndomr4gs” (Sweden) $3,375
8th – “poBHblu” (Ukraine) $2,265
9th – “carpediem14” (UK) $1,800
Meanwhile, in the $215 buy-in, $50,000 GTD Turbo Mega Deep, which drew 204 entries (81 rebuys) and created a $57,000 prize pool, it took Canada’s Sebastian “p000cket000” Sikorski just under five hours to win the title for $1,542.50. Also at the final table were 2017 WSOP bracelet winner Christopher “NigDawG” Brammer (8th - $1,567.50) and Super XL Series VI champ “Gr33nApples” (9th - $1,140).
XL Eclipse Day 1 Winner Roundup
Here’s a look at all those who won titles on Day 1 of the XL Eclipse:
- Event #1: $30,000 Sunder Lightning (363 entries, $52,900 prize pool) won by “Lenochka83” (Russia) for $11,109
- Event #3: $30,000 Sunday Deepstack Swordfish (1,302 entries, $35,805 prize pool) won by “ivljanin” (Serbia) for $6,086.85
- Event #4: $150,000 Mega Deep (732 entries, $150,000 prize pool) won by Niklas “tutten7” Astedt (Sweden) for $28,050
- Event #5: $40,000 Mini Mega Deep (1,718 entries, $48,920 prize pool) won by “DreamLikeMe” for $8,262.58
- Event #6: $20,000 Sunday Swordfish (765 entries, $21,037.50 prize pool) won by “gaingrapes” (Mexico) for $3,860.38
- Event #7: $300,000 Opening Event (1,700 entries, $345,000 prize pool) won by “ImTriggered” (Thailand) for $58,270.50
- Event #8: $50,000 Mini Opening Event (4,394 entries, $64,942.20 prize pool) won by “Tatko3” for $9,091.90
- Event #9: $45,000 Sunday Monsoon (819 entries, $45,000 prize pool) won by “LeshiyAS” (Estonia) for $8,145
- Event #10: $250,000 Whale (218 entries, $317,000 prize pool) won by “CllsDntMttr” (Germany) for $64,826.50
- Event #11: $100,000 Sunday Challenge (788 entries, $108,300 prize pool) won by “iCrushU556” (Germany) $20,252.10
- Event #12: $30,000 Sunday Tornado (206 entries, $30,000 prize pool) won by Parker “888tonkaaaa” Talbot (Canada) for $6,450
- Event #13: $50,000 Turbo Mega Deep (204 entries, $57,000 prize pool) won by Sebastian “p000cket000” Sikorski (Canada) for $11,542.50
- Event #14: $20,000 Mini Turbo Mega Deep (886 entries, $23,100 prize pool) won by “rama4y20” (Uruguay) for $4,158
- Event #15: $30,000 Turbo Opening Event (427 entries, $30,000 prize pool) won by “RakDoll” (Belarus) for $5,757
- Event #16: $10,000 Super Turbo Opening Event (115 entries, $10,439 prize pool) won by “NEONTIGER” (South Korea) for $2,609.75
What’s on Tap for Tomorrow?
On Monday, 13 more events will take place including three with a $109 buy-in – the $15,000 Lightning 6-Max (13:30), $15,000 Omaha (18:00), and $15,000 Tornado (18:35).
However, the biggest buy-in of the day will be the $160 Crocodile (16:30), which features a $20,000 GTD. Other tournaments on the schedule $55 buy-in Event #18: $15,000 Breeze (14:45), $30 buy-in Event #21: $15,000 Swordfish (17:00), and $55 buy-in Event #28: $15,000 Snap (19:00).
Click here to view the entire XL Eclipse schedule.
Be sure to check back daily as we bring you recaps from all the XL Eclipse events.
