Thursday 18 January was a good day for tournament players around the world. It marked the start of the inaugural edition of the 2018 XL Blizzard Series on one of the biggest online poker rooms, 888poker. On the first day of the series, they kicked off with the $80,000 Opening Event.

XL Blizzard #1 - $80,000 Opening Event

In the first four hours of play, a total of 667 players and 279 rebuys made for a total of 946 players. They created a total prize pool of $94,600 with the first prize of $17,736. It took a while to get towards the money but in the end, it was Argentina's "BtM4Ever" who was the last player finishing empty-handed, bubbling the 888 XL Blizzard Opening Event.

After making the money, it took a long time before the tournament was down to the last nine. Hours before that, Chris "888Moorman" Moorman had finished in 62nd place for a cash of $302.72. After ten hours of play, the remaining nine players made the final table and went on to play for the $17,736 first prize.

For "dr1zo" (ninth - $1,334), "974kWRT" (eighth - $2,129) and "gnassil" (seventh - $3,075) it wasn't a big success on the final table as they left quite early on.

After that, the tournament saw "M9yM9so" leave in sixth place. Not much later, "ilginho" was left with just ten big blinds and he just lost them with king-three suited against the ace-nine off of chip leader "BTIPPPPP". He finished in fifth place for $4,967.

For "John_Doe09" the tournament ended in fourth place for $7,095 after losing all his chips in a flush over flush situation against Jans "Graftekkel" Arends.

"BTIPPPPP" was down to his final thirteen big blinds and he was at risk with kings against the seven-ten suited of "Graftekkel". The latter rivered a straight to bust "BTIPPPPP" in third place.

The deciding heads-up between "Graftekkel" and "123magmag123" didn't last long. On a ten-nine-jack-nine board, "Graftekkel" bet 1,500,000 chips and snap-called when "123magmag123" went all in for his last five million chips. The Dutch player had eight-seven for a straight, while the Irish turned over trips with king-nine.

The ace on the river didn't give "123magmag123" the help he needed and he finished in second place for $12,771. "Graftekkel" secured himself of the victory and the first prize of $17,738.

XL Blizzard #2 - $15,000 Mini Opening Event

The cheapest tournament on Day 1 was the XL Blizzard #2 - $15,000 Mini Opening Event. Players had to pay $12 to compete in this tournament and 1,508 did exactly that. There were also 832 rebuys to get a total prize pool of $25,506, easily exclipsing the $15,00 that 888 had guaranteed.

Every finalist was guaranteed at least $275 and this prize went to "220G60" who busted in ninth place. After that, "crazydog777" (eighth, $485), "slasha21" (seventh, $727) and "Ao1ing" (sixth, $969) followed in quick succession.

Ukraine's "loveyourcsh" then busted in fifth place for $1,212, "bagi666" finished in fourth for $1,658 and "APCEBAT" missed the heads-up when he finished in third place for $3,364 after making a three-way deal.

The final heads-up between "VyachesLove" and "bygavuga" ended with "bygavuga" as the winner for $3,394, while "VyachesLove" settled for second place and $2,963 in prize money.

XL Blizzard #3 - $20,000 Late Opening Event

"scellone94" from Malta won the XL Blizzard #3 - $20,000 Late Opening Event, a tournament with a buy-in of $55. He defeated a field of 616 players, beating "Charlymogo" in the final heads-up. He or she took home the first place prize of $5,852.

$1 Million Winners Promotion

Winning more than one XL Blizzard tournament not only nets you some substantial prize money, it will also net you a prize of between $1,000 and a cool $1 million.

If you manage to win two XL Blizzard events, 888poker will reward you with $1,000; win a third and you’ll receive $10,000. Anyone who manages to take down four XL Blizzard events will walk away with $100,000 and if you’re lucky and skillful enough to triumph in five events, your bankroll will receive a $1 million boost.

"bygavuga", "scellone94", and Jans "Graftekkel" Arends will be sure to check in on some more events this series, as they're off to a great start in this special promotion.

Champion of Champions

The Champion of Champions returns for the XL Blizzard series and one lucky 888poker player will win a $12,000 WSOP Vegas package. Each time you play in an XL Blizzard event, you earn leaderboard points. The top 50 players on the leaderboard receive a ticket to the Champion of Champions tournament and everyone in that special event wins a prize.

Bubble of Bubbles

Bursting the money bubble is never fun, but thanks to the Bubble of Bubbles promotion, finishing one place outside of the money places could be profitable.

Everyone who bursts the bubble in an XL Blizzard event will receive a ticket to the Bubble of Bubbles tournament. Reach the final table of this tournament and you’ll win a prize ranging from a $55 tournament ticket up to a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package.

Download 888poker via PokerNews and you’ll receive a free $88 worth of cash and tournament tickets just for creating your free account; this is a free £20 to residents of the United Kingdom. When you come to make your first deposit, 888poker matches it 100 percent up to a maximum of $888. All you need to do then is bring your A-game to the table and see if you can become an XL Blizzard champion.

Tonight's and This Weekend's 888poker XL Blizzard Schedule