2018 888poker XL Blizzard

XL Blizzard Recaps
Day: 1

Niklas "tutten7" Astedt Cashes Big Twice, Jacobson Fourth in Whale

On the fourth day of the 888poker XL Blizzard Series, five new tournaments were on the schedule. Most of the attention went out to the $200,000 Whale, where some great prizes were paid out to the players. Let's take a look who was crowned as a winner in this event and the results of the other events that played out on Sunday.


XL Blizzard #9 - $120,000 Mega Deep

Buy-inDatePlayersPrize pool
$215Jan. 21565$154,800

Well known Austrian grinder "23NoraB" took down the $120,000 guaranteed Mega Deep event, beating 564 other hopefuls to take down the first-place prize of almost $30,000. Heads-up he beat "Raise_Once," a Greek player using Phil Ivey's monicker. Second place netted him or her a massive $21,440. Russian player "NVladislav78" had to do with third place, worth $15,790.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
123NoraBAustria$29,257
2Raise_OnceGreece$21,440
3NVladislav78Russia$15,790
4seijistar1Brazil$11,610
5IneedmassariBrazil$7,740
6lrdvoldemortUnited Kingdom$5,418
7MerfinisUnited Kingdom$3,870
8StuntSoHardNetherlands$2,709

XL Blizzard #10 - $200,000 Tune Up

Buy-inDatePlayersPrize pool
$160Jan. 211,379$206,850

After almost 13 hours of play, the XL Blizzard #10 - $200,000 Tune Up finally crowned a winner. It was "RKOoutofNWHR" from Germany who claimed the first place prize of $35,591 after defeating countryman "Stiffler29" in heads-up play.

The event drew 1,027 players. They had a combined 352 rebuys, making for a total of 1,379 entries. That created a prize pool of $206,850 with 135 places getting paid. It was "Fackedelic" from Austria that finished on the bubble and was the last player unable to break into the money.

After more than 10 hours of play, the tournament dwindled down to nine players who made up the official final table. In one of the first hands, "gtavares" finished in 9th place ($2,482). After that, it took a while before "Gusalagupagu" lost his stack with pocket kings against chip leader "RKOoutofNWHR" to end in eighth place. "BtM4Ever" (seventh, $6,206) and "Avskedad" (sixth, $8,274) followed in quick succession to get down to five players.

With five players left, "VisionLikeN." was all in for his or her last fifteen big blinds with two red nines. "RKOoutofNWHR" found pocket queens and made the easy call. The queens were still good after five community cards, which meant that "VisionLikeN." finished in fifth place for $8,274. Niklas "tutten7" Astedt and "Allindgaard" were the shortest stacks with four players left. They got their money in with king-queen against nines, and the Swede turned a queen to bust the Danish player in fourth place for $14,893.

Niklas "tutten7" Astedt then lost a few pots in a row and was down to fifteen big blinds. He went all in from the small blind with {Q-Hearts}{J-Hearts} and received a call from "RKOoutofNWHR" in the big blind with {A-Hearts}{K-Diamonds}. The board ran out {5-Diamonds}{10-Spades}{6-Clubs}{8-Hearts}{5-Clubs} and Astedt finished in third place for $19,858.

The two German players made a deal before the heads-up started. After both agreed to the numbers, they decided to flip for the XL title and $4,000 extra. After several flips, it was "RKOoutofNWHR" who won the XL Blizzard title and the first prize of $35,591. The German defeated fellow countryman "Stiffler29", who took a prize of $28,181 after the heads-up deal.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1RKOoutofNWHRGermany$35,591
2Stiffler29Germany$28,181
3Niklas "tutten7" AstedtSweden$19,858
4AllindgaardDenmark$14,893
5VisionLikeN.Germany$10,343
6AvskedadSweden$8,274
7BtM4EverArgentina$6,206
8GusalagupaguRomania$3,137
9gtavares10Brazil$2,482

XL Blizzard #11 - $40,000 Mini Tune Up

Buy-inDatePlayersPrize pool
$12Jan. 214,840$52,647

For those who thought $160 for the regular Tune Up was a little too much, 888 had the Mini Tune Up in store, asking just $12 to enter. A massive turnout of 4,840 players resulted in a sizable prize pool worth $52,647.

Making the final table would result in 33 times your money, but winning would get you your money back times 564. "BL1NDRAZOR" was the one to make the final table but had to settle for the former, getting $400 for ninth place. "boarbag", like "BL1NDRAZOR" from the United Kingdom, followed suit and exited in eight position.

The win would go to Germany as "geniuspoker" won the heads up battle after striking a deal with "dolaBET," "geniuspoker" took home $6,775 while "dolaBET" got wired $6,127.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1geniuspokerGermany$6,775
2dolaBETLithuania$6,127
3Felipe "FmoraesP" Moraes PereiraBrazil$4,054
4yHuKaJIbHbIuRussia$3,054
5NdbndsUkraine$2,106
6fankatabtMacedonia$1,474
7fishyfishy.Romania$948
8boarbagUnited Kingdom$526
9BL1NDRAZORUnited Kingdom$400

XL Blizzard #12 - $200,000 Whale

Buy-inDatePlayersPrize pool
$1,050Jan. 21197$200,000

Niklas "tutten7" Astedt did well in the $200 Tune Up finishing third for $19,858, but he did even better in the $200,000 Whale. Astedt battled himself to the heads up where he faced off against "CrystalMad" from the United Kingdom. Astedt wouldn't be able to close the deal, losing heads-up to go out in second, netting himself $32,000. Still, not a bad weekend for the Sede who cashed for $51,858 in these two events combined.

Coming in fourth was none other than Martin "MJacobson888" Jacobson. The former WSOP Main Event champion, who signed a sponsorship deal with 888poker at the beginning of the year, took home $18,000.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1CrystalMadUnited Kingdom$46,000
2Niklas "tutten7" AstedtSweden$32,000
3Ronaldo4112Malta$24,300
4Martin "MJacobson888" JacobsonUnited Kingdom$18,000
5mario73mUnited Kingdom$12,000
6APOARSLANSweden$10,000
7WhyfloatmeUnited Kingdom$8,000
8Madeon1994Sweden$6,000
9sonmonedassArgentina$5,000

XL Blizzard #13 - $20,000 Late Tune Up

Buy-inDatePlayersPrize pool
$55Jan. 21679$33,950

Besides the regular Tune Up and the Mini edition of the same event, a late version was on offer as well. For those still willing to play late at night, the $55 buy-in event was the perfect destination.

679 players registered the event, making for a prize pool of almost $34,000. "Avgustys" from Ukraine took home the biggest prize, winning $6,417 after beating Belarusian player "GoFighTer" heads up.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1AvgustysUkraine$6,417
2GoFighTerBelarus$4,702
3jorecCzech Republic$3,463
4CNpoker666United Kingdom$2,614
5gruzin_vovaRussia$1,833
6MAMOHT_TRussia$1,443
7elf88.74Russia$1,103
8HellChicKKenBelarus$764
9SugarBeastGermany$519

Today's 888poker XL Blizzard Schedule

DateTime (GMT)TournamentBuy-in
Mon 22 Jan20:00XL Blizzard #14 - $40,000 R&A Event$55
 20:00XL Blizzard #15 - $10,000 Mini R&A$5