888poker’s XL Inferno series has wrapped up and it is being touted as one of the operator’s most successful series in the recent history.
After eleven-days of play, the operator’s flagship spring series generated $1,851,663 in prize money, easily eclipsing its original guarantees of $1.5 million by 20%.
This makes it one of 888’s biggest prize pools to be awarded in a single tournament series in over a year.
As a single point of comparison, in 2019, the same series paid out $1,695,881. Compared with that, it represents an increase of over $150,000 in total prize money.
The total participation has also seen a big spike. In 2019, the XL Inferno attracted 39,378 total entries. This year, it shot up to 46,649—an increase of 18%. The total turnout is also the operator’s most-ever in a long period.
Highlights of the XL Inferno 2020 Series
The series ran from May 14 to May 23, with 34 tournaments as part of the schedule. Buy-ins were very accessible with most of them ranging from $5.50 to $55.
The very first event set the tone. The $109 buy-in Opening Event drew 636 unique players plus another 242 rebuys to push its prize pool to $87,800, easily surpassing its $75,000 guaranteed prize pool. Its companion events with lower buy-ins did equally as well.
The $150,000 guaranteed Tune-Up event also had no difficulty in breaching its guarantee. Costing $109, it attracted 1136 players and 478 rebuys to build its prize pool to $161,500.
But the biggest highlight of the series was the $250 buy-in Main Event. Boasting an ambitious guarantee of $500,000, the tournament attracted 1623 unique players and another 523 rebuys, enough to exceed its half-million guaranteed by over $4000.
Swedish player “junijuniorz” bested 2146 total entrants to take home over $85,000.
Meanwhile, the $20,000 guaranteed Micro Main Event pulled in over 5000 total entries—the biggest turnout in the whole series.
The only events that missed the guarantees were a rebuy event and a High Roller event. The $16.50 rebuy event fell just shy of its $15,000 guarantee, missing by $1725. The $320 buy-in High Roller event drew 255 runners and 71 rebuys, creating an overlay of $2200.
XL Inferno 2020 Quick-Hitting Facts and Figures
- XL Inferno May 2020 is 888’s biggest series in over a year
- Compared with last year’s XL Inferno series, total participation is up by nearly 18.5%
- Winners from all 34 tournaments took home combined first-place prize money of nearly $320,000
- A total of 4522 players reached in the money throughout the series, averaging about $410 cash per player
- 207 places were paid in the Main Event, sharing over half a million in prizes
- Swedish player “junijuniorz” shipped the Main Event, taking home over $85,000
- Six players from Romania emerged victorious in the XL Inferno events
- Only two tournaments out of 34 fell short of their guarantees
XL Inferno 2020 By the Numbers:
Here is a quick summary of XL Inferno 2020:
- Total Guarantees $1,535,000
- No. of Tournaments 34
- Total Prize Pool Awarded $1,851,663
- Average Prize Pool Per Tournament $54,461
- Guarantee Surpassed 20.62%
- Total Entrants 46,649
- No. Of Overlays 2
- Total Overlay Amount $3925
- Biggest Prize Pool XL Inferno #32 Main Event – $504,310 prize pool
- Biggest Turnout XL Inferno #34 Micro Main Event – 3502 players + 1725 rebuys, $26,135 prize pool
888poker Online Tournament Series Stats (2019-2020)
| Date | Series | Total GTD | Total Prize Pool | GTD Smashed % | Tournaments | Main Event Prize Pool | Total Entries | Avg Prize Pool Per Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | XL Inferno | $1,440,000 | $1,695,881 | 17.78% | 34 | $501,960 | 39,378 | $49,879 |
| Sep 2019 | XL Eclipse | $1,445,000 | $1,729,210 | 19.67% | 34 | $508,540 | 40,003 | $50,859 |
| Nov 2019 | God of the Arena Series | $1,010,000 | $1,170,087 | 15.85% | 24 | $315,000 | 22,300 | $48,754 |
| Feb 2020 | XL Blizzard | $1,445,000 | $1,679,252 | 16.20% | 34 | $500,000 | 42,251 | $49,390 |
| Apr 2020 | God of the Arena Series | $1,107,000 | $1,374,388 | 24.15% | 33 | $253,500 | 36,659 | $41,648 |
| May 2020 | XL Inferno | $1,535,000 | $1,851,663 | 20.62% | 34 | $504,310 | 46,649 | $54,461 |
Since May 2019, nearly $10 million in prize money has been generated across six major online tournament series at 888poker. XL Inferno May 2020 is easily the biggest of all.
The previous tournament series ran by the operator in April, a series dedicated wholly to the Progressive Knockout format, generated over $1.3 million across 33 tournaments. Prior to that, in February, the XL Blizzard series paid out $1.68 million.
The XL Inferno series came during a time when the world was gripping with the coronavirus outbreak, leading to unprecedented traffic levels. 888poker’s cash game traffic has also witnessed huge growth.
To meet the high demand and to entice players, 888 is giving away $500,000 in freeroll prizes, including a special $100,000 freeroll tournament scheduled to take place on June 7. To earn entry into the freerolls, players must complete daily missions. More details about the missions and freerolls can be found here.
