888poker’s XL Winter Series is off to a great start with 22 tournaments having already completed and over half-million in prize money awarded.
Having kicked off last week on December 17, the rebranded XL series carries on the operator’s Made To Play tagline to celebrate the new mobile app with the series boasting 34 events and total guarantees of $1.2 million.
At the time of writing, 22 tournaments have been completed attracting over 12,000 participants generating $540,685 in prize money. Another three are running today and the 11-day festival series winds down this Sunday with the XL Winter Series Main Event.
The XL Winter Series Main Event is the biggest highlight of the series as it guarantees $500,000 for a buy-in of $250. For the first time, the Main Event is being played in a progressive knockout (PKO), allowing players to make money by eliminating other players right from the first hand.
The $500,000 guaranteed Main Event kicks off on Sunday, December 20 at 18:00 GMT. The event allows players to re-enter up to a maximum of four times during the late registration period available for the first 270 minutes.
The Main Event is accompanied by two more Main Events on the same day with affordable buy-ins: a Mini Main Event featuring a buy-in of $33 and a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool, while the Micro Main Event promises a $15,000 guaranteed for the buy-in of just $5.50. Both the Micro and Mini will be played as PKOs as well.
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Live Streaming and Freerolls
888 is supporting the series with live streams of several XL Winter Series events on Facebook and YouTube, two of which have already taken place. One more live stream is remaining which is scheduled on the same day as the Main Event.
Long-standing 888 commentators David Tuchman and Nick Wealthall along with 888poker ambassadors will be live commentating several events.
Running alongside the live streams are freeroll tournaments awarding XL Series tickets. Also, as part of the operator’s Made to Play campaign, 888 is giving away random gift drops at the tables throughout the course of the series. Gift drops include prizes up to $1000 in the form of XL tickets.
Furthermore, 888 is giving players plenty of opportunities to qualify for the higher buy-in events with satellites and qualifiers starting as low as 1 cent. Also running are the daily XL Winter Series Freerolls.
XL Winter Series So Far
With 22 events in the books, the series is heading for a strong finish. The series got off to a flying start with the Opening event attracting 408 players and 103 rebuys to generate a prize pool of $51,100.
Event #4 PKO event with a buy-in of $55 on December 11 pulled in 528 players and 132 rebuys enough to eclipse its $30,000 guarantee comfortably.
The biggest prize pool so far was XL Winter #10: Tune Up event guaranteeing $50,000 for a buy-in of $55. It drew 857 players.
However, not every event reached its guarantee, giving players extra value. Seven out of 22 tournaments fell short though the overlays were of small amounts.
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XL Winter Series So Far Overview:
- $540,685 prize pool awarded across 22 completed tournaments
- 12,507 total participants
- 7 overlays amounting to almost $10,000
- 12 tournaments remaining including a $500,000 guaranteed Main Event
- XL Winter Series Freerolls running daily
888poker XL Winter Series Remaining Schedule
| Date | Time (GMT) | Event | Buy-in | GTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 17 | 18:00 | XL Winter #23 – $40,000 PKO 8-Max | $160 | $40,000 |
| 18:00 | XL Winter #24 – $15,000 Mini PKO 8-Max | $22 | $15,000 | |
| 20:00 | XL Winter #25 – $15,000 Late PKO 8-Max | $55 | $15,000 | |
| Dec. 18 | 17:00 | XL Winter #26 – $25,000 PKO DeepStack | $55 | $25,000 |
| 17:00 | XL Winter #27 – $15,000 Mini DeepStack | $16.50 | $15,000 | |
| 19:00 | XL Winter #28 – $10,000 Late DeepStack | $33 | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 19 | 18:00 | XL Winter #29 – $25,000 PKO 6-Max | $109 | $25,000 |
| 18:00 | XL Winter #30 – $15,000 Mini PKO 6-Max | $16.50 | $15,000 | |
| 20:00 | XL Winter #31- $15,000 Late PKO 6-Max | $55 | $15,000 | |
| Dec. 20 | 17:00 | XL Winter #32- $500,000 Main Event PKO | $250 | $500,000 |
| 17:30 | XL Winter #33- $50,000 Mini Main Event PKO | $33 | $50,000 | |
| 18:00 | XL Winter #34- $15,000 Late Main Event PKO | $5.50 | $15,000 |
