XL Blizzard Underway at 888poker on Feb 6-16
The first big poker series of the year heads to 888poker with the return of the XL Blizzard on Feb. 6-16. The online poker festival features 34 action-packed tournaments with more than $1.4 million in guaranteed prizes.
Recreational and professional players alike will be coming in big numbers with the schedule featuring buy-ins suitable for everyone ranging from $5.50 to $320. In addition, there are plenty of satellites and freerolls allowing players to get in for a fraction of the cost or even for free.
PokerNews will be on hand to cover four of the marquee tournaments on the schedule including the XL Blizzard Event #1 - $50,000 Opening Event on Feb. 6, the XL Blizzard #10 - $100,000 Tune Up on Feb. 9, the XL Blizzard #17 - $100,000 High Roller on Feb. 11, and the XL Blizzard #32 - $500,000 Main Event on Feb. 16.
Here is a look at each of these tournaments:
$50,000 Opening Event
The festival kicks off with a bang on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. GMT with the XL Blizzard #1 - $100,000 Opening Event. The tournament provides plenty of value with a $109 buy-in and a $50,000 guarantee.
Players will enjoy a deep structure with 30,000 in starting chips and The event provides plenty of play with 30,000 in starting chips and blind levels increasing every 15 minutes.
The tournament permits up to three re-entries during the 210-minute late registration period.
XL Blizzard #10 - $100,000 Tune Up
A few days later, PokerNews will be covering the XL Blizzard #10 - $100,000 Tune Up on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. GMT. The event features a $160 buy-in and a $100,000 guarantee or double that of the Opening Event.
The structure is similar to that of the Opening Event with 15-minute blind levels, although players will start with a bigger stack of 50,000 in chips.
In addition, the late registration period is longer at 260-minutes with players allowed to re-enter up to three times.
$100,000 High Roller
The next big tournament PokerNews will cover will be the XL Blizard #16 - $100,000 High Roller on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. GMT. The event features the highest buy-in of any of the events on the schedule at $320 and comes with a $100,000 guarantee.
The structure is identical to that of the Tune Up with 15-minute blind levels and a 260-minute late-registration period where players can re-enter up to four times.
$500,000 Main Event
The XL Blizzard #32 - $500,000 Main Event on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. GMT is easily the highlight of the festival as it features a huge $500,000 guarantee for just a $250 buy-in.
The structure of this tournament is also the best of the festival with players starting with 50,000 in chips and blinds increasing every 20 minutes. Players can re-enter up to three times during the long five-hour late-registration window.
Qualify to the XL Blizzard for Free
If you want to join in on the action but don't want to pay full price, rest assured that 888poker is running tons of qualifiers where you can play in XL Blizzard events for pennies on the dollar. In addition, 888poker is hosting two daily freerolls where you can get into two of the biggest XL Blizzard events absolutely for free.
The XL Blizzard Mini Tune Up Event - Qualifier is hosted at 888poker every day between now and Feb. 8 at 6:05 p.m. GMT where the top 30 players every day will win a seat valued at $16.50 to the XL Blizzard Mini Tune Up Event.
The XL Blizzard Main Event - Qualifier takes place every day between now and Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. where the top 15 players will win a free seat valued at $250 to the XL Blizzard Main Event.
In order to play in the freerolls, you need to have an 888poker account and have made at least one real money deposit.
If you don't already have an account, we have great news for you as not only can you play in these freerolls but also get a welcome package that is hard to beat.
Simply download 888poker through PokerNews and you will instantly get an $88 bonus (￡20 in the UK). This bonus doesn't require a deposit, but you will need to deposit in order to play the freerolls.
This is where we have some better news as your first deposit will be generously matched in the form of a bonus up to $888! This is more than double what most players get by downloading directly from 888poker's website.
XL Blizzard Full Schedule
| Date | Time (GMT) | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Feb. 6 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #1 - $50,000 Opening Event | $109 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #2 - $20,000 Mini Opening Event | $16.50 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #3 - $20,000 Late Opening Event | $55 | |
| Friday, Feb. 7 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #4 - $30,000 PKO | $55 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #5 - $20,000 Mini PKO | $22 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #6 - $10,000 Late PKO | $33 | |
| Saturday, Feb. 8 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #7 - $30,000 8-Max | $109 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #8 - $10,000 Mini 8-Max | $8.80 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #9 - $15,000 Late 8-Max | $55 | |
| Sunday, Feb. 9 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #10 - $100,000 Tune Up | $160 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #11 - $50,000 Mini Tune Up | $16.50 | |
| 6:30 p.m. | XL Blizzard #12 - $10,000 Micro Tune Up | $5.50 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | XL Blizzard #13 - $20,000 Late Tune Up | $55 | |
| Monday, Feb. 10 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #14 - $20,000 R&A | $33 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #15 - $10,000 Mini R&A | $5.50 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #16 - $15,000 Late R&A | $16.50 | |
| Tuesday, Feb. 11 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #17 - $100,000 High Roller | $320 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #18 - $30,000 Mini High Roller | $55 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #19 - $20,000 Late High Roller | $109 | |
| Wednesday, Feb. 12 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #20 - $50,000 PKO | $109 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #21 - $20,000 Mini PKO | $16.50 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #22 - $10,000 Late PKO | $33 | |
| Thursday, Feb. 13 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #23 - $50,000 PKO 8-Max | $160 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #24 - $20,000 Mini PKO 8-Max | $22 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #25 - $20,000 Late PKO 8-Max | $55 | |
| Friday, Feb. 14 | 5 p.m. | XL Blizzard #26 - $30,000 DeepStack | $55 |
| 5 p.m. | XL Blizzard #27 - $20,000 Mini DeepStack | $16.50 | |
| 7 p.m. | XL Blizzard #28 - $15,000 Late DeepStack | $33 | |
| Saturday, Feb. 15 | 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #29 - $30,000 6-Max | $109 |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #30 - $20,000 Mini 6-Max | $16.50 | |
| 8 p.m. | XL Blizzard #31 - $15,000 Late 6-Max | $55 | |
| Sunday, Feb. 16 | 5 p.m. | XL Blizzard #32 - $500,000 Main Event | $250 |
| 5:30 p.m. | XL Blizzard #33 - $50,000 Mini Main Event | $33 | |
| 6 p.m. | XL Blizzard #34 - $15,000 Micro Main Event | $5.50 |