Congratulations to "arucia", Winner of XL Winter Series #1: $50,000 Opening Event for $9,039
The first event of the 888poker Winter Series is now in the books after a total of 511 entry slips were sold to take part in the XL Winter Series #1: $50,000 Opening Event. The tournament ran for just under nine hours and when the dust had settled it was Ireland's "arucia" taking home the crown.
"arucia" pocketed $9,039 in a final table journey that saw "arucia" grind it out, sitting in the passenger seat as the red-hot "barrybarry15" took out most of the field. The Ireland native picked nothing but optimal spots and ran pure when needed en route to victory.
The heads-up battle between "barrybarry15" and "arucia" lasted just a few moments before deciding on a chop. The chips then hit the middle of the table until a champion was crowned with "arucia" reigning supreme, in the first XL Winter Series Event.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | ||||
| 1 | "arucia" | Ireland | $9,039* | ||||
| 2 | "barrybarry15" | United Kingdom | $8,049* | ||||
| 3 | "TrollKonst8" | Sweden | $5,366 | ||||
| 4 | "PKaiser" | Chile | $4,088 | ||||
| 5 | "Unknownplay3r" | Morocco | $2,862 | ||||
| 6 | "G00RG3" | Sweden | $2,172 | ||||
| 7 | "Repsej51" | N/A | $1,661 | ||||
| 8 | "Dendaa" | Serbia | $1,150 | ||||
| 9 | "Ripleyy1" | Canada | $848 |
*denotes deal of the final two players
Action of the Day
The $109 buy-in saw a lot of runners to start the day, having over 200 players by the second level of play. One of the players near the bottom was Canada's"Ripleyy1" who had just a quarter of their starting stack. The Canadian spun that short stack into a final table, finishing the tournament in ninth.
Late registration lasted until level 16 where a final number of entries was accumulated, ending with a grand total of 408 entries for a total prize pool of $51,100 which just barely edged out the $50,000 guarantee that was set. A total of 54 were set to find a payday and it took just 25 levels to hit that mark. Shortly after the bubble popped, a complete flurry of eliminations came to light, dropping like flies.
The elimination fest lasted until level 32 when the final table of nine was set. Leading the way was "PKaiser" and close behind was "Unkownplay3r". It took just a few hands before a player was sent to the rail as Canada's "Ripleyy1" took an exit when their ace-queen was bested by a set of sevens that "barrybarry15" held. Soon after it was "Dendaa" dropping from the field when they shoved a pair of treys, only to collide with a pair of jacks in which "barrybarry15" was the owner. Both players hit a set but "barrybarry15" scooped the pot, sending "Dendaa" out the door.
"TrollKonst8" took over as executioner, dropping "Repsej51" from the opening event. "Repsej51" moved all in with ace-queen of clubs but "TrollKonst8" woke up with a pair of ladies. The board came down dry and "TrollKonst8" scooped the pot, eliminating "Repsej51". "barrybarry15" retook the throne, sending yet another player to the payout desk. "G00RG3" pushed their remaining stack from the button with a pair of fours and "barrybarry15" called with ace-seven. A seven-high flop was more than enough to take down the pot, knocking out "G00RG3".
A short-stacked "Unkownplay3r" moved their stack into the middle with ace-jack, running into the pocket kings of "arucia". A blank board landed and "Unkownplay3r" was eliminated, sending what was the first of many pots crucial pots to "arucia" at the final table. The final table began with "PKaiser" on top but it was a rank that he could not hang onto. "PKaiser" whittled down to short stack, moving their stack into the middle with queen-jack and was called by the pocket sevens of "barrybarry15". A seven-high flop left "PKaiser" completely drawing dead as they took an exit in fourth place.
Sweden's "TrollKonst8" saw their stack swing from shortest to largest in a matter of hands and then back again. Ultimately they found themselves taking an exit when their king-jack of spades could not outrun the ace-four of "barrybarry15", taking an exit in third. Heads-up play started relatively even but "arucia" quickly took a considerable lead. The players discussed a deal and decided to ICM chop, moving their chips into the middle during the next two hands with "arucia" taking down the final one. "barrybarry15" called the rest of their chips into the middle with ace-four, running into the ace-seven of "arucia" who ended finding three. "barrybarry15" was eliminated in second for a respectable $8,049.
That wraps it up for the PokerNews live coverage of this event, but tune in Sunday, December 13, 2020 for all of the live updates for XL Winter Series #10: $50,000 Tune Up.