888Poker’s online poker series, XL Blizzard, has come to a close with the Argentine online star, Pepepepepe taking down the $1m Guaranteed Main Event, as the organisers laud the festival as a ‘massive success.’
888Poker players wander clumsily, like Poker Bears. The XL Blizzard is over. Memories and regret fall from the sky, chuteless. Guts and glory floating on the will of the wind.
11 days.
34 tournaments.
Spent kleenex.
Aborted glories.
Broken hearts.
It had it all.
The organisers were bullish. Previous XL incarnations had proven they were on to a winner. There was even a promise to hand a million bucks to anyone who could win five events. The Finance Manager will be pleased to know that didn’t happen. There were 34 winners, not a single duplicate in sight.
We did have repeat XL winners though.
‘NeveGiveUp’ and ‘msksevart’ had previously won XL Inferno titles and banked one a piece in the colder version. And on Sunday, the last sight of the storm, there was another repeat winner and the biggest winner of them all.
The XL Blizzard Main Event Title Goes to Argentina
Thre $1,050 buy-in XL Blizzard Main Event was a gentle reminder that 888Poker have a big buy-in event in their arsenal. 730 players took a shot. 272 of them tried twice. The $1m guarantee was met. Even widows sitting on park benches came in from the cold to have a go.
After 12 hours and 26 minutes Argentina’s “Pepepepepe” came laptop to laptop with Lithuania’s “Vienas2” in the heads-up phase of the contest. 15-minutes later the event was over. AK beat 44 in a flip thanks to a king on the flop, and “Pepepepepe” took home the $183,867 first prize.
It’s not the first time that “Pepepepepe” has felt his eyes burn with tears of poker joy. In May he beat 822 players to win an XL Inferno title. He nearly made it two, cutting a heads-up deal, before finishing runner-up. When this phenom discards his muddy boots and sits down to play, he means business.
And the word from the Lords and Ladies of 888Pokerville?
“The XL Blizzard was a massive success, giving our players the chance to win BIG at affordable buy-ins while competing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Chris Moorman and Dominik Nitsche,” an 888Poker spokesperson told me via email.
“Unique promotions such as the “Bubble of Bubbles” and the “Champion of Champions”, added that extra layer of excitement (and value) to all players participating in the series. We believe the XL Blizzard was the perfect way to open a year filled with poker, excitement and surprises here at 888poker.”
And There’s More
It’s not quite over.
888Poker is still bouncing the XL Blizzard on the knee. It will be put to bed later, today, after the completion of the Bubble of Bubbles and Champion of Champions tournaments.
I love the concept of the Bubble of Bubbles as much as I like the smell of kimchi when I open my mother-in-law’s fridge door. It’s a brilliant way to heal the pain of those who feel like they have been imprisoned like shellfish.
All players who bubbled an XL Blizzard event get the opportunity to compete for a $3,000 Crazy 8 World Series of Poker (WSOP) package. In a nice touch, the person who bubbles the bubble event also receives a package.
The Champion of Champions tournament also takes place on Jan 30. The Top 50 point earners in XL Blizzard compete to win a $12k WSOP package. The runner-up receives a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package and a $1,050 tournament ticket. Third place gets a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package.
