Brazilian Takes Down $100K Opening Event as XL Winer Series Explodes Into Action

January 18 saw the first numbered events of the XL Winter Series shuffle up and deal at 888poker. Thirteen XL Winter Series tournaments have already crowned their champions, including the $100,000 Opening Event Rakeless. Brazil’s “preTu.ras” came out on top in that particular event, turning their $109 investment into a bankroll-boosting $9,601.

Day 1 of the $100,000 Opening Event drew in 926 entrants. Usually, this-sized crowd would have resulted in an overlay, but not this week. This is because all $109 of the buy-in went into the prize pool, with 888poker taking no rake. The end result was a $100,934 prize pool.

The first of two days concluded when “Oddiseyes” busted in ninth place, setting the final table. Those eight finalists returned to their seats on the evening of January 19, where they battled it out for the title under the watchful eyes of the 888poker Twitch Stream. 888poker ambassadors Nick “eastyyy22” Eastwood and Josh “JoshManleyPoker” Manley were the commentary team for the cards-up final table action.

$100,000 Rakeless Opening Event Final Table Chip Counts

It didn’t take too long for the first finalist to fall by the wayside. “Blondefox777” sat down at the final table with only 10 big blinds, but was down to only 3.5 big blinds when they made a move. “Blondefox777” shoved from middle position with ace-jack of diamonds, and “M.Baranov” called from the big blind with nine-eight of clubs. The latter improved to a straight, and “Blondefox777” was culled.

Suited ace-jack lost against and cost a player their tournament life. “saveno4ek” min-raised on the button with pocket tens, “CurrD” three-bet all-in for 12.5 big blinds with ace-jack of spades from the big blind, and the initial raiser quickly called. The tens held and “CurrD” crashed out, although they have built themselves a top 10 stack in the $500,000 guaranteed Rakeless Mystery Main Event, so look out for their name in future XL Winter Series updates.

The final six became five when “Fl4tbush20” busted in cruel circumstances. “preTu.ras” min-raised on the button with ace-six before calling the 10.5 big blind jam “Fl4tbush20” made from the big blind with ten-nine. An ace-ten-nine flop looked to have rescued “Fl4tbush20,” but the turn and river were a seven and an eight, gifting “preTu.ras” an unlikely straight and the pot.

Malta’s “Hyper_” became the fifth-place finisher after a clash with “preTu.ras” didn’t go to plan. Having doubled through “preTu.ras” just before the break, “Hyper_” three-bet all-in for 13.3 big blinds with pocket nines after “preTu.ras” had opened on the button. The initial raiser snap-called and revealed pocket queens. A queen on the turn left he all-in player drawing dead, and only four players remained in the hunt for the title.

Those four became three when Ukraine’s “M.Baranov” bowed out at the hand of their fellow Ukrainian “saveno4ek.” “M.Baranov” decided to play their pocket kings sneakily, limping on the button. This led to “saveno4ek” completing the small blind with four-deuce, and “preTu.ras” checking their option with queen-ten. “saveno4ek” led, having flopped a straight, “preTu.ras” folded, but “M.Baranov” jammed all-in for 12.4 big blinds. Obviously, “saveno4ek” instantly called. There was no miracle run out, and “M.Baranov” busted.

The $100,000 rakeless Opening Event progressed to heads-up after the untimely demise of “saveno4ek.” They lost a series of pots, including an all-in clash with ace-eight against the ace-king of “jhstaygler,” the latter leaving them with a shade over eight big blinds. Their final participation in this event was to shove with queen-ten of spades and lose to the dominating queen-jack of “jhstaygler” when the latter’s jack-kicker played.

Although they crashed out in third place, “saveno4ek” was the biggest winner in this tournament. They pulled $12,946 in bounties before busting, including the $10,000 jackpot bounty, for a total haul of $17,403.

That hand gave “jhstaygler” a 67.6 to 31.6 big blind advantage going into heads-up. The chip led changed hands several times over the next hour of one-on-one action, but the final hand went “preTu.ras”‘way, and they became the champion.

The final hand saw “jhstaygler” limp on the button with queen-ten before calling a raise that “preTu.ras” made with king-queen of spades. A king-jack-jack flop was greeted by a continuation bet from “preTu.ras.” “jhstaygler” jammed all-in with their open-ended straight draw, and “preTu.ras” looked them up. Neither the turn nor river altered the path of the hand, and “preTu.ras” became the $100,000 rakeless Opening Event champion.

$100,000 Rakeless Opening Event Final Table Results

888poker XL Winter Series Results

Expand the table below to see the results of the first 13 XL Winter Series events.

Remaining XL Winter Series Numbered Events

The XL Winter Series continues until January 27, giving you ample opportunities to follow in the footsteps of “preTu.ras.” Of course, the highlight of the remaining schedule is the $250 buy-in Rakeless Mystery Main Event, which guarantees a $500,000 prize pool.

Day 1s for the Main Event are available daily. To date, 1,026 players have bought in, with 116 progressing to Day 2. Germany’s “FBarbarotto” is the current chip leader, having finished their respective flight with a 268,168 stack.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.