The 888poker XL Winter Series wrapped up on January 27 with a dramatic finish as the $500,000 guaranteed Rakeless Mystery Bounty Main Event crowned its champion. A total of 2,067 entries paid the $250 buy-in, pushing the prize pool to $516,750. When the dust settled, Mexico’s “ChePushila77” stood alone at the top, banking a total payout of $50,045.
Action intensified on Day 2 as the field narrowed to an eight-player final table, where the majority of the largest mystery bounties were claimed. The biggest moment came when Ukraine’s “jsj588” cracked open the golden envelope containing the massive $50,000 mystery bounty. Combined with additional bounty prizes and an 80th-place finish, their total haul reached $52,766 — the largest payout of the entire tournament despite not reaching the final table.
Canada’s “dujoe123” entered the final table with the chip lead, a position earned the hard way after firing 11 bullets throughout the event. Meanwhile, Andorra’s “EDY14101” sat at the bottom of the counts with just 11 big blinds, though their already-collected $18,827 in bounties meant the pressure was minimal.
A remaining $10,000 mystery bounty loomed large as play began, influencing decisions and adding extra tension to every confrontation. The first elimination came quickly when Brazil’s “lxiltxZtKQn” ran ace-queen into pocket tens and failed to recover. Soon after, New Zealand’s “nzlegal” exited after their pocket tens fell to the pocket jacks of “ChePushila77,” who surged into the chip lead.
Momentum continued as “EDY14101” bowed out in sixth place after their nine-seven suited failed to crack the pocket kings of “dujoe123.” Despite the early exit, their bounty total pushed their overall winnings to $26,909.
The tournament then took a sharp turn when chip leader “dujoe123” suffered a brutal runout, first losing a massive pot with ace-jack against pocket aces, then busting shortly afterward when queen-five failed to hold. Ireland’s “9salute46” followed in fourth after flopping top pair but being outdrawn by a turned full house.
Three-handed play saw “Naik10,” “seven77,” and “ChePushila77” battle with a $10,000 bounty still in play. Nothing went smoothly for “Naik10,” who eventually busted in third place after improving to a straight, only to be beaten by a turned flush. The final mystery bounty was also claimed in that hand by “ChePushila77.”
Heads-up began with “seven77” holding a significant chip advantage, but a massive bluff attempt gone wrong handed control to “ChePushila77.” From there, it was a short road to victory. The final hand saw pocket tens comfortably defeat ace-nine, sealing the championship in emphatic fashion.
With that win, “ChePushila77” captured the title and the $50,045 top prize, bringing the curtain down on a hugely successful XL Winter Series. Across 59 events, the festival generated nearly $1.5 million in prize pools, comfortably surpassing its original guarantees and delivering another memorable chapter in 888poker tournament history.
