PokerNews Online Championship 2026 Final: Who Will Become the Champion?

The final stages of the PokerNews Online Championship 2026 are underway at 888poker. Find out who is leading in the Mystery Main Event and Mini Main, and what the chances of winning are.

The final stages of the prestigious PokerNews Online Championship 2026 are in full swing on the 888poker platform. The champions of both flagship tournaments will soon be crowned: the Mystery Main Event with a $250,000 guarantee and the Mystery Mini Main with a $50,000 guarantee. Both events have drawn large fields, with 888poker ambassadors and well-known regulars among the contenders. Let’s take a closer look at the race for the top prizes, the current chip leaders, and what all this means for PPPoker club players. Mystery Main Event with $250 Buy-in: The Race for the Guarantee and Chip Lead In the $250 buy-in Mystery Main Event with a $250,000 guarantee, only two starting flights remain—they kick off on October 26 at 15:00 and 18:00 GMT. So far, there have been 873 entries, with 1,073 needed to hit the guarantee. This means the final flights are expected to see especially high activity. Each player starts with a stack of 10,000 chips. The current chip leader is 4KLOVER4ME from Denmark, who has run up their stack to 205,903 chips. The only other player to surpass 200,000 is milike11 (202,465). In total, 102 players have advanced to Day 2. The top of the leaderboard also features well-known pros: sankovski from Lithuania (173,699), Peter "kiskutya23" Traply (159,477), and Billy_Slater from Chile (156,952). Notably, Billy_Slater fired 12 entries before making it to Day 2 with a top-10 stack—a vivid example of an aggressive tournament approach and determination to reach the money. Just outside the top 10 are 888poker ambassadors Aaron "abarone68" Barone (153,678, 11th place) and Ian "Simpioni" Simpson (151,822, 12th place). Both remain in strong contention for a seat at the final table and a shot at the title. On Day 2, which starts October 26 at 21:30 GMT, mystery bounty prizes come into play—special rewards whose amounts remain unknown until revealed. Among them: one envelope worth $25,000, two worth $7,500, and three worth $5,000. Play continues on Day 2 until the final table of eight is set, with the finalists returning on October 27. The final table will be broadcast live on the 888poker Twitch channel. Top 10 Chip Counts in the Mystery Main Event at Time of Publication 4KLOVER4ME (Denmark) — 205,903 milike11 — 202,465 sankovski (Lithuania) — 173,699 Peter "kiskutya23" Traply — 159,477 Billy_Slater (Chile) — 156,952 ... Aaron "abarone68" Barone — 153,678 (11th place) Ian "Simpioni" Simpson — 151,822 (12th place) Mystery Mini Main $25: Three 888 Ambassadors Among the Contenders Running alongside the main event is the Mystery Mini Main with a $25 buy-in and a $50,000 guarantee. Four starting flights remain: they begin on October 26 at 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, and 18:00 GMT. Currently, there are 1,475 entries—2,222 are needed to meet the guarantee. 179 players have advanced to Day 2, including three 888poker ambassadors: Leo "KaizenStyle" Jokura — 157,204 (20th place at the start of Day 2) Ian "Simpioni" Simpson — 115,608 (42nd place) Aaron "abrone68" Barone — 62,307 (102nd place) The chip leader is Xialeidui from Germany with 251,781 chips. Next are Nowitzki_41 (206,096), HammHammm (205,455), LeetRunGoot (201,164), and LiHao (200,978)—all of whom finished their flights with over 200,000 chips. Unlike the main event, the Mystery Mini Main will play down to a winner on October 26, with the champion crowned the same day. Top 10 Chip Counts in the Mystery Mini Main at Time of Publication Xialeidui (Germany) — 251,781 Nowitzki_41 — 206,096 HammHammm — 205,455 LeetRunGoot — 201,164 LiHao — 200,978 Leo "KaizenStyle" Jokura — 157,204 (20th place) Ian "Simpioni" Simpson — 115,608 (42nd place) Aaron "abrone68" Barone — 62,307 (102nd place) ... Series Recap: Notable Winners and Awarded Prizes Of the 40 scheduled PokerNews Online Championship events, 31 have already been completed. Each tournament has crowned its champion, and prize money has been distributed among the participants. A detailed table of winners and their prizes is presented below: Schedule of Final Events: PKO and the Last Battles On the penultimate day of the 888poker series, three progressive knockout (PKO) tournaments are scheduled—a format where part of the buy-in goes into bounties for eliminating opponents. The buy-ins are $8.80, $55, and $109, with guaranteed prize pools of $5,000, $10,000, and $10,000 respectively. In addition to the PKOs, both Main Events—the Mystery Main and Mystery Mini Main—remain on the schedule. These are the last opportunities for players to compete for big prizes and make their mark on the series. Key Points and Stats: What You Need to Know The $250 Mystery Main Event still needs about 200 more entries to reach the guarantee. The $25 Mystery Mini Main is about 750 entries short of the guarantee. Both tournaments feature not only regulars but also 888poker ambassadors advancing to Day 2, adding extra intrigue to the final tables. The Mystery Main Event will award major mystery bounties, including a top envelope worth $25,000. The final table of the main event will take place on October 27, with live coverage on Twitch. What This Means for PPPoker Club Players For PPPoker club members, this news is a great reason to reflect on their own strategies for multi-table online tournaments. First, the mystery bounty format—gaining popularity on major sites—lets players not only aim for a deep run but also score big rewards for knocking out opponents. This adds extra dynamics and requires flexible decision-making—a valuable experience for any player, and one that can be applied in PPPoker club tournaments as well. Second, the active participation of ambassadors and pros in the series shows that even experienced players often need to fire multiple bullets (re-entries) to reach the late stages. This clearly demonstrates the importance of bankroll management and mental resilience—skills that are crucial in club games, especially in tournaments with re-entry options. Finally, following the action in such series is a great way to learn from the best: analyze final hands, watch live streams, and pick up tactical insights. All of this will help PPPoker players improve their game and be ready for any formats that appear on leading poker platforms.