Romanian players triumphantly concluded the 888poker XL Autumn Series

The 888poker XL Autumn Series Main Event with a $250 buy-in attracted 2,319 participants and a prize pool of $579,750. Romanian poker players took the leading positions.

On September 30, the latest XL Autumn Series concluded on the 888poker platform, culminating in the main event — the $500,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event . This $250 buy-in rake-free (RAKELESS) tournament attracted 2,319 entries, surpassing the guarantee: the final prize pool reached $579,750. On the final day, eight players continued to battle for the top prize of $54,432, while the largest mystery bounty — $50,000 — had already been claimed by the Romanian player "afflegit," who also led the chip count at the start of the final table. Final Table: Action and Key Hands The final table began with eight players, each already guaranteed a solid payout, but the fight for the top prize and remaining bounties was just beginning. The shortest stack belonged to the UK’s "Pirsis," who became the first casualty of the final table. In one of the opening hands, "afflegit" made a min-raise from middle position with ten-six of hearts. "Pirsis" shoved all-in for 11 big blinds from the small blind with ace-king, and "afflegit" called. The flop brought a ten, and "Pirsis" exited in eighth place, while "afflegit" picked up an extra $5,000 in mystery bounty. Next to bust was Denmark’s "Dvingminator." In a blinds battle, he shoved 12 big blinds with king-five from the small blind but lost to "vireiadulto7," who had ace-six of hearts in the big blind. Thus, "Dvingminator" finished seventh. Soon after the first break, 888poker regular "CPU0r" went all-in with pocket threes from the small blind (8.5 BB), and "vireiadulto7" called with ace-eight from the big blind. An eight hit the flop, and "CPU0r" finished in sixth place. Ten minutes later, a key hand saw Brazilian "vireiadulto7" eliminated. He opened with a min-raise holding ace-king of hearts, then four-bet shoved for 26 big blinds after "afflegit" raised with queens from the big blind. "afflegit" called and won the coin flip, boosting his stack to nearly 84 big blinds. With four players left, "Malyjj" was second in chips, but a series of unlucky hands led to his exit in fourth place. First, he lost a big pot with ace-jack against "amormori’s" kings, leaving him with less than 15 big blinds. Then he shoved 11.5 BB with king-deuce of hearts from the small blind but lost to "01tdr," who held ace-jack. The remaining three players battled for almost an hour. Eventually, "afflegit," who had led for a long time, was eliminated in third place. In his final hand, he called an all-in for 8.5 BB from the big blind with ten-three against "01tdr’s" eight-six of spades from the small blind and lost. Heads-Up: The Decisive Duel Between "amormori" and "01tdr" The heads-up was between "amormori" and "01tdr." At the start, "amormori" had 69.7 big blinds versus his opponent’s 23. This advantage proved decisive. About twenty minutes later, the final hand played out: "amormori" limped with eight-two, "01tdr" checked with jack-ten. On a nine-ace-queen flop, "01tdr" check-called a one big blind bet with a gutshot (open-ended straight draw), but after the turn (ten of spades, the third spade on the board), "amormori" held the only spade in hand. The river brought a jack, giving "01tdr" two pair, but "amormori" made a straight. After his opponent checked, "amormori" shoved all-in, and "01tdr" called off his remaining 7 BB. "amormori" emerged victorious, taking home the top prize of $55,782. Final Table Results of the $500,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event 1st place: "amormori" (Romania) — $55,782 2nd place: "01tdr" (Romania) — $39,088 3rd place: "afflegit" (Romania) — $27,422 4th place: "Malyjj" — $19,260 5th place: "vireiadulto7" (Brazil) — $13,540 6th place: "CPU0r" — $9,527 7th place: "Dvingminator" (Denmark) — $6,707 8th place: "Pirsis" (United Kingdom) — $4,727 Please note that the amounts include payouts for eliminated opponents (mystery bounty), if the player received them. Mystery Bounty Tournament Structure and Format Features The series’ main event was played in the Mystery Bounty format, which means that for each opponent knocked out, a player receives a random prize (bounty), the size of which is unknown in advance. The largest mystery bounty in this tournament was $50,000 and was claimed by "afflegit" before the final table. This format adds an element of surprise and extra motivation for aggressive play during the knockout stages. The tournament was rake-free (RAKELESS), meaning the entire player buy-in went into the prize pool, increasing the value of participation and potential payouts. Overview of the XL Autumn Series on 888poker The XL Autumn Series is one of the largest regular online series on 888poker, featuring big guarantees and a wide variety of tournament formats. This time, the series included dozens of events, and the main event attracted a record number of entries, exceeding the guarantee by more than $79,000. Full results of all series tournaments are available in the 888poker lobby (except for events numbered 32 and 36, which are not displayed in the client). Prize payouts include bounty amounts where applicable. Quick Stats and Facts Series dates: through September 30, 2023 Main event: $500,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event Buy-in: $250, rake-free Entries: 2,319 Total prize pool: $579,750 Largest mystery bounty: $50,000 ("afflegit") Winner: "amormori" ($55,782) Three Romanian players took the top 3 spots What This Means for PPPoker Club Players For PPPoker club members, this news highlights several important trends. First, the popularity of the Mystery Bounty format shows that players appreciate tournaments with extra dynamics and the chance to win big prizes not only for final placements but also for knocking out opponents. This means clubs can confidently experiment with such formats to attract more participants and boost interest in regular events. Second, the absence of rake in the series’ main event demonstrates that transparent and favorable conditions, where the entire buy-in goes into the prize pool, make a tournament especially attractive to players. PPPoker clubs should consider holding special rake-free or reduced-fee events to increase loyalty and attendance. Finally, the success of Romanian players in this tournament underscores that online poker has no geographical limits for achieving great results. PPPoker club players, regardless of experience or country of residence, can compete for big prizes if they actively participate in events and embrace modern tournament formats.