888poker’s XL Blizzard kicked off yesterday and is set to take place until the 28th, offering a total of 34 tournaments with a variety of buy-ins and formats. The first tournament on the schedule was the $80,000 Opening Event, which just recently came to an end. The event saw a total of 946 players posting the $109 buy-in in the hopes of winning some extra cash. In the end, $94,600 was up for grabs in total, and it was online player Jans ‘Graftekeel’ Arends who earned the first place win.
Once the tournament was narrowed down to the final nine, it wouldn’t take long before Arends and online player 123magmag123 would begin heads-up play. The two would go head to head for a short time before the poker tournament would come to an end.
According to PokerNews, on the final hand, Arends bet 1.5m chips and was called quickly by 123magmag123, with an all-in. 123magmag123 showed trips with king-nine while Arends held a straight with eight-seven. The straight earned the win and 123magmag123 would have to settle for a second-place finish.
Final Results:
| Place | Player | Prize |
| First | Jans ‘Graftekkel’ Arends | $17,738 |
| Second | 123magmag123 | $12,771 |
| Third | BTIPPPPP | $9,460 |
| Fourth | John_Doe09 | $7,095 |
| Fifth | Ilginho | $4,967 |
| Sixth | M9yMs0 | $4,021 |
| Seventh | Gnassil | $3,075 |
| Eighth | 974kWRT | $2,129 |
| Ninth | dr1zo | $1,334 |
Many more events are left on the schedule as well as additional opportunities for players who take part in the XL Blizzard tournaments. One example of this is the Champion of Champions. 888poker will be offering the Champion of Champions yet again, with players earning leaderboard points for competing in XL Blizzard events. The top 50 players listed on the leaderboard at the end of the series will be given a ticket to the Champion of Champion tournament.
The top 50 also earn a prize. The player who finishes in the top spot will be given a WSOP Vegas package worth $12,000. Second place earns a Crazy 8 WSOP package worth $3,000 with a $1,050 tournament ticket included. The prizes continue with 3rd place earning a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package and tournament tickets going to players in 4th to 50th place of varying values.
