888poker recently sent 34 players to the World Series of Poker Main Event in conjunction with the site’s 20th anniversary. The site offered a complete $13,000 travel package and a few made the most of the trip, finding a deep run in poker’s biggest event.
888 tracked each player’s progress via social media, vlog posts, and on the company’s online platform. The site gave the promotion the tagline, “20 stories for 20 years.”
“For some players, it was their first-ever trip to Vegas and the WSOP.” the company noted of the promotion. “For others, it was their third or fourth trip even. What they all had in common was their desire to make the most of this opportunity from 888poker.”
Scoring big at WSOP courtesy 888poker
One of those players making the trip to Las Vegas has played at 888 since the online poker site launched in 2002. Danny Lavoie (pictured in lead image, courtesy 888poker) hails from Canada and 888 rewarded him for his two decades of play.
Lavoie actually advanced to Day 5 of the tournament, finishing 296th place for $40,900. This was his first major live tournament cash.
“When I got the call from 88poker, I expected a surprise but not that big,” he said after site ambassador Kara Scott told him about the trip to Vegas. “It’s a dream come true to come to Vegas and play the Main Event.”
Another player in the 888 crew scored an even better finish. Brazil has been a hotbed for poker over the last few years and Thiago Pirani represented his country and 888 in the Main Event.
He also scored the highest finish among all the qualifiers. Pirani turned a $22 satellite entry into a huge WSOP run, ultimately making Day 5 and finishing 157th for $62,500. That finish also earned the Brazilian the 888 last-longest honor.
More 888 players run deep
Some other qualifiers and ambassadors also cashed in the Main Event. A few of those included:
Nick Eastwood – $15,000
Alexandre “Cavalito” Mantovani – $46,800
Padraig O’Neill – $46,800
New poker video series launches
Beyond the Main Event promotion, 888 also recently launched a new “Ask a Poker Pro” series. The YouTube video series asks players some questions that might help other players at the tables.
The first episode features 888 ambassadors commenting on a particular subject. The pros offer some insight on: “How do you stay calm after taking a bad beat?”
Ian Simpson, a recent addition to the 888 ambassador team, said players should be aware of their hands and be willing to fold when they feel a player may have sucked out.
“You have to be willing to fold the bad beat,” he says. “Whenever you enter a tournament, the most likely result is that you’re going to bust before the money. It doesn’t matter how good you are, that is the most likely result.”
Fellow ambassador Samantha Abernathy notes that the more hands a player sees, the more bad beats come their way. Experienced players begin to get more accustomed to seeing these hands and adjust.
“I think when you play more volume, you get more used to it,” she says. “You have to understand that this is part of the game.”
Here’s a look at the entire first episode of “Ask a Poker Pro.”
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The World Series of Pokercame to a close this month in Las Vegas, and a Main Event champion was crowned with Norway’s Espen Jorstad capturing a gold bracelet and $10 million top prize.
The humble online poker pro also said he also won between $10,000 and $15,000 online during the series. But there were plenty of other notable online poker winners in June and July. Poker Podium takes a look at some recent international online and live winners who scored big over the summer.
GGPoker
The $10,300 Super MILLION$ recently crowned a champion on July 19. Brazilian Pablo Silva took the title and $260,765 after starting the final table as chip leader.
In a big pot at three-handed play against fellow countryman Rodrigo Sirichuk, Silva shoved from the small blind with King-Queen and Sirichuk called off his 24 big blind stack with A♣Q♣. The flop missed and Sirichuk picked up a flush draw on the turn to add to his over cards.
He was an 88.6% favorite, but Silva caught lightning when a non-club king fell on the river. That sent Sirichuk home in third with $159,040.
Canada’s Nick Maimone couldn’t overcome a 3-1 chip advantage for Silver to finish in second place for $203,647. The final hand saw Maimone call off 2.2 million after his $240,000 min-raise and shove by Silva. Maimone couldn’t hit his K-10 or flush versus Silva’s 7-7 on a spade flush flop.
Big online micro tournaments continued on GGPoker for a two-week run through July 3. To close out June, German “Johaenski” turned his $5 entry into a $30,202 score in a Mini Global MILLION$ event as part of the microMILLION$ series.
The three-handed deal with Russian “YourOwner” ($28,194) and Ukraine’s “Myskonvat” ($23,554) saw them best a monster-sized field of 88,700 entries.
PartyPoker
The partypoker Grand Prix UKMain Event recently concluded at PartyPoker. Beihao Wang topped a field of 1,507 to reel in £25,000 of the £146,179 prize pool. His $29,588 online score was by far the biggest of his poker career.
Lukas Boublel qualified for the partypoker MILLIONS Europe Main Event at partypoker for just $0.01. He made his way to beautiful Barcelona, Spain, and advanced to Day 2 with 67 players from the field of 450 on June 12. Boublel busted out in 18th place for €11,000 after his big slick ran into pocket Aces.
Ireland’s Steve O’Dwyer, who has $31 million in live tournament earnings, was the slight chip leader ahead of Hungary’s Gergely Bartosto start the final table.
Steve O’Dwyer, winner of the $10,300 High Roller (photo courtesy PartyPoker)
O’Dwyer trailed Luuk Gieles by 142 million to 304 million chips going into heads-up action. But O’Dwyer came back and won €250,000 ($267,772) to capture his first victory on Spanish soil. Bartos finished third.
O’Dwyer’s win comes just days after taking runner-up in the €10,300 High Roller event in which Teun Mulder triumphed.
PartyPoker ambassador and streamer Jeff “MaximusBlack” Johnston finished in 25th in the MILLIONS Europe Main Event for €11,000 ($9,104)
Inspired by the energy and excitement of Formula 1, the McLaren F1 Team Turbo Series started July 22. The series continues through Aug. 8 with more than $2.5 million in guaranteed cash prizes.
The aptly-named “HyperTurbo123” came out on top of 247 entries in Event 12-H Eight-Max PKO. His$109 investment turned into a $5,544 payday with $3,024 from bounties after he defeated “DuvelTripelHop” heads-up.
The $215 Turbo Series Main Event will be part of the August update. Partypoker also recently released more events planned for 2022. Here’s a look at the schedule.
888poker
The Festival Online recently came to a close at 888Poker. The series featured 21 online events from July 10 – Aug. 1 with combined guaranteed prize pools of $750,000.
In total, The Festival catered to a combined 6,942 entrants and awarded $820,820 in prize money. The $109 Opening Event had one of the five highest payouts of the series. The 1,000-entry field saw 796 players and 204 rebuys with a $100,000 prize pool.
The final table trio of Brazilian players missed heads up play but cashed in nicely on their entry fee.
“RMolinar17” (fifth for $4,550)
“Entaotoma” (fourth for $6,150)
“DantonGomes” (third for $8,300)
In the end, a heads-up deal was made between Sweden’s “Angelegot” ($14,692) and UK’s “DarioPourzan” ($12,077).
The $109 Texas Progressive KO was the largest draw with 1,072 entries. “DarianZimmer” of Germany cashed in the top prize of $13,925.
The other tournament to also draw at least 1,000 entries was the $109 Texas 8-Max. The winner was “Iaromachikne” of Brazil, who took a 12-1 chip lead into heads-up action against Ireland’s MIKEPOSTLE. Iaromachikne won $16,223 and the runner-up finish was worth $11,831 from a field of 1,048.
The $215 Festival Online Main Event started July 31 and 813 entries created a prize pool of $162,600. A total of 673 players rebought 140 times and the top 120 finishers made the money.
The final table of nine players returned Aug. 1 with cards-up coverage streamed live on the 888pokerTVTwitch channel. After “IOwnU888” bowed out in third for $14,195, the title came down to a pair of players from South America.
Ultimately, Argentina’s “Pbusto14” defeated Brazil’s “vpedote” in heads-up play to win the tournament for $26,553.
PokerStars
The United Kingdom and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) festival in Nottingham drew some of the best players in Europe. More than £1 million in prize money was guaranteed for the week-long festival that concluded July 31.
Local cash game pro Adam Maxwell outlasted a field of 582 entries (including 182 re-entries) to win the £1,100 UKIPT Nottingham Main Event. Maxwell cashed in for £98,150 after a heads-up deal. Eventual runner-up Jonathan McCann took home £74,500 from the £564,540 total prize pool.
“It feels very good – it’s not quite sunk in yet,” Maxwell said, before reflecting on the heads-up duel. “It was a tough battle but I feel like the cards went my way.”
It's a winning smile from Adam Maxwell as he has just taken down the #UKIPT Nottingham £1,100 Main Event for £98,150! 🏆
Adam scooped the trophy after a heads-up deal with Johnathan McCann, who takes home £74,500.
The top five finishers were from the UK with David Ledden (£47,460), Michael Howard (£36,500), and Daniel Gormley (£28,080) rounding out the top five spots ahead of German Fabio Sperling (£21,600) in sixth place.
Stars High Roller action
Following the main event, the two day £2,200 High Roller for £51,730 drew 95 players and Alex Goulder finished in third place (worth £23,840) after taking the chip lead into Day 2 with 21 players remaining. Tan Luan Le finished second for £33,000, while Gary Miller took the trophy and £51,730 first prize.
Kathleen Padovani won the two day £340 UKIPT Cup to best a field of 413 players. With a prize pool of £120,183, Day 2 started with 62 players.
When nine remained for the final table, it looked like Vincenzo Lupoli was on his way to victory after he busted four consecutive players to get heads up against Padovani with a better than 3-1 chip lead.
As Padovani fought back to even and then took the chip lead, she repeatedly offered a deal to Lupoli, which he declined. Padovani flopped trip 9s on the final hand to claim victory and score her biggest-ever live cash for £23,513.
A new series is heading to 888poker in July offering players plenty of action with $750,000 guaranteed and most buy-ins ranging from $22 to $215.
“The Festival” Online Series runs July 7 – Aug. 1 and promises plenty of value and numerous qualifying opportunities. The $215 Main Event highlights the series and runs over two days starting July 31 with $150,000 guaranteed.
888pokerTV, the site’s official Twitchstream, will stream the final table live. Here’s a look at the rest of the series.
More highlights from 888poker’s The Festival
Beyond the Main Event, plenty of other nice tournaments with major guarantees await 888 online poker players. On July 10, the $109 Opening Event kicks off the action with $100,000 guaranteed.
A $109 Texas Progressive Knockout runs July 17 with $100,000 guaranteed. Fans of Omaha are in luck with a $33 Pot Limit Omaha Turbo tournament running July 24 with $1,500 guaranteed.
Satellite opportunities and other promotions
Once again, 888poker is offering players plenty of ways to get in the action for The Festival. Feeder satellites for events throughout the series start at just $1. Some of those include:
25 Main Event seats guaranteed, $1 feeder – July 7
30 Main Event seats guaranteed, $22 feeder – July 17
40 Main Event seats guaranteed, $22 feeder – July 28
40 Main Event seats guaranteed, $22 mega satellite – July 31
Additionally, as part of the series 888 is increasing BLAST leaderboard daily prizes from 20-25% for the entire festival. Here’s a look at the entire schedule.
888poker The Festival
Date
Event
Buy-in
Guarantee
July 7
Kickoff (Main Event Feeder)
$1
$5,375
July 10
Opening Event NLHE
$109
$100,000
July 10
The Festival Online - Opening High Roller
$525
$40,000
July 10
Opening Event PLO (8max)
$109
$5,000
July 12
Texas Deepstack
$55
$10,000
July 12
Snap
$33
$5,000
July 14
PLO Deepstack
$55
$2,000
July 14
Texas 6-max
$160
$15,000
July 17
Texas Progressive KO
$109
$100,000
July 17
The Festival Online - Texas High Roller Progressive KO
$525
$40,000
July 17
Main Event Feeder
$22
$6,450
July 19
PLO 6-max
$55
$2,000
July 19
6-max Turbo PKO
$44
$10,000
July 21
Texas Lowroller
$22
$10,000
July 21
Super KO
$109
$12,000
July 24
Texas 8-max
$109
$100,000
July 24
The Festival Online - Texas 8-Max High Roller
$525
$40,000
July 24
PLO Lowroller
$22
$1,500
July 26
PKO 8-Max
$88
$10,000
July 26
PLO Turbo
$33
$1,500
July 28
Main Event Feeder
$22
$8,600
July 31
Mega Sat (50 seats) to Main
$22
$10,750
July 31
Main Event
$215
$150,000
July 31
Texas High roller Finale
$525
$50,000
August 1
Afterparty
$109
$15,000
August 1
Main Event (Final Table)
$150,000
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Players at 888poker are in luck this weekend with the return of the Sunday Sale. On June 19, players will find a discount of up to 50% off buy-ins in two popular tournaments.
The site’s two Sunday majors still come with the same guarantees. These events offer some added value for online poker players looking for a chance at some nice prize money for a budget price.
888poker Live also heads to Bucharest, Romania, this month. Here’s a look at some of the action at 888.
Details on 888poker’s ‘Sunday Sale’
The Sunday Sale applies to two of 888’s most popular events. The $109 Sunday Main Event comes with a $100,000 guarantee. 888 has now cut that buy-in to just $55 for this coming Sunday.
Players in the $525 High Roller can find some nice value at a lower price point as well. That event guarantees $40,000 and the buy-in is now just $265.
Those looking for an even lower-cost way to get a Main Event seat should check out the 888poker Sunday Sale satellites. This offers players plenty of value after securing a seat in one of these qualifiers.
888poker Live heads to Bucharest
In other news, the company heads to Bucharest, Romania, for 888poker Live June 20-26 at the Marriott Sheraton Hotel. The operator continues offering live events with online qualifiers on a regular basis.
Bucharest, nicknamed the “Little Paris of the East,” is a place with a long and rich cultural history. The city is filled with art museums and boasts landmark buildings and monuments.
The Palace of Parliament is the heaviest building in the world at 4.1 million tons and is a popular landmark to check out. The Arcul de Triumf is also interesting and modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
As for the poker, the €888/$1,000 buy-in Main Event highlights the series. The tournament offers three starting flights with Day 2 running June 22. Players will also find several live satellites and online satellites and qualifiers as well.
The series kicks off on June 22 with the €230 Opening Event, which includes two starting flights. A €180 NLHE Six-Max event is also set for June 23 and a €130 Super KO running June 25.
Players with larger bankrolls can jump in the €1,400 High Roller on June 24. Here’s a look at the complete schedule.
888poker Live Bucharest 2022
Date
Buy-in
Tournament
June 20
€230
No Limit Hold'em - Opening Event 1A (Event #1)
June 20
€115
Satellite to Main Event for Day 1A (Event #2)
June 21
€230
No Limit Hold'em - Opening Event 1B (Event #1)
June 21
€115
Satellite to Main Event for Day 1A (Event #3)
Jue 22
€115
Turbo Satellite to Main Event 1A (Event #4)
Jue 22
-
Opening Event Day 2 - Final (Event #1)
Jue 22
€888
No Limit Hold'em - Main Event Day 1A (Event #5)
Jue 22
€200
Satellite to High Roller (Event #6)
Jue 23
€888
No Limit Hold'em - Main Event Day 1B (Event #5)
Jue 23
€45
No Limit Hold'em - Ladies event (Event #7)
Jue 23
€180
No Limit Hold'em - 6-Max (Event #8)
Jue 23
€230
Pot Limit Omaha - 8 Max (Event #9)
Jue 24
€888
No Limit Hold'em - Main Event Day 1C (Event #5)
Jue 24
€888
Main Event Day 2 (Event #5)
Jue 24
€200
Turbo Satellite to High Roller (Event #10)
Jue 24
€1,400
No Limit Hold'em - High Roller Day 1 (Event #11)
Jue 25
-
Main Event Day 3 (Event #5)
Jue 25
€1,400
High Roller Day 2 (Event #11)
Jue 25
€330
No Limit Hold'em - Deepstack Day 1 (Event #12)
Jue 25
€130
No Limit Hold'em - Super KO (Event #13)
Jue 25
€115
No Limit Hold'em - Hyper Madness (Event #14)
Jue 26
-
Deepstack Day (Event #12)
Jue 26
-
Main Event Final Day
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A massive year from 2012-13 kickstarted a life in poker for Ian Simpson. He finished fourth in the Irish Open Main Event for €107,500 in 2012 and then won the event a year later for €265,000.
Later in the year, the English poker sensation scored a runner-up as well in a $1,100 EPT/UKIPT Main Event for another €265,000. A sponsorship offer came with that success and Simpson has been playing professionally ever since.
Now with $1.1 million in live tournament winnings, another big opportunity recently came his way. 888poker signed him as an ambassador in May and he’s looking forward to promoting the brand.
“It’s hard to articulate how I feel,” he told PokerScout. “To be approached by a company as big as 888 is extremely flattering. I’d had several results on the client and that coupled with being on Twitch got me noticed. I’m looking forward to an exciting future with them.”
Turning up his 888poker Twitch streaming
Part of Simpson’s new role with 888 involves plenty of Twitch streaming. The company has added significantly to that part of its lineup in recent years.
Simpson, 36, looks forward to being a part of that on his own channel. Some serious strategy streams will be part of the mix as well as creating content away from the virtual tables.
“I’ll be streaming four days a week,” he says. “I intend to do some learning streams alongside the usual multi-table tournament grind. 888poker has a solid stream team that I can’t wait to create content with.
“I’ll also be attending a lot of the 888poker LIVE events. Being back at the live felt after the pandemic has reinvigorated my love for live poker. I don’t think I’d really understood just how big a gap in my life there was without live poker, so I’m especially excited to be visiting interesting cities and playing all over the world again.”
Simpson grew up in the town of Cramlington in Northumberland, England, but now lives in Newcastle. Before launching into poker full time, he taught high school biology. Online poker has now taken the place of the classroom.
His poker routine usually involves playing online four nights a week into the wee hours of the morning. Family commitments can make that plan a bit inconsistent however.
“The rest of the week, to spend time with my family, I need to be awake early, which isn’t something many poker players are keen to do,” he says. “It’s worth it though, my daughter and my wife are so important to me and poker is how I make my living to support them.”
Ian Simpson battling it out at an 888poker LIVE event. (photos courtesy 888poker)
When it comes to poker goals, Simpson focuses more on his play rather than any major achievement or event. Growing his streaming audience also remains a priority as well.
“My goals for poker have been the same since I went professional, which is to make the best decisions I can for every spot I get involved with,” he says. “I’ve been streaming poker now for five years, so an additional goal is to keep growing my existing community.”
Away from the poker table, computer games occupy some of his time and Simpson also enjoys reading the popular Warhammer 40,000 science fiction books. Spending time with his daughter Adeline is also important.
With so much poker underway this summer, both live and online, Simpson offers a bit of advice for recreational players or those new to the game.
“Study! There are so many free resources out there to tune up your game,” he says. “Time is precious nowadays with everyone working so many hours to make ends meet, but even 30 minutes of study a week can give you that little bit of an edge over people who don’t put in that time, letting your hobby make you money.”
With his Twitch streams, Simpson hopes to be a part of his own community’s strategy sessions.
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Several online poker operators recently held major live tournament series with online qualifiers also heading to the tables for some action. The internationallive poker scene has grown in recent months with poker sites leading the charge.
Barcelona, Madrid, and the United Kingdom all hosted major series throughout May. Poker Podium now takes a look at some recent live tournament winners as well as a few hitting it big online.
Partypoker
The partypokerGrand Prix UK recently concluded at Dusk Till Dawn, offering players plenty of options at the popular UK casino. The £150 Main Event was the major bullet point for players heading to the property, and saw 1,156 players for a £150,000 prize pool.
Andrew Balfe took down the event for £22,000, the biggest score of his career. Nestoras Kakoyannis finished runner-up for £14,275.
Andrew Balfe after winning the partypoker Grand Prix UK main event. (photo courtesy partypoker)
A couple of other players also recently scored big in the MILLIONS Online KO Edition, which runs through May 31. The $530 NLHE Eight-Max event saw 206 players for a $103,000 prize pool. Finland’s Mathias Siljander found the winner’s circle for $19,314. Malta’s Ricardo Silva placed second for $13,860.
The $215 NLHE Eight-Max also produced a nice prize pool with 575 playing for a share of $115,000. Brazil’s Andre Luis Berlanda came out as the champion for $18,606.
Partypoker also recently released more events planned for 2022. Here’s a look at the schedule.
PokerStars
The Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) continues through June 1 at PokerStars. As the action plays out, a few players stand out so far.
Dinesh “NastyMinder” Alt was recently one of the players grabbing a title. The Swiss player is a regular online pro and has scored numerous titles including World COOP, Turbo COOP, Bounty Builder High Roller, and a Sunday Million.
After so much success, Alt now has not one, but two SCOOP titles to add to that string of wins. He first won a $109 SCOOP Sunday Kickoff for $44,887
Alt then turned a $109 Phase entry into an entry into the $5,000 Titans PKO, then winning the event for $230,145. That total included an impressive $157,285 in bounties.
“It felt awesome, especially these high roller tournaments with tough fields, there are so many people I know and respect as very good players, it was definitely awesome,” he told the Stars blog after the Titans win.
“The previous one was a smaller buy-in with more luck involved as the fields are so big and the variance is higher but in the high rollers, it’s more about skill and less variance in the smaller fields.
In other action, PokerStars ambassador Fintan “easywithaces” Hand scored his third SCOOP title in three years. He took down the $2,000 Sunday Warm-Up for $119,046 including $71,820 in bounties. Hand enjoyed quite a celebration after the win:
It's official. He's Mr. Three Times. @EasyWithAces took down the #SCOOP $2100 PKO on Monday for a total $119,046 including $71,820 in bounties, making it his 3rd SCOOP title ever. Congratulations Fintan, you saucy boy. 🏆 🤑 pic.twitter.com/vbEDuDcwv8
The 888poker Live Barcelona series wrapped up on May 23. Poker pros Maria Ho and Dan “Jungleman” Cates made the trip to Spain for the action along with the site’s ambassadors and the 888poker StreamTeam.
Cates made the trip worthwhile, winning the €5,300 Super High Roller for €33,000. In the €2,200 High Roller, Ireland’s James Crawley took the title for €38.000. The UK’s Warren Aspey finished runner-up for €24.000 in a tournament that attracted 63 entries.
Congratulations to Sandro Hauser 🇮🇹!! The winner of the #888pokerLIVE Barcelona Main Event.
Hauser took down the field of 334 and defeated Alexandre Ventura Bolet🇪🇸 in a tense heads-up battle to win €56,800 and the #888poker trophy ‼️ pic.twitter.com/nLjyH57hbN
The €1,100 Main Event highlighted the series and featured four starting flights. The action included 334 entries for a €320,640 prize pool.
The final table saw five of the nine players hailing from the host country as well as players from the UK, Finland, Italy, and France. In the end, Italy’s Sandro Hauser came out on top for €56,800.
Spain’s Alexandre Ventura Bolet finished runner-up €41,400 after a deal was reached among the top three.
GGPoker, Triton Poker
The Online Poker Championship is underway at GGPoker, running through June 1 with $150 million guaranteed. The company has also partnered with Triton Poker for the tour’s recent Madrid series.
GG offered players online qualifiers for events and some big names have once again made some news. That has included Tom Dwan, who scored two titles in three days. He won the €30,000 Short Deck Turbo and €25,000 Pot Limit Omaha for a total of €626,000.
Hats off to @TomDwan 🇺🇸 , who wins his second Triton Poker trophy in the span of just three days after Durrrr took down Event 14, the €30k Short Deck Ante-Only Turbo tournament!
Australia’s Michael Addamo also has two titles, winning the opening $20,000 NLHE for €478,000 and a €75,000 NLHE event for €1.2 million. Stephen Chidwick and Jason Koon also drvured titles in the series, which wrapped up on Wednesday.
888poker is ramping up the promotion game with the new Royal Quest. The series runs May 31 – August 31 and promises plenty of value for online poker players looking for some free cash.
Numerous freerolls are part of the Royal Quest with over $500,000 in prizes on the line. Players will find tournaments running daily with even bigger events planned weekly and monthly. Here’s a look at what to expect.
Royal treatment at 888poker
Players taking part in the Royal Quest will find a journey featuring three types of freerolls. Here’s what’s on tap for players:
Three daily $500 freerolls
One weekly $5,000 freeroll (running every Sunday)
One monthly $50,000 freeroll (running once a month)
Players jumping in the action will find some adventures in three “kingdoms.” They can become the kings and queens of these kingdoms by completing challenges and then entering one of these kingdoms.
Participants then have the opportunity to win freeroll tickets. Here’s a look at the details of each kingdom.
The Noble Kingdom
Complete one challenge for a daily freeroll ticket. Players can complete up to three challenges per day with freerolls running three times daily. The daily challenges for players include:
Cash challenge – Win a hand in cash games with King-Queen.
Tournament challenge – Play any poker tournament (including BLAST events) with buy-ins totalling $5.
Casino and sports challenge – Place bets totaling $5 on any casino games or any sports events
The Majestic Kingdom
Complete any combination of the Noble challenges nine times per week. Those who meet this accomplishment earn a weekly freeroll ticket (up to three challenges every day).
In addition to the weekly freerolls, the top winners will join another monthly freeroll called the Battle of Knights. The winner of that tournament scores a VIP package for a live event.
Runners-up win tickets to an 888 online series running series and exclusive branded merchandise.
The Imperial Kingdom
Those who complete one of the monthly challenges below earn a monthly freeroll ticket.
Cash challenge – Win 80 hands in cash games within one month with any royal card (King-Queen-Jack).
Tournament challenge – Win three tournaments within one month with any royal card (King-Queen-Jack).
Casino challenge – Win 10 games of Blackjack within one month with any royal card (King-Queen-Jack).
XL Spring Series rolls on this week
In other 888poker news, the XL Spring Series continues through June 7 at the site with $1.5 million guaranteed. The $250 Main Event highlights the series on June 2 with $500,000 guaranteed and multiple starting flights.
Here’s a look at a few other big events in the week ahead:
The XL Spring Series returns to 888poker beginning May 22 and runs through June 7 with something on tap for every bankroll. Online poker players will find 37 events with buy-in ranging from $11 to $525 and a total of $1.5 million guaranteed.
The $250 Main Event highlights the series with a $500,000 guarantee and multiple starting flights beginning on June 2. Here’s a look at the action from this popular series as 888 celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Highlights from the 888poker XL Spring Series
888 promises players plenty of action this spring. That includes numerous tournaments in the progressive knockout (PKO) format. This popular tournament style features players winning only a portion of each bounty when they eliminate a player.
Instead, a portion is added to the winning player’s own bounty. This makes bounties increase throughout the event. The PKO format brings about some interesting play later in a tournament. Numerous other tournament styles are also on tap.
The series kicks off with the$109 Opening Event, guaranteeing a prize pool of $120,000. The $11 PKO Triple Threat also runs on the same day for players with smaller bankrolls, featuring $15,000 guaranteed.
On May 24, players will also find a $215 Freezeout with $25,000 guaranteed. A $109 PKO Eight-Max comes with a $30,000 guarantee on June 1.
Another interesting event looks to be the $55 Triple Threat PKO on June 5 with $40,000 guaranteed. A $525 High Roller is also set for June 5 with $50,000 guaranteed. Here’s a look at the complete schedule.
888poker XL Spring Series
Date
Event
Buy-in
Guarantee
May 22
$15,000 PKO Triple Threat 11
$11
$15,000
May 22
$40,000 PKO Triple Threat 55
$55
$40,000
May 22
#01 - $120,000 Opening Event
$109
$120,000
May 22
$20,000 PKO Triple Threat 33
$33
$20,000
May 23
#02 - $25,000 PKO 6-Max
$88
$25,000
May 23
#03 - $15,000 Mini PKO 6-Max
$44
$15,000
May 23
#04 - $10,000 Late PKO 6-Max
$22
$10,000
May 24
#05 - $25,000 Freezout
$215
$25,000
May 24
#06 - $10,000 Mini Freezout
$55
$10,000
May 24
#07 - $10,000 Late Freezout
$109
$10,000
May 25
#08 - $30,000 PKO
$109
$30,000
May 25
#09 - $12,000 Mini PKO
$16.50
$12,000
May 25
#10 - $10,000 Late PKO
$33
$10,000
May 26
#11 - $30,000 PKO 8-Max
$160
$30,000
May 26
#12 - $20,000 Mini PKO 8-Max
$55
$20,000
May 26
#13 - $15,000 Late PKO 8-Max
$22
$15,000
May 27
#14 - $25,000 DeepStack
$55
$25,000
May 27
#15 - $12,000 Mini DeepStack
$16.50
$12,000
May 27
#16 - $10,000 Late DeepStack
$33
$10,000
May 28
No Events - Champions Football Final
May 29
$15,000 PKO Triple Threat 11
$11
$15,000
May 29
$40,000 PKO Triple Threat 55
$55
$40,000
May 29
#17 - $120,000 Tune Up
$109
$120,000
May 29
$20,000 PKO Triple Threat 33
$33
$20,000
May 30
#18 - $25,000 8-Max
$88
$25,000
May 30
#19 - $15,000 Mini 8-Max
$44
$15,000
May 30
#20 - $10,000 Late 8-Max
$22
$10,000
May 31
#21 - $50,000 PKO
$320
$50,000
May 31
#22 - $20,000 Mini PKO
$55
$20,000
May 31
#23 - $20,000 Late PKO
$109
$20,000
June 1
#24 - $30,000 PKO 8-Max
$109
$30,000
June 1
#25 - $12,000 Mini PKO 8-Max
$16.50
$12,000
June 1
#26 - $10,000 Late PKO 8-Max
$33
$10,000
June 2
#27 - $25,000 PKO 6-Max
$215
$25,000
June 2
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 2
#28 - $20,000 Mini PKO 6-Max
$55
$20,000
June 2
#29 - $10,000 Late PKO 6-Max
$22
$10,000
June 2
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 3
#30 - $25,000 DeepStack
$55
$25,000
June 3
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 3
#31 - $12,000 Mini DeepStack
$16.50
$12,000
June 3
#32 - $10,000 Late DeepStack
$33
$10,000
June 3
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 4
#33 - $30,000 Knockout
$109
$30,000
June 4
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 4
#34 - $12,000 Mini Knockout
$16.50
$12,000
June 4
#35 - $15,000 Late Knockout
$55
$15,000
June 4
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 5
$15,000 PKO Triple Threat 11
$11
$15,000
June 5
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 5
$40,000 PKO Triple Threat 55
$55
$40,000
June 5
$20,000 PKO Triple Threat 33
$33
$20,000
June 5
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 5
#36 - $50,000 High Roller
$525
$50,000
June 5
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 6
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 1)
$250
June 6
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (Day 2)
$500,000
June 7
#37 - $500,000 Main Event (final table)
Freerolls and qualifying opportunities
888poker looks to get players of all levels and bankrolls in the action. Players already have an opportunity to secure a seat in the Main Event and other tournaments. Freerolls and satellites are now underway, rewarding seats to most series tournaments.
The no-ticket-required XL Spring Series Freeroll also offers a shot at numerous Main Event seats given away. The Daily Freerolls also award cash and tickets to the Main Event.
Those looking for additional low-cost qualifying opportunities will also find daily satellites starting at just one cent.
Streaming action also part of the series
Poker fans around the world have an opportunity to check out the XL Spring action. The site’s official Twitch channel, 888pokerTV, will stream some of the action.
Poker fans can expect these events to be streamed during the series:
May 30 – Event 17, $120,000 Tune Up final table
June 7 – Event 37, $500,000 Main Event final table
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