Added money means bonus value for 888poker's 2020 XL Inferno.

May is a massive month for online poker and starting on May 14 888poker will join the party with the return their XL Inferno online poker series.

XL Inferno features 34 events spread over 11 days of action and promises more than $1.5 million in total prize money. The series is one of the best values on the 888poker calendar for poker players and this year there’s even more for grinders to fight for as the online poker site has boosted the guarantee in some of the most popular tournaments on the schedule.

888poker is known for its XL Championships. They run three times a year (XL Blizzard, XL Inferno, and XL Eclipse) and feature high-value tournaments at accessible buy-ins. One of the selling points is the guarantees that ensure a healthy boost to the bankroll for those who find themselves deep in an event. However, for the 2020 XL Inferno, 888poker is upping the ante on a handful of tournaments by adding another $90K spread out at every buy-in level. Here are the events on the schedule that now have a little extra to play for.

It’s Opening Day

The Opening Event, which takes place on May 14 this year, is always a big attraction for 888poker. Players who are eager to win themselves an XL title pile into the lobby and make it one of the biggest tournaments of the entire schedule. This year, 888poker has bumped the guarantee from its standard $50,000 up to $75,000 while keeping the buy-in at just $109. Last year, 534 entries plus 192 rebuys pushed the prize pool to over $72,000. In the end, ‘sh4xuR7’ bested longtime 888poker grinder ‘pokerdave128’ in heads up play to take home the title and the $13,721.40 first-place prize. There looks to be plenty of added value in this year’s Opening Event. Either they hit the guarantee and the winner walks with should be a nice five-figure score or the overlay provides a little extra equity for everyone who plays.

At the same time that the Opening Event is seeing a boost, those who fire in the Mini Opening Event will also get a nice bump. The guarantee is raised from $20,000 up to $25,000. The value in the Mini Opening Event can be seen just by taking a look at last year’s results. For a $16.50 buy-in, ‘wh4isha3’ topped a field of over 2000 to walk away with a $5,114.25 payday. That was after a three-way deal was struck where each of the top three players padded their bankrolls by more than $3,300.

Big Boost For The Tune Up

The largest boost to the guarantee arrives with the May 17 Tune Up. Typically, the Sunday event is a warm-up for the Main Event and comes with a $100,000 guarantee. This year they bumped the guarantee by 50% and it will be the $150,000 Tune Up with a $109 buy-in. With the Tune Up landing on a Sunday, the biggest day of the week for online poker, there is always a surge in the player pool. During the 2019 XL Inferno, over 800 entries played in the event as ‘prebzzz’ turned their $109 into a $23,376 score. For 888poker though, this might be a stretch as the prize pool from last year was just $123,750. They’ll need to ride the current wave of online poker popularity to make sure that there’s no overlay.

On the same day, 888poker is also giving those who play in the Micro Tune Up a little extra to play for as the guarantee for that event is also seeing a $5,000 raise. It may not feel like a lot for some but when you are entering a $5.50 tournament, the bonus money in the prize pool could help take a player to have the ability to take shots in bigger tournaments.

Don’t Miss The Main Event

The final tournament that is seeing a boost is the $20,000 Micro Main Event which received a $5K jump in 2020. On the final day of the series, those who want to play for the last XL title will only need to buy-in for $5.50 to have a shot at walking away with a four-figure score.

Of course, when it comes to the value of playing in an 888poker XL series, the $500,000 Main Event is one of the best opportunities players may have on the site all year. For a $250 buy-in, the Main Event typically promises healthy five-figure scores for the majority of the final table. In last year’s XL Inferno Main Event, a three-way deal was agreed to that gave Russia’s ‘D3n1sk4PP’ the victory and a $70,252 payday. At the same time ‘LuisRRRRR’ took home $65,502 as the runner-up and ‘lucasfalves9’ picked up over $55,000 for third place.

The complete 888poker XL Inferno schedule is available now with satellites running non-stop on the client.