Day 1 of the 888poker's 2019 XL Inferno saw all three tournaments crush their guarantees.

888poker’s signature online poker series XL Inferno returned on Thursday promising players a full-featured 34-event series with over $1.4 million in guarantees over the course of eleven days.

The opening day saw players flock to three different Opening Events with $90,000 in total guarantees up for grabs. Players were obviously eager for the return of an XL series as all three tournaments on the schedule crushed their posted guarantees giving grinders plenty of money up top to fight for, including a pair of five-figure scores.

Event #1 – $50,000 Opening Event

Buy-In: $109
Entries: 534 (192 Rebuys)
Prize pool: $72,600

Officials at 888poker must have been thrilled to see that the XL Inferno’s $109 Opening Event proved to be extremely popular with its $50,000 guarantee crushed by over $22,000.

The biggest beneficiary of the juiced prize pool was Austria’s ‘sh4xuR7’ who took home the $13,721.40 first place prize, the top prize of XL Inferno Day 1. The Austrian defeated the UK’s ‘pokerdave128’ who also earned himself a five-figure score, winning $10,055.10 as the runner up. The third place finisher was Russia’s ‘Alex_Vol’ who won $7,405.20.

Event #1 Final Table Payouts

1. sh4xuR7 – $13,721.40
2. pokerdave128 – $10,055.10
3. Alex_Vol – $7,405.20
4. jmsantos10 – $5,590.20
5. IMDool – $3,920.40
6. Farrugia_1 – $3,085.50
7. INCURSIO – $2,359.50
8. n0sferatv – $1,633.50
9. exPROsjak – $1,110.78

Event #2 – $20,000 Mini Opening Event

Buy-In: $16.50
Entries: 1,468 (582 Rebuys)
Prize pool: $30,750

With the guarantee crushed by over $10,000, there was more money up top in the Mini Opening Event than 888poker usually gets with a $16.50 buy-in. Perhaps that’s what led to the final three players agreeing on a deal that locked up healthy four-figure scores for each.

Malta’s ‘wh4tisha3’ ended up with the largest piece of the three-handed deal as he took home $5,114.25 and will officially be known as the XL Inferno champion. His heads up opponent was PocketFiver ‘k29mario’ who earned $3,566.92 for one of his largest scores of 2019. The third member of the deal was Romania’s ‘zotto18’ who turned his second bullet into a $3,308.59 a payday.

Event #2 Final Table Payouts

1. wh4tisha3 – $5,114.25
2. k29mario – $3,566.92
3. zotto18 – $3,308.59
4. F.Lupo – $2,091
5. AMG_people – $1,522.12
6. xxtomasxx – $1,214.62
7. Karenina3425 – $907.12
8. IcruAI – $599.62
9. ClaretBantam – $332.10

Event #3 – $20,000 Late Opening Event

Buy-In: $55
Entries: 434 (145 Rebuys)
Prize pool: $28,950

It took just under seven hours for the title in the $20,000 Late Opening Event to be awarded. With the prize pool cruising to nearly $9,000 more than the guarantee, the difference between first and second place was just under $1,500. The final two players, who were close in chips, opted to make a deal that promised both players over $4,700 for their $55 buy-in.

The UK’s ‘elephant107’ walked away with the XL Inferno title and $4,747.24 after the deal. However, it was Finland’s ‘winlikefedor’ that took home the largest payday, securing himself $4,806.37 before bowing out in second place.

Sweden’s ‘MorayEEEEEL’ took home the bronze, adding $2,967.37 to his $220,000 in lifetime career earnings. The Swede is currently at a career-high ranking of #520 in the world.

Event #3 Final Table Payouts

1. elephant107 -$4,747.24
2. winlikefedor – $4,806.37
3. MorayEEEEEL – $2,967.37
4. kAfRiNiUs – $2,258.10
5. instinctas – $1,592.25
6. gibidon – $1,230.37
7. pokerbob88 – $940.87
8. capuin – $651.37
9. LucySagara70 – $480.57