888poker’s spring series XL Inferno entered its eighth day with a series of eight-handed PKO’s to help players get warmed up before this weekend’s $500K Main Event.

Once again the PKO format proved popular. All three tournaments exceeded their guarantees, pushing the total prize pools on the day to over $118,000.

Event #23 – $50,000 PKO 8-Max

Buy-in: $160
Entries: 343 (119 rebuys)
Prize pool: $69,300

2018 XL Eclipse Opening Event champion, UK grinder Richard ‘ChipsFool’ Hoadley added another XL title to his resume on Thursday after taking down the spotlight $50K PKO 8-Max for $6,670.28 + $5,225.05 in bounties. Hoadley, currently the #231-ranked player in the world, bested the 343-entry field to take home the day’s largest XL payday. The five-figure score will be added to Hoadley’s already impressive $1.7M in lifetime earnings.

Russia’s ‘LeslieGroves’, who has found success in previous XL tournaments, finished the tournament in second place, padding his bankroll by 4,937.62 + $2,494.66 in bounties. The top three was rounded out by Sweden’s ‘HermanMelvin’ who walked away with $3,724.87 + $1,205.86 in bounties for third place.

Event #23 Final Table Results

1. ChipsFool – $6,670.28 + $5,225.05 in bounties
2. LeslieGroves – $4,937.62 + $2,494.66 in bounties
3. HermanMelvin – $3,724.87 + $1,205.86 in bounties
4. oTLIN – $2,685.37 + $1,608.47 in bounties
5. KeepTrying05 – $1,819.12 + $834.38 in bounties
6. ikbenlen – $1,299.37 + $1,398.19 in bounties
7. luckyr1ver – $952.87 + $612.01 in bounties
8. CoinShipper – $779.62 + $300 in bounties

Event #24 – $20,000 Mini PKO 8-Max

Buy-in: $22
Entries: 938 (356 rebuys)
Prize pool: $25,880

When you combine a number of things that most online poker players love – Progressive Knockouts, a smaller buy-in and short-handed play – it’s going to be pretty easy to blow a guarantee out of the water. The 936-entry field in the Mini PKO 8-Max did just that, besting the guarantee by over $5K with only a $22 buy-in.

Romania’s ‘ilicinnnn’ took home the Mini PKO’s top prize of $2,394.32 + $2,174.39 in bounties for first place, good for the fifth largest score of the day. He took the title home after defeating the UK’s ‘yOmamasboi’, who settled for second place and $1,638.49 + $360.48 in bounties.

Malta’s ‘1Bank1’ finished in third, for the second time this series, winning $1,294 + $359.01 for his bronze medal finish.

Event #24 Final Table Results

1. ilicinnnn – $2,394.32 + $2,174.39 in bounties
2. yOmamasboi – $1,638.49 + $360.48 in bounties
3. 1Bank1 – $1,294 + $359.01 in bounties
4. _DENGER_ – $970.50 + $237.89 in bounties
5. BhadizUlue – $647 + $241.23 in bounties
6. Renard_Mecha – $452.90 + $55.63 in bounties
7. blachu3232 – $291.15 + $61.88 in bounties
8. wh4tishat3 – $196.68 + $123.91 in bounties

Event #25 – $20,000 Late PKO 8-Max

Buy-in: 55
Entries: 370 (100 rebuys)
Prize pool: $23,500

Players desire to knock each other out didn’t slow down in the Late PKO as players once again registered plenty of times to crush the posted guarantee.

In fact, the top three finishers all fired multiple bullets into this tournament. Denis ‘_DENGER_’ Kuznetsov used his tow entries to take home the XL Inferno title and $2,262.03 + $2,355.67 in bounties. The PocketFiver will see his lifetime total soar to over $780,000 with the victory.

XL Blizzard champion ‘todacage’ from Malta narrowly missed adding another XL title to his resume, instead falling in second place for $1,674.37 + $349.31 in bounties. ‘todacage’s countryman ‘wh4istha3’ wrapped up the day in third place, earning $1,263.12 + $258 for his efforts.

Event #25 – Final Table Results

1. _DENGER_ – $2,262.03 + $2,355.67 in bounties
2. todacage – $1,674.37 + $349.31 in bounties
3. wh4istha3 – $1,263.12 + $258 in bounties
4. elenabb12 – $910.62 + $266.21 in bounties
5. _mayk1nz – $616.87 + $156.26 in bounties
6. Mr.Dupino – $440.62 + $374.22 in bounties
7. CabecaTilt – $323.12 + $109.38 in bounties
8. Ph4N888 – $264.37 + $251.17 in bounties