888poker Ambassador Aaron Barone Finishes Second in XL Winter Series SHR
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The XL Winter Series exploded into action at 888poker over the weekend and one of 888poker's ambassadors almost came away with a victory on the opening night. Aaron "abarone86" Barone was one of 39 entries in the $1,050 Super High Roller Special. When the dust settled, Barone had fallen at the final hurdle and banked $8,920, narrowly missing out on glory.
Only seven of the field received a return on their initial investment, with Mexico's "NUBIER" reaching the eight-handed final table but busting in eighth place, popping the money bubble.
That elimination opened the floodgates with "Kenneth134" falling in seventh for $2,020 and "okagawa1" of Brazil bowing out in sixth for $2,320.
Fifth place and $3,000 went to German "pactamah23" before "luck4chucky," one of three Canadians at the final table, saw their deep run end in fourth place, a finish worth $4,000.
The Super High Roller special progressed to the heads-up battle once 888poker regular "sheshhhhhhhhhh" fell by the wayside in third. That finish resulted in $6,000 landing in the Montenegrin's account.
Barone locked horns and butted heads with fellow Canadian "Zebest7r" for the title and the tournament's five-figure top prize. Unlike in Madrid where Ian Simpson won the first 888poker LIVE event of 2025, Barone had to make do with a runner-up finish at the virtual felt. Barone banked $8,920 for his impressive display, leaving "Zebest7r" to scoop the $13,680 first-place prize and the title of champion.
$40,000 XL Winter #06 – Super High Roller Special Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zebest7r | Canada | $13,680 |
| 2 | Aaron "abarone68" Barone | Canada | $8,920 |
| 3 | sheshhhhhhhhhh | Montenegro | $6,000 |
| 4 | luck4chucky | Canada | $4,000 |
| 5 | pactamah23 | Germany | $3,000 |
| 6 | okagawa1 | Brazil | $2,320 |
| 7 | Kenneth134 | Denmark | $2,020 |
| 8 | NUBIER | Mexico | $0 |
$150K Weekend Mystery Starter is "Nelepo10"'s to Lose
The $109 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed Weekend Mystery Starter played down to its final table on January 20, and one player stands head and shoulders above the rest. Brazilian "Nelepo10" finished Day 2 with 5,391,893 chips in their stack, the equivalent of 108 big blinds. Their nearest rival, "Hodor83" of the United Kingdom, has 34 big blinds when play resumes under the watchful eyes of the 888poker Twitch channel on January 21.
Nothing is guaranteed in poker, especially not in a tournament format, but everything points to "Nelepo10" helping themselves to the $11,610 top prize and a glut of mystery bounty payments.
Ian Simpson Keeps the 888poker Live Madrid Main Event Title in the Family
The $150,000 guaranteed event attracted 1,246 entries, meaning there was a $25,400 overlay for the entrants to enjoy. All the biggest bounties have already been claimed. "OchoChoocho" opened a golden envelope containing a $4,500 mystery bounty. After firing eight $109 bullets at this tournament, they fell in 21st place.
"nuncanemvi" also captured a $4,500 bounty payment before busting in 13th, but "qinghe2012" was the player who opened the jackpot mystery bounty of $15,000. They crashed in 58th but could still finish as the tournament's biggest winner courtesy of that five-figure bounty payment.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelepo10 | Brazil | 5,391,893 | 108 |
| 2 | Hodor83 | United Kingdom | 1,689,290 | 34 |
| 3 | goldengaze1 | United Kingdom | 1,274,081 | 26 |
| 4 | kosmow1 | Germany | 1,036,209 | 21 |
| 5 | Sly_81 | Germany | 1,021,566 | 20 |
| 6 | djjazz222 | Brazil | 826,700 | 17 |
| 7 | perrivini | Brazil | 706,146 | 14 |
| 8 | MarcJohn | United Kingdom | 514,115 | 10 |
Play resumes at 7:00 p.m. GMT on January 21 with 888poker's cards-up live stream starting an hour later. Be sure to tune in and see if "Neleop10" can build on their incredible performance so far.
2025 888poker XL Winter Series Results So Far
Nine XL Winter Series events have crowned their champions, including "Paulada85" who won the $55 Opening Event PKO for $5,449. The previously mentioned "Zebest7r" is the biggest winner so far, thanks to them hauling in $13,680 from the $1,050 Super High Roller.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 - $109 Weekend Mystery Starter | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| #02 - $16.50 Opening Event Mystery Bounty | 1,581 | $23,715 | klapciukas | $2,040 |
| #03 - $33 Opening Event | 474 | $14,220 | Beratna | $2,601 |
| #04 - $55 Opening Event PKO | 702 | $35,100 | Paulada85 | $5,449 |
| #05 - $22 Opening Event MB Big or Small | 849 | $16,980 | sjae98 | $2,264 |
| #06 - $1,050 Super High Roller | 39 | $40,000 | Zebest7r | $13,680 |
| #07 - $16.50 Daily Gems PKO Mid | 774 | $12,000 | PrivetPawtet | 1,767 |
| #08 - $8.80 Daily Gems PKO Mini | 615 | $4,920 | jan4ixs | $892 |
| #09 - $215 High Roller | 68 | $13,600 | ab_wien | $3,712 |
| #10 - $55 Daily Gems PKO | 389 | $19,450 | LimperShroom | $3,646 |
All prizes included bounty payments where applicable
Remaining 888poker XL Winter Schedule
Don't worry if you have missed out on XL Winter Series glory so far because there are plenty of events to sink your teeth into over the next week. Satellite from $0.01 are available if you fancy playing your way into a bigger buy-in event and taking a shot at the big time.
