888poker’s spring online poker series XL Blizzard hit the halfway point on Tuesday, rolling out three more tournaments that offered over $150,000 in total guarantees.

It was time for the high rollers to log on and do battle in the highest buy-in tournament of the series – the $100,000 High Roller.

Event #16 – $100,000 High Roller ($320 buy-in)

The XL Blizzard $320 High Roller was designed to be attractive to players looking to score big, but no one could have predicted just how attractive this one would be. 192 players (89 rebuys) jumped into the contest but even with that enthusiastic participation, it still wasn’t enough to hit the lofty $100K guarantee.

Players enjoyed over $10,000 in overlay, adding a little extra equity to all of those players savvy enough to have taken notice.

In the end, Canada’s ‘bybababy’ and Malta’s ‘jmsantos10’ agreed to a heads up deal, giving both a healthy five-figure payday. ‘bybababy’ secured $19,558 and the title of XL Blizzard champion. ‘jmsantos10’  picked up nearly $2,000 more than the posted prize for second place, taking home $17,441.44 as the runner-up.

Worldwide #15-ranked player ‘varonislv’ (aka ‘DamageAP’) took home the bronze. The #1-ranked player in his home country of Latvia fired two bullets into this tournament and it paid off as he ended up adding $11,750 to his already impressive $5.68M in career earnings.

Another one of the best online players in the world had a seat at the final table of Event #16 as Roman ‘Romeopro’ Romanovsky, the current #1-ranked player in the world, continued his recent incredible run by taking home $5,000 for sixth place. Every score counts for Romanovsky right now as he fights to maintain his top ranking while also looking to accumulate $13M in career earnings.

888poker ambassador and one-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion Martin ‘MJacobson888’ Jacobson fired four times into the event. And, after finishing in 11th place for $1,750 he came out slightly ahead.

Final Table Results

1. bybababy – $19.558.56*
2. jmsantos10 – $17,441.44*
3. varonislv –  $11,750
4. Fukuruku – $8,750
5. DumbDuck123 – $6,000
6. Romeopro33 – $5,000
7. dmg34 – $4,000
8. JaNeiZZzKl4r – $3,000
9. rablou_mihai – $2,000

Event #17 – $30,000 Mini High Roller ($55 buy-in)

Whereas the actual High Roller had some overlay, the Mini High Roller crushed its guarantee. 501 players (198 rebuys) registered for this $55 tournament creating a prize pool just $50 shy of $35,000.

XL Blizzard picked up its first two-time champion as Canada’s ’69Gronk87’ took down the tournament adding another $6,640.61 to his XL earnings. ’69Gronk87’ also finished atop Event #9, the $100,000 Mega Deep for over $20K and now boasts two 2019 XL Blizzard titles on his poker resume.

‘RasAlGhul’ was forced to settle for second place, earning $4,893 for his efforts while ‘n10s99’ hit the rail in third place adding $3,582.37 to his bankroll.

Final Table Results

1. 69Gronk87 – $6,640,61
2. RasAIGhul – $4,893
3. n10s99 – $3,582.37
4. Dalllmad – $2,726.10
5. Bestolo4 – $1,922.25
6. Pon4uk – $1,485.37
7. todacage – $1,135.87
8. busterchair – $786.37
9. iBustYa888 – $580.17

Event #18 – $20,000 Late High Roller

It was more good news for players who hopped in the $109 Late High Roller as 184 players (68 rebuys) pushed the prize pool north of $25,000.

Russia’s ‘Panzerfish’ defeated Ukraine’s ‘Enthusiast99’ in heads up battle, taking home the $5,418 first place prize. The score was enough to put the Russian up over $400,000 in lifetime earnings as well as helping him maintain his career-high ranking of #285 in the world.

The Ukranian finished as the runner up winning $3,906 and Peru’s ‘O_fenomeno9’ took home the bronze, earning $2,961.

Final Table Results

1. Panzerfish – $5,418
2. Enthusiast99 – $3,906
3. O_fenomeno9 – $2,961
4. pvss10 – $2,205
5. GramNaKartke – $1,512
6. DeuceofDuc0 – $1,260
7. dmg34 – $1,008
8. gimnast2605 – $756
9. CharlesUlman – $504