The PokerNews Online Championship came to a thrilling conclusion at 888poker on November 27 with the crowning of the $300,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Main Event champion. Only eight of the 1,410 starters returned for the final day's play, and 888poker Twitch viewers were treated to an ICM masterclass from Brazilian "muchbetter07".
"muchbetter07" amassed a big stack early into the final table's proceedings, and they wielded those chips incredibly well. Every decision put their opponents to the ultimate test as they displayed plenty of ICM acumen, and ultimately ran out a deserved champion.
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | muchbetter07 | Brazil | $6,012 | $23,220 | $29,232 |
| 2 | gifu15 | Finland | $912 | $16,935 | $17,847 |
| 3 | haha_mUCK_IT | Ukraine | $3,760 | $12,450 | $16,210 |
| 4 | Ogame22 | Mexico | $1,512 | $9,225 | $10,737 |
| 5 | Ipernoei13 | Montenegro | $3,760 | $6,825 | $10,585 |
| 6 | Streusalz | $304 | $5,100 | $5,404 | |
| 7 | arquandel1 | Romania | $912 | $3,840 | $4,752 |
| 8 | ingeruRO14 | Romania | $5,108 | $2,910 | $8,018 |
It took only five minutes for the first casualty to be confirmed, and what a hand it was. "ingeruRO14" open-shoved from under the gun for just over seven big blinds with pocket fives. "Ogame22" flat-called in the hijack with pocket sevens only for "haha_mUCK_IT" to jam all-in from the big blind with a pair of jacks. "Ogame22" folded and would have won a massive pot because they would have flopped a set. However, a queen-high board was safe for "haha_mUCK_IT"'s jacks, and "ingeruRO14" was gone.
Seventh place went to "arquandel1," who had let their stack dwindle to a little more than three big blinds. They called all-in from the big blind with ace-seven after "muchbetter07" had ripped it in from the button with what turned out to be jack-seven. A jack popped up on the river to reduce the player count by one.
The final six became five when "Streusalz" ran out of steam. "Streusalz" only had one big blind and an ante when they called all-in with ace-eight following yet another shove from "muchbetter07," who was using their big stack and ICM implications with deadly effect. "muchbetter07"'s jack-seven needed some help from the board, and it arrived in the shape of a seven on the flop. There was no further drama, and "Streusalz" bowed out.
"muchbetter07" was armed with 74 big blinds, and their nearest opponent had less than 14. They continually shoved to put maximum pressure on their opponents, but one all-in move almost went wrong. "muchbetter07" pushed all-in from under the gun with ace-four, and "Iperenoei13" instantly put their chips into the middle from the small blind having been dealt pocket kings. However, the aggressive Brazilian was running hot and saw an ace land on the flop and a four on the turn. They climbed to over 10 million chips and had one hand on the trophy and the remaining mystery bounties.
Mexico's "Ogame22" sat down at the final table in third place and finished in fourth. Their tournament ended when they got their last 6.5 big blinds into the middle with ace-jack of clubs only to find themselves up against the pocket aces of "gifu15."
Heads-up was reached a few hands later, and it was "muchbetter07" who sent another 888poker player to the showers. After opening the pot with ace-trey, "muchbetter07" quickly called when "haha_mUCK_IT" moved all-in from the big blind with king-jack of hearts. The sun-runner flopped an ace and faded a chop to take a massive 10,804,428 to 3,295,572 chip lead into the one-on-one battle with "gifu15."
The contest was over in a couple of hands. "gifu15" min-raised with king-jack, "michbetter07" three-bet all-in with the dominating king-queen "gifu15" decided to play for all of the biscuits. "muchbetter07" flopped two pair and that was all she wrote.
It took less than an hour for "muchbetter07" to get the job done and their hands on a total prize tipping the scales at $29,232.
Expand the table below to check out the complete results of the PokerNews Online Championship. 888poker awarded $1,058,664 across the festival, and we cannot wait to see what the next edition brings to the table. Congratulations to all of the worthy champions.
| Event | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
| #01 – Opening Event Mini Mystery Bounty | $16.50 | 1,470 | $22,050 | SlimShady248 | $1,546 |
| #02 – Opening Event Mid Mystery Bounty | $55 | 677 | $35,000 | Vitorbello | $3,551 |
| #03 – Opening Event Mystery Bounty | $109 | 1,092 | $120,000 | d5t6y7 | $10,358 |
| #04 – Opening Event High Roller | $525 | 83 | $41,500 | LordiPari | $11,433 |
| #05 – Daily Gems PKO Mid | $16.50 | 703 | $10,545 | forza749 | $1,962 |
| #06 – Daily Gems PKO Mini | $8.80 | 585 | $5,000 | ricsaMG | $783 |
| #07 – Daily Gems Mystery Bounty Special | $55 | 341 | $20,000 | SRFC1899 | $2,282 |
| #08 – Daily Gems PKO | $109 | 153 | $15,300 | MicutuP.K.R. | $3,670 |
| #09 – Daily Gems Super KO Mini | $16.50 | 729 | $10,935 | pedro.vier | $929 |
| #10 – Super KO High Roller | $320 | 56 | $16,800 | casual_win | $3,570 |
| #11 – Daily Gems Mystery Bounty Special | $55 | 296 | $15,000 | SilverD15 | $2,415 |
| #12 – Daily Gems Super KO | $109 | 116 | $11,600 | Proosty | $1,829 |
| #13 – Daily Gems MB Big or Small | $11 | 1,038 | $10,380 | bonannex | $1,052 |
| #14 – MB Big or Small | $5.50 | 937 | $5,000 | MACDEBI | $524 |
| #15 – Daily Gems MB Big or Small | $55 | 268 | $15,000 | ingeruRO14 | $1,920 |
| #16 – Daily Gems MB Big or Small | $22 | 474 | $10,000 | federerbolso | $1,171 |
| #17 – DeepStack High Roller | $320 | 60 | $18,000 | algsxr | |
| #18 – Daily Gems DeepStack | $55 | 276 | $15,000 | Pureolli | |
| #19 – Daily Gems – DeepStack High | $109 | 143 | $14,300 | JulioFantin | $3,324 |
| #20 – SNAP PKO 6-Max | $16.50 | 120 | $2,000 | ViniToneri | $545 |
| #21 – Daily Gems Mystery Bounty Mini | $8.80 | 633 | $5,064 | Canelo01 | $556 |
| #22 – Daily Gems Mystery Bounty Mid | $22 | 565 | $11,300 | alexindie | $1,275 |
| #23 – Daily Gems Mystery Bounty | $55 | 345 | $17,250 | Stylwow | $2,680 |
| #24 – Daily Gems Big Shot Special | $109 | 122 | $12,200 | Elprinter147 | $2,836 |
| #25 – Daily Gems PKO 6-Max Mi | $16.50 | 768 | $11,520 | EgolsT18 | $1,730 |
| #26 – PLO Mystery Bounty | $11 | 275 | $2,750 | nicehand15 | $445 |
| #27 – Daily Gems PKO 6-Max | $55 | 317 | $15,850 | thenewmig | $3,049 |
| #28 – Daily Gems PKO 6-Max High | $109 | 139 | $13,900 | AUTSIPOSTI | $3,160 |
| #29 – Mystery Bounty Mini | $16.50 | 1,531 | $22,965 | BLNDIK | $2,009 |
| #30 – Mystery Bounty | $55 | 700 | $40,000 | FedoraKot | $3,634 |
| #31 – The PKO Rumble | $109 | 482 | $50,000 | universeluci | $9,660 |
| #32 – Big Shot High Roller | $525 | 77 | $38,500 | oK_No_Call | $10,606 |
| #33 – Daily Gems PKO Mini | $16.50 | 697 | $10,455 | Dosser1976 | $1,762 |
| #34 – Daily Gems PKO | $33 | 318 | $10,000 | ovomaltino | $1,938 |
| #35 – Mystery Bounty Mini Event | $25 | 2,466 | $50,000 | Tilsitteam | $4,087 |
| #36 – Mystery Bounty Main Event | $215 | 1,410 | $300,000 | muchbetter07 | $29,232 |
| #37 – Daily Gems Closing Event MB Mini | $16.50 | $900 | $13,500 | Gulmamedov | $1,599 |
| #38 – Daily Gems Closing Event MB | $55 | 360 | $20,000 | PokerUtopia | $3,017 |
*all prizes include bounty payments where applicable
