The PokerNews Online Championship may have concluded last week, but 888poker remains a thriving hub for online poker action. This past weekend, their flagship online tournament attracted more than a thousand entries, proving once again why it’s a must-play event for the Sunday grind.
The $100,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Main Event lived up to its reputation, drawing 1,059 entries and surpassing its guarantee with a final prize pool of $105,900. Among the highlights was the highly coveted $10,000 top Mystery Bounty prize, which went to a player who also made a deep run to the final table.
However, the standout story of the weekend came from an 888poker veteran and former Mystery Bounty Main Event champion. New Zealand-based grinder "Flopzilla_XD" clinched their second MB Main Event win, first capturing the title in April for $11,065. Their impressive record in Mystery Bounty tournaments doesn’t stop there—back in March, they also snagged the $30,000 top Mystery Bounty prize during the site's $300,000 Mystery Bounty Festival Main Event.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Bounty | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flopzilla_XD | New Zealand | $8,167 | $2,267 | $10,434 |
| 2 | Donkplayer19 | Germany | $5,970 | $2,645 | $8,615 |
| 3 | t0nyshark | Ukraine | $4,388 | $237 | $4,625 |
| 4 | apf12 | $3,225 | $10,247 | $13,472 | |
| 5 | jeanjrg1 | Brazil | $2,387 | $422 | $2,809 |
| 6 | jsj588 | Ukraine | $1,778 | $860 | $2,638 |
| 7 | KiseKatt | Sweden | $1,336 | $190 | $1,526 |
| 8 | dududantas95 | Brazil | $1,012 | $1,375 | $2,387 |
| 9 | Slikkelade | Denmark | $771 | $1,517 | $2,288 |
As always, the final table of the Mystery Bounty Main Event was streamed on its Twitch channel, but on this occasion, only seven players had made it through to the final day as "Slikkelade" and "dududantas95" bowed out in a double elimination on the final hand of Day 1.
"Donkplayer19" and "Flopzilla_XD" were the frontrunners, with both players holding more than 5 million chips. Their closest rival was "jeanjrg1", who had 1.9 million and was the only other player to hold a seven-figure chip stack when cards went in the air.
"Flopzilla_XD" bagged their first final table casualty and collected the two big blinds held by "KiseKatt". The eventual champion limped in with jack-five and was the only caller after "KiseKatt" moved all in with queen-ten. A jack on the flop and turn gave "Flopzilla_XD" trips to bring the field to its final six players.
"t0nyshark" avoided the jaws of the chip leaders and doubled twice to stay in contention before "jsj588" departed in a blind-on-blind battle with "Flopzilla_XD". The latter shipped in their stack with queen-jack and flopped two pair to leave the at-risk player's ace-eight needing a miracle. An ace did come in on the turn but the river bricked out and "jsj588" was felled in sixth place.
"jeanjrg1" was the victim of a gruesome bad beat after their flopped set of jacks made their way to the muck. "Donkplayer19" jammed from the small blind, and "jeanjrg1" quickly called off their stack with the premium pair. A jack on the flop had them as the huge favorite, but the bigger stack went runner-runner to make a seven-high straight.
"Donkplayer19" was back in action shortly after, looking to oust "apf12" and "t0nyshark" in the same hand. "Donkplayer19" held threes while short stack "t0nyshark" had Big Slick. "apf12" woke up with ace-queen and all the chips piled into the middle. "t0nyshark" hit trip kings for a triple up but "apf12" failed to connect on the runout and bowed out in fourth. However, there was reason to celebrate as they were the big winner after they were the recipient of the $10,000 mystery bounty prize on Sunday, taking their total haul to $13,472, which was the biggest payout generated from the tournament.
The very next hand, "Donkplayer19" and "t0nyshark" were all-in again, but the eights held by "t0nyshark" were bested by their opponent's king-nine after a king came in on the river.
"Donkplayer19" entered heads-up with the lead, but "Flopzilla_XD" doubled up with a set of fives against top pair to have a 4:1 advantage. The final hand came down to a classic flip: Sixes versus ace-queen. "Flopzilla_XD" had the Broadway cards and made top pair along with the nut flush draw to leave "Donkplayer19" with two outs. Neither of the two remaining sixes appeared on the turn or river, and "Flopzilla_XD" was crowned a two-time Mystery Bounty Main Event champion.
The PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar is a free-to-use tool built into the PokerNewswebsite that enables you to find upcoming and in-play multi-tables tournaments on poker sites like 888poker, PartyPoker, and PokerStars. By using the intuitive filters, you can narrow down your search and find the perfect 888poker tournament for you, your bankroll, and your needs.
