January was a huge month for online poker tournament players on 888poker with all major tournaments meeting and beating their posted guaranteed prize pools.
The month was highlighted by the Super XL Series, which featured 38 action-packed tournaments from Jan. 24-31 with over $2 million in guaranteed prizes.
The Super XL Main Event, which doubled as Event #34 on the schedule, showcased a $1 million guarantee on its own for a $1,000+50 buy-in. After many hours of play, it was "jnevanli" and "carmen.1957" agreeing to a deal during heads-up play for $182,635 and $168,533 respectfully.
Also to outlast most of the 1,180-player field to appear on the final table was American poker refugee TJ "petitetete" Ulmer, who collected $34,810 for his seventh-place finish. Ulmer is one of the most well-known online poker players in the world with over $7.8 million in online tournament cashes according to PocketFives, where he was previously ranked #1 in the world in 2012.
Taking place on the same day was Event #35 $150,000 Super XL - Mini Main Event for a smaller $150+10 buy-in. 888poker player "kannwas" finished on top of the 1,613-player field to snag $40,865, while "AlmeidaCF" finished just behind him in second place to bank $29,082.
On the first day of the Super XL, it was "TheSecretVMS" finishing on top of the $150-10 buy-in Event #1 $250,000 Super XL - Opening Event to haul in $60,145. Other players to outlast most of the 1,675-entrants and appear on the final table included Kevin "SusanBoyle1" Killeen (second place - $42,803), Leo "munnfrunsa" Sigurdsson (third place - $32,761), and Luiz "PheresAA" Feres (ninth place - $3,846)
On most Sundays, the biggest tournaments are the $200+15 buy-in The Mega Deep and $82+8 buy-in The Sunday Challenge 1R, with The Whale featuring a $565+35 buy-in running every other weekend. These tournaments not only ran before the Super XL Series took place, but also during the series as well.
The three players to win The Whale in January were "youler" (Jan. 3 - $33,345), "AQW100" (Jan. 17 - $33,782), and "JohnyK91" (Jan. 24 - $44,311).
Here is a look at the big Sunday action on 888poker in January:
