888's Aaron Barone Wins PokerNews Online Championship Event

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
4 min read
Aaron Barone

The 2026 PokerNews Online Championship kicked off at 888 on October 18, and 888 ambassador Aaron "abarone68" barone wasted no time in helping himself to a title.

Barone came out on top in the first of 40 numbered events, the $16.50 Mystery Bounty. The tournament drew 1,060 entrants and created a $15,900 prize pool, with Barone capturing $1,375 of that pot.

The popular 888 ambassador, who recently completed a $2,000 to $10,000 bankroll challenge in only six days, emerged victoriously after seven hours of mystery bounty action. He defeated Germany's "MRTHSCHEL" heads-up to claim the title and a $1,375 haul.

Only the 27th-place finisher, "JohnnyOther," won more than Barone. That's because they collected a $1,500 jackpot mystery bounty before busting.

#01: $16.50 Mystery Bounty Final Table Results

RankPlayerCountryBountiesPrizeTotal Prize
1Aaron "abarone68" BaroneCanada$139$1,235$1,375
2M4RTHSCHELGermany$21$966$987
3BarrymehomeSweden$46$718$764
4JonieandwulfUnited Kingdom$75$493$568
5venom_779Germany$36$330$367
6BigBetBirdUnited Kingdom$6$241$247
7Cheks88Ukraine$40$168$208
8st0nksGermany$49$126$175

Reigning XL Spring Series Main Event Champion Takes Down High Roller

888 isn't best known for its high-roller tournaments, but the $525 buy-in High Roller, part of the PokerNews Online Championship, drew 52 entrants and busted the guarantee with a $26,000 prize pool.

Ian "Simpioni" Simpson came close to matching his 888 teammate's victory but ultimately had to make do with a seventh-place finish, while 888 regular "Reggie_Degen" fell in fifth.

"CPU0r" defeated "MorayEEEEEL" heads-up to become the High Roller champion. They took home $7,787. The champion also won XL Spring Series RAKELESS Mystery Bounty Main Event in May for $41,775.

#07 - $525 High Roller Final Table Results

RankPlayerCountryPrize
1CPU0r $7,787
2MorayEEEEELSweden$5,148
3kellerassel0Germany$3,536
4AzaAzaAzaCosta Rica$2,496
5Reggie_DegenCanada$1,820
6filuspl $1,365
7Ian "Simpioni" SimpsonUnited Kingdom$1,118
8Flopzilla_XDNew Zealand$962

PokerNews Online Championship Results

PokerNews Online Championship

Six PokerNews Online Championship events have crowned their champions. Check out the table below to see which players won which events and how much they won.

EventEntrantsPrize PoolChampionPrize
#01 - $16.50 Mystery Bounty1,060$15,900Aaron "abarone68" Barone$1,375
#02 - $33 Mystery Bounty Frenzy371$11,130Barth.S2$1,735
#03 - $55 Mystery Bounty400$20,000Linbabay$3,577
#04 - $8.80 Mystery Bounty935$8,000satoschi_01$777
#05 - $109 Mystery Bounty Opener730$80,000TBDTBD
#06 - $22 Mystery Bounty Big or Small523$10,460MagicJ16$1,043
#07 - $525 High Roller52$26,000CPU0r$7,787

Final Table Reached in the $80,000 PokerNews Mystery Opening Event

A field of 730 entrants in the $109 PokerNews Mystery Opening Event has been reduced to the final table of eight on Day 1. The final table shuffles up and deals at 6:00 p.m. UK time, with the 888 Twitch channel streaming all of the action an hour later.

"Lurich28," one of three Brazilians at the final table, holds a commanding lead when the final table's action begins. They sit down with 91 big blinds, almost double the stack of Denmark's "otteotteotte" on 48 big blinds.

Those who keep tabs on online poker tournaments will likely notice "C3H5NO33" is at the final table with 42 big blinds, enough for fourth place at the restart. That alias is the chemical formula for nitroglycerin, and they will be hoping for an explosive start to their quest for glory.

$80,000 PokerNews Mystery Opening Event Final Table Chip Counts

RankplayerCountryBountiesChip CountBig Blinds
1Lurich28Brazil$2,0893,171,37991
2otteotteotteDenmark$2,1721,682,96048
3User1912Moldova$1,0161,551,36744
4C3H5NO33 $4,0031,477,16942
5Nik32112Germany$2301,280,64837
6Clay_BornSweden$772771,86822
7MachadadaRSBrazil$1,154518,63815
8TheHueyLewisBrazil$261495,97114

2026 PokerNews Online Championship by 888 Schedule

Another three PokerNews Online Championship events take place on October 19, running alongside the $80,000 PokerNews Mystery Opening Event final table.

Expanding the table reveals the full, remaining schedule of this exciting series. Check it out, plan your schedule, and see if you can become a poker champion.

DateTime (GMT)EventGuarantee
Mon 19 Oct5:00 p.m.#08 - $55 MB Frenzy$10,000
 5:00 p.m.#09 - $8.80 MB Frenzy$5,000
 6:00 p.m.#10 - $109 MB Frenzy$10,000
Tue 20 Oct5:00 p.m.#11 - $320 Super KO High Roller$10,000
 5:00 p.m.#12 - $8.80 Super KO$3,000
 6:00 p.m.#13 - $109 Super KO$8,000
Wed 21 Oct5:00 p.m.#14 - $8.80 Mystery Bounty$4,000
 5:00 p.m.$55 Mystery Bounty$10,000
 6:00 p.m.#16 – Mystery Bounty$10,000
Thu 22 Oct5:00 p.m.#17 - $320 DeepStack High Roller$10,000
 5:00 p.m.#18 - $8.80 DeepStack$4,000
 6:00 p.m.#19 - $109 DeepStack$10,000
Fri 23 Oct5:00 p.m.#20 - $22 Mystery Bounty$10,000
 5:00 p.m.#21 - $55 Mystery Bounty$10,000
 6:00 p.m.#22 - $5.50 Mystery Bounty$4,000
Sat 24 Oct5:00 p.m.#23 - $16.50 Mystery Bounty 6-Max$10,000
 5:00 p.m.#24 - $8.80 Mystery Bounty 6-Max$5,000
 5:00 p.m.#25 - $55 Mystery Bounty 6-Max$10,000
Sun 25 Oct4:00 p.m.#26 - $16.50 Mystery Bounty$15,000
 5:30 p.m.#27 - $33 MB Frenzy$10,000
 6:00 p.m.#28 - $55 Mystery Bounty$25,000
 6:00 p.m.#29 - $109 PKO Rumble$30,000
 6:00 p.m.#30 - $8.80 MB Frenzy$5,000
 7:00 p.m.#31 - $525 High Roller$25,000
Mon 26 Oct6:00 p.m.#32 - $55 PKO$10,000
 6:00 p.m.#33 - $8.80 PKO$5,000
 7:00 p.m.#34 - $109 PKO$10,000
 9:30 p.m.#35 - $25 Mystery Mini Main Day 2$50,000
 9:30 p.m.#36 - $250 Mystery Main Event Day 2$250,000
Tue 27 Oct6:00 p.m.#37 - $320 Closing Big Shot$10,000
 6:00 p.m.#38 - $55 Closing Mystery Bounty$10,000
 6:00 p.m.#39 - $25 Closing Mystery Bounty Frenzy$10,000
 7:00 p.m.#40 - $109 Closing Big Shot$10,000
 7:00 p.m.#36 – Mystery Main Event Final Table$250,000
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Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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