Mexico’s ChePushila77 claimed victory in the 888poker XL Winter Series $500,000 guaranteed Main Event, earning $50,045 combined from prize money and mystery bounties.

The $250 buy-in rakeless mystery bounty format attracted 2,067 entries, creating a $516,750 prize pool that exceeded the guarantee. The tournament concluded on January 27, marking the end of the XL Winter Series that ran from January 18-27 with over $1.5 million in combined guarantees across 59 numbered events.

Rakeless Mystery Bounty Main Event

The $500K GTD Main Event featured a pure rakeless structure with mystery bounties ranging from small amounts up to a massive $50,000 jackpot bounty. Ukraine’s “jsj588” collected that top bounty, finishing 80th overall but banking $52,766 total—the largest single haul in the entire tournament.

The rakeless format meant every dollar of the $250 buy-in went directly into either the prize pool or bounty pool, creating exceptional value for players. With 2,067 entries generating $516,750, the tournament crushed its $500K guarantee and paid hundreds of players.

Final Table Action

The eight-handed final table began with Canada’s “dujoe123” holding the chip lead at 71 big blinds, though they had fired 11 bullets to get there. Andorra’s “EDY14101” entered with just 11 big blinds but had already accumulated $18,827 in bounties, taking pressure off their short stack.

A $10,000 mystery bounty remained in play at the final table, influencing strategic decisions until it was finally claimed. The presence of that massive bounty worth nearly as much as fifth-place prize money created interesting dynamics throughout the finale.

Key Final Table Eliminations

Start-of-day chip leader “dujoe123” couldn’t maintain momentum despite their early advantage. After losing most of their stack running ace-jack into “Naik10″‘s pocket aces, they busted in fifth place for $13,157 total including bounties—needing a top-12 finish just to break even on their 11 buy-ins.

Ireland’s “9salute46,” a regular in 888poker high-stakes offerings, fell in fourth for $17,351. They min-raised with queen-eight from an 8.1 big blind stack, ran into “seven77″‘s seven-six, and couldn’t overcome a turned full house.

Brazil’s “Naik10” claimed third place and $24,593 after getting their last 2.8 big blinds in with queen-eight of spades. “ChePushila77” turned a flush to eliminate them while also collecting the final $10,000 mystery bounty that “Naik10” had on their head.

Heads-Up Battle

Romania’s “seven77” entered heads-up play with an 87.9 to 41.3 big blind chip lead, but “ChePushila77” won a massive pot to swing momentum. The turning point came when “seven77” made an ill-timed all-in river bluff with nothing but nine-high and missed draws, running straight into “ChePushila77″‘s turned full house.

With a commanding chip advantage, “ChePushila77” closed out the tournament shortly after. They min-raised with pocket tens, called “seven77″‘s 16.4 big blind shove with ace-nine of spades, and flopped a full house to lock up the title.

“seven77” collected $34,301 for second place, while “ChePushila77” earned $50,045 for the win.

XL Winter Series Final Results

The complete XL Winter Series featured 59 numbered events plus additional side tournaments, generating $1,487,788 in prize pools from 37,457 total entries including re-entries. The series easily surpassed its $1.5 million combined guarantee.

Notable results included Andorra’s “EDY14101” winning the $1,050 Super High Roller for $17,970, and “JOURNEY_TN1” taking down the $25 Mystery Bounty Mini Event with its massive $100,000 guarantee for $3,483 first prize.

888poker XL Winter Series Main Event Payouts