Canada's "bybababy" Wins the XL Blizzard $100,000 High Roller ($19,559)
After more than eight hours of play, Canada's "bybababy" outlasted a field of 192 entrants plus 89 rebuys to win the XL Blizzard Event #16: $100,000 High Roller for $19,551 as part of a heads-up deal with Malta's "jmsantos10".
The $320 tournament provided an extra $15,700 in added value to those that cashed thanks to the lofty $100,000 not being met with the buy-ins.
"Bybababy" was the chip leader during most of the early part of the tournament but didn't have the lead at the final table for the first time until play was three-handed.
The two-hour final table began after 888poker Ambassador Martin "MJacobson888" Jacobson and Roman "iamsodead" Voitovs were eliminated in 11th and 10th places respectfully for $1,750. "Jmsantos10" began the final table action in the lead with "bybababy" entering play with one of the shorter stacks.
Romania's "rablou_mihai" was first to go at the final table in ninth place for $2,000 when his or her pocket fives couldn't hold against the queen-jack held by Ukraine's "Fukuruku".
Germany's "JaNeiZZzKl4r" got his or her short-stack in good with queen-ten on a queen high flop. However, this player went out in eighth place for $3,000 after Lativa's "varonislv" nailed a runner-runner straight with king-jack.
Finland's"dmg34" was the next to go in seventh place for $4,000. "Jmsantos10" jammed a monster stack with seven-six suited and nailed a flush after the Finn called with king-queen suited.
Ukraine's Roman "Romeopro33" Romanovsky was also out on a bad beat. The Ukrainian poker pro took sixth place for $5,000 he called off with ace-nine and lost to the jack-eight suited held by "Fukuruku".
"Fukuruku" then jammed queen-six against the ace-five held by Saudi Arabia's "DumbDuck123". A queen his the flop and "DumbDuck123" was eliminated in fifth place for $6,000 after the rest of the board didn't provide a save.
A break took place and thereafter "bybababy" who was short on chips doubled up twice against "jmsantos10", both times with pocket sixes. "Bybababy" then chipped up even more by eliminating "Fukuruku" in fourth place for $8,750 when he or she was able to beat pocket sixes with king-jack.
"Bybababy" then took his or her first chip lead since the final table began before adding to it further by eliminating Lativa's Aleksejs "varoislv" Ponakovs in third place for $11,750.
"Bybababy" was interested in discussing a deal but at first "jmsantos10" wanted to play. The lead went back and forth before "jmsantos10" agreed to talk about a deal with his or her opponent in the lead. A deal was reached and the duo left $2,000 left to play for.
Eventually, "bybababy" was able to extend his or her lead to a 4:1 chip advantage. The final hand was a huge cooler for "jmsantos10" as he or she called off with pocket queens only for "bybababy" to hold aces.
Thanks to the deal, "jmsantos10" made out a bit better than the $15,500 slated for the runner-up and instead was awarded a healthy $17,441 payout.
888poker XL Blizzard Event #16: $100,000 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bybababy | Canada | $19,559* |
| 2 | jmsantos10 | Malta | $17,411* |
| 3 | Aleksejs "varoislv" Ponakovs | Latvia | $11,750 |
| 4 | Fukuruku | Ukraine | $8,750 |
| 5 | DumbDuck123 | Saudi Arabia | $6,000 |
| 6 | Roman "Romeopro33" Romanovsky | Ukraine | $5,000 |
| 7 | dmg34 | Finland | $4,000 |
| 8 | JaNeiZZzKl4r | Germany | $3,000 |
| 9 | rablou_mihai | Romania | $2,000 |
*Reflects heads-up deal.
This wraps-up the coverage of Event #16, stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the rest of the series for updates on all of the events.