"Farrugia_1" Wins the XL Winter Series Event #22: $200,000 Tune Up ($22,078)
Malta's "Farrugia_1" won the XL Winter Event #22: $200,000 Tune Up at 888poker for $22,078 as part of a three-way deal with "kellerassel0" and "PrincKrason". The Warm Up provided everyone that cashed some extra value with 1,859 entries coming up $14,100 short of its $200,000 guarantee prize pool.
"Farrugia_1" came into the final table as one of the short stacks but hung around as other players hit the rail before making a deal to win the title.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farrugia_1 | Malta | $22,078* |
| 2 | kellerassel0 | Germany | $20,534* |
| 3 | PrincKrason | N/A | $19,988* |
| 4 | Kevin "kevlar1991" Frame | United Kingdom | $10,980 |
| 5 | Gaby2008 | Canada | $8,120 |
| 6 | dima_dub | Belarus | $6,060 |
| 7 | J0nSn0wShow | Denmark | $4,540 |
| 8 | petitetete | Canada | $3,440 |
| 9 | Smithstudent | Russia | $2,620 |
Reflects a three-way deal at the final table.
Event #22 was a two-day affair with the action concluding on Day 1 after the money bubble broke and the final table of nine players was reached. 888poker commentators David Tuchman and Nick Wealthall broadcasted the final table with hole cards exposed at the 888pokerTV Twitch channel while also hosting giveaways and a $1,000 password protected freeroll.
Final Table Action
"kellerassel0" began the final table with the chip lead with "PrincKrason" not too far behind. Meanwhile, "Farrugia_1" held just 14 big blinds to kick off the action with only "J0nSn0wShow" holding fewer chips.
Another short stack was first to hit the rail in ninth place after "Smithstudent" was unable to win a flip with sixes against the ace-seven suited held by "Gaby2008". A second short-stacked player in "petitetete" didn't last much longer when they were unable to hold with ace-jack against the king-seven held by "PrincKrason".
"J0nSn0wShow" laddered up two spots before they went out on a bad beat in seventh place when their queens didn't hold against the king-queen suited held by Kevin "kevlar1991" Frame.
"Gaby2008" then nailed Broadway to send the short-stacked "dima_dub" to the rail in sixth place before losing most of their stack shortly afterwards to "Farrugia_1" when their ace-jack didn't improve against ace-queen.
Two players then hit the rail at the same time. "Gaby2008" held just two big blinds with eight-six and was in before the flop against Frame with tens and "PrincKrason" with cowboys. "PrincKrason" jammed on the river with no card higher than an eight showing. Frame went into the tank before he unsuccessfully called off his tournament life.
Three-handed play featured technical difficulties with very few hands played before a deal was made. "Farrugia_1" made out the best with a $22,078 top prize and the honor of being the latest XL Winter Series champion. Meanwhile, "kellerassel0" collected $20,534 for second place and "PrincKrason" walked away with $19,988 for third place.
Stay tuned at PokerNews as we cover the biggest events of the XL Winter Series at 888poker.