Aaron Barone Wins 888poker XL Spring Series SHR; Main Events Set For Large Overlays

The 888poker XL Spring Series is rapidly approaching its conclusion with only 12 events needing to crown their champions. More than a dozen tournaments wrapped up over the weekend, including the $1,050 buy-in Super High Roller that 888poker Ambassador Aaron “abarone68” Barone took down for $13,992.

Including re-entries, the $1,050 Super High Roller Special attracted 44 players, resulting in a $44,000 prize pool that the top eight finishers shared. Canada’s “Zebest7r” reached the nine-handed final table, but fell in ninth, bursting the bubble.

Lithuania’s “ddaubar” was the first player to cash. Their eighth-place finish came with a $1,936 payday. Two British grinders were the next to head for the exits. “d5t6y7” bowed out in seventh for $2,156, with Tom “sheeeeeeeeeet” Hall falling in sixth for a $2,552 prize.

Fifth place and $3,168 went to “tehnats,” before “danmoran1” crashed by the wayside in fourth, a finish good for $4,400.

The Super High Roller progressed to the heads-up stage after “DGrignon” ran out of steam in third and helped themselves to a $6,380 score. Barone locked horns with 888poker regular “Fl4tbush20” for the lion’s share of the prize pool and, of course, bragging rights.

Barone came out on top and received a bankroll-boosting $13,992, while sending his talented Ukrainian heads-up opponent to a $9,416 consolation prize.

XL Spring #48 – $1,050 Super High Roller Final Table Results

The Main Event and Mini Main Event Look Set to Overlay

The value-hunters among our readers should be aware that both the $250 RAKELESS Mystery Main Event and the $25 Mystery Mini Main look set to have substantial overlays on their respective guarantees.

The $250 buy-in event boasts a $500,000 guarantee on its prize pool. However, at the time of writing, with only a trio of flights remaining, 888poker has collected only $396,500 from the 1,586 entrants.

It is a similar story in the $25 buy-in Mini Main, where a $50,000 guarantee is offered. So far, 1,652 players have bought in, leaving an overlay of almost $13,000, or 570 players short.

Three $250 RAKELESS Mystery Main Event flights remain. They shuffle up and deal at 1:00 p.m. BST, 3:00 p.m. BST, and 6:00 p.m. BST.

Four flights remain in the $25 Mystery Mini Main. Players can get involved at 12:00 p.m. BST, 2:00 p.m. BST, 4:00 p.m. BST, and 6:00 p.m. BST.

Satellites for both Mains are also available throughout the day. Those who navigate to Day 2 need to be ready to bring their A-game to the tables at 9:30 p.m. BST on May 11. Mystery bounties will be in play from the start of Day 2, including one tipping the scales at $50,000 in the $250 RAKELESS Mystery Main Event!

888poker XL Spring Series Results

Forty-eight XL Spring Series events have crowned their champions so far. Expanding the table below reveals who those winners are, which event they took down, and how much their bankroll swelled by.

Remaining 888poker XL Spring Series 2026 Schedule

Time is starting to run out to become an 888poker XL Spring champion, with the curtain coming down on the festival on May 12. Between now and then, 32 events take place, including the $500,000 guaranteed Main Event and the $25 buy-in Mini Main that comes with a $50,000 guarantee.

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.