“ZaCafu” Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win the 888poker $80,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event

Last Updated on July 15, 2026 by Bala Kumar

A commanding chip lead heading into a final table doesn’t always hold up, but this week at 888poker, it did, and then some. A player known online as “ZaCafu,” representing Montenegro, arrived at the eight-handed final table of the $80,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event with more than double the stack of any other finalist, and never let go of the top spot. Less than 90 minutes after play resumed, ZaCafu had run the table completely, closing out the tournament for a total prize of $8,301.

A Guarantee That Got Trimmed, Then Missed Again

Before the cards even hit the felt this week, the tournament itself had a bit of a storyline. 888poker recently scaled the event’s guarantee back from $100,000 to $80,000, following several editions in a row where the site had to cover an overlay,  a stretch that’s been partly blamed on the ongoing FIFA World Cup pulling player attention elsewhere. Even at the reduced number, the trend continued: this week’s edition drew 744 entrants and still ran short of its $80,000 target, though the shortfall was smaller than in recent weeks.

Day 1 Wraps with Two Big Bounties Already Gone

By the time Day 1 ended, the field had been cut down to just eight players. Most of the tournament’s largest mystery bounties had already been drawn and revealed, including an eye-catching $8,000 prize claimed by Brazilian pro Joao “joao_mathias” Mathias on his way to the final table. One significant bounty was still sitting unclaimed heading into the finale, though — a $3,200 prize that hung over the table and noticeably widened the shoving and calling ranges of everyone left in the field.

Final Table Chip Counts

How the Final Table Played Out

Sweden’s “BananUlla” arrived at the felt as the shortest stack and didn’t last long. Down to under five big blinds, they open-shoved ace-king from early position, only for “Oldnall” to make a call from the big blind with queen-three. A flop gave BananUlla two pair, which looked like enough — until a turned ten and a rivered jack completed an unlikely straight for Oldnall, sending BananUlla to the rail in eighth.

Next out was “Georgian23,” who got their stack in for 22 big blinds holding pocket eights, running into a three-way situation against a short-stacked “SERGI0BR” and the towering stack of “ZaCafu.” SERGI0BR turned things around with a flush, while ZaCafu turned a set of sixes, eliminating Georgian23 in seventh.

Joao Mathias — fresh off winning that $8,000 bounty a level earlier — went out in sixth when his ace-ten couldn’t run down “yriy3’s” dominant ace-queen. Mathias also happened to be holding the tournament’s last unclaimed bounty, a $3,200 prize, which passed to yriy3 upon the elimination.

“Oldnall” fell in fifth after losing a flip, running ace-king into ZaCafu’s pocket tens, trimming the table to four. Shortly after, “SERGI0BR” exited in fourth when pocket tens ran straight into yriy3’s pocket kings.

Heads-up play began after Paulada85 made an aggressive river jam with king-six of clubs on a board of ace-deuce-six-ace-queen showing two clubs, hoping to represent a flush. ZaCafu, however, was sitting behind ace-seven for trip aces, snapped off the bluff, and moved the tournament to its final two.

Heads-Up: ZaCafu Closes It Out

ZaCafu carried a commanding 128.9 big blind to 30.6 big blind lead into heads-up play against yriy3. It didn’t take long for yriy3 to be forced into a push-or-fold decision, shoving nine-seven and getting called by ZaCafu’s jack-ten. Both players paired the flop, but yriy3 was never able to improve further, sealing a runner-up finish worth $8,745 in total — actually more than the winner earned once bounties are factored in — while ZaCafu claimed the title and a combined $8,301 in winnings and bounty money.

Final Table Results

Worth noting: this is exactly the kind of scoreline that makes Mystery Bounty poker so unpredictable. Joao Mathias, who finished sixth, actually walked away with the largest total payday of the entire final table thanks to his early $8,000 bounty — a reminder that in this format, your finishing position and your final paycheck don’t always match up.

What’s Next for 888poker’s Mystery Bounty Schedule

The $80,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event is stepping aside this coming weekend to make room for the FIFA World Cup final on July 19. In its place, 888poker is running a one-day $109 buy-in Mystery Bounty Football Edition, guaranteeing $25,000, with cards in the air at 6:00 p.m. BST on the 19th. Bounties in that event activate at Level 18. For players on a budget, satellites are running from as little as $0.10, alongside freeroll paths into the field.

FAQs

Bala Kumar

Founder of PokerClubGames.com and a Poker Researcher with 10+ years of experience in SEO, WordPress development, and gaming content strategy. Specializes in researching online poker sites, poker apps, tournaments, bonuses, and poker strategies. Experienced in poker platform reviews, affiliate marketing, and creating SEO-focused poker content for global audiences.

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