Ukraine’s “6eJlbluZ” Comes From Sixth in Chips to Win the 888poker Mystery Bounty Main Event

A Champion Who Didn’t Take Home the Most Money

In a normal tournament, the winner leaves with the biggest cheque. Mystery bounty events don’t work that way, and this week’s 888poker Main Event proved it.

Ukraine’s “6eJlbluZ” came to the final table sixth of eight in chips, stayed patient through a brutal stretch of eliminations, then won a heads-up match they spent most of the time losing. The title was theirs, along with $6,125.

But the player who left with the most money finished fourth. Romania’s “neverback”, a familiar name in 888poker lobbies, opened mystery bounty envelopes worth $7,271 on the way to the final table. Adding their $1,866 finishing prize, that made a total of $9,137, almost $3,000 more than the champion.

That’s the appeal of the format in a nutshell. Every knockout is a lottery ticket, and a deep run without the trophy can still be the best night of the week.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Bounties	Prize	Total
1	6eJlbluZ	Ukraine	$628	$5,497	$6,125
2	M.Flush.N	Brazil	$542	$3,896	$4,438
3	corkirl5555	Ireland	$57	$2,756	$2,813
4	neverback	Romania	$7,271	$1,866	$9,137
5	YalcinTaskay	Germany	$0	$1,235	$1,235
6	gwhyberd93	United Kingdom	$3,042	$914	$3,957
7	__APO__1	Germany	$599	$686	$1,286
8	Eman604	Canada	$0	$508	$508

Look at the bounty column. Two finalists, “neverback” and “gwhyberd93”, made far more from envelopes than from where they finished. “gwhyberd93” went out in 6th but still banked nearly $4,000, more than the 3rd-place finisher.

How the Final Table Unfolded

Two quick eliminations (8th and 7th)

Canada’s “Eman604” started the final table with just seven big blinds and little room to wait. Their suited ace-deuce went in against the pocket eights of “6eJlbluZ”, the eights held, and “Eman604” was out in 8th.

The very next hand produced another casualty. Brazil’s “M.Flush.N”, the chip leader, opened from the button. “__APO__1” moved all in from the small blind for 16 big blinds with pocket fives and got an instant call from pocket aces. No five arrived, and seven-handed became six-handed in a matter of seconds.

The surprise exit (6th place)

The most unexpected departure was “gwhyberd93” from the UK. They began the day second in chips and still had more than 40 big blinds at six-handed. Then came a costly hand: they couldn’t let go of top pair, and “M.Flush.N” backed into a flush. Suddenly they were down to 15 big blinds.

A few hands later, now on around 10 big blinds, “gwhyberd93” got creative. They shoved the river with suited king-eight on a board that already showed a full house. “6eJlbluZ” held pocket aces, which made a bigger full house, and called. “gwhyberd93” finished 6th, though with $3,042 in bounties already banked.

Writer’s note: this is a classic short-stack trap. When the board shows a full house, everyone at the table has at least that hand. Shoving into it only works if your opponent can’t beat the board. With 10 big blinds, a clean preflop shove is almost always the better weapon.

A runaway chip leader (5th place)

Germany’s “YalcinTaskay” had dwindled below three big blinds. They pushed with queen-jack from late position and ran into the ace-five of “M.Flush.N”. The ace-five held, and “M.Flush.N” now had close to 150 big blinds, roughly three times more than anyone else.

At that point, the smart money was on another Brazilian win in 888poker’s biggest weekly event.

Bounty king “neverback” bows out (4th place)

“M.Flush.N” kept up the pressure, shoving from the button with K♥5♥. “neverback” called off 13 big blinds from the big blind with ace-queen, a hand that’s usually well ahead. The flop brought both a king and a five, giving “M.Flush.N” two pair, and the turn left “neverback” drawing dead.

“neverback” went out in 4th, but with the biggest total payout of anyone at the table.

The hand that changed everything (3rd place)

Three-handed, Ireland’s “corkirl5555” got all the chips in with pocket kings on a 7-6-3 flop with two diamonds. “6eJlbluZ” had 8♦5♦: an open-ended straight draw plus a flush draw. That’s one of the strongest drawing hands possible, and close to a coin flip against an overpair.

The turn was an offsuit four, completing the straight. The river added a diamond flush for good measure. “corkirl5555” took 3rd and $2,813.

A 90-Minute Heads-Up Comeback

Even after that pot, “6eJlbluZ” started heads-up behind by almost two to one. What followed was a long grind of around 90 minutes, with neither player able to land a decisive blow.

Slowly, the momentum swung. By the final hand, “6eJlbluZ” had turned the deficit into a four-to-one lead.

The finish was the kind of hand that makes heads-up poker so unpredictable:

• Preflop: “M.Flush.N” limped with queen-nine and “6eJlbluZ” raised with nine-six. “M.Flush.N” called.
• Flop (4-7-Q): “M.Flush.N” paired their queen. “6eJlbluZ” bet anyway and got called.
• Turn (10): “6eJlbluZ” fired again, now holding a gutshot straight draw (6-7-9-10, needing an eight). Another call.
• River (8): the one card “6eJlbluZ” needed. They moved all in, “M.Flush.N” called with top pair, and the straight took the title.

“M.Flush.N” collected $4,438 as runner-up. “6eJlbluZ” took $6,125 and the trophy.

Writer’s note: barreling twice with a weak hand against a player who called the flop isn’t something to copy at most tables. Heads-up with a 4-to-1 chip lead is different. The bigger stack can apply constant pressure, because each bet costs them a small share of their chips while putting the opponent’s whole tournament at risk.

What Makes Mystery Bounty Tournaments Different?

If you’re new to the format, here’s the short version.

How it works: part of every buy-in goes into a normal prize pool, paid out by finishing position. The rest goes into a pool of mystery bounties. In the later stages, each time you knock someone out, you open a random envelope. Most hold modest amounts, but a few hold much bigger prizes, and 888poker’s flagship Sunday Main Event has historically included a $10,000 jackpot bounty.

Why it changes strategy:

• Knockouts matter more than usual. A single elimination can be worth more than several pay jumps, as “neverback” showed.
• Calling short stacks gets more attractive in the bounty phase, because you’re playing for the bounty as well as the chips.
• Variance is higher. Two players can make the same final table and leave with wildly different totals.

Practical tip: if you’re the big stack once bounties are live, you can afford to call short-stack shoves a little wider. Even when you’re slightly behind, the bounty you might win adds value to the call.

Key Numbers From This Week’s Main Event

Stat	Figure
Buy-in	$109
Entries	558
Prize pool	$55,800
Amount above guarantee	$5,800 (+11.6%)
Champion’s total	$6,125
Biggest single payout	$9,137 (“neverback”, 4th)
Countries at the final table	7 (Ukraine, Brazil, Ireland, Romania, Germany, UK, Canada)

The final table was a good snapshot of 888poker’s player base: a genuinely international line-up, with Brazil’s strong presence on the site represented by the runner-up.

How to Play the Next 888poker Mystery Bounty Main Event

The Mystery Bounty Main Event runs every week, and you don’t have to pay the full $109. 888poker runs satellites around the clock, some starting from just a few cents, that award $109 tickets. The event usually plays over two days: Day 1 runs down to the final eight, who return for the final table.

Check the 888poker lobby for the latest start times and guarantee, as both can change during series and promotions.

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