WHATaDREAM Fast Out of the Blocks on Day 1 of the 888poker PNOC
Table Of Contents
The 2025 edition of the PokerNews Online Championship (PNOC) exploded into action at 888poker on February 16, with the first five events of a bustling 43-event schedule taking place. Four of those events crowned their champions, with Brazil’s “WHATaDREAM” getting off to a perfect start, taking down the $35,000 Opening Event Mystery Bounty for $4,235.
The $35,000 Opening Event Mystery Bounty was the third PNOC event to shuffle up and deal on the opening night of the festival. Including re-entries, 679 players fought it out for a slice of a $35,000 prize pool, which included a jackpot mystery bounty worth $3,500. That chunky bounty went to Brazilian “tutuia20,” who also navigated to the final table, where they crashed out in seventh. The $3,910 they took home was the second-largest payout; only the champion banked more.
After British duo “Steed4321” and “jamesc127” crashed out either side of “tutuia20,” the remaining five finalists were guaranteed a four-figure haul on their $55 investment. “FlipandStop” collected the first of those prizes, taking home $1,732 when their deep run ended in a fifth-place finish.
“ticksucesso” busted in fourth for $1,329, and “Elquelele” of Mexico fell in third for a $1,804 score. The Mexican’s elimination left “WHATaDREAM” heads-up against Vitenam’s “fratia” for the title and the largest prize of the PNOC’s opening night. “WHATaDREAM” got the job done, and the 2025 PNOC off to a dream start.
The victory came with a haul of $4,235, and the runner-up padded their 888poker bankroll with a $2,307 consolation prize.
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WHATaDREAM | Brazil | $1,635 | $2,600 | $4,235 |
| 2 | fratia | Vietnam | $198 | $2,108 | $2,307 |
| 3 | Elquelele | Mexico | $151 | $1,653 | $1,804 |
| 4 | ticksucesso | Brazil | $95 | $1,233 | $1,329 |
| 5 | FlipandStop | Kazahkstan | $859 | $873 | $1,732 |
| 6 | jamesc127 | United Kingdom | $294 | $526 | $821 |
| 7 | tutuia20 | Brazil | $3,595 | $315 | $3,910 |
| 8 | Steed4321 | United Kingdom | $135 | $253 | $388 |
2025 PokerNews Online Championship Results
“WHATaDREAM” was not the only champion crowned on the opening day of the 2025 PokerNews Online Championship at 888poker.
“tipsy1312” triumphed in the $16.50 Opening Event Mini (PKO) for a $1,721 payday, while “bargalinhas” will forever be known as the champion of the $33 Opening Event (Classic), a result worth $2,280). “MorayEEEEEL” won the $22 Opening Event (MB Big or Small) for $2,202, too.
| Event | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 – Opening Event Mini (PKO) | $16.50 | 1,447 | $21,705 | tipsy1312 | $1,721 |
| #02 – Opening Event | $33 | 423 | $12,690 | bargalinhas | $2,280 |
| #03 – Opening Event (Mystery Bounty) | $55 | 679 | $35,000 | WHATaDREAM | $4,235 |
| #04 – Opening Event (PKO) | $109 | 975 | $100,000 | TBD | TBD |
| #05 – Opening Event (MB Big or Small) | $22 | 783 | $15,660 | MorayEEEEEL | $2,202 |
*prize includes bounties where applicable
Romania’s “Hxs87” Leads the Final Table f the $100,000 Gtd Opening Event (PKO)
The PokerNews #04 – Opening Event (PKO Edition) saw 975 888poker players pay $109 for the chance to capture what should be the first five-figure prize of the 2025 PNOC. Day 1 saw that field whittled to the eight-handed final table, where Romania’s “Hxs89” leads the way.
The Romanian turned their 20,000 starting stack into a tournament-leading 4,119,203 by the time “mr.salgado” busted in ninth and popped the final table bubble. The chip leader is already showing a substantial profit, having banked $1,654 worth of progressive bounties on their way to the top of the chip counts.
888poker LIVE Tour Heads to Glasgow For the First Time Ever
Often, 888poker final tables have a couple of big stacks, with the chasing pack nursing short stacks. That isn’t the case in this tournament. Only nine big blinds separate the leader from “KRNKKFURTER” in second place, while positions third through sixth have between 65 and 39 big blinds between them.
The shortest stacks, “Mya7” and “TOMA188288” return to battle with 17 and 11 big blinds, respectively.
PokerNews Online Championship Opening Event PKO Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hxs87 | Romania | 4,119,203 | 82 |
| 2 | KRNKKFURTER | Germany | 3,639,325 | 73 |
| 3 | El_hombre | Mexico | 3,233,721 | 65 |
| 4 | Madarasszabi | Romania | 2,726,219 | 55 |
| 5 | FishNight | Ukraine | 2,480,258 | 50 |
| 6 | DJoKerKJ | Romania | 1,934,290 | 39 |
| 7 | Mya7 | Denmark | 830,406 | 17 |
| 8 | TOMA188288 | Armenia | 536,578 | 11 |
The $100,000 guaranteed event’s final table shuffles up and deals at 7:00 p.m. GMT on February 17. You can watch all the action, with cards-up coverage, unfold before your eyes by tuning into the entertaining 888poker Twitch channel. Coverage is on a delay to protect the tournament’s integrity, so don’t check the event’s tournament lobby if you don’t want spoilers!
PokerNews Online Championship Events on February 17
Four more PNOC events occur on February 17, running alongside the $100,000 event’s final table. The $16.50 Daily Gems PKO Mini begins at 4:00 p.m. GMT with the $55 Daily Gems Mystery Bounty Special and $22 MB Big or Small Special commencing two hours later at 6:00 p.m. GMT.
A $109 buy-in, $12,000 guaranteed Daily Gems PKO rounds off the February 17 action. Good luck at the tables.
| Date | Time (GMT) | Buy-in | Event | Guarntee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17 | 4:00 p.m. | $16.50 | PokerNews #07 - Daily Gems - PKO Mini | $10,000 |
| Feb 17 | 6:00 p.m. | $55 | PokerNews #08 - Daily Gems - Mystery Bounty Special | $15,000 |
| Feb 17 | 6:00 p.m. | $22 | PokerNews #09 - MB Big or Small Special | $10,000 |
| Feb 17 | 7:00 p.m. | $109 | PokerNews #10 - Daily Gems – PKO | $12,000 |
Keep Tabs on 888poker MTTs with the PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar
The PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar is a free-to-use tool built into the PokerNews website that enables you to find upcoming and in-play multi-tables tournaments on poker sites like 888poker, PartyPoker, and PokerStars. By using the intuitive filters, you can narrow down your search and find the perfect 888poker tournament for you, your bankroll, and your needs.
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.
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