Mystery Bounty Format Drives 888poker Tournament Growth

By Mrinal Gujare

27 Mar 2026

Mrinal Gujare 27 Mar 2026

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Ukraine's 'Fl4tbush20' wins $36,987 at 888poker KO Games Main Event.
Event attracted 1,306 entries, showcasing global demand for mystery bounty poker.
'Fl4tbush20' overcame a short stack with only 16 big blinds, winning the top $20,000 mystery bounty.

Image Credit: 888poker

The 888poker KO Games Main Event saw 1,306 entries compete for a $200,000 prize pool. Ukraine’s “Fl4tbush20” triumphed, turning a short stack into a $36,987 victory by securing the top $20,000 mystery bounty, highlighting the format's massive global popularity.

The latest 888poker KO Games Main Event underlined just how strong the appetite remains for mystery bounty poker.

The $160 buy-in tournament drew 1,306 entries and comfortably built a prize pool around its $200,000 guarantee, with Ukraine’s “Fl4tbush20” emerging as champion after a short-stacked start to the final table.

What made the result stand out was not only the size of the field, but the way the winner got there.

“Fl4tbush20” began the eight-handed final table sixth in chips with only 16 big blinds, yet managed to spin that position into the title.

The win came with $15,480 in standard prize money, and the result became even more valuable when the champion also pulled the tournament’s top $20,000 mystery bounty, finishing with total winnings of $36,987.

Festival Structure and Enhanced Prize Pools

The event itself was built as the headline act of 888poker’s March 20 to March 24 KO Games festival.

The series was centred on bounty-heavy formats, with the Main Event marketed as a special edition of 888poker’s regular mystery bounty flagship.

For this festival version, the buy-in was raised from the usual $109 to $160, while the guarantee was doubled to $200,000 and the top mystery bounty increased to $20,000.

Main Event Highlights

Metric	Value
Buy-in	$160
Guarantee	$200,000
Entries	1,306
Winner	Fl4tbush20
Winner country	Ukraine
First prize	$15,480
Top mystery bounty	$20,000
Total winnings	$36,987

International Competition at the Final Table

The final table also showed the international reach of the format. Romania’s “zimablue.” finished runner-up for $14,808 in total, while another Ukrainian, “ukrLaci,” took third for $8,600.

Leo “KaizenStyle” Jokura of Brazil made the final table as well, adding another notable result in a format that has become a regular fixture of the 888poker schedule.

Final Table Results

1	Fl4tbush20	Ukraine	$36,987
2	zimablue.	Romania	$14,808
3	ukrLaci	Ukraine	$8,600
4	mckygrhm08	United Kingdom	$6,865
5	Leo “KaizenStyle” Jokura	Brazil	$8,080
6	Jimbostar	Denmark	$7,830
7	8goat888	United Kingdom	$5,667
8	RR4ZK	Germany	$2,940

Why the Mystery Bounty Format is Surging

At a broader level, this is why mystery bounty tournaments continue to expand. They preserve the skill edge of standard tournament poker, but add randomised knockout prizes that create extra sweat for casual players and regulars alike.

888poker has leaned into that demand with daily freerolls, low-cost qualification routes, and repeated mystery bounty centrepieces, suggesting the operator sees the format not as a novelty, but as one of the clearest growth areas in the online tournament market.