Congratulations to Buuu~ from Japan on becoming the inaugural Poker Beast Individual Leaderboard champion and earning a $5,000 bonus!

The debut Poker Beast event on KKPoker combined individual and team elements and ultimately delivered a very exciting finish, as players battled to the last minute to earn Leaderboard rewards and a Team Freeroll bonus.

DEBUT POKER BEAST EVENT

Poker Beast ran from 3 – 14 February with EIGHT special tournaments and TWO Leaderboards, one for individual players and one for teams.

KKPoker players were assigned to a special team based on the event’s spirit animals: Team Phoenix, Tortoise, Tiger, and Dragon.

With boosted tournament guaranteed prize pools up to $20,000 and only a $30 buy-in, players earned 1 Individual Leaderboard point for each MTT participation and 3 points for every opponent KO. So, the more players they KO’d, the more points they earned!

The top 32 players on the Leaderboard shared a $15,000 prize pool, with the overall winner banking the $5,000 top prize!

Every competing player also had the chance to help their Poker Beast Team earn a $5,000 Freeroll. The champion from each Poker Beast MTT earned their team a Land. The team(s) occupying the most Lands are declared the winners, and in 2026, the honor was shared by Team Tortoise and Team Tiger.

At the start of the eighth and final Poker Beast tournament, the Individual Leaderboard was tight at the top, and everything was to play for.

RACE TO THE FINISH LINE

At the event’s conclusion, there was a tie! ‘Buuu~‘ and compatriot ‘®︎oi‘ both earned 233 points! First place was determined by the event’s official rules, with ‘Buuu~’ declared the winner for earning his points total earliest. ‘®︎oi‘ was awarded second-place and a $2,000 reward.

‘Buuu~‘, who first tried his hand at poker five years ago after being introduced to the compelling game by friends, described his Poker Beast strategy as “aggressively going for KOs” especially during the late-registration period, and admitted he was prepared to rebuy if required. Aggressive poker strategies can often help to build a large chip stack earlier and put maximum pressure on opponents, but also come with the risk of early eliminations.

With boosted tournament prize pools and a moderate $30 buy-in, the Poker Beast event offered various bankroll boosting chances. ‘Buuu~‘ said the “Leaderboard prizes were a big motivation” for his continued participation in all eight tournaments, with the $5,000 top prize being more than 166X a single buy-in.

‘Buuu~‘ explained how one very important strategy of his was to ‘adjust your strategy according to the event format‘, especially with KOs a huge part of earning Leaderboard points.

NEW PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED!

With the inaugural Poker Beast event a success, KKPoker is continuing plans for a second edition very soon!

See here for our current live promotions, including the exciting returns of March Millions and Vegas Dream, where KKPoker players can win a $12,000 live poker package for Las Vegas in July!