Winamax Space KO: Knockout Tournaments with Random Bounties

What Space KO is

Winamax took the best parts of knockout tournaments and Expresso and combined them into one format, which it describes as a world first. According to Pokerfuse, Space KO launched in December 2024 and quickly became the most popular tournament format on the site.

The key difference from Mystery Bounty events is timing: Space KO bounties are live from the very first hand, while mystery bounties usually appear only once the money is reached.

Tokens and how they level up

Each player’s bounty is represented by a token. There are 14 tokens in total, including four legendary ones with exceptional prizes. Everyone starts with a level 1 token whose average value is half the buy-in.

Looking at an opponent’s token shows the range of prizes you could win by knocking them out. The higher the level, the bigger the possible bounty.

Every prize you win adds to your token’s average value, and past each threshold it moves up a level.

What happens when you knock someone out

A draw immediately decides the exact bounty, based on the level of the eliminated player’s token and on luck. Half the prize goes straight to your account, and the other half is added to your own token.

Winamax’s own example at €10: your level 1 token is worth €5 on average, and you knock out a player still holding a starting token. The possible prizes are €2, €5, €10, €15, €50 and €500. You draw €15, receive €7.50 in cash, and your token rises to an average of €12.50, which is level 4.

There is no limit on how many bounties you can win. Knock out two players in one hand and you get two draws; if two players share a knockout, a single bounty is drawn and split. The tournament winner gets a final draw on their own token.

Where the buy-in goes

Each entry is split three ways: 40% to the regular tournament prize ladder, 50% to the random bounties and 10% to Winamax as rake. The estimated prize pool shown in the lobby is the number of entries times the buy-in minus rake; any overlay is added to the fixed prize ladder.

The final payout is only known once the last draw is done, so it always differs from the estimate. Pokerfuse reports multipliers from 0.4x to 100x of the bounty, with 0.4x the most common result at about 60% and 100x hitting roughly once in a thousand knockouts. In September 2026 a €100 Space KO with an €80,000 guarantee paid out over €1 million, including a single €838,000 bounty.

Compared with other rooms

Most rooms offer classic progressive knockouts, where a bounty’s value is known in advance; ACR’s flagship Venom, for example, ran as two PKOs in October 2026. Space KO adds a lottery layer on top, so the same knockout can pay a fraction of the bounty or a hundred times more.

Copies have appeared: Betclic launched Smash KO in France, and in October 2026 GGPoker introduced Ocean KO with 14 tiers and multipliers reportedly up to 400x. Space KO remains the original, played on Winamax’s French and Spanish sites, and the schedule and payout table may change, so check the tournament page in the client.

Who it suits and practical tips

Space KO suits tournament players who enjoy bounty hunting and don’t mind extra variance. Knockout cash arrives early, while the prize ladder still rewards going deep.

Remember that on average a draw pays the token’s average value, and most draws pay less. Don’t make loose calls just because an opponent holds a high-level token.

Set a budget for the session before you register, play buy-ins that fit your bankroll and use Winamax’s limit tools. A random bounty can be exciting, but it doesn’t turn a losing game into a winning one.