The final couple of weeks of the year are always the perfect time to reflect on things, remember the most memorable moments, and look ahead. In the poker world, while there are dozens of big and important moments every year, live events tend to steal the spotlight for one reason or another.
While some live festivals in 2025 stood out due to large buy-ins and massive prize pools, others will remain in memory for their focus on more casual players, offering them a fun, affordable, and relaxed environment. 888poker LIVE events certainly belong to the latter group.
Over the course of the year, the operator put together several events across Europe, attracting fairly impressive numbers and producing a number of memorable stories. While there were no seven-figure winners to speak of, it is safe to say that 888poker has helped grow the love for the game, and it has every plan to continue doing so in 2026.
Action All Year Around
The 2025 888poker LIVE tour started in Madrid, with a festival at the Casino Gran Via. The Main Event attracted 403 entries, signaling a strong year ahead for the operator. To make the tour opening even more memorable, it was none other than 888poker’s prominent ambassador Ian Simpson running away with the victory.
The second festival of the year took place in Glasgow. Continuing on the strong start, the Main Event smashed its original £250,000 guarantee, attracting 407 entries, which resulted in an impressive prize pool of £309,320. The last man standing was a local player, Dean Lyall, who walked away with the prize of £58,310.
After Scotland, it was back to Spain for 888poker, but this time around to visit Barcelona. It came as no surprise that this turned out to be the largest festival in terms of attendance, as Barcelona has become one of the favorite destinations of poker players in Europe and beyond.
The Main Event saw 459 entries, leading to the final prize pool of just under €350,000. Apart from a great attendance, the tournament will be remembered for writing a great poker story, with a local architect, Pau Veciana, coming out on top and banking €70,000.
The main 888poker LIVE tour wrapped up with a festival in London in September. That one also managed to surpass its original £3250,000 guarantee, and by quite a bit. With a total of 367 entries, the final prize pool climbed to £383,500, the lion’s share of which went to the winner, Gang Wang.
In addition to the main tour, 888poker organized a number of events as a part of its UKIPT and delighted players with Noche de Poker — El Festival, which played out in the Spanish city of Alicante in October.
Full Sail Ahead in 2026
2025 was a big year for live festivals powered by 888poker, but the operator has even bigger plans for 2026, with a significantly increased number of events.
Four festivals have been confirmed for the main LIVE tour, once more taking place in Madrid, Glasgow, Barcelona, and London.
Building on the success of the first Noche de Poker, 888poker will also be expanding this tour, with four stops set for 2026, visiting Spanish cities of Madrid, Alicante, Seville, and Murcia.
The popular UKIPT is coming back as well, with five stops playing out from February to November 2026.
Heading into the new season, 888poker has also introduced a brand new way for players to qualify for live events. The Global League is a monthly competition, where the winner gets a package to an 888poker LIVE event of their choice, and it’s been designed so that everyone can join the action.
All this is to say, if you’re looking to have fun playing live poker, 888poker events are the place to be. With very affordable buy-ins, big prize pools, and a high level of organization, you’ll get a top-tier live tournament experience without breaking the bank.
