The WSOP Main Event is a tournament that gathers players from all of the world, from hardened pros to ambitious amateurs. Among thousands who tried their luck in this year’s tournament, there were five members of the 888poker Team.
With the 2024 Main Event now in the rearview mirror, 888poker has come out with a six-part docuseries on its YouTube channel, documenting this exciting journey, from start to finish.
The team consisted of Nick Eastwood, Aaron Barone, Vivian Saliba, Jack ‘JaackMaate’ Dean, and Lucia Navaro, and you’ll be able to share in the WSOP experiences of each of these five players through the series, both at and away from the tables.
You can watch the full video below.
Hitting the Road
The first of six episodes has been published and is already available on the 888poker YouTube channel, and it highlights preparations and excitement of team members ahead of the Las Vegas trip.
Even though most of these players have played in numerous tournaments and participated in the WSOP before, it is always a special experience. The Main Event magic is real, and series such as this one help get that message across.
‘JaackMaate’ was particularly excited for his first World Series of Poker. He recently joined the 888poker family as a cultural ambassador, and he is by far the least experienced of the five. Going from having a bit of fun in your local pub league to playing on the world’s greatest poker stage is quite a big jump.
It was a long journey for all of them, but despite having to take 10+ hour flights, there were no complaints from any of the team members. They were all thrilled about the adventure ahead.
The WSOP Experience: It’s Different for Everyone
Even though all five players represent one of the largest brands in poker, their own experiences differ greatly, and so for each one of them, this is a different journey.
Vivian Saliba has had a fair bit of experience in the World Series, and although she is yet to win a bracelet, she has had two final table appearances since 2017 and a fair number of deep runs.
Lucia Navaro has limited WSOP experience, but she’s accumulated almost $400,000 in live earnings, so she is no stranger to live tournaments.
Aaron Barone is a member of the 888poker Stream Team and a coach for Upswing Poker who made his claim to fame primarily playing online. So, despite having a lot of experience in the game, playing live in Las Vegas is a different and exciting experience.
Nick Eastwood has a similar online background with limited live results, but interestingly enough, his biggest live cash came from a semi-deep run in the 2022 WSOP Main Event.
And finally, there is ‘JaackMaate*, the man who joined the 888poker Team as a cultural ambassador and who was probably the most excited of the five about this Las Vegas trip. An influencer and YouTube personality with almost 1.4 million subscribers on his channel, Dean is certainly not an expert player, but he’s also the kind of person to enjoy a good challenge.
New episodes of the 888poker WSOP series will be published weekly, and with such a colorful mix of personalities, this is a kind of series that any poker fan out there will enjoy, so make sure to check it out!
