There is just over a week to go before 888poker LIVE kicks off its 2023 tour with a trip to Madrid. 888poker LIVE has announced a total of five events in Europe this year, starting with the 11-day 888poker LIVE Madrid festival at Casino Gran Madrid.
888poker LIVE Madrid gets underway next Friday (January 13) with 14 different tournaments on the schedule. The premier event is undoubtedly the €888 buy-in Main Event – which features a monster €300,000 guaranteed prize pool – but other tournament highlights include the €220 buy-in 888poker LIVE Opening Event starting on January 13, plus a €2,200 High Roller, €150 Pot Limit Omaha tournament, €55 buy-in Ladies Event and €100 Last Chance.
888 Ambassador Ian Simpson is looking forward to the event and is hoping to combine playing poker with sightseeing in the Spanish capital. He said: “The Main Event has three Day 1s so hopefully I’ll get through straight away and then have a chance to check out the city.” Ian, who joined the 888poker team last May, came 26th at the last festival in Madrid. Along with his fellow Ambassadors Vivian Saliba and Alexandre “Cavalito” Montovani, Ian will also be co-hosting a live stream on Twitch from January 20 (Day 1b of the Main Event) right through to the final on January 23.
MainEventTravel has made it easier than ever before to book your trip to the 888poker LIVE Madrid festival as players can now use Luxon Pay to purchase all their prepaid hotel accommodation and flights.
888poker LIVE has also launched a new community channel on Discord providing all the info from 888pokerTV and the 888pokerTV Stream Team. The channel will provide a wealth of 888poker content including announcements about new tournaments and series, contests, giveaways, and all of the community's socials and schedules.
The 888poker LIVE Madrid Main Event – which starts on Thursday, January 19 – boasts a very player-friendly structure with an 88,000 starting stack, 50-minute levels from Day 1 onwards and unlimited re-entries. Other tournament highlights include the 888poker LIVE Mystery Bounty. The €150 + €150 + €30 buy-in tournament runs over two days, starting on January 15.
888poker LIVE sponsored several Circuito Nacional de Poker stops in Spain last year but this is the first full-blown 888poker LIVE festival in the country since 2021 and is set to attract players from all over Europe and beyond.
At the last 888poker LIVE Madrid in November, Spanish player Abel Gongora took down the special 888poker 20th Anniversary Edition Main Event for €70,000. Gongora dominated the final table en route to victory eliminating five of his opponents. There were 374 entries creating a prize pool of nearly €350,000 in the €1,100 buy-in event.
Further 888poker LIVE dates in 2023
The 888poker LIVE tour will also take in stops at four further destinations this year - in London, Barcelona and Bucharest in Romania. Following Madrid, the tour is heading to London’s iconic Poker Room venue at the Victoria Casino. Their first event there is the 888poker LIVE Weekend next month which will serve as an exciting taster for the main 888poker LIVE London festival in April.
The tour will also be back at the Vic in October but before that there are stops in Barcelona in May and Bucharest in August. Barcelona is the third festival of the year for 888poker. The Catalan capital is a hugely popular destination for poker players, combining a rich culture and beautiful architecture with great beaches and lively nightlife. Bucharest is also a very popular stop - nicknamed the Little Paris of the East, the Romanian capital also has a long and rich cultural history with tons of art museums and landmark structures.
888poker LIVE will wrap up its European season with its final London stop in October.
Photo credit: 888pokerLIVE