Last Updated on September 21, 2026 by Bala Kumar
If PokerStars has the EPT and partypoker has its Tour, 888poker‘s answer is 888poker LIVE — a festival brand built around lower buy-ins, heavy satellite qualification, and regional accessibility rather than headline guarantees. It’s been running since 2015, and in 2026 it operates across three coordinated circuits. Here’s everything currently confirmed, plus every result available so far.
What Is 888poker LIVE?
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | 888poker LIVE |
| Operator | 888poker (888 Holdings / Evoke Plc) |
| Founded | 2015, at Aspers Casino, Stratford (London) |
| Sister Circuits | UK Poker League (UKPL, launched 2024), Noche de Poker El Festival (Spain, launched 2026) |
| 2026 Main Tour Buy-in | €880 / £888 (Main Events) |
| Total 2026 Stops (all 3 circuits) | 13 |
| Streaming | 888pokerTV on Twitch & YouTube |
History: From 2015 to Today
888poker LIVE launched in January 2015 at Aspers Casino in Stratford, London, with Terry Jordon winning the inaugural £220 Main Event over 609 entries. The tour expanded quickly at first, nearly 20 stops in its debut season, more than two dozen in 2016, another 20 in 2017, before scaling back deliberately: 9 stops in 2019, just 4 during the COVID-affected 2020 season, and a steady rebuild to around 7 stops a year by 2022–2023.
The structural shift came in 2024 with the launch of the UK Poker League (UKPL), run in partnership with Grosvenor Casinos: smaller £560 buy-in mini-festivals spread across UK regional cities, each carrying a £100,000 guarantee. That let the main international tour focus on fewer, bigger stops abroad. For 2026, 888poker added a third circuit exclusively for Spain: Noche de Poker El Festival.
2026 Schedule & Results
Across all three circuits, 888poker is running 13 confirmed stops in 2026.
888poker LIVE, Main International Tour (4 stops)
| City | Dates | Status | Buy-in | Winner | Entries | Prize Pool | First Prize |
| Madrid, Spain | Jan 11–18 | ✅ Completed | €880 | Gorka Akerreta | 360 | €273,600 | €50,000 |
| Glasgow, Scotland | Mar 12–22 | ✅ Completed | £888 | Martin Lechner | 348 | £264,800 | £57,515 |
| Barcelona, Spain | May 14–24 | ✅ Completed | €888 | Alvaro Murciano | 350 | €263,424 | €50,000 |
| London, The Vic | Oct 8–18 | 🔜 Upcoming | £888 | — | — | — | — |
Gorka Akerreta opened the season in Madrid after qualifying through a €55 online satellite, a 16x return before he’d even sat down. In Barcelona, Alvaro Murciano — runner-up to 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson in the 2025 Madrid Main Event — came back to win his own title, defeating German Zafra heads-up: “It means a lot to win and take that personal revenge,” he said afterward.
UK Poker League (UKPL) — 5 stops
| City | Dates | Status | Buy-in | Winner | Entries | First Prize |
| Luton | Feb 17–22 | ✅ Completed | £560 | Horatiu Cont | 556 (record field) | £56,700 |
| Blackpool | May 5–10 | ✅ Completed | £560 | Lilian Welch (age 83) | 318 | £31,390 |
| Reading South | Jul 14–19 | ✅ Completed | £560 | Adam Wilkinson | 313 | £32,010 |
| Manchester | Sep 15–20 | ✅ Completed (result pending publication) | £560 | — | — | £100,000 GTD |
| Coventry | Nov 10–15 | 🔜 Upcoming | £560 | — | — | — |
Manchester ran September 15–20 and has concluded, but the Main Event result had not yet been published by major poker media outlets as of this update. This table will be updated once official results are confirmed.
The Luton season-opener drew a record 556 entries, the largest prize pool in UKPL history, and Blackpool produced one of 2026’s best poker stories anywhere: 83-year-old Lilian Welch outlasted 318 entries for the best score of her poker career.
Noche de Poker El Festival (Spain) — 4 stops
| City | Dates | Status | Confirmed Buy-in Details |
| Madrid | Mar 23–29 | ✅ Completed | Results not yet compiled in available sources |
| Alicante | Jun 8–14 | ✅ Completed | Results not yet compiled in available sources |
| Sevilla | Aug 31 – Sep 6 | ✅ Completed | €150 Opening Event, €888 High Roller, €110 Closer confirmed on schedule |
| Murcia | Nov 2–8 | 🔜 Upcoming | — |
Noche de Poker El Festival is a newer circuit for 888poker, launched for the 2026 season, and full Main Event results for its completed stops are not yet consistently indexed by major poker news outlets. We’ll update this table as verified results become available.
How Players Qualify
888poker relies heavily on online satellites to feed its live festivals, and the entry cost for those satellites is low relative to the Main Event buy-in. The 2026 Madrid champion, Gorka Akerreta, won his seat through a €55 satellite into an €880 Main Event. Super Satellites across the tour typically run at roughly one-tenth of the direct buy-in, and 888poker also runs free qualification routes, including Twitch and Discord viewer freerolls that award tournament tickets at no cost.
Buy-ins & Tournament Format
| Circuit | Typical Main Event Buy-in | Guarantee |
| 888poker LIVE (main tour) | €880 / £888 | Varies by stop, historically £250,000+ |
| UKPL | £560 | £100,000 |
| Noche de Poker El Festival | Varies (€150–€888 range across side events) | Not consistently published |
Main Events across all three circuits typically run multiple starting flights (Day 1a through 1d, including a turbo flight), with unlimited re-entry during Day 1 and late registration open until the start of Day 2 — a structure consistent with what’s used at Barcelona, Glasgow, and Madrid in 2026.
888poker LIVE vs Other Tours
| Tour | Typical Main Event Buy-in | Positioning |
| 888poker LIVE | €880 / £888 | Lower buy-in, satellite-driven entry |
| UKPL | £560 | Regional UK circuit, lower buy-in |
| partypoker Tour | £500 | Similar lower buy-in positioning |
| EPT | €5,300+ | Higher buy-in, tougher fields |
| WSOP Paradise | $26,000 (Super Main) | High-roller dominated |
Buy-ins across all three 888poker circuits sit well below EPT or WSOP Paradise territory, with satellite pathways starting as low as €55 in documented 2026 cases — a measurable difference in accessibility rather than a subjective claim about field difficulty.
Notable Records & Champions (2026)
- Largest UKPL prize pool: Luton, 556 entries, largest in UKPL history
- Oldest UKPL champion: Lilian Welch, age 83, Blackpool
- Lowest documented satellite-to-title conversion: Gorka Akerreta, €55 → €50,000, Madrid
- Notable comeback storyline: Alvaro Murciano, 2025 Madrid runner-up → 2026 Barcelona champion
Upcoming Events
- 888poker LIVE London (The Vic): October 8–18, 2026
- UKPL Coventry: November 10–15, 2026
- Noche de Poker El Festival Murcia: November 2–8, 2026
The Bottom Line
888poker LIVE in 2026 runs a smaller footprint than the EPT or WSOP calendar, but across its three circuits — the main international tour, UKPL, and Noche de Poker El Festival — it maintains lower buy-ins, consistent satellite access, and near-constant qualification opportunities for players in the UK and Spain. With London, Coventry, and Murcia still to come, three of the 2026 season’s thirteen stops remain unplayed.
FAQs
1. What is 888poker LIVE?
888poker LIVE is 888poker’s live tournament festival series, launched in 2015. In 2026, its live-poker ecosystem includes the main 888poker LIVE tour, UK Poker League (UKPL), and Noche de Poker El Festival in Spain.
2. How much does it cost to enter an 888poker LIVE Main Event?
The typical 2026 Main Event buy-in is €880 or £888, depending on the location. Players can also qualify through online satellites, with documented 2026 examples starting at €55.
3. How many 888poker LIVE events are there in 2026?
There are 13 confirmed stops across the three 888poker live circuits in 2026: four on the main 888poker LIVE tour, five UKPL stops, and four Noche de Poker El Festival stops.
4. How can I qualify for an 888poker LIVE tournament?
Players can enter directly or qualify through online satellites on 888poker. Satellite buy-ins can be substantially lower than the live Main Event entry fee, and some promotional freerolls can also award tournament tickets.
5. What are the remaining 888poker LIVE events in 2026?
The remaining scheduled 2026 events are 888poker LIVE London at The Vic from October 8–18, Noche de Poker El Festival Murcia from November 2–8, and UKPL Coventry from November 10–15.
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