2025 888poker LIVE London Preview

After its runs in Madrid, Glasgow, and Barcelona, ​​the 888poker LIVE circuit will arrive in London, taking place from September 4-14 at the recently renovated Grosvenor Victoria Casino, better known as The Vic. The 888poker LIVE London festival will feature 10 events with a guaranteed prize pool of £680,000 across all events. The Main Event will begin on September 11 and carry a £250,000 guarantee.

As is customary, you can qualify online from the comfort of your home with satellites held on 888poker, and you can also qualify live at the Vic for the festival’s Main Event and High Roller. Many of 888poker’s ambassadors will be present in London, including Lucia Navarro, Josh Manley, Aaron Barone, Nick Eastwood and Ian Simpson, who won the Main Event in Madrid in January.

The 2025 888poker LIVE London festival

The festival will feature 10 tournaments with buy-ins ranging from £180 to £1,650 for the High Roller. There will also be several qualifying satellites for the Main Event, each with 10 guaranteed entries, and satellites for the High Roller. The Main Event will begin on Thursday, September 11th, and will have three initial flights. The buy-in will be £1,250 and will have a large guaranteed prize pool of £250,000.

Main Event schedule:

• Day 1A: Thursday, September 11 at 1 PM
• Day 1B: Friday, September 12 at 1 PM
• Day 1C Turbo (20 minutes levels): Friday, September 12 at 8 PM
• Day 2: Saturday, September 13 at 12 PM
• Day 3: Sunday, September 14 at 1 PM

Main Event structure:

• Buy-In: £1,250
• Re-entry: Unlimited
• Starting Stack: 30K
• Blind Levels: 40 minutes on Day 1 & 2 and 60 minutes on Day 3
• Late Registration: Start of Day 2
• Guaranteed Prize Pool: £250,000

Below you can see all the tournaments that will be held at the 2025 888poker LIVE London festival:

You can see the complete day-by-day schedule at this link.

Online satellites

As is customary for the 888poker LIVE circuit stops, you can qualify online at 888poker for a low investment. Step-format satellites start at just 1 cent, and the last one costs $109, which awards $2,500 packages to play in the festival’s Main Event in London.

These are the prizes included in the package:

• $1,700 buy-in to the 888poker LIVE London Main Event
• $500 for accommodation
• $300 for travel expenses

Satellites can be found in the “Tournaments” > “Live Events” section of 888poker.

The 888poker LIVE London Venue

The Grosvenor Victoria Casino, known by his nickname “The Vic”, is located in the middle of Westminster, a 10-minute walk to Hyde Park, and a 15-minute walk to Paddington Station. It opened its doors in the mid-1960s as the Victoria Sporting Club and over the years has grown into one of Europe’s most important casinos. Renowned tour players such as John Dutie, Vicky Coren, and David “Devilfish” Ulliott used to be regulars at the Vic. There, in 2006, Coren won her first EPT title and years later would become the tour’s first two-time champion.

This year, Grosvenor Casinos invested £15 million to renovate every square foot of the establishment, which reopened its doors in July to great fanfare. Players now have access to a more modern, luxurious, and brightly-lit poker room, with more comfortable chairs and 24 gaming tables, with the possibility of adding more tables during festivals like 888poker LIVE London. Players will also be able to enjoy the casino’s newly renovated terrace and the new High Stakes gaming area.

Recommendations and advice from 888poker ambassadors

We reached out to some of 888poker’s ambassadors and asked them the following questions:

1. What are your expectations for the festival?
2. There will be several satellites before the Main Event. What tips would you give for playing them?
3. At the Main Event, there will be online satellite winners making their 888poker LIVE debuts. What advice would you give them before playing?

Ian Simpson

1. I’m looking forward to seeing the 888poker Team in London for our next 888poker LIVE event! They’re always great company, and I haven’t seen them since Vegas!
2. The satellites, both live and online, leading up to the festival are a great way to get into the Main Event for a fraction of the cost. The most important thing to remember about the online conventional satellites is that you don’t need to win all of the chips to get your seat. Surviving with just one BB when the bubble bursts gets you your ticket, so surviving is key! For the live satellites, they’ll be using the cash out format, where once you 10x your starting stack you’ll have your seat. You can’t sit an wait for people to bust in that format, you’ve got to chase chips!
3. If you’ve never played live before and are attending the festival, try and play some smaller events before the Main Event to get familiarised with live poker. Always remember you can ask the floor and dealers anything; we’re fortunate to have some of the best staff in the world working UK events, and they’re always happy to help.

Aaron Barone

1. No expectations. At least not poker-related ones. That said, I have cashed the last two Main Events I’ve played (888poker LIVE Barcelona and WSOP) so would it be a surprise to make another deep run? Not at all (Okay, maybe a little). But because I primarily play online, I get to treat these live events as a fun experience, a bucket list sort of thing, and I can’t wait to see what Victoria Casino and surrounding area have to offer. I do expect to have an outstanding time, hang out with the 888poker team, and make some new friends at the tables. Perhaps I even win a flip or two vs. these new pals; it would be a wonderful way to start a lifelong friendship.
2. Satellites play quite differently than normal tournaments, and the most important tip is to be aware of these differences. In general it pays to be tighter than normal, as the goal is to make the money unlike in a normal tournament where payout structure is more top heavy.
3. Two things: First, play something beforehand to get the nerves out and grow accustomed to being at the table, handling chips, announcing your actions. And if you don’t have time for another tournament, perhaps even an orbit or two of cash games could do the trick. That’s my approach whenever I play a live stop, goes along with the preparation I’ve done off the table to get myself ready for the event. Second, try to soak it all in. Only one person is going to win the event, but that doesn’t mean you can’t come out of it feeling like a winner. Regardless of how well it goes, try to be grateful for the opportunity to play cards alongside other people who love the game of poker, and enjoy the moment.

Lucía Navarro

1. I have very high expectations for the casino! I know it’s newly renovated, and I’ve heard wonderful things about it. I can’t wait to see it! I’m really looking forward to meeting up with the team. I haven’t seen them since Vegas. And I’m going to record some cool stuff!
2. Satellites are great for qualifying for a low investment and help expand the field. One piece of advice would be to play to survive, not to accumulate chips, since it’s different from a “proper” tournament.
3. Above all, enjoy yourselves, then pay attention to the table to adapt to the players and try to justify every decision you make, so you don’t do anything “just for the sake of it.”

Josh Manley

1. It’s going to be a great event. I’m excited to see my teammates and also excited to see the new refurbished Victoria Casino.
2. Be patient, there is no need to do anything too crazy. Tighten up your range the closer you get to the money and don’t blast off chips unnecessarily.
3. If this is your first event, try to prepare yourself as best you can. Try to study some poker to help build your confidence, too. On the day of the tournament, make sure you are ready for a long day of poker, as these things can last well into the wee hours. So, prepare yourself by making sure to hydrate in advance and get a good sleep the night before!

888poker LIVE: Previous UK Champions

Last year, two stops of the 888poker LIVE circuit were held in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. The first was in Manchester, where the Main Event attracted 279 entrants and was won by Stephen Barnes, who took home a prize of £58,000 ($75,000). A few months later, the Main Event was held in Coventry, where 812 entrants participated, distributing £617K ($806K) in prizes. The champion was Chris Da Silva, who earned the largest cash of his career: £125K ($163K).

In 2023, London hosted the 888poker LIVE circuit twice. First, in February, the Main Event featured 553 entries of £400 and was won by Raymond Caabay for a £55K ($66K) prize. The April edition of the festival featured 385 £1K entries and awarded £365K ($464K) in prizes. The champion was David McConachie, who took home a grand prize of £83K (£103K).

The next champion could be you! 🫵

David McConachie, the last 888poker LIVE London champion