The 2026 888poker LIVE Barcelona Festival was a massive success with local and visiting poker enthusiasts thoroughly enjoying the whole affair. Despite the miracle one-outers and quintessential bad beats on show, this series brought back the fun aspect of the game.
Our penultimate live stop for 2026 was highlighted by the Main Event, which again proved very popular, attracting 350 entries with €50,000 up top and a min-cash of €2,400.
This year’s champ was runner-up in last year’s Madrid Main Event, where he finished second to 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson. This time around, it was Alvaro Murciano’s turn to lift that trophy as he prevailed on the final table to secure the trophy and €50,000 top cash.
“It means a lot. I ended up heads-up last year. It means a lot to win and take that personal revenge,” Murciano said through a translator.
“It was a huge extra motivation. I already felt pretty close to winning the trophy. It was a huge point, like, I can win it.”
“It felt scripted. Every time I tried to bluff, the other players folded. When I had good hands, they called. It was amazing. It felt like a script,” Murciano said.
888poker LIVE Barcelona - Day 1A
Day 1A saw 48 runners post the €888 buy-in for a slice of a possible 6-figure prize pool. Sweden’s Westerlund (428,000) and Brit Terry Jordon (394,000) finished the opening flight in the top two spots.
Jordon is well-known for his unpredictability on the UK poker circuit, and it proved no different in Spain. The unpredictable Jordon put on a show today inside the Casino Barcelona. He made it his job to live-straddle under the gun, even raising before the cards hit the air. It proved to be a solid strategy when he managed to take down two huge pots.
Of the 48 entries, only 11 bagged for Day 2. They included 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson after needing a second bullet (216,000).
88poker LIVE Barcelona - Day 1B
Day 1B attracted another 85 players to the Casino Barcelona with a shot at a five-figure top prize. The top stack went to Michael Falcon, who burned through two bullets on Day 1A but managed to soar into a sizeable chip lead on Day 1B
Team888 ambassadors were also in the fray, with five members taking to the felt. All five punched their tickets to Day 2:
- Jesus Ramos (324,000)
- Lucia Navarro (241,000)
- Inaki Angulo (151,000)
- Ricardo Mateus (102,000)
- Vivian Saliba (75,000)
We'll see all of our ambassadors in action on Day 2 of the 888poker LIVE Barcelona Main Event this weekend! pic.twitter.com/oxQtZCo5vd
— 888poker (@888poker) May 22, 2026
888poker LIVE Barcelona - Day 1C
153 players packed the tournament floor on Day 1C, bringing the total field up to 286 entries after three starting flights.
During the day, a portrait cartoonist patrolled the poker floor, drawing caricatures for the players. Ireland’s Killian O’Brien had the best night, creating a table image that saw him bag the chip lead on 339,000.
Of the 153 player, 57 prevailed, securing their spots to Day 2.
Also on Day 2, we had the Mystery Blast Sit & Go, where 888poker ambassadors and friends battled it out for bragging rights. Team888 streamer, Ricardo Mateus, took the crown after defeating Spain’s Inaki Angulo.
We have a new Mystery Blast CHAMPION!@ricardomateus takes out @inakiangulo in the final to win the 888poker LIVE Barcelona Mystery Blast! pic.twitter.com/tTO93m0wes
— 888poker (@888poker) May 22, 2026
888poker LIVE Barcelona - Day 1D TURBO & Day 2
Day 1D attracted a further 58 entries, bringing the total number of entries to 350, with 34 players advancing.
Those 34 players joined the survivors from the first three starting flights, bringing the total number of runners to 135, of which 47 would get paid.
Alvaro Murciano was one of those looking for more than a simple payday. He was hungry for the top spot after narrowly missing out to 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson in last year’s Madrid Main Event.
Murciano sliced and diced his way with precision through the 135 runners to lead the way at the final table of nine. British player, Terry Jordon took a lot of the heat from Murciano’s play and busted in 33rd place.
Team888 friend Inaki Angulo busted in 42nd place for €2,400. 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson lost a three-way all-in, then, with ace-king, for 28th place and a €2,630 payday.
After approximately 12 hours of play, only nine remained, of which Luis Ramos was the sole Team888 player left standing (1,700,000).
- 350 total entries
- 47 would make the money
- €263,424 prize pool
- The minimum cash was €2,400
- First-place prize was €50,000
888poker LIVE Barcelona Main Event Payouts
888poker LIVE Barcelona – Final Table
It took just under six hours to crown a champion from the nine hopefuls who made the final table. Alvaro Murciano was nearly 1.5M clear of the second-place chip stack, Jordi Conejos.
Alvaro controlled the action from the start, almost knowing that this title was his to lose. His aggressive but controlled style of play meant that this win was on the cards. out.
- Despite entering the final table second in chips, Jordi Conejos (€6,100) was first to hit the rail. After having pocket jacks demolished by AKo in an earlier hand, his pocket eights were crushed by Michael Falcon’s QdTd when a Q hit the flop.
- Mateo Flament (€7,100) was next to receive his marching orders after losing with Ato to Feenstra’s KdJd. He found himself all-in holding AJo vs Dansie’s aces and was eliminated in 8th
- Ryan Dansie (€8,400) made a move with A8s, but the dead man’s hand was just as deadly when his two pair was rivered by Alvaro Murciano’s flush holding AcTc. He went out in seventh.
- Shortly after the first break, Florens Feenstra was eliminated in 6th place for €9,880. His K8o was no match for Michael Falcon’s pocket queens.
- Ten minutes later, Michael Falcon found himself on the rail in 5th place for €11,600. His flopped top pair with AQo was no match for Alvaro’s flopped set of threes.
- The players were falling hard and fast! Within 5 minutes, Pol Silva laddered up from his 6th-place chip stack at the start of the final table to take 4th place money (14,500). Alvaro Murciano scored another notch in his belt with a rivered better two pair.
- The last Team888 player standing, el_chur Luis Ramos, was next to bust in third place for €20,000. He was slightly ahead preflop with A4o, but Murciano struck again with K4o, flopping trip kings,
We were now heads-up.
888poker LIVE Barcelona – Heads-Up
At the start of heads-up play, Murciano had a massive 12:1 chip lead.
- Alvaro Murciano --- 16,040,000
- German Zafra --- 1,470,000
However, Zafra had already laddered up from 5th place at the start of the final table and was eyeing the top prize. It was not to be with Alvaro picking off a bluff early in heads-up play, leaving German on fumes.
Ten minutes later, it was all over, and we were crowning a new champion. In the final hand, Murciano’s Kc9c dominated Zafra’s Q9o and took it down with a rivered two-pair.
Gg to all players and see you at the final 888poker LIVE event of 2026 in London in October!
888poker LIVE Barcelona Main Event Final Table Results
