888poker LIVE Manchester Event Another Big Success for the Operator
3 minutes
Last Updated: August 26, 2024
Once again, 888poker has shown the poker world they know how to create a spectacle when it comes to live tournaments. The 888poker LIVE Manchester festival turned out a great success in every way imaginable, making happy players and the operator alike.
Although this particular stop was initially planned to take place in London, the fact that it had to be moved to Manchester didn’t seem to have influenced things too much. Players turned up in big numbers and created some heated action from start to finish.
The Manchester festival ran August 14 – 25, with the Main Event, as the pinnacle of the series, took place August 21 – 25. Now that things are in the books, it’s time to look at some numbers that once again tell us that live poker is as popular as it’s ever been.
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- #Ad • 18+ • First depositors only • Min. deposit: $10 • Bonus will be granted as tournament tickets gradually over 6 days and will expire after 24 hours BeGambleAware | Full T&Cs apply
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Stephen Barns Runs Away With the Title
While there are many things players will remember the 888poker Manchester festival for, it is one Stephen Barns who’ll have the fondest memory of it. Barnes was the last man standing in the Main Event, picking up £58,000 for his efforts after a heads-up deal.
The tournament ended up attracting a very respectable number of 279 entries by the time the registration had officially closed. As is often the case, things started slow, with only 23 players showing up for Day 1A, but the numbers ramped up over the next few flights.
A total of 63 players managed to find the bag for Day 2, with 33 of them making the money and taking home at least £2,250 for their efforts.
There was certainly no lack of drama as the tournament headed towards the final table. With 10 players remaining, a huge pot took place, with pocket aces up against pocket fives. Neville Betty, the proud owner of aces, was set for a huge double-up, but poker gods had other plans as the flop brought not one but two fives!
As for Barnes, he made it to the final table with a good-sized stack and was able to make it work for him to eventually capture the title. When it got to the heads up, Stephen and his last remaining opponent, Zhicheng Miao, struck a deal that saw them leave aside £10,000 in cash and a trophy to play for.
Barnes then proceeded to finish the deal in a fairly dominant fashion, claiming the winner’s title and pocketing a very nice amount of money for his stellar performance in Manchester.
888poker LIVE Going from Strength to Strength
The Manchester festival was an important milestone for 888poker LIVE and things went better than expected in every which way.
While the Main Event certainly met and exceeded the expectations, other tournaments on the schedule did not suffer from the lack of interest, either.
The operator also offered constant coverage of the Main Event action on its Twitch channel, allowing poker fans and friends of the players to keep up from anywhere in the world. This type of coverage for smaller buy-in events is certainly one of the things 888poker is doing right.
Everyone wants their five minutes in the spotlight and not everyone can afford to play in massive buy-in tournaments. With this, the operator is giving all who join the action their shot at the poker fame, making the entire experience much more wholesome.
Of course, 888poker ambassadors were in the mix as well, with the likes of Vivi Saliba, Ian Simpson, and Lucia Navarro joining the action. Simpson even made a run at the title in the £550 Dragon event but was cut just short, busting in the second place to Gary Holding. The event attracted 101 entries.
888poker LIVE will be heading to Coventry next, and we expect more of the same! Exciting poker action, big fields, and even bigger prize pools are virtually all guarantees at this point, so if you love live tournaments at affordable rates, 888 festivals should be well on your radar!
