888poker LIVE Festival in London Scheduled for January

888poker has announced the launch of their second 888poker LIVE Festival in London, following a successful test run back in October when the operator hosted the 888poker LIVE Weekend.

Once again, 888poker has teamed up with London’s premiere poker room, the popular “The Grosvenor Victoria,” also known as The Vic, but this time around they are organizing a true spectacle with a 12-day festival of poker that will feature multiple tournaments across a number of poker disciplines.

The 888poker LIVE Festival is scheduled to kick off on January 6, giving players just enough time to recover from New Year’s Eve celebrations and come out to London. The final day of the festival will be January 17, and the operator has promised non-stop poker action throughout.

Will the 888poker LIVE Festival Actually Happen Amidst the Pandemic?

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in tournaments around the world canceled, with few very events anyway running over the last year and a half.

In recent months, it seemed like we were getting back on track, as one after another poker room re-opened for both cash game and tournament poker. The WSOP 2021 was held in Las Vegas with great success, and venues around Europe, including London, returned to “business as usual,” with a few rules in place.

All that progress now seems to be in question, as several European countries have gone back into partial lockdowns or imposed serious anti-pandemic restrictions—once again making live international poker tournaments nearly impossible.

Just last week, it was announced that the long-awaited EPT Prague event that was scheduled to start this month was being postponed, a huge blow to the operator, staff and eager players. Not only have so many players planned to come out for the EPT, but concerns grew over other live poker events as well.

Players who are looking to play the 888poker LIVE Festival in January can find some solace in the fact the UK has been taking a more lenient approach to Covid, pushing for vaccination but reopening all public venues to full capacity. As it stands, the country plans no further restrictions despite the spread of the new variant.

888poker has already hosted a number of tournaments since the pandemic, with their first live tournament of the year launched in Sochi in July, followed by another 888poker LIVE event in Bucharest, Romania, in August.

As things stand now, the event should go ahead, but not before the PokerStars London Christmas Surprise Bounty tournament is played out in London between December 16 and 19. The fate of this tournament might also decide what happens to the 888poker LIVE Festival, which is scheduled for just three weeks later.

The 888poker Live Festival Schedule and Satellites

888poker and The Vic have announced that the 888poker LIVE Festival will hold true to its name, featuring multiple tournaments across a 12-day period, along with plenty of side action along the way.

The standout event of the schedule, of course, is the 888Live London Festival Main Event, which is going to feature an £888 buyin, slow blind levels, and plenty of action through five separate Day 1 flights.

Apart from the Main Event, players will also have a chance to play the £444 888Live London Festival Opener, £150 The Voyage, £200 The Big Shot, and the £2,200 High Roller.

The tournament hosts also announced that the Festival will feature the 888poker Shot Clock, and Big Blind Ante, both features becoming increasingly common in top live poker festivals these days.

Those looking to make their way into the event cheaper will have a chance to do so, with initial qualifier phases starting at 888poker at just £0.01, and main qualifiers with £55 and £109 buyins also on the schedule.