888poker LIVE Opening Event Sets the Tone for the Upcoming Main Event

The 888poker LIVE Barcelona festival is in full swing at the Casino Barcelona, where a handful of the side events have already crowned their champion. One event in particular, the €220 No-Limit Hold’em Opening Event, attracted a larger-than-anticipated crowd, which bodes well for the upcoming €888 buy-in Main Event.

By the time late registration ended during the Opening Event, there were 714 entrants, an increase of 222 from last year’s event. As expected, Spaniards made up most of the bumper crowd, and it was a Spanish national who ultimately came out on top and ensured the winner’s trophy stays in Espana.

Rigu Martin became the 888poker LIVE Barcelona Opening Event champion, earning €18,335 in prize money. That princely sum is Martin’s second-largest live score, bested only by the impressive €69,000 he collected for a victory in a €660 buy-in tournament at this very casino all the way back in February 2009.

888poker LIVE Barcelona Opening Event Final Table Results

_{*reflects a five-handed deal}

Italian Davide Giannone was the first of the eight finalists to fall by the wayside. His ninth-place exit came with €2,568, the largest prize of his career, at least according to The Hendon Mob Database.

Marcelo Pavesi and Pol Bimbela were the next grinders, finding themselves on the chopping block. They padded their poker bankrolls with €3,015 and €3,550, respectively.

Sixth place and €4,200 went to Eduardo Schneider. This is Scheider’s second-largest live tournament payout, trailing only the €5,200 he banked for a seventh-place finish in the 888poker LIVE Madrid High Roller in January.

From the payout information PokerNews received, it appears a deal was struck when play was five-handed. Lorenzo Fenu, who cashed in the 888poker LIVE Barcelona Main Event in 2024, finished fifth for €7,780 before Joel Fernandez crashed out in fourth for €8,505.

The first five-figure prize found its way to Aitor Perez after their deep run ended in a third-place finish. Perez went two places deeper than his run in this event in 2024, where he finished fifth for €3,760.

Heads-up pitted Martin against Andrii Ponomarov for the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool. Martin got the job done in the one-on-one battle and helped himself to an €18,335 pay day, leaving Ponomarov to collect a €12,385 consolation prize.

Three other players have become 888poker champions so far. Jonatan Castro triumphed in the €200 Dragon for €5,054, Adam Green turned €165 into €3,305 by winning the Rumble 6-Max, while Gerard Villardell took down the Mini Shot for a €2,700 score.

The €888 Buy-in 888poker LIVE Barcelona Main Event starts on May 20 with the first of four flights. PokerNews‘ live reporting team will be on the ground bringing you all of the action from the Main Event. Last year, the champion netted €70,000 for their victory. Will that prize be even larger in 2026? We don’t have long to wait to find out.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.