The 2026 888LIVE London Festival was a huge success, with poker players from the local scene and far afield thoroughly enjoying the entire series! The Main Event attracted 379 entries, creating a massive £396,050 prize pool and smashing the £250K guarantee.
Marius Conan came out on top, flying the French flag and following in the footsteps of his older brother, Arthur. The win was especially special for the younger sibling, who claimed top cash of £91,170 and the coveted title:
“So, so good. Winning a tournament, especially live, is always something special. That one was really special.”
Marius has already collected a few honours, including a WSOP Circuit Main Event win in Paris in 2017 and a deep run at EPT Barcelona in 2018. This win pushed his live earnings past the $500,000 mark, according to HendonMob statistics.
“I felt confident, but the start of the final table was not what I was expecting. But finally, I went good and everything went okay. So that’s nice,” he said. “Upside. Always great. I never really struggled, not been so much short. So, it was a real pleasure always playing hands, many hands. I enjoyed it a lot.”
888LIVE London - Day 1A, B & C
Day 1A of the 888LIVE London Main Event attracted 106 total entries, with 18 players advancing. Our 888 ambassadors Ian Simpson (192,500), Lucia Navarro (123,000), and Ricardo Mateus (122,000) secured their tickets for Day 2.
177 entries on Day 1B brought the total field up to 283 through two starting flights, with 73 players registered in the turbo Day 1C flight, ensuring that the £250,000 guaranteed prize pool would be smashed!
Of the 177 entries on Day 1B, 36 runners survived the event’s second starting flight, with Daniel Samson bagging the chip lead with 459,000.
By the time all was said and done, 379 entries boosted the prize money to £396,050, with a five-figure payday each for the top six finishers.
888LIVE London - Day 2
Day 2 kicked off with the 77 survivors from the three opening flights, joined by 15 new arrivals, for a total of 379 entries. After late registration closed on Day 2, the top 50 players would make the money.
Although four 888 ambassadors made Day 2, only two cashed. Team888's Lucia Navarro and Ricardo Mateus exited the 888LIVE London Main Event in 34th for £2,690 and 39th for £2,610, respectively.
The 379 total entries generated a £396,050 prize pool. While the top 50 players finished in the money, the eventual champion took the lion’s share with £91,170.
888LIVE London Main Event Payouts
It took 14 hours to whittle the 77 runners down to a final table of nine on Day 2. All finalists locked up £6,580 as they readied themselves for the battle for the top spot on Day 3.
888LIVE London – Day 3 Final Table
Day 3 began with Frenchman Marius Conan holding a 9-big-blind lead over UK player Guang Yang. With four other Brits in the running, 888LIVE London could crown a local player.
888LIVE London Main Event – Final Table Payouts
Alexios Zervos entered the final table as the shortstack and was unable to ladder up. He was the first casualty, running AhTd into Michael Hewes's AsJh to fall in ninth place. Within the hour, Hewes quickly took the chip lead from Conan.
Next up to face elimination was the UK’s Robert Buky. His Js9c on the big blind was no match for fellow countryman Nathan Cohen’s 7h4s on the small blind. He was sent to the rail in 8th place for £7,960.
Forty-five minutes later, Pascal Pflock found himself on the precipice holding As6d. His Ax fell short to Guang Yang’s Td9d after Yang hit trip tens on the turn. He was out in seventh for £9,900.
Shortly after the first break, Guang Yang found himself in the weeds, holding Kh6s. After calling a small blind raise from Nathan Cohen, he flopped a pair, which was no good versus Nathan’s JsJd. The jacks held, and Guang cashed for £12,870 in 6th place.
Michael Hewes was next to be eliminated, after also flopping a pair holding 8s4s. However, the eights were no match for Nathan Cohen’s pocket tens. Hewes went out in 5th for £17,860.
After the second break, we quickly saw another elimination. Nikolay Ponomarev ran his Qs8d into Marius Conan’s Ad9s to finish in 4th Place for £26,220.
Three-way action commenced with Conan 6,500,000 commanding a massive 2:1 chip lead over Toderascu 2,960,000 and Cohen 1,920,000.
It took only 15 minutes for Nicu Toderascu to find trouble. He got entangled in a hand with chip leader Marius, whose KsQs dominated Nicu’s Qh4d. The board brought no relief, and Toderascu finished 3rd for £39,730.
888LIVE London Main Event – Heads-Up
Heads-up play started with Marius Conan holding a massive 10:1 chip lead over Nathan Cohen. However, the Brit was down but not out. He held his own, doubling up twice and laying down hands when he felt beat.
Despite the strong defence, the massive deficit proved insurmountable, and after 45 minutes of action, he ran KhTc into Marius’ AcTd. The AT flopped broadway and Nathan’s top pair was no good. He finished second for £60,550.
Marius Conan took home the trophy, £91,170 and the title of 888LIVE London Main Event champion.
Well played, all!
888LIVE London Main Event Final Table Results
