Day 1a of the Opening Event in Barcelona Starts Today
Welcome to sunny Spain and the Casino Barcelona for Day 1a of the €220 Opening Event. Today marks the start of the 12-day long 2017 888Live Poker Festival Barcelona and the first of four starting days of the Opening Event kicks off in 90 minutes from now as of 6 p.m. local time.
All participants receive 30,000 in chips and the first three starting days will feature 14 levels of 30 minutes each, while the Turbo Heat 1d on Saturday will see the level duration cut down to 15 minutes. Registration will remain open until the end of level 11 and two re-entries are allowed during this period. There will be a 60-minute dinner break on each starting day and the action should wrap up around 3.30 in the morning.
Day 1 Blind Structure
| Level | Ante | Small Blind | Big Blind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 100 | |
| 2 | 25 | 100 | 200 |
| 3 | 50 | 150 | 300 |
| 4 | 75 | 200 | 400 |
| 5 | 100 | 300 | 600 |
| 6 | 100 | 400 | 800 |
| 7 | 100 | 500 | 1,000 |
| 8 | 200 | 600 | 1,200 |
| 9 | 200 | 800 | 1,600 |
| 10 | 200 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| 11 | 300 | 1,200 | 2,400 |
| 12 | 400 | 1,600 | 3,200 |
| 13 | 500 | 2,000 | 4,000 |
| 14 | 500 | 2,500 | 5,000 |
The entire festival offers €700,000 in guaranteed prizes and the €220 Opening Event is one of two events with a seven-figure prize pool and provides at least €100,000 up for grabs. Some of the biggest names in poker as well as the Team 888 Pros are expected to join the action later during the festival for the €2,200 High Roller and the €1,100 Main Event such as Cate Hall, William Kassouf, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and 888poker Ambassadors Bruno "Foster" Politano, Kara Scott, Dominik Nitsche, Bruno Kawauti, Nicolau Villa Lobos, Sofia Lovgren and Natalie Hof.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor at Casino Barcelona to provide updates for both flagship events, as well as the €5,555 guaranteed Swordfish and the two-day €2,200 High Roller.