Ian Simpson’s Breakthrough Win at 888poker LIVE Madrid Main Event

Final Table Action

Only nine players returned for the final day of the Main Event, each setting their sights on the top prize. Simpson, for all it matters, began with a solid chip stack, set on building his momentum as the eliminations started to pile up. 

Pedro Hernández was the first to exit, bowing out in ninth place when his pocket eights ran into an opponent’s overcards. From there, the bust-outs came steadily.

Before the heads-up, Simpson made sure to make his presence known when he sent Jorge Garcia packing. In one of the most crucial hands of the night, Simpson’s pocket kings stood tall against Garcia’s ace-queen, taking him into one of the top chip positions. 

As the field narrowed to the final three, Simpson was faced with some stiff competition from both Alvaro Murciano and Stefan Fischer. Murciano, a crowd favorite thanks to his local roots, knocked out Fischer in third place with a flush on the river, setting the stage for a heads-up showdown.

Heads-Up Battle: Murciano v Simons

Even though the final table saw some steady eliminations, the heads-up battle was anything but straightforward. Murciano started off with a slight chip lead and looked ready to use his momentum. But Simpson, ever the tactician, chipped away at Murciano’s stack bit by bit. Thanks to this, he managed to win several key pots without even showing his cards, slowly but surely tilting the balance in his favor.

The turning point finally came in a hand where Simpson flopped two pair with king-ten on a king-high board. At that point, Murciano was holding top pair with nowhere to run as Simpson raked in a massive pot that swung the match in his direction for good.

The final hand was a classic. Murciano shoved with ace-jack, and Simpson called with pocket sevens. The board bricked out, leaving Simpson’s sevens to hold and securing him the victory.

2025 888poker Live Madrid Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Ian Simpson		€62,000
2	Alvaro Murciano		€42,000
3	Angel Perez		€30,500
4	Carlos Diaz		€22,500
5	Michaelangelo Serra		€17,000
6	Jonas ten Cate		€13,400
7	Jorge Alvarez		€10,000
8	Yakiv Syzghanov		€7,600
9	Alberto Diaz		€5,985