The World Series of Poker may be over for another year, but 888poker is taking viewers back inside Las Vegas with the return of its behind-the-scenes WSOP docuseries.
The new six-part 888 at the WSOP series follows five 888poker ambassadors as they travel to Las Vegas and attempt to make their mark on the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
Aaron Barone, Ian Simpson, Lucia Navarro, Nick Eastwood and Vivian Saliba all feature in the series, with cameras following their experiences both at and away from the tables.
For Barone in particular, there was plenty worth documenting.
The Canadian enjoyed the biggest live tournament result of his career after navigating his way through thousands of players to finish 65th in the Main Event for $125,000.
888poker Returns Behind the Scenes at the WSOP
The opening episode of the new series is titled The Pilgrimage and begins before the cards are even in the air.
Rather than limiting the show to poker hands and tournament results, the documentary follows the players as they make their way to Las Vegas and prepare for the biggest tournament on the annual poker calendar.
It’s an approach 888poker has used before.
The operator produced a similar documentary around its team at the 2025 WSOP, following its players through the highs and lows of competing in the $10,000 Main Event.
The return of the concept for another summer suggests behind-the-scenes poker content has become more than a one-off experiment for the brand.
Aaron Barone Gives the Series Its Biggest Story
Every poker documentary needs a run worth following, and Aaron Barone provided exactly that in 2026.
Barone made it all the way to Day 6 of the WSOP Main Event before eventually finishing 65th for $125,000.
It was the biggest live tournament score of his career.
The result becomes even more impressive when placed in the context of the Main Event field. A total of 9,208 players entered the 2026 tournament, meaning Barone survived more than 99% of the field before his run finally came to an end.
For a player known predominantly for his online poker career and streaming, it represented a significant breakthrough on poker’s biggest live stage.
Barone later revealed that he played three tournaments during his WSOP trip, spending $12,200 on buy-ins and recording $126,060 in total cashes.
That left him with a profit of more than $113,000 from his 2026 WSOP campaign.
Five 888poker Ambassadors Feature in the Series
Barone isn’t the only player whose summer is being documented.
British poker player and former professional chess player Ian Simpson returns, alongside Spanish ambassador Lucia Navarro, British streamer Nick Eastwood and Brazilian professional Vivian Saliba.
All five bring something different to the series.
Navarro arrived in Las Vegas for what she revealed was her tenth consecutive summer at the WSOP, having first travelled to the series in 2016.
Eastwood, meanwhile, represents the increasingly important crossover between playing poker and creating content around it.
Rather than simply assembling a group of professionals and recording their results, the format gives viewers five different experiences of the same tournament.
Poker Content Is Changing
The return of 888 at the WSOP is another example of how poker content has evolved.
There was a time when poker television coverage concentrated almost entirely on the action at the table. Viewers saw the biggest hands, dramatic eliminations and eventually the player lifting the bracelet.
YouTube and social media have changed what poker fans can follow.
The journey to Las Vegas, preparation before an event, conversations between players, bad days, celebrations and life away from the tables can now become part of the story.
Poker vloggers have built enormous audiences using exactly that approach.
Creators such as Kmart Poker, Brad Owen, Andrew Neeme and Mariano Grandoli have demonstrated that viewers aren’t only interested in seeing who wins a hand. They want to understand what life around the game actually looks like.
888poker’s documentary format applies a similar idea to the WSOP Main Event.
888poker Continues to Invest in Poker Creators
The series also fits into 888poker’s wider focus on streaming and creator-led poker content.
The operator has assembled a Stream Team containing players and creators from several countries, with Barone and Eastwood among those producing poker content for online audiences.
That approach reflects a wider change across the poker industry.
Players no longer necessarily need major tournament titles or regular television appearances to develop a following. Streaming, YouTube and social platforms allow personalities to build audiences while documenting their progression through the game.
For operators, those creators provide something traditional advertising cannot always replicate: an ongoing story that viewers can follow.
The WSOP provides the perfect setting.
Can Barone Go Even Further in 2027?
Barone’s run eventually stopped short of the final table, but his performance appears to have given him an appetite for more live poker.
After revealing the numbers from his summer, he indicated that he intends to return to the WSOP in 2027 and play a larger schedule.
That creates a potentially interesting storyline beyond this year’s documentary.
A predominantly online player and streamer has just produced the biggest live cash of his career on poker’s biggest stage.
Now viewers can watch how it happened.
The first episode of 888 at the WSOP, The Pilgrimage, is available through 888poker’s YouTube channel, with the six-part series documenting the team’s journey through the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
