$25m guaranteed Main Event
GGPoker has released the schedule for the upcoming 2020 World Series of Poker Online, set to run July 19 through September 6. The WSOP will hand out 54 official gold bracelets during the series.
The spotlight event, just like at the traditional live World Series of Poker, is the No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. At $5,000, it is half the cost of the regular live Main Event, but comes with a $25m guaranteed prize pool, the largest in online poker history. It will have multiple Day 1 flights beginning on August 16; Day 2 will take place on August 30.
We knew GGPoker would go BIG on the WSOP Online Series, but this is ridiculous.”
“We knew GGPoker would go BIG on the WSOP Online Series, but this is ridiculous,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the World Series of Poker, in a press release. “The single biggest guarantee in the history of online poker is exactly what this once-in-a-lifetime event deserves.”
Though the tournaments are online, all players who reach a final table will be required to use their real name as their display name. All players who cash in an event will also have their real names listed in the tournament results. More than a dozen events will be streamed on GGPoker.TV (Twitch) and PokerCentral.
Tournament for COVID relief
The priciest tournament on the schedule is the $25,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Poker Players Championship, a two-day event which starts Sunday, August 23. The least expensive is the “BIG 50,” which costs just $50, the lowest buy-in bracelet event in World Series of Poker history. There are multiple flights for the BIG 50 with one re-entry allowed in each, so there is potential to spend more than $50.
the two-day event will see $111 from each entry go to Caesars Cares
Also of note is the $1,111 “Every 1 for Covid Relief” event, the second tournament on the schedule. Beginning on the World Series of Poker Online’s opening day, the two-day event will see $111 from each entry go to Caesars Cares. It does not appear that Caesars or GGPoker is taking rake from the Covid Relief tournament.
Similar to what we see in many online tournament series, the 2020 World Series of Poker Online has a leaderboard. The WSOP awards points to players using a formula based on the value of the prize pool, exact place of finish, and a multiplier determined by whether a player won, made the final table, cashed, or finished on the bubble.
Online move was necessary
The World Series of Poker Online was launched because the WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though most casinos in the United States are now open, including many in Las Vegas, most poker rooms have yet to get back in action. Nevada is also one of many states that has seen a sharp rise in confirmed virus cases in the last couple weeks, forcing casinos and the governor’s office to implement stricter health and safety measures.
The WSOP Online on GGPoker is for players outside of the United States. Players in the U.S. have their own series on WSOP.com, during which 31 bracelets will be awarded. Because WSOP.com is only available in Nevada and New Jersey, players must be located in one of those states in order to participate.
GGPoker teamed up with the WSOP recently for the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series, which was composed of 595 events and featured $100m in guaranteed prize pools.