WSOP Summer Series Postponed to Fall This Year

The writing was on the wall, but now we know for sure. The world’s biggest and richest poker festival, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), will not be starting its 51st annual run as planned on May 26 at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Putting an end to the increasing speculation surrounding the WSOP, the organizers in a press release posted on WSOP.com last night confirmed that the summer festival was being pushed back to the fall this year. The statement specified that changes in the planned schedule would be made given the circumstances.

WSOP even tweeted the news.

2020 WSOP Postponed :
The 51st World Series of Poker (WSOP), is officially being postponed as a result of the public health emergency involving COVID-19. It is now targeted for fall of 2020, with exact dates and events to be determined.
More details: https://t.co/iaYZgSGXr9 pic.twitter.com/UVL6PQwH96

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) April 20, 2020

The Writing Was on the Wall

No other poker tournament series gets the kind of attention like the WSOP. This year’s series promised to be a grand affair with the details of the summer extravaganza trickling in since December last year. In all, the 51st annual run was to feature 101 bracelet events with an unprecedented 14 online events.

The Coronavirus outbreak has resulted in all casinos in Las Vegas to pull down their shutters, including the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino that is the host venue for the WSOP. Even other prominent brands like the World Poker Tour (WPT), Asian Poker Tour (APT), PokerStars, Asia Poker League (APL), Triton Poker, Winamax Poker Tour and Irish Open have had to call off their upcoming stops. WSOP is, in fact, one of the last ones to announce the postponement.

This news follows months of speculation where the tournament organizers kept maintaining that the situation was being monitored while the series remained officially “on track.”

WSOP had earlier postponed all its circuit stops in the U.S. and other international locations.

What Changes?

The new dates for the WSOP fall run are yet to be confirmed and should take some time coming since the situation is still quite grim in the U.S. Given the changing circumstances, WSOP has indicated that there could be changes made to the schedule. Obviously, the number and extent of these changes largely depend on the situation closer to the intended dates.

So what can we look forward to at the WSOP this fall? According to the official announcement, while the 2020 WSOP schedule will be revisited, the $10K buy-in Main Event Championship will be a part of the series.

Talking about the postponement in the press release issued yesterday, WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said, “We are committed to running the World Series of Poker this year but need additional time to proceed on our traditional scale while prioritizing guest and staff well-being.”

Chances are, the brand may have to curtail the guarantees and shift the timings of the events. It will be unsurprising if the brand inculcates social distancing protocols during the tournaments.

Incidentally, fall is also the time when the WSOP Europe is scheduled to take place at the King’s Resort in Rozvadov. For now, WSOP Europe remains on track.

More Online Bracelet Events?

While the COVID-19 pandemic might have put a spanner on live stops, the WSOP, like many other tournament brands, has shifted some of that action online. While the online site WSOP.com is a fallback option for WSOP to cater to players in regulated states in the U.S., tie-ups with international operators for a more global reach cannot be ruled out.

Hinting along these lines, Stewart explained, “In the interim, official WSOP competitions are expected to be played online this summer, and we will soon announce details of an expanded series of tournaments to be played on WSOP.com and through partnership with international operators, which will allow players to chase WSOP glory from their homes.”

The WSOP Spring Online Championships Series is already well underway for players of Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Last week, the WSOP announced that that the WSOP International Circuit (WSOPIC) events would be hosted online in May in partnership with GGPoker. Called the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series, the series has 18 WSOP circuit gold rings up for grabs. The final schedule for this virtual stop hasn’t been announced yet, but the series is expected to begin in early May.

The 51st annual WSOP schedule featured a record 14 online bracelet events, but now there’s a strong possibility that more bracelet events could be moved online. All of this comes with the caveat that the pandemic is contained by then, allowing the live stop to take place at all.

Stay tuned on PokerGuru for the latest updates on this story!