The latest installment of the World Series of Poker Online Circuit has just kicked off on the GGPoker Network. Featuring 18 Ring Events and $100 million in guaranteed prize pools, the festival takes place from May 1 to May 30. However, when the news was published, it was also confirmed that the partnership between the WSOP and GGPoker Network will be expanded further.
In the press release on April 26, both brands announced another three milestones for the remainder of the year. That includes the international part of the 2021 WSOP Online Bracelet events, satellites for the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, and another WSOP Winter Online Super Circuit.
• WSOP Online 2021 on GGPoker Network (International): August 1 – September 12 • WSOP Las Vegas “Main Event” satellites: August 1 – October 1 • WSOP Winter Online Super Circuit on GGPoker Network: Dates TBC
“When GGPoker Network & WSOP partnered in 2020, we broke world records. Our plans for 2021 are to offer even more to our customers. With massive tournaments, WSOP gold bracelets & rings, and a route into the live WSOP Main Event in November, we hope players will love what we have in store for them,” GGPoker’s Head of Poker Operations Steve Preiss said in the official announcement.
While the full schedule has not been released yet, the number of events and dates have been confirmed already. From August 1 until September 12, a total of 33 Bracelet Events will take place on the GGPoker network. This is down from 54 events of the previous year and mirrors the number of the domestic events on the WSOP.com client in the United States.
In 2020, the international part on the GGPoker Network paid out nearly $150 million in prize money across all bracelet events. Thanks to 5,802 entries in the $5,000 WSOP Online Main Event, a new record for the biggest online poker event of all times was set with a huge prize pool of $27,559,500. Whether or not that number may be surpassed in the 2021 edition on such a condensed schedule remains to be seen.
The full schedule is expected to be released in the weeks to come.
What events can be expected?
The Main Event will for sure have a massive a guarantee once more, as do all flagship tournaments in all major online festivals on the GGPN. Perhaps, some Championship Events will be in the mix for Pot-Limit Omaha, No-Limit Hold’em, Six-Max, Bounty, Short Deck and Deepstack variations.
An extensive satellite schedule for all bracelet events will be in place and the buy-ins for the target events can be expected to range between $500 and $3,000. Popular budget events such as the PLOSSUS, COLOSSUS and BIG 50 may also very well return once more.
Poker players from all over the world will certainly give it another shot to claim one of the elusive bracelets and Asia’s leading online poker site Natural8 will be in the mix. Eight Natural8 players won a bracelet during the festival last year and earned their membership in Team Bling.
On top of all the prize money, they also earned LiveX sponsorships and those will certainly come in handy when the in-person WSOP takes place in Las Vegas. The festival in Sin City is anticipated to take place from September 30 until November 23. And poker players on the GGPoker Network will have the chance to win a seat for the $10,000 Main Event.
The pinnacle poker event of the year is expected to begin on Nov. 4 in Las Vegas at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. There will be four starting days and the WSOP Main Event is expected to conclude on November 17.
As of August 1 and until October 1, the domestic WSOP.com client and the GGPoker Network for international players will be offering satellites for the $10,000 WSOP Main Event. In fall, travel restrictions all over the world will have hopefully slowed down to make sure all poker enthusiasts can attend the in-person festival in Las Vegas. And some of them may very well wear the Natural8 patch after winning their package online.