Poker players around the world can rejoice – the World Series of Poker returns in its traditional live format for the 2021 series. COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 WSOP, prompting tournament officials to run a series of online events in its place.
The 2021 WSOP returns to the Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada this fall. The seven-week series kicks off on Sept. 30 and runs through Nov. 23.
WSOP hasn’t yet released the full schedule for the live portion of the 2021 series. We do know that a total of 33 WSOP Online 2021 tournaments will run on WSOP.com in the US (Nevada and New Jersey players can participate), with another 33 bracelet events scheduled for international players at GGPoker.
While we’re still waiting on the full schedule, here’s what we know so far about the 2021 World Series of Poker:
In lieu of a live 2020 series, WSOP.com hosted an online festival of 31 bracelet events for US players last summer. Those 31 tournaments all awarded official WSOP bracelets to the champions and ran on WSOP.com Nevada and WSOP.com New Jersey.
The live WSOP is back for 2021, but online players can still enjoy a bevy of opportunities to win bracelets from the comfort of their laptops and mobile devices. Poker pro Ryan Depaulo pulled off the rare feat of winning an online bracelet while playing from his car in a Whole Foods parking lot in New Jersey last summer.
The WSOP added two more tournaments for the 2021 WSOP Online schedule, which includes 33 bracelet events this year. The US side of the 2021 WSOP Online runs July 1 through August 1, once again available to players at WSOP Nevada and WSOP New Jersey.
WSOP Online 2021 culminates in a $500 buy-in, $1 million Main Event. Labeled the No-Limit Hold’em Grand Finale, the tournament kicks off August 1.
Other big events on the US WSOP Online schedule include:
WSOP Online 2021 Notable Events (US Only)
DateTournamentBuy-inNotes
July 1, 2021Event #1: The BIG 500 Kick-Off$500Last year’s BIG 500 produced a seven-figure prize pool
July 10, 2021Event #10: No-Limit Holdem$333Most affordable buy-in of the series
July 25, 2021Event #25: Lucky 7’S High Roller$7,777Highest buy-in ever for a WSOP online event
July 26, 2021Event #27: PLO Championship$1,000Highest buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event in the series
August 1, 2021Event #33: No-Limit Hold’em Grand Finale$500$1 million guaranteed prize pool
Outside of the states, the GGPoker international online poker client offers a separate set of 33 bracelet events. The GGPoker side of the WSOP Online 2021 series runs Aug. 1 through Sept. 12. The full schedule for the GGPoker series is still pending.
GGPoker isn’t legally accessible to US players, so you’ll have to travel abroad if you want to play in the GGPoker WSOP Online 2021 series.
2021 World Series Of Poker: Live Event Details
Players that descend on the Rio this fall can expect a slate of more than 80 live tournaments across the seven-week WSOP schedule.
The 2021 WSOP Main Event (aka the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship) is set for Nov. 4-17. This year’s $10,000 buy-in tournament features four Day 1 flights, scheduled for Nov. 4-7. The 2021 WSOP Main Event champion will officially be crowned on Nov. 17, or possibly the early hours of Nov. 18.
WSOP also expects the first weekend of the series to include a charity event to benefit frontline health workers, a $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament, and a $5 million guaranteed event dubbed “The Reunion.”
Television coverage of the WSOP moves to CBS for the first time in the modern era. ESPN television coverage has been synonymous with the series since Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 Main Event win, but the ESPN era of the WSOP comes to an end in 2021.
Following the 2021 WSOP in the US, WSOP Europe will run from its familiar home at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. The 2021 WSOP Europe is scheduled for Nov. 19 through Dec. 8 and is expected to offer 15 bracelet events.
Among the WSOP Online series, the live WSOP, and WSOP Europe, poker players have a shot at an unprecedented number of bracelets in 2021. That number could reach upward of 160 bracelet events across all WSOP events.
