The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has unveiled the dates for the 2021 WSOP Online festivals. Two special festivals, boasting 66 gold WSOP bracelets, take place online at WSOP.com and GGPoker, mirroring the 2020 editions.
2021 WSOP Online for the domestic US runs at WSOP.com from July 1 through to August 1. Thirty-three gold bracelet events are scheduled, although details of the schedule are yet to be released.
We fully expect the American 2021 WSOP Online to culminate in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship. Last year’s version attracted a 2,126-strong crowd who created a $2,019,700 prize pool.
Nahrain “2Rivers” Tamero emerged victoriously that day, defeating Norman “abnormality” Michalek heads-up to secure $310,832.
Tamero’s massive prize was the second largest of the entire WSOP.com festival. Only the $352,985 won by Joe “fanofdapoker” McKeehan, a former WSOP Main Event champion, surpassed it.
Last year’s festival saw several players win bankroll-boosting prizes. The table below shows the five biggest prizes awarded at WSOP.com.
| Player | Finishing position | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe “fanofdapoker”McKeehen | 1st | Event #14: $3,200 NLHE High Roller | $352,985 |
| Nahrain “2Rivers” Tamero | 1st | Event #31: $1,000 NLHE Championship | $310,832 |
| Nick “shadowjackr” Guagenti | 1st | Event #29: $2,000 NLHE Deepstack | $305,433 |
| Frank “thewholefunk” Funaro | 2nd | Event #14: $3,200 NLHE High Roller | $219,089 |
| Norman “abnormality” Michalek | 2nd | Event #31: $1,000 NLHE Championship | $192,073 |
2021 WSOP Online at GGPoker
August 1 through September 12 are the dates to keep free if you plan on heading to a country where GGPoker offers its services. The 2021 WSOP Online International edition also has 33 bracelet-awarding events, but the guaranteed prize pools will be far more substantial thanks to increased traffic.
$3,904,685 was the largest prize awarded by GGPoker at last year’s WSOP Online. This stemmed from the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, which entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the online poker tournament with the biggest-ever prize pool.
Bulgaria’s Stoyan Madanzhiev topped a field of 5,802 to bank a gargantuan payout from the $27,559,500 prize pool. Madanzhiev was not the only star to win big; these others were among those securing seven-figure scores.
| Player | Finishing position | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stoyan Madanzhiev | 1st | Event #77: $5,000 NLHE Main Event | $3,904,685 |
| Wenling Gao | 2nd | Event #77: $5,000 NLHE Main Event | $2,748,605 |
| Tyler Rueger | 3rd | Event #77: $5,000 NLHE Main Event | $1,928,887 |
| Christian Rudolph | 1st | Event #70: $25,000 POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP | $1,800,290 |
| Daniel Dvoress | 1st | Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER | $1,482,289 |
Organizers Speak Out
Announcing the 2021 WSOP Online is an exciting time, something to look forward to after a dreadful year. WSOP Director Gregory Chochon wants as many people as possible to compete for a bracelet.
“The bar has been set with last year’s record-breaking series, but we’re hoping to raise it even higher this year. One of our goals is to provide as many people the chance to become champions as possible. However, we know not everyone can or is comfortable traveling yet, so continuing a robust online bracelet offering is 2021 is a must.”
Head of Poker Operations at GGPoker, Steve Preiss, has his sights set high, too.
“When GGPoker and 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 and rings, and a route into the live WSOP Main Event in November, we hope players will love what we have in store for them.”
The WSOP Main Event Preiss alluded to is the previously announced $10,300 WSOP Main Event scheduled for November 4. It takes place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas this fall.
The full schedule is still in the planning stage due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but you can bet your bottom dollar the WSOP wants memorable festivals this year, starting with the 2021 WSOP Online.
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Matthew Pitt
If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.