Current and near-future events affected
With the COVID-19 pandemic growing, the World Series of Poker has made changes to the WSOP Circuit schedule. Several tour stops in both the United States and Europe have been put on hold as the novel coronavirus continues to spread.
the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is still on as planned
The tournaments that have been postponed extend out to the second half of April on the WSOP Circuit calendar. In a post on the World Series of Poker website, WSOP.com editor-in-chief Seth Palansky said the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is still on as planned. The 51st annual WSOP is scheduled to begin on May 27, though live satellites at the Rio start the previous day.
WSOP U.S. Circuit
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Atlantic City was supposed to run through Monday, but play was suspended on Friday, March 13. Eight events had been completed.
It is not an outright cancellation at this point. The World Series of Poker intends to resume the rest of the WSOP Circuit stop once an appropriate date can be determined.
Another tour stop that was in progress was the one at the Bicycle Casino (“The Bike”) in Los Angeles. Seven events had been played before the festival was suspended on Friday.
The WSOP Circuit at Hard Rock Tulsa was still operating as planned as of the WSOP’s Friday announcement. Over the weekend, however, the casino decided to suspend the proceedings.
Bally’s Las Vegas had a WSOP Circuit stop beginning this week on March 19, but it has been postponed indefinitely. The same goes for Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina, which was slated for April 8 through April 20.
WSOP International Circuit
Across the pond, the WSOP Circuit stop at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, has been suspended. It began on March 5 and was to run through March 21. King’s Resort is the host venue of the annual World Series of Poker Europe.
Coming up in April is the WSOP Circuit stop at Casino Barriere Le Croisette in Cannes, France. Like Bally’s Las Vegas and Harrah’s Cherokee, it is suspended indefinitely. From the post on WSOP.com, it does not sound like there is any guarantee that any of these tour stops will be rescheduled, though every effort will be made to do so if it is determined to be safe.
New Online Super Circuit created on WSOP.com
To fill the live WSOP Circuit void, the World Series of Poker launched the WSOP.com Online Super Circuit Series. Running from March 14 through March 31, the special internet-only tour stop will feature 18 official ring events and over $1 million in guaranteed prize money. It is open to players in New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada.
The player who earns the most points during this month’s Online Super Circuit will be named “casino champion”
Just like any WSOP Circuit stop, players in the Online Super Circuit will earn points toward the season-ending Global Casino Championship leaderboard based on where they finish in the different tournaments. The player who earns the most points during this month’s Online Super Circuit will be named “casino champion” and will win a free seat in the Global Casino Championship. The participant who wins the Main Event will also win a seat.
The winner of the first Online Super Circuit event, the $320 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack, was Vijay “Eclypzed” Para. He beat a field of 570 entries (409 players and 161 re-buys) to win $41,895. The tournament had a prize pool of $171,000, easily topping the $50,000 guarantee.