The World Series of Poker (WSOP) will continue the tradition of providing high-quality tournament action and creating champions even in the midst of a pandemic. WSOP organizers have just confirmed that there will be a $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, which is set to get underway on November 29.
The safety of players and staff is still a top priority, and so the WSOP has come up with a unique format for this year’s Main Event to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Players will engage in a combination of both live and online action, culminating in a special heads-up battle that will take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas — home of the world’s most prestigious and longest-running festival for over a decade.
The online portion of the tournament will take place on WSOP.com and GGPoker, which also played host to the record-breaking WSOP Online Bracelet Series during the summer.
2020 WSOP Main Event Schedule
The $10,000 Main Event will adopt a freezeout format, and GGPoker will kick off the action with three starting flights for players based outside the US. The Day 1s will take place on November 29, December 5, and December 6, and participants will need to choose which flight to enter as they will not be allowed to play multiple flights. The surviving players will then resume the action on December 7 to reach the final table.
On December 13, the action then heads over to WSOP.com where players from New Jersey and Nevada will battle it out in a single Day 1 flight. The remaining players will play down to a final table on December 14. The finalists will wait for a couple of weeks before playing down to a winner at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Whoever wins the December 28 live battle will advance to a special heads-up finale, up against the winner on GGPoker, who is also determined via a live final table at the King’s Casino in Czech Republic on December 15.
Both GGPoker and WSOP.com will follow the exact same structure, and no player will be permitted to play both the domestic and international portions. Meaning, if you already played a flight on GGPoker and end up being eliminated, you will not be allowed to register on WSOP.com.  Both sites will coordinate with each other with regard to player information to prevent double participation.
The winner of each tournament on GGPoker and WSOP.com will engage in one final battle on December 30 at the Rio, which will be played in heads-up format. A gold bracelet will be awarded to the winner who also becomes the 51st WSOP Main Event Champion. Apart from that, the victor will also walk away with $1,000,000 in extra prize, atop their first-place winnings.
The final tables on GGPoker and WSOP.com, as well as the heads-up battle at the Rio will be televised on ESPN. Behind the mic will be Lon McEachern and Norman Chad, the iconic voices of the WSOP broadcasts for more than a decade.
Players who will participate in the live battles will be required to undergo health screening. Enhanced safety measures will also be implemented at the venues,
Negreanu Confirms Main Event Participation on WSOP.com
Among players who are excited for the upcoming 2020 WSOP Main Event is Daniel Negreanu, who has an ongoing heads-up match against long-time rival Doug Polk. The Canadian poker pro said that while the WSOP Online Bracelet Series during the summer was a remarkable event, a pure freezeout Main Event offers a really unique experience.
Negreanu said he’d much prefer playing on GGPoker, but because of his ongoing heads-up battle against Polk, he’d be taking part in the 2020 WSOP Main Event via WSOP.com from his home in Vegas. The Poker Hall of Famer also said he and Polk already agreed to on a flexible schedule, so both are expected to take a few days off to participate in the Main Event.