The international leg of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online Bracelet Series kicked off on August 1, with GGPoker once again playing host to the action which runs until September 12. The ongoing festival features 33 gold bracelet events, and so far 12 of them have already played out. 
Based on the initial results, Brazil is the best-performing country, recording 4 gold bracelet victories. Meanwhile, the US, which was at the top of the rankings during the inaugural series, was off to a slow start this year. Americans hadn’t won a gold bracelet until Event #11: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller which was ultimately captured by poker legend Erik Seidel. 
Brazil Secures 4 Gold Bracelets So Far
Brazil has always delivered when it comes to major online poker festivals. It has become an online poker powerhouse, with Brazilians consistently scoring deep runs. The country continues its impressive record in the ongoing WSOP online series on GGPoker. 
Across the 12 initial events on GGPoker, the country turned its 11 final table appearances into 7 top-three finishes, including 4 gold bracelet wins, achieved by Joao Simao ($1,111 Caesars Cares Charity Event), Thiago Macedo ($800 Double Chance No-Limit Hold’em), Eduardo Pires ($1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em), and Lucio Lima ($525 Superstack Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em).
Poland is in second place with 5 final table appearances, including 2 bracelet wins, recorded by Bartlomiej Swieboda, winner of the $50 The Return No-Limit Hold-em opening event, and Kacper Pyzara, who won the $315 Bounty Deepstak No-Limit Hold’em tournament. It’s the first time that players from the country were able to win at the WSOP.
In addition to Brazil and Poland, four other countries were able to win a gold bracelet as of August 17, including Hong Kong, Germany, Greece, and Italy. 
The U.S is now part of that list after Erik Seidel triumphed in the recently-concluded $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller. Seidel took home his ninth gold bracelet, alongside a top prize of $977,842, after defeating Uruguay’s Francisco Benitez heads-up. Fellow American Isaac Baron finished 8th in the same event.
China recorded 2 runner-up finishes; while Finland scored 2 top-three finishes (1 silver, 1 bronze). Australia, Hungary, Norway, Russia, Taiwan, and Vietnam each have 1 silver, while Israel has 3 bronze medals. Canada, Cyprus, India, and Montenegro each have 1 bronze medal as well.
Initial Figures
The first 12 tournaments on GGPoker pulled in a total of 59,212 entries, with $30,116,059 in total prizes awarded to the top finishers. The event attracting the most number of entries so far was Event #1 The Return (30,810 entries). This figure constitutes over 50% of the total entries. 
Five of the 12 events, which had a seven-figure guarantee, managed to exceed their target by at least 20%, including the $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER which ended up awarding $7,747,725 to the winners. It’s the most successful tournament so far on the GGPoker schedule.
The $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller also posted great results, generating $6,052,800 in the total prize pool, as well as the $1,000 DOUBLE STACK which drew 5,894 entries to create $5,599,300 in total prizes. 
WSOP Action Continues
Eight different countries have won gold bracelets so far, and it remains to be seen whether Brazil continues to hold on to the top spot, with more events still about to take place. All eyes will be on the $5,000 buy-in, $20M GTD Main Event which kicks off on August 22. The tournament features multiple starting flights, with the final action taking place on September 5. 
Last year, the event was won by Bulgaria’s Stoyan Madanzhiev for a record-breaking first-place prize of $3,904,685. 
The WSOP Online Series on GGPoker will be followed by the highly-anticipated WSOP live festival which gets underway at the Rio in Las Vegas on September 30. An additional 88 gold bracelets will be up for grabs in the massive event.