The ongoing coronavirus crisis has claimed three more major live poker festivals this year. The World Poker Tour (WPT) Barcelona stop, Winamax’s Grand Final Spain, as well as the 2020 Irish Open have all been cancelled.
WPT Barcelona 
Spain is amongst the countries reporting high cases of COVID-19, prompting the government to impose a ban on huge gatherings involving over a thousand people, alongside travel restrictions. The WPT previously stated that its Barcelona stop will proceed as scheduled, but officials now decided to postpone the festival which was originally scheduled to take place from March 27 to April 5.
The announcement posted on Casino Barcelona’s official website stated that the venue, alongside the WPT and partypoker LIVE, are now considering holding the festival later in the year. Those who won seats to WPT Barcelona through online qualifiers hosted by partypoker will be offered flexibility options regarding their packages.
Winamax Grand Final
The drastic measures recently announced by the Spanish government also forced the cancellation of the Winamax Poker Tour Grand Final, which was supposed to take place from March 19-29 at the Casino Gran Madrid Torrelodones. A statement from Winamax suggests the event could be cancelled entirely, though officials said they are considering solutions to reschedule the festival. Players who already earned their tickets via live and online satellites will be contacted accordingly.
2020 Irish Open
One of the world’s longest-running festivals has also fallen victim to COVID-19. This year’s Irish Open set to run from April 6-13, has now been cancelled, as the virus continues to spread worldwide.
Ireland currently has 34 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as the death toll and number of infections around the world continue to rise. The management team at Irish Open did not take any chances and decided to cancel the event, prioritizing the safety and well-being of players and staff.
Officials are currently in talks with the Citywest Hotel to move the festival to a later date. Players who won satellite seats will still be able to use them later in the year when a new date is set, or if the festival is cancelled entirely, the all satellite seats will be redirected to Irish Open 2021.
Current Status of Major Festivals in May and April
If the outbreak worsens, more major festivals could also be postponed or cancelled, including 888poker’s scheduled event in Barcelona, as well as the WSOP International Circuit in Paris, both taking place in May.
So far, here are the list of poker events scheduled for March and April that have either been postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak: the Golden Poker Million in Marrakech Morocco, Bounty Poker Tour in Tallinn, Estonia, WPT Barcelona, 2020 Irish Open, and Winamax Poker Tour Spain Grand Final.
Unibet has cancelled its Deepstack Open event in France, while its Italian stop is also expected to be postponed as the country is currently in total lockdown due to high cases of the coronavirus (second to China).
Other local events in France, including the BPT Ribeauville, was also dropped from the calendar. The Norwegian Championships due to take place in Dublin, Ireland has been cancelled as well.
The 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule “remains intact” as officials continue to monitor the situation. COVID-19 cases have now topped 1,000 in the United States. However, as of this writing, no poker events in the US have been postponed or cancelled due to the outbreak.
Two major events are currently taking place in Russia (partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Super High Roller Series) and The Netherlands (WPTDS Holland). Both will conclude on March 15. Meanwhile the PokerStars Road to PSPC at La Grand Motte France has been postponed, alongside another Road to PSPC event in Hamburg, Germany. The WSOPC pushes through at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, but the guarantees have been removed.
COVID-19 has now affected a total of 119 countries and territories, with more than 119,000 confirmed cases and 4,300 deaths.