The domestic portion of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online Bracelet Series finally wrapped up on August 1. The online series got underway on WSOP.com on July 1, with players in New Jersey and Nevada being given the opportunity to compete for a total of 33 gold bracelets.
The action now heads over to GGPoker where international players get a shot at an additional 33 gold bracelets until September 12. Those in Pennsylvania will also have their own WSOP Online series which will run from August 6-16, with eight gold bracelets up for grabs.
Meanwhile, let’s take a look at the official figures of the completed series on WSOP.com, and how it fares in comparison to the inaugural series in 2020.
2021 Domestic WSOP Online Final Figures
The official figures for the 2021 WSOP Online Series on WSOP.com have already been released, and here are the main takeaways:
The domestic leg of the 2021 festival attracted a total of 27,217 entries (including 8,643 re-entries), generating a total prize pool of $18,265,287. This compares to the 44,719 entries who signed up for the 2020 series which translated to $26,871,265 in total prize money awarded to players across 31 bracelet events.
Of the 33 bracelet events during this year’s series, only 16 were able to award more than $500,000 in prizes, including the $7,777 buy-in Lucky 7’s High Roller which generated the biggest prize pool of $1,113,927. Just 10 of the 33 events were able to draw over 1,000 entries, while seven events ended up attracting less than 500 entries, including the Lucky 7’s High Roller which pulled in just 151 players.
Final Event Falls Short of $1M Guarantee
Notably, the final event of the 2021 series, the $500 Grand Finale, failed to meet its $1 million guarantee after attracting just 2,024 entries. All in all, it generated more than $900,000 in total prize pool. WSOP.com collected over $100,000 in rake from the tournament, which was just enough to cover the overlay.
Low Traffic Not Surprising
The 2021 WSOP Online on WSOP.com didn’t attract as many players as the inaugural series in 2020, but it’s actually not surprising, as online poker has recorded a downward pattern in terms of traffic since the start of the year. The decline in numbers is mainly due to the fact that the live poker scene has now reopened, with pandemic-related restrictions also lifted.
The situation was very much different last year when the world was put under lockdown and people were confined to their homes to prevent the spread of the virus. With limited movement and live venues essentially closed at the height of the pandemic, poker players shifted to the virtual felts to continue playing. To keep up with the demand, major poker brands and operators launched their respective online tournaments and the results were record-breaking.
We can thus say that online poker enjoyed great success last year mainly due to the pandemic, and when things began to clear up, the numbers also started to decline. This explains why the 2021 WSOP Online Series on WSOP.com failed to match the performance of the 2020 festival.
It’s still too early to say whether the international portion of the series on GGPoker would also have similar results. It got underway on August 1, and the initial figures have been great so far, with the first two events awarding more than $3 million in prizes. The international leg on GGPoker runs until September 12.
Meanwhile, the upcoming exclusive series in Pennsylvania is expected to attract decent numbers, given that it’s the first time for players in the Keystone State to be given the opportunity to take a shot at the highly-coveted gold bracelet without leaving their homes.
More bracelets are up for grabs during the live WSOP festival at the Rio in Las Vegas this September, followed by the WSOP Europe series at King’s Casino in Czech Republic in November.