GGPoker Clarifies and Adds to WSOP 2020 Online Info
Late last week, GGPoker and the World Series of Poker announced the non-US portion of the upcoming WSOP 2020 Online. The 54 events of the 85-event bracelet-awarding tournament schedule that comprises the series connect in mid-July and run through the first week of September.
The first announcement regarding the schedule left some information to be determined at later dates but also some confusion. Players were unclear about residency requirements to play and in which countries GGPoker would be available. The schedule did not include structure sheets or starting day information for multi-day tournaments.
All in all, the schedule was complete, but questions remained.
Today, we have answers to some of those questions.
GGPoker Schedule and Event Changes
We provided a simple list of the events for the GGPoker portion of the upcoming WSOP 2020 Online last week. The events will begin on July 19 and run through Sunday, September 6.
GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu then recorded a video to talk about some changes to the schedule.
First, the $10K NLHE Heads-Up Championship was on the original schedule for August 9, but they decided to move it back one day. Sundays are typically so busy that they wanted to give players more of an opportunity to focus on heads-up. It will now be on Saturday, August 8.
Second, they are adding another tournament to August 9. Alongside the $150 buy-in NLHE GGMasters WSOP Edition freezeout tournament with its $1 million guarantee, they are adding a $1,500 buy-in NLHE GGMasters High Roller freezeout with a $2.5 million guarantee.
Negreanu also explained a bit more about the Main Event. That $5K NLHE tournament with a $25K guarantee is set to hold its Day 2 action on Sunday, August 30. The WSOP and GGPoker have yet to determine how many flights and starting days will lead up to the Main Event. However, they have decided that each player will only be able to enter three times at the most.
Some important news about the @GGPokerOfficial @wsop this summer!
-A scheduling change
-Some clarity on the main event
-Travel rules for US Players pic.twitter.com/sbrP6A2cOx
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) June 29, 2020
There is still hope that there will be an opportunity to host a World Series of Poker Main Event, a $10K buy-in freezeout that will continue the annual tradition in Las Vegas later this year. The unpredictability of the coronavirus keeps that on ice for now, but if at all possible, the WSOP will try to do it.
Player Location Requirements
This subject quickly became a controversial one. As American players – and other in GGPoker-prohibited territories – wondered aloud how they could travel to another country to play the 2020 WSOP, they found disappointing information. They needed a “permanent fixed address in a country that GGPoker can offer services in.” That seemed to rule out a temporary address secured to play poker.
This is from GGPoker's Discord earlier today pic.twitter.com/la5ei1K2gj
— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) June 27, 2020
Negreanu actually addressed that question in his video message, acknowledging the confusion. “It’s actually going to be a lot simpler than you think,” he said. “You can get an Airbnb, you can get a hotel, wherever it is you want to go outside of the United States, all you need to do is show proof of address, and you’re good to go.”
This contradicts the verification information on the GGPoker website, which requires a utility bill or bank statement bearing the address. Quite possibly, for this series, GGPoker has relaxed those requirements to allow travelers to play.
As far as the countries allowing GGPoker, the site told us that the list changes from time to time. We know that Mexico and Canada are on the list. However, the site would not provide a list. Players must “try to register for an account.” “If their country is listed in the dropdown, we should be able to accept them.”
Players hoping to find out before they travel somewhere to play, however, might want to simply contact a GGPoker customer service representative to inquire.
Other Questions Addressed
The terms and conditions now listed on the GGPoker WSOP 2020 page of its website notes that players can be 18 years of age and older.
The WSOP 2020 Online Leaderboard will be for GGPoker events only.
There is a separate one for the US-based series
There will not be a combined leaderboard for a “Player of the Year” race. However, according to WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, they “might consider a WSOP Online Player of the Year for their events on GG only.” Even so, he added that “given there are segregated fields and an imbalance of total number of events international versus domestic, it is not meant as a pure replacement for POY.”
First WSOP Promotion Goes Live
The first of several promotions related to the WSOP events on GGPoker targets micro-stakes players. The “WSOP Silk Road” allows players to qualify directly for WSOP events with “no steps, no satellites.”
Buy-ins range from $1.08 to $21.60. And each event promises a certain dollar amount’s worth of tickets in each event. There seem to be between five and ten events daily with a range of buy-ins and guarantees.
Running from July 1 through August 31, the first week of action is listed on the promo page.
The promotion also has its own Silk Road leaderboard. The winner receives a ticket to the WSOP Main Event worth $5K. Players already possessing a Main Event ticket can receive tournament dollars instead.
The @GGPokerOfficial WSOP Silk Road promotion starts July 1, a series of microstakes events with buy-ins from $1.08 to $21.60 offering tickets directly into Online Bracelet events.
The first week of events is already up at https://t.co/nidAmavO5x
— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) June 29, 2020
Updated Schedule
For your reading pleasure, this is the GGPoker schedule for the WSOP 2020 Online, updated to include the aforementioned changes.
July 19: $100 NLHE Opener (2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $2M GTD)
July 19: $1,111 NLHE Covid Relief by Caesars Cares (2 days)
July 19: $525 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty 6-Handed
July 21: $5K PLO Championship
July 22: $1,500 NLHE Fifty Stack
July 23: $1,050 PLO Bounty
July 25: $600 NLHE Monster Stack 6-Handed (Asia time zone)
July 26: $1,500 NLHE (Asia time zone)
July 26: $2,500 PLO
July 26: $400 NLHE Colossus (2nd day of 3 days, 1 reentry/flight, $3M GTD)
July 26: $400 PLOSSUS (2nd day of 3 days, 1 reentry/flight, $1M GTD)
July 28: $10K NLHE Short Deck Championship
July 29: $2,500 NLHE 6-Handed
July 30: $840 NLHE Bounty
August 1: $500 NLHE Deepstack (Asia time zone)
August 2: $1K NLHE Short Deck (Asia time zone)
August 2: $1,500 NLHE Millionaire Maker (2nd of 3 days, 1 reentry/flight, $5M GTD)
August 2: $500 NLHE Turbo Deepstack
August 4: $2,100 NLHE Bounty Championship
August 5: $400 PLO
August 6: $1K NLHE
August 8: $800 PLO Double Stack (Asia time zone)
August 9: $10K NLHE Heads-Up Championship (2 days, freezeout, no late reg, 128-player cap)
August 9: HK$8K NLHE Asia Championship (2nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, HK$8M GTD)
August 9: $150 NLHE GGMasters WSOP Edition (freezeout)
August 9: $1,500 NLHE GGMasters WSOP Edition High Roller (freezeout)
August 11: $5K NLHE 6-Handed Championship
August 12: $2,500 NLHE Double Stack
August 13: $525 NLHE Bounty 6-Handed
August 15: $300 NLHE Monster Stack 6-Handed (Asia time zone)
August 16: $1,500 PLO
August 16: $500 NLHE Mini Main Event (2nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $5M GTD)
August 16: $840 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty
August 18: $600 NLHE Deepstack Championship
August 19: $800 PLO
August 20: $500 LHE
August 22: $500 NLHE Deepstack (Asia time zone)
August 23: $1,500 NLHE Marathon (Asia time zone)
August 23: $25K NLHE Poker Players Championship (2 days, $10M GTD)
August 23: $50 NLHE Big 50 (2nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $1M GTD)
August 25: $1,500 LHE Championship
August 26: $1K NLHE 6-Handed
August 27: $1,500 PLO
August 29: $300 NLHE Double Stack (Asia time zone)
August 30: $400 NLHE Forty Stack
August 30: $5K NLHE Main Event (2nd of 3 days, freezeout flights, $25M GTD)
August 30: $1K NLHE Turbo 6-Handed
September 1: People’s Choice – Most popular
September 2: People’s Choice – Pros vote
September 3: People’s Choice – Spin the wheel
September 5: People’s Choice – Most popular
September 5: $1,050 NLHE Beat the Pros Bounty
September 6: $10K NLHE WSOP Super Millions (2 days, $5M GTD)
September 6: $100 NLHE WSOP Millions (2nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $2M GTD)
September 6: $500 NLHE Closer
